On Plummeting and Not Dying

 

I should have predicted that Kerry Carpenter would be the magic hat guy for the Tigers. Kerry Carpenter was like this a couple years ago. He was having a great breakout year then got hurt and the team shuffled off the division leaderboard. I didn't think this Tigers team would NEED a 'magic hat' guy, they'd been ridiculously good for the first three months. Then on June 29th, Carpenter got injured, and their record in the time without him was 7-14. This included being swept by the Mariners, being swept by the Pirates and losing 3 of 4 against the Blue Jays. Some of these losses were some of the worst in a while. Not even the return of Tarik Skubal the other day could balance things. 

And what's even funnier is that during yesterday's long-awaited win, righting the balance at last, Kerry Carpenter, in his first game back after missing a month, went hitless. So it wasn't like Carpenter was holding back hits himself. They just needed him there. Hence...Gleyber Torres exploding against Max Scherzer. 

I really hope Carpenter's enough to make the Tigers into a great team again, because they've lost a lot of ground in the AL Central. They're now only 7 games ahead of Cleveland, who of course are gaining ground at the exact moment they're supposed to be selling. They're no longer the best team in the AL, as the Blue Jays now hold that distinction. But everything they've built was built to last. Skubal, Greene, Carpenter, Torkelson, Dingler, Mize. None of those pieces are any worse off. Skubal's still a Cy Young candidate, Greene is still an MVP candidate, Dingler's still a surer answer at catcher than they've had in years. The momentum may have halted but this team is still very much a league power.

I think of the depth guys this team has that ensures that things don't completely careen off a cliff. Reese Olson is a very solid later-rotation piece that just keeps the ship airtight. He's got a 3.15 ERA and 65 Ks in 13 starts. I think he's taken the spot that Matt Manning at one time thought he'd have to himself. And then the spot that Sawyer Gipson-Long thought was his is being covered by Keider Montero, who's another strong-if-nondescript back end guy. The bullpen has been so good that even people like Brennan Hanifee, Brant Hurter and [all of the sudden] Luke Jackson are important contributors. And now Colt Keith is handling a lot more of the load as the swing-in 3B/DH type. This team was relying on the few standouts they had for a while, and now they're so good that the depth guys are just as valuable. 

The Tigers get to play the D-Backs this week, as they're expected to lose even more pieces, and then they'll come to Philly for a series. They should have enough to get back on track, but the division race might be tighter than it needs to be in August.

Coming Tonight: The Cubs are so good this year that I still haven't gotten to all their best players of the season. Like the big star guys. There's like 3 or 4 I haven't done yet, like this surprise 1st base find.