Will the Detroit Tigers Catch the Cleveland Indians?
By Kit Anderson
The Detroit Tigers have been red hot as of late and made up a bit of ground on the division-leading Cleveland Indians. Can the Tigers keep up the hot streak and catch the Indians for the division lead?
The Detroit Tigers have started to make the AL Central division race one to watch. Justin Verlander has been a big part of the Tigers’ resurgence as he has put up numbers that we expected from Verlander in his prime. The offense has finally been healthy with Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler both enjoying great seasons.
They have relied on their offense, primarily only being able to count on their pitching when Jordan Zimmermann or Verlander have taken the mound. The rest has been a bit of a mix and match this season for the Tigers. They are fourth in the AL with 519 runs scored and have relied on their offense and bullpen a lot this season.
The Indians have done most everything well this season. They are second in the league in runs scored at 530 and have pitched well, sitting second in ERA at 3.79. They have put up these numbers without their star player healthy: Michael Brantley has struggled with injuries all season and been unable to stay on the field.
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Despite that, the Indians haven’t missed a beat and have become surprise division leaders. Danny Salazar has been enjoying a breakout season but recently went down with an injury. While this hurts the team, their deep bullpen and rotation still looks more formidable than a fully healthy Tigers rotation.
The Indians have played with a chip on their shoulder all season. While on paper they may not have as many individual star players as the Tigers right now, they are the better team. Not because they lead in the standings or have more wins, but simply because right now they play better together as a group with a team-first attitude that rivals any team in the league.
Terry Francona is what separates these two teams. Francona has a great ability to build a team-first atmosphere and get more out of his players than other managers can. He has taken over this Indians team and has helped put them in a great place to win not only the division but to be legitimate postseason contenders. He deserves much credit when it comes to what has made this team play so well together.
The Tigers will make it interesting for the Indians no doubt, but when it comes down to it, they will be unable to the surpass them.
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The Indians are one of the underdog teams that lots of people like to root for. That is not the reason they are being picked in this case. They clearly have the deeper bullpen, better pitching and the superior manager. Barring injury, that should be more than enough to separate them from the Tigers down the stretch. This Tigers team is one that could easily pick up a Wild Card slot, and regardless of how they get there, no one will want to run into them come postseason time.