Lovin' It

Rob Sanford

I turn my back one week (vacation)....and the Tigers jettison Brandon Inge and pick up Wilson Betemit from Kansas City. The club had to do something to get more offense from third base...but give up a lot in defense. Betemit will never remind you of Brooks Robinson, or even Tom Brookens, I only hope the defensive downgrade won't cost too much.

Ryan Raburn is hitting over .300 since the All-Star break...but I still don't believe he's the reincarnation of Roberto Clemente. How about Joaquin Benoit?? After a bad start this season he has racked up an ERA of 2.51 in June and 1.53 in July. With the return of Alburquerque and closer Jose Valverde I feel good about Detroit's chances in the late innings. In fact, the numbers prove that point because the Bengals are 45-0 when they have the lead after the 7th inning. That's incredible.

Jhonny Peralta, Victor Martinez, Brennan Boesch all continue to swing the bat well, but Miguel Cabrera still seems out of whack. I don't know if he is playing with an injury or what, but I remain confident he will eventually get back into the groove.

The Tigers #5 starter remains a question mark at this point. I know they have sent out scouts to several teams to see who they could pick up and not have to give up the farm to get him. Duane Below didn't embarrass himself in his first start, and but he is a rookie and is not a definite "count on a decent outing type pitcher" yet.