Talkin' Verlander, Polanco and Leyland

I can't believe that no one has commented on Keith Johnson's post from three days ago. I'm just as guilty... I hate it when my job interferes with my blogging! Been busy here in northwest Michigan, but I'll quickly comment on:

1) JUSTIN VERLANDER. I'm finding it very difficult, even after two no-hitters, to put Verlander among the Tigers' all-time greats... yet. Why? His inconsistency (certainly prior to this season) has been aggrevating. Yes, he can crank it up and be lights out. His near-perfect game was a thing of beauty. And yes, so far this season he has generally done his job by keeping the Tigers in the game when he doesn't have his best stuff. But, with all due respect to my friend Lynn Henning (who wrote a column today with the headline: "Tigers’ Justin Verlander on his way to acing Hall of Fame"), I don't think of Verlander in the "ace" category that I do other pitchers. When I think of true aces, I think of guys like Roy Halladay and Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux because of their ability to calm the masses and stop losing streaks. Your ace is supposed to be the guy who steps up and stops the misery. I just don't see Verlander doing that on a consistent basis. I'm willing to be corrected by statistical proof (because I did not research this), but I'm not alone in this thinking. When Verlander takes the mound, do you say to yourself, "Whew, here's a win"? Or do you STILL hold your breath a bit? He has proven too many times that he's one or two bad pitches away from losing 3-1 or 5-2. When Halladay takes the mound for the Phillies (and I felt the same way when he was with the Jays), I think: "Count it." I'm so confident that he's going to win that I'm surprised when he doesn't. True, Verlander can be an "ace" without being Roy Halladay, but it's the feeling I have when he takes the mound. Do I KNOW the buck stops here? Or do I HOPE the buck stops here? I know I'm being a little hard on the guy, since every team in the majors would love to have him, but stop talking about the Hall of Fame, please. It's a tad early, folks.

2) PLACIDO POLANCO. I said it then, I'll say it now: How stupid can you be not to even offer him arbitration? Whether or not you truly wanted to sign Polanco... whether or not you questioned how much he had left in the tank... you do NOT let him walk away without at least getting a draft pick. Then to give a completely bogus excuse that it was a "cost-saving measure" -- only to sign Johnny Damon to bat second in the order (Polanco's spot) for almost the same amount you could have gotten Polanco for TWO seasons? That's insulting the intelligence of anyone who cares about the Tigers. This is not not a knock on Dave Dombrowski. He is waaaaaay smarter than that. The Polanco debacle was a TOTAL Ilitch move. I just wish he would stick to signing the checks and let Dombrowski make the baseball decisions. You want a better team? Let Dombowski do his job. He gets it right most of the time (Jurrjens-for-Renteria not withstanding).

3) JIM LEYLAND. Does this guy overmanage his pitching staff or what? Pulling Porcello after 84 pitches and one hit on Sunday? Why? Because the "situation" dictates that the closer comes in? He goes with his gut one moment, then with what the "situtation" dictates the next time around. He leaves some in longer than he should (veterans like Verlander and Penny seem to get the benefit of the doubt), but then he pulls a guy who is clearly cruising? Come on!