Rich Rodriguez’s Statement – 1/6/2011
Statement from Rich Rodriguez
“I am proud of the dedication and commitment exhibited by the coaching staff and student-athletes who have represented the University of Michigan football program over the last three seasons. While I am disappointed to depart Ann Arbor before we were able to reach the level of success we had in our sights, I am confident that the players who remain have the potential to do great things and to return the Wolverines to greatness. I would like to thank our fans and our student body for their tremendous support. There is great passion for Michigan football and I have made lifelong friends through this experience.”
What is Rich Rod saying to Dave Brandon?
Day 2 of the Brandon-Rodriguez summit is about to start. Maybe they are just negotiating a buyout, or maybe Brandon is giving RichRod a serious chance to save his job. If so, I imagine it is going something like this:
"Yes, our first season was a disaster, but we knew that was a possibility when I was hired. Lloyd left me with a bunch of big, slow guys that couldn't play my system. I've had to spend three recruiting classes trying to fix that. We got better in our second season, and then look what happened this year. You saw Denard play last year - did you think I could turn him in a Heisman Trophy candidate in one offseason? Imagine what he's going to be like after another summer with me."
"I'm an offensive genius - just ask the teams I clobbered with little West Virginia - but I admit that I've done a poor job of picking defensive coordinators. I understand that our staff on that side of the ball needs to be rebuilt, and that I need some help making those choices. You give me a list of people to talk to, and I'll listen to their advice, and I'll come to you to approve my decision."
"College football is all about the system. We've got the system in place on offense, and we've got the athletes in place on defense. You and I will find the right defensive coordinator with the right system, and we'll beat Michigan State next year, and we'll beat Ohio State, and we'll finish the season in Indianapolis."
"I know the media wants me out, but, Dave, I know you want what is best for this program. The media is the reason we're on probation, and now they are trying to do even more damage to this great university. You saw the games this year. When Denard was healthy, our offense was as good as anyone's, and we know we can fix the defense."
"If you fire me, you are going to end up with some throwback coach who plays a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of dust offense from the 1960s. That's not how you win in the 21st Century. Do you see Auburn playing that way? Oregon certainly doesn't."
"You know Jim Harbaugh's not coming here. He's going to be coaching the 49ers or the Raiders, and good for him. He's done a great job and he deserves a shot at the NFL."
"But that leaves you in a bind, doesn't it? You could hire Brady Hoke - he's a 'Michigan Man'. He had a good season at San Diego State this year, but you know what happened when he played TCU and Utah? His team gave up a combined 78 points. I wouldn't say he's got defensive football figured out, either. Plus we're talking about a guy whose career highlight is taking a team to the Poinsettia Bowl and beating Navy. I took West Virginia to the brink of the BCS championship game."
"That leaves you with Les Miles. Great record, and a national championship under his belt. I don't have one of those. Of course, I never got to take over a program that Nick Saban had built into a powerhouse. I'm not sure if you have noticed, but in the seasons since Miles had to use his own recruits? Hasn't had a top-10 finish. Besides, if he wanted to be here, he had his chance. Why go after him now when he hasn't done as well? Makes you look weak, Dave."
"Oh, and if you fire me for one of those guys, do you think Denard or Devin will set foot on this campus again? Tate's already done. Do you want to be in the position where your unspectacular new coach has to win over the fan base with Jack Kennedy behind center?"
"I know things haven't gone perfectly. The probation looks bad, but you and I both know that every school in the country does those things. They just didn't have a newspaper with a vendetta forcing the NCAA to take action."
"We're on the right track here. We've made a lot of mistakes, but they can be fixed. You've seen how fast a good coordinator can turn around his part of the team, and you and I can find the coach who can do that for us."
"Give me 2011, Dave. I'm going to finish polishing Denard, and I'm going to have Devin on the same path. Michigan's never had a Heisman-winning quarterback, and that's a shame. I'm going to give you two guys with a chance to win that trophy, and win a lot of other things along the way. We've worked together for a season now, and I know we can be a powerful team. I've got my players now, and I've got you to watch my back."
"Let's keep this together. You saw how the Big Ten looked in the bowls, and you know Ohio State is losing all of their cheaters. Michigan State's a one-trick pony. Nebraska hasn't played in a real conference in decades. Penn State - well, bless JoePa, but a 102-year-old coach isn't going to win the Big Ten."
"What do you say, Dave? Let's shock the world."
If not Harbaugh, who?
Reports are coming out by people I trust - namely, Mike Rosenberg - that Jim Harbaugh probably isn't coming to Michigan. To me, that makes a lot of sense. Harbaugh's got a great run going at Stanford, especially if Andrew Luck comes back, and he's got unlimited support. After taking a non-powerhouse school from 1-11 to 12-1, no one in Palo Alto is going to blame him for a hiccup or two.
Harbaugh's also going to have several NFL options, and they also make more sense than Michigan. Harbaugh is an NFL guy at heart, he coaches a pro-style system and his brother has already proven that the family can handle that level of coaching.
So, Mr. Brandon, what's Plan B?
The first possibility is one that many people seem to have forgotten - Rich Rodriguez is technically still the coach at Michigan, and they could actually keep him. Say what you want about the man, but you have to give him some credit for the unbelievable improvement in Denard Robinson. Before the season, I wasn't the only person that thought starting Robinson over Tate Forcier was a huge mistake. I had seen Robinson struggle to throw simple passes in 2009, and never imagined he'd be able to take this kind of step forward in one year. That doesn't happen without RichRod and his offensive staff.
Unfortunately, that's about the end of the list for his positives. His defense is a disaster, he can't find a competent kicker and, no matter what you think of the severity of the violations, he's the first Michigan football coach to get hit with the major-violations tag. He's also struggled to keep players - I'm sure Wolverines fans will love watching Ryan Mallett and Justin Boren in the Sugar Bowl.
And, most importantly, Rodriguez has lost the support of the fanbase. In college sports, especially football, that's a huge factor. In the NFL, teams with angry fans still make money, thanks to the TV deals. In college, the boosters provide a lot of income for the athletics program and the rest of the school.
So I don't think you can keep him. By the time I post this, he might be gone.
So no Harbaugh and no Rodriguez. Who is left?
There's one important factor to keep in mind here - Denard Robinson. You don't have to bring in a coach that runs the spread - with Denard's health, you probably shouldn't - but you do need someone who can work with his unique abilities. Otherwise, Wolverines fans might end up watching Robinson against Devin Gardner in a BCS matchup in a couple years.
The obvious solution would be to bring in a defensive-minded coach, but I don't think that's important. You want someone who is going to focus their efforts on one side of the ball, and put the other side in the hands of an outstanding coordinator. Remember the Greatest NFL Game Ever? No, not the Chargers-Dolphins overtime game that was the greatest game in NFL history, but the Colts-Giants game that the NFL has deemed to be the best? If you know the name of the Giants coach - Jim Lee Howell - you are a true NFL fanatic. Howell didn't coach either side - he let his two coordinators handle it. You can do that when you've got Vince Lombardi as your offensive coordinator and Tom Landry as your defensive coordinator.
Because of Denard Robinson's situation, I think Michigan needs to hire an offensive-minded coach that can work with him, and bring in a strong defensive coordinator. A kicker would also be nice.
Of course, I have a candidate in mind. For the coaching job, that is. Someone else has to find the kicker.
There's a highly regarded NFL coordinator that would be the perfect head coach for Denard Robinson. He's proven that this season by taking another quarterback known for his running over his passing and turning him into a serious MVP candidate. He's also got some head-coaching experience, and while it didn't go well, first shots often don't. People forget that Bill Belichick got run out of Cleveland, and the Patriots were thought to be crazy when they hired him. Like Belichick, my guy has gone back to assistant coaching, and has had several years to learn from his mistakes, all while working for one of the more successful franchises in the NFL
My candidate also has ties to the area, although not directly to Michigan, and is good enough to be seriously considered for NFL head-coaching jobs. ESPN: The Magazine even did a statistical survey that says this man is the best bet to succeed of any current NFL assistant.
There's only one slight problem.
It's Marty Mornhinweg.
Yes, I know. He's not exactly popular in Michigan, and I agree that his tenure with the Lions was a debacle of the first order. I've said repeatedly that, in my 21 years working for AP, he's the third-worst pro coach I've covered, behind Luis Pujols and Rod Marinelli. I still believe that. He was awful. He wasn't nearly ready to be a head coach, but Matt Millen couldn't see that.
I don't think he would be awful now. He's gotten the experience that he didn't have when the Lions hired him, and he's been very successful in Philadelphia. Andy Reid has his detractors, but he's got a pretty good coaching record, and Mornhinweg has been watching him operate for the last eight years.
He also instantly solves any problem with the franchise player. You don't think Denard Robinson would love to play for the guy that turned Michael Vick from a joke into one of the most dangerous players in the NFL? A guy who also happened to be Brett Favre's quarterback coach the only year he ever won a Super Bowl?
Given the resources that Michigan can provide, I think Mornhinweg could put together a devastating college offense. Team him up with a top-quality defensive coordinator, and the Wolverines could quickly return to the top of a pretty weak Big Tenwelve Conference.
This post isn't a joke. There's no "just kidding" at the end. I really think this would work.
Do I think it will happen? No. I think the backlash from Mornhinweg's disaster with the Lions would make it impossible - the fanbase would go nuts. Instead, he'll end up coaching an NFL team and doing a lot better than anyone expects.
It's too bad. It would be a fun story, seeing Marty Mornhinweg redeeming himself by taking Michigan back to the Rose Bowl.
Matt Stafford Wins The Team
During the second half of the Lions-Browns game, the press-box PA announcer informed us that "Joey Stafford" had just set a Lions rookie passing record.
I think it is fair to say that will be the last time that anyone connected with the Lions confuses Matt Stafford with Joey Harrington.
Joey had physical skills, but he struggled to earn the faith of his teammates. Stafford, though, won't ever have that problem. If any of the Lions still doubted his courage and his leadership, he took care of it at the end of a crazy 38-37 victory.
The Lions were losing 37-31 and only had time for a Hail Mary from the Cleveland 32. Stafford took the snap and started scrambling. As time expired, he was was running for his life, heading toward the sideline with linebacker Marcus Bernard in pursuit. He ducked Bernard's tackle attempt, and reversed direction. Now he was going toward the center of the field, with Bernard still close on his heels.
Kevin Smith got a piece of Bernard, giving Daniel Loper a chance to knock him down with a solid block. That allowed Stafford to keep scrambling for another second or two while his receivers frantically tried to get open in the end zone. Stafford finally ran out of time, but hung in long enough to get a pass off before getting crushed by defensive end C.J. Mosley.
In the next couple moments, several things happened. Mosley drove into Stafford's left armpit and ripped his left shoulder out of place. Cleveland cornerback Hank Poteat shoved Lions receiver Bryant Johnson out of the back of the end zone. Two more Browns defensive backs committed assault and battery on Calvin Johnson, while Brodney Pool intercepted Stafford's pass.
Pool sank to the ground in the end zone, the Browns began to celebrate and the Lions realized their rookie quarterback was lying in an agonized fetal position. At that point, the Detroit players are thinking that they've just lost to the horrific Browns at home to fall to 1-9 and they've lost Stafford to an injury. The Browns are excited about their second win of the season, especially one coming on the road after they blew a 24-3 lead.
That stage lasted about two seconds and abruptly ended when people realized that the officials had thrown a pair of flags. Only one penalty was announced - pass interference on Poteat - but there appeared to have also been a call made against the pair of defenders that mugged Calvin Johnson.
So, even though the clock had expired, the Lions would get an untimed play from the Cleveland 1. Score a touchdown, and they win. Anything else, and they lose. They also have to do it with Daunte Culpepper, since Stafford had been helped off the field, left arm dangling uselessly at his side, and was now lying on the sidelines, surrounded by trainers and doctors.
The teams line up, but the Browns are still confused by the rapidly changing events and call timeout. That decision by Eric Mangini might turn out to be the best favor an opposing coach has ever done the Lions.
During the short break, Stafford gets to his feet and puts himself back into the game. It wasn't clear if the doctors actually approved that - I suspect they did not - but he wasn't going to stay on the sidelines. So, even though his left arm still wasn't working very well, he managed to take the snap and throw a game-winning touchdown pass to Brandon Pettigrew.
(That was his fifth touchdown pass of the game - the first time a rookie had done that in the NFL since the immortal Ray Buivin threw five for the Bears against the Chicago Cardinals on Dec. 5, 1937. Those all-Chicago games were crazy.)
Stafford's coaches and teammates were lining up to sing his praises after the game. Kevin Smith said that he almost cried seeing Stafford coming back on the field for the final play. Jeff Backus raved about the courage shown by a 21-year-old kid. Jim Schwartz said that Detroit's comeback from 24-3 down was because they had a quarterback that was getting them touchdowns instead of field goals.
Don't get me wrong - this is still a terrible football team. The Browns hadn't scored more than 20 points in a game all season, and had only scored five offensive touchdowns, but they were up 24-3 after 13 minutes. Detroit's pass defense allowed previously hapless Brady Quinn to throw for 304 yards and four touchdowns. Keep in mind that Brady had only thrown three touchdown passes in his career before Sunday. Jamal Lewis rushed for 75 yards about 10 minutes before his retirement. Players named Mohamed and Chansi scored touchdowns. Former Lions Legend (FLL) Michael Gaines scored a touchdown.
The offense looked fantastic, but great googly moogly, the Browns pass defense stinks. Smith and Aaron Brown averaged over 25 yards on five screen passes, Calvin Johnson had 161 yards receiving and Dennis Northcutt - about to be declared legally dead - caught three passes. Even on the last play of the game, when they just needed to defend a Hail Mary, the Browns managed to commit multiple pass interference penalties.
Stafford threw two interceptions - one that gave the Browns a first-quarter touchdown and one that should have cost the Lions the game. The second one was a throw into triple coverage that was a guaranteed interception from the moment it left his hand.
And if the Lions know how badly he's hurt, they aren't saying. There's a very good chance that Daunte Culpepper will be starting Thursday against Green Bay, and he might have to go without Calvin Johnson, who also got hurt on the Hail Mary attempt.
In the long run, though, that's not important. Matt Stafford earned the unquestioned respect of his teammates Sunday, and that's something that will be crucial in 2010 and 2011, when the Lions might actually be playing important games.
Game Thoughts: Lions vs. Rams, 11/1/09
Jim Schwartz doesn't think his team can win a game.
I'm not sure that I blame him.
Sunday, playing a horrible St. Louis team, the Lions didn't even try to attack offensively. Instead, they came out with two running backs and two tight ends and tried to nibble the Rams to death. It didn't work.
I understand Calvin Johnson wasn't playing. I know Matt Stafford wasn't 100 percent. I saw the receivers dropping passes.
But that still doesn't excuse a failure to even try. Stafford didn't complete a pass to a wide receiver until the fourth quarter. That one set up Detroit's only touchdown, but it didn't exactly inspire the offense. Stafford did hit Bryant Johnson for a seven-yarder later in the fourth, but that was it. The Lions kept punting and the Rams finally took advantage with the winning touchdown.
I'll give you a perfect example of Detroit's timid game plan. With four seconds left in the first half and the Rams leading 10-2, the Lions had 4th-and-2 at their own 43. Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming - Stafford would throw a Hail Mary into the end zone and hope one of the Lions came down with the jump ball. Maybe you get a pass interference penalty or maybe you throw a meaningless interception, but you take the chance.
So what happens? Stafford drops back and throws a ball that sails a mile out of bounds at the 20-yard line. The ball came down closer to the fans than the field, but bad passes happen. Maybe the ball slipped.
Nope. That was what Stafford was told to do. Schwartz and Scott Linehan were so terrified that the Lions would make a massive mistake - allow a sack where Stafford fumbled and the Rams would return it for a touchdown - that they told Stafford to throw the ball as far out of bounds as he could. It was one of the most cowardly calls I've ever seen in an NFL game.
Of course, if the Lions weren't going to go for the touchdown, they could have done the next thing on a real team's checklist and punted the ball. Schwartz wasn't going for that idea though, because if there is any unit he trusts less than the offense, it's the special teams. They've been terrible all season and had just given up a ridiculous touchdown on a fake field goal.
So the Lions threw the ball away. It was just one play, but it summed up the current Detroit Lions - a team so bad that even their coach doesn't think they can win a game.
Michigan: Not Terrible and Not Elite
#13 Penn State 35, Michigan 10
So what did we learn on a cold, drizzly October afternoon? Not a whole lot that we didn't already suspect. Michigan had already proven that they aren't nearly as bad as they were last year, and they still aren't ready to rejoin the top tier of Big Ten teams.
For a few minutes, it looked like Michigan might have a chance to pull off the upset. They took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for an easy touchdown - the first scored before halftime against Penn State this season. That made it 7-0 Wolverines. The score over the last 57 minutes? 35-3 Nittany Lions.
So how did things get so far out of hand? Let us count the ways:
1) Offense: The thing that people need to keep in mind about Tate Forcier is that he's a true freshman playing through a shoulder injury. No, he hasn't looked nearly as comfortable as he did early in the year, but if you watch him closely, you can see that he's still in pain. He's also trying to master the reads in Rich-Rod's spread offense, which takes a season or two.
He also didn't get much help yesterday. His wide receivers weren't getting open, and his tight ends kept dropping the ball. Add an anemic running game and a bad day by the offensive line, and Forcier's poor performance looks a lot worse.
He could probably use some rest for his shoulder, but Michigan certainly can't count on Denard Robinson. When he's in, the offense looks a lot like the Miami Dolphins' Wildcat - a lot of running plays and one or two inaccurate passes that fail to keep the defense honest. Robinson turned the ball over twice Saturday - a interception and a fumble - and didn't show any sign of moving the team.
2) Defense: Brandon Graham was very, very good. The rest of the team? Not so much. Darryll Clark shouldn't look like Colt McCoy against a defense that wants to be competitive with the Big Ten's best. Every time he needed a big play, he had a receiver breaking open in the end zone. Usually, it was Graham Zug two steps ahead of the defender on a crossing pattern, but on one ugly play, it was a tight end going 60 yards because he was being covered by Obi Ezeh with no downfield help. That came seconds after Penn State got a safety on a botched snap, turning a 10-7 game into a 19-7 game, and Michigan never got within one score again.
So a bad day against a very good team. Are most Big Ten teams going to manhandle the Wolverines like that? No. But there's still a long way to go if they want to win a conference title any time soon.
Return of the Legend
I'm writing this post from the press box at Ford Field. Eight stories below me, Drew Henson is warming up in his new Detroit Lions #12 jersey. The Lions signed him yesterday as an emergency fill-in while Drew Stanton recovers from a thumb injury.
This isn't how it was supposed to happen. Ten years ago, he was the ultimate stud - the best high-school football player in Michigan and the best high-school baseball player in Michigan. Sports Illustrated was doing big stories on his seemingly unlimited future, and the only question was how fast he would take UM's starting quarterback job away from the incumbent - some stiff named Tom Brady.
"Will he be the starting quarterback as a freshman for defending national co-champion Michigan when its season opens on Sept. 5 at Notre Dame? Some of the stories say this could happen. Yes, it could. Will he be the next young star in New York Yankees pinstripes, a power-hitting third baseman who someday could be trying to bring Roger Maris' record back home to the Bronx? Other stories say this could happen. Could he have passed on the football scholarship and done something else? Could he have gone in the first round of the June baseball draft as a fastball pitcher, a 95-mph strikeout wonder? Could he have gone to a Division I college as a blue-chip basketball recruit, possibly as a two guard? Could. Could. Could." - Sports Illustrated, Aug. 8, 1998
For three years at Michigan, everything went according to plan. He was good enough to take some playing time away from Brady in his freshman and sophomore seasons, then took over as the full-time starter as a junior. By the end of that season, he was being discussed as an early Heisman Trophy favorite for 2001.
That's when he made the decision that ruined everything. He chose to give up his football career to sign a huge contract with the New York Yankees. He'd been playing for them on a part-time basis since finishing high school, but this was a complete commitment.
It was a disaster. Henson spent the next three years as a bad Triple-A player for the Yankees and Reds. By the time he gave up after the 2003 season, he had collected exactly one (1) major-league hit.
So he went back to football, joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2004. By Thanksgiving Day, he was the starting quarterback.
For the second time, it was a disaster. On national television, Henson looked terrible, and he lost his starting job after one game. He's never started another game, and hasn't played in the NFL in four years.
He spent 2005 as Dallas' third-string quarterback, but they cut him before the 2006 season. Since then, he's had tryouts with Minnesota and Jacksonville, but no one was willing to sign him until the Lions got desperate this week.
Even now, there are people on message boards saying that this is the chance he needed, and that he's going to light it up as a Lion. The reality is that he's only here because the team has two exhibition games and wants to limit the chance that Jon Kitna or Dan Orlovsky will get hurt. Remember Jeff Garcia breaking his leg in Buffalo a few years ago?
Henson won't play today unless Orlovsky gets hurt, but he'll probably see some action late in Thursday's game in Buffalo. And then Drew Stanton - the first great Michigan high-school quarterback after Henson - will come back and Henson will fade back to obscurity.
I wonder how many times he has second-guessed what he did in 2001.
Everything Old is New Again
Allen Park, Mich. - The Detroit Lions announced today that they have signed free agent RB Artose Pinner to a one-year deal.
Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is "the belief that one can get different results by doing the same thing."
Apparently, Matt Millen is no Albert Einstein.
How many times now has Millen brought back a player that he's already dumped at least once? Does he think that they have developed new skills, or has he forgotten that they've failed here before?
Pinner was here from 2003-2005, and was never more than a backup. In the last two years since the Lions cut him, he's been with three teams, and had exactly one good game. On Dec. 10, 2006, he rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns against ... would you like to guess? ... the Lions. He hasn't carried the ball more than twice in a game since.
But now he's back, and the Lions expect him to compete for the starting running-back job. Why? When has he ever proven that he's capable of being a starting back? One game against a terrible Lions team that had quit on the season?
The problem is that Millen keeps doing this. Tatum Bell was inactive for the last 11 games of the 2007 season and was so out of favor by year's end that the team didn't even take him to Green Bay. But the Lions don't get Julius Jones, and suddenly Bell has been signed to a free-agent contract and expected to be the starter. He's the same player that failed last year, and pretending he's not isn't going to change that.
It isn't even like this trick has worked for Millen in the past. He brought in Az-Zahir Hakim twice, and it was a disaster both times. Aveion Cason came back after two years away, and wasn't any better the second time. Corey Bradford signed a big contract in March of 2006, had been cut by the end of September, was brought back in November and cut again at the end of the season.
Maybe this year will be different. Maybe Artose Pinner has just been saving himself for five seasons, and Tatum Bell had trouble playing indoors, and George Foster was confused by the complicated offense, and now he'll be a Pro Bowl tackle after losing his job last season.
Or maybe Albert Einstein was right.
State of the Sports City
Detroit Tigers: (12-15, 3 games behind Chicago)
When the Tigers started 0-6, everyone started talking about 2003 - including me, but that was because AP paid me to do it - but this team isn't nearly that bad.
In 2003, there wasn't any talent. In 2008, there was a lot of injured and slumping talent. There's a big difference. Talented players get healthy and break out of slumps. Bad players just stay bad.
The injuries are getting better - after 25 games of patchwork lineups, they finally got the first-choice nine on the field together Sunday. Of course, The Great Nine promptly lost 6-2, only getting five hits off Jered Weaver, but they did beat the Yankees Tuesday in their second game together.
That said, having everyone on the field doesn't mean everyone is healthy. Gary Sheffield's shoulders are being held together with string, chewing gum and cortisone injections, and Placido Polanco's back isn't much better. Polanco went 4-for-5 Tuesday, boosting his batting average to a whopping .216, while Sheffield's homer helped him get all the way up to .164. There's no reason to think either player is going to get healthy without surgery - they are both going to be resting a lot and playing through a lot of pain. A lot of the season is going to depend on how well that goes.
Jacque Jones is hitting .185, but everyone knew he was going to be streaky. He looked like he had a hot stretch going last week, but his violent collision with the left-field wall seemed to kill that before it got rolling.
Ivan Rodriguez has to be a concern. There haven't been many catchers who have lasted 18 seasons - the position takes a huge toll on your back and knees - and he's been a below-average offensive player for a couple years now. He never walks, and most of his power is gone, so he's got to hit over .300 to be productive, and I'm not sure he can do that any more. This isn't the guy who hit .500 for a month in 2004 - the aging process has made sure of that.
The rest of the offense is fine. Curtis Granderson has been outstanding in his first week back from a broken hand, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen are hitting .300 with walks and power, and Miguel Cabrera hasn't been far behind them. Edgar Renteria is like Rodriguez in that he doesn't give you much more than his batting average, but he's hitting .311, so that's fine. Brandon Inge might not be happy as a utility player, especially after the disaster of playing Cabrera at third, but he's among the team leaders in walks, and he's hitting the ball hard. When he can do that, given his ability to play centerfield, third base and catcher, he's valuable.
Unfortunately, while the offense is coming around, the pitching staff is still terrible. I'm fairly certain that it isn't a good thing that Armando Galarraga has been the unquestioned ace through the first month of the season. Great guy, and he might help the team out, but you can't count on him to pitch like Greg Maddux all season.
Kenny Rogers is 106 years old, and he was hurt all of last season, so it isn't a surprise that he's struggling. He looked better Tuesday against the Yankees - his first quality start since April 2 - but he still walked four guys in six innings.
I don't know what's going on with Justin Verlander. He's not throwing strikes - 18 walks and six hit batsmen in 36 innings - but he struggled with his control a bit at the beginning of last year too, walking 15 in his first 36 innings. This year, the control is worse, the strikeouts are down, and the hits are up. That turns a 2.79 ERA into 6.50 - a change from outstanding and terrible.
Jeremy Bonderman is the only starter with an ERA under 6, but that's mainly because he's given up a lot of unearned runs. I don't think he's ever going to be better than average - he just doesn't have the ability to harness all of his talent. Nate Robertson isn't walking people, but only because he's throwing batting practice, so no one wants to miss the chance to crush one of his pitches.
The bullpen? Todd Jones and Denny Bautista are a fairly decent late-inning combination, but the rest of the pen is terrible. It will help a lot if Fernando Rodney and/or Joel Zumaya come back at anything close to 100 percent, but I doubt that's going to happen this season.
So, a month into the season, what is the outlook for the Tigers? Despite the panic, I think they are in decent shape. The division is terrible, and the Indians are at least as messed up as Detroit. This team can still win 90 games, and 90 games will win the Central.
Detroit Pistons: (3-2 in first round of playoffs)
Welcome to Detroit Pistons basketball. With the exception of the strange shooting funk at the end of Game 1, this is what this team does. They play in second gear until they get in trouble, and then they "flip the switch" and try to save themselves with their superior talent.
That usually works against teams like the 76ers, but it gets them in trouble when they do it against teams like the 2005 Spurs, 2006 Heat or 2007 LeBrons.
Is it going to matter in this series? Nope. Young teams can steal games early in a series, before they realize what the pressure means (see also: HAWKS, ATLANTA), but Philly's last chance at actually winning died when they collapsed in the third quarter of Game 4. The Pistons will win Game 6 by 20.
Detroit Red Wings: (3-0 in second round of playoffs)
Your 2008 Stanley Cup champions.
Seriously, who is going to beat them? Colorado is down 0-3 and out of bodies. Dallas? Marty Turco has beaten the Red Wings twice in 17 games. Pittsburgh? Maybe, but Chris Chelios is older than the entire Penguins roster combined. They don't exactly have a lot of big-game experience.
Besides, it's over for another reason. Joel Quenneville has coached against the Red Wings in four playoff series - 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008. For those of you playing at home:
- 1997 - Quenneville's team knocked out by Red Wings, who went on to win Stanley Cup
- 1998 - Quenneville's team knocked out by Red Wings, who went on to win Stanley Cup
- 2002 - Quenneville's team knocked out by Red Wings, who went on to win Stanley Cup
- 2008 - Quenneville's team down 0-3 to Red Wings, who went on ...
That note courtesy of Bob Duff of The Windsor Star, who also points out that in 1997, 1998 and 2002, there was also a horse that won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont. So, when Big Brown (not my official pick - that will come Friday) wins the Derby Saturday, you should bet the house on him in the Preakness, then bet on someone else in the Belmont.
Detroit Lions: (offseason)
The Lions haven't lost a game in months. They drafted players from Haiti, Hawaii, Germany and West Point.
I'll get back to you in August.
Detroit Shock: (training camp)
If Pee Wee Johnson hits the shot at the end of Game 4 of the Finals, or if Bill Laimbeer lets Swin Cash onto the floor, the Shock would be coming into the season looking for a three-peat and a fourth championship since 2003.
Instead, the season came to an ugly finish with the blowout loss in Game 5 and the inevitable end of the Laimbeer-Cash relationship. Cash is now in Seattle, along with Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson and Sheryl Swoopes, which will make the Storm the most recognizable team in league history, even if they might not actually be all that good.
The Shock should make a run at the title again this year, because they aren't going to be dealing with Olympic hangovers for their top players. Katie Smith might go to Beijing, but it doesn't appear that Cheryl Ford or Kara Braxton are in the picture, and Deanna Nolan's odd Russian flirtation seems to have knocked her out of the American system.