OT: Verlander is Legend
The state of Michigan has a curious relationship with its professional sports stars. We've had our share of greats, but our loyalty to them has only a partial correlation to their raw athletic talent.
Many of our favorites are guys who are great team players with great work ethics. Big stars are good, and big achievements are important, but if you're humble and do your job and succeed Michigan will love you. The 2004 Pistons are a great example of this--no stars, but beloved by everybody.
We love Steve Yzerman. Not just because he was a brilliant player, but because he was the captain and he played hurt and he changed his game for the god of the team.
We love Al Kaline. Not the greatest player of his time, but a great player who stuck with the Tigers for his entire career and led them to a title.
We love Barry Sanders, who was saddled with bad teams but was transcendant as a runner and always humble.
Last night, the Tigers horribly choked away a series win in the ninth inning. After winning the first two games at home, Oakland had seized the momentum going into game 5 at home. It was awful, it was dispiriting, it was a nightmare.
It would be unbearable, but for the one man every Michigander knew could stop the bleeding: Justin Verlander.
On the road. Game five. Nine innings. No runs. Justin takes his place in the pantheon of all-time Michigan sports greats.
Verlander is legend.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:36 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
Money...only 4 hits given up. Just think if we can get Fielder and Cabrera going...
October 12th, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
Invite Kate for a dinner!
October 12th, 2012 at 4:08 PM ^
Thats what I'm talk'n about
October 12th, 2012 at 12:39 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:43 AM ^
Nobody even picked up a glove in the bullpen. Awesome.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
I still hate valverde though because this performance could have been game 1 of round two...
as for verlander if he wants to be up there with stevie y, al kaline, and the other detroit legends then he has to win a world series and no one know show this year will go...
jdon
October 12th, 2012 at 12:54 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 10:53 AM ^
Great analogy. Hopefully it will ring even more true with a World Series victory in the D (and starting a semi-dynasty in Detroit for 15-ish years to come?)
October 12th, 2012 at 1:02 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:45 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:46 AM ^
Complete game (first since Jack Morris in 84)
Shutout
First 2-win series for a Tigers pitcher since the aforementioned Morris
11 K's
22 K's in a divisional series - Major League Record
and he did it on 122 pitches (83 of them for strikes). that means he could've gone a couple more batters had it been needed.
it'll be a shame if he doesn't win the Cy Young. he is the "best pitcher in the game", said the best hitter in the game aka miguel cabrera.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:51 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:55 AM ^
Disagree about Barry but it's true that he was never a locker room leader type; my list probably looks like an attempt to be exhaustive, but of course for someone my age Trammell is huge, and older generations will include people like Gordie Howe. One could also include pre-coaching Isiah Thomas.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:06 AM ^
Isiah was such a great competitor as a player. His post-playing days are just bizarre to say the least. I'd say he did not do such a good job running the CBA or the Knicks.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:54 AM ^
I could not possibly disagree more with this. Barry lacked heart? Where is your evidence for this? He lacked leadership? You don't have to be a rah rah screamer to be a leader. See Stu Douglass. Toughness?
Yeah, the way he retired was odd, and he should have given the Lions more notice, but all in all he is defintely a Michigan sports legend.
We can agree on Hailing Verlander though.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:30 AM ^
I knew there would be people who disagreed, and admittedly his "retirement" was the final straw for me, but I will tell you why I feel this way.
-Football is a game of emotion, and Barry never showed any. Not when we scored, not when we won and not when we lost.
-When the Lions needed 1 freaking yard what did they have to do to get it? They had to throw the ball to Herman Moore (who was awesome).
-Barry had the most exciting and incredible one yard runs in history, after running 75 yards in the backfield.
-Barry always got caught from behind. He would have two 60 yard runs a game, resulting in FG's, and finish the game with 28 carries for 165 yards. Sounds great until you realize that means he had 26 carries for 48 cards earning 2 FG's and keeping the Lions punter busy.
I don't hate Barry, I just don't think he was "greatness". Verlander undoubtedly is.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:57 AM ^
I don't hate Barry
Sure doesn't sound like it. It's a real bummer he never lived up to your expectations.
Emmitt Smith has championships and records, running behind some of the greatest offensive lines ever assembled. And there is no way in hell he is a greater running back than Barry Sanders. I know you never mentioned Emmitt but he's usually Exhibit A for "greatness" for a running back because he won titles.
I can't even fathom how many 2000 yard seasons Barry would have had running behind those Cowboy lines. But I guess that's Barry's fault, too.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:53 AM ^
Football is a game of emotion, and Barry never showed any. Not when we scored, not when we won and not when we lost.
This is not the same thing as "having no heart." And hockey is a game of emotion too, yet Nick Lidstrom is the calmest, coolest cat on the ice and nobody has ever accused him of having no heart, nor should they.
-When the Lions needed 1 freaking yard what did they have to do to get it? They had to throw the ball to Herman Moore (who was awesome).
Barry can't help that he wasn't a sledgehammer. Wasn't his style. Besides, do you honestly think the Lions shit O-line could have moved the line of scrimmage enough to get any RB one yard?
-Barry had the most exciting and incredible one yard runs in history, after running 75 yards in the backfield.
True. Part of his legend.
-Barry always got caught from behind. He would have two 60 yard runs a game, resulting in FG's, and finish the game with 28 carries for 165 yards. Sounds great until you realize that means he had 26 carries for 48 cards earning 2 FG's and keeping the Lions punter busy.
Barry is still the only RB in NFL history to have two TD runs in a game of 80+ yards.
October 12th, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^
No offense, but you are being moronic on this one. Well, I guess I did mean offense. Barry Sanders was an all time great. That is indisputable.
October 13th, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 12:55 AM ^
For most our lives, the Tigers have never had that Singularly Identifyable Star Starting Pitcher (SISSP) until now.
Hal Newhouser was from ancient times...McClain flamed out under the weight of his own twisted hubris....Lolich had a fine career but only a few dominant seasons...Jack Morris was excellent and a symbol of 80s power with his mustache and attitude...although he had sustained long term success, he was never the best pitcher in the game at any point in his era, and he ended up with several other teams to finish up his career... the 90s and 00s...forget about it.
JV is the best Tigers starter ever. The Tigers finally have their "Clemons".
October 12th, 2012 at 12:56 AM ^
Good series
October 12th, 2012 at 12:57 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 11:06 AM ^
Politely disagree. An epic playoff performance was the only thing holding him back from taking that next step as his playoff numbers were meh coming into this season.
He looks primed to carry them to the World Series, putting him in a class of the truly elite.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:57 AM ^
If the Tigers go on to win it all I say yes. Personally I'm hoping for another tigers-cardinals World Series. But first Wainwright has to take care of business against the Nattys tomorrow.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:11 AM ^
Carpenter was great in game 5 last year. For me, Jack Morris' game 7 WS win against the Braves was the most unbelievable performance from a starter I have ever seen. 10 innings of shutout ball. Too bad it was for the Twins and not the Tigers.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:18 AM ^
Congrats to Verlander and the Tigers tonight though. Beat the hell out of the Yankees, assuming that's who you face next.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:29 AM ^
I'll be pulling for Baltimore, home field advantage for Detroit in the ALCS if the Orioles wins tonight.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
I guarantee Mr. I would have never let him leave town.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:16 AM ^
I am a Cards fan* but all my friends are Tigers fans. I would love to see them both in the series again.
*I'm not huge into baseball. So if the Tigers would have beat the Cards the last time they played I would have been happy for my friends. Same goes this time around.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:58 AM ^
Tip your cap to JV tonight
October 12th, 2012 at 1:11 AM ^
Sports fans in Michigan really are blessed. For all the attention that the cities like LA, Boston, Chicago, and Miami get, Detroit has held their own in every sport when it comes to transcendent players
October 12th, 2012 at 1:39 AM ^
The Lions? Yeah they are good......
October 12th, 2012 at 1:45 AM ^
Detroit has held its own in baseball, hockey, and basketball.
Football, on the other hand, is the weak link for Detroit. Without a Super Bowl win, let alone a super bowl, it is hard to rank football in Detroit up there. Yes, Billy Sims and Barry Sanders were great running backs. But players bigger than the game (Yzerman, Isaiah Thomas, etc.) usually have some hardware to back it up.
Nonetheless, this is Verlander's night.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:56 AM ^
four NFL Championships. If we count Stanley Cups from the 30's, 40's, 50's and World Series from the 30's then we count NFL Championships from the 40's and 50's.
October 12th, 2012 at 6:47 AM ^
I was aware of the 50's and the Lion's NFL championships.
However, if you look at the last 10, or 20, or 30, or 40, or 50 years, you have nothing in that span for the Lions.
Looking over the entire span of the Super Bowl, I would still submit the Lions as the weak link. And you don't need to count Stanley Cups or World Series older than 50 years, because both the Red Wings and Tigers have won more recently. If you want to do that, you might as way say the Cubs are relevant in MLB, because, you know, they've won World Series in the past as well. Come on.
FTR, I'm a Bears fan, but I don't bother counting Bears NFL championships or championship appearances. The Packers and Giants had lots of NFL championships, but weren't really relevant until they were part of the Super Bowl.
October 12th, 2012 at 7:32 AM ^
Using that logic, you might as well say that every one of Michigan's National Championships in football is irrelevant because they were awarded before the advent of the BCS.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:34 AM ^
Your argument makes no sense. SRK is discounting the Lions because they haven't won a championship and been lousy for 50 years. The same can't be said for Michigan. Your logic =/= SRK's logic.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:23 AM ^
All I'm trying to say is that any team whose most recent success is only remembered by retirees is living in the past.
If you're going to use the Big 10, Minnesota would be that kind of example . . . they won a lot in ancient history, but not in the last 50 years.
I lived in the Detroit area for 20 years back in the 70's and 80's. Even then, Bobby Lane was old history, and it is even more so now. Look, even though I'm a Bears fan, I'd be happy to see the Lions succeed, but looking back to NFL championships is mostly irrelevant.
Anyway, Verlander is a stud, and the reason that Detroit is doing so well.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:57 PM ^
40+ years without a cup, that doesn't diminish their history in the sport one bit
October 12th, 2012 at 8:36 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 7:29 AM ^
The Lions just didn't play in it. : o
JV is a stud of studs. Go Tigers!
October 12th, 2012 at 12:34 PM ^
Pontiac too for that matter.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:15 AM ^
Verlander's stats over the his last 6 starts(including postseason).
44 innings pitched
3 earned runs
October 12th, 2012 at 9:40 AM ^
Over Verlander's last six starts
44 innings pitched
3 earned runs
31 hits given up
49 strike-outs
So his average over that period is 0.5 ER, about 5 hits and 8 K's per game. Wow, that's bringing it when it matters most.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:29 AM ^
October 12th, 2012 at 1:39 AM ^
Thought this was a Michigan Blog?