Detroit Tigers

Dontrelle Willis pitched arguably his best game for the Detroit Tigers Thursday night, earning his first victory since May of 2009.

This is only Willis's second victory since arriving in the Miguel Cabrera trade and signing a three year extension.

Willis has struggled since coming to the American league. This is a step in the right direction for Willis who is still a fairly young pitcher at 28-years-old. Its easy to forget Willis has pitched in the world series (2003,) won rookie of the year, and won more than 20 games in a year (2005.)

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman hit the headlines with a "blockbuster" trade in the offseason that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx.

The Yankees gave up one-time first round draft pick, starting pitcher, Ian Kennedy; left handed reliever, Phil Coke; and top prospect outfielder, Austin Jackson, to the Detroit Tigers.

Coke is 3-0 in Detroit coming out of their pen.

And if you haven't checked on AJax lately, he's playing pretty well!

Less than six months into his Tigers career, Jackson is working to dilute Detroit's memory of former fan favorite Curtis Granderson.

From day one, management hoped the 23-year-old would fill Granderson's role: to man Comerica Park's cavernous center field and set the table for the big boppers.

Jackson has quickly surpassed the expectations thrust upon him.

Last spring, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson dubbed him the best athlete in the New York Yankees organization—and there was plenty of evidence to back that up.

Last Week: 2-4
This Week: at LAA (4/19-22); at Tex (4/23-25)

So what happened?

The Tigers’ first butt-kicking of the season came on Friday night, when the Seattle Mariners had their way with Jeremy Bonderman. The pitching was uneven all week, the defense shaky at times, and it all added up to a 2-4 week that the Tigers deserved; in fact, they were perilously close to going 1-5, if it wasn't for a rousing 6-5 win on Tuesday (coming back from a 5-0 deficit).

Oh, Mighty God of Baseball:

‘Sup? Your humble servant, Rogo, here.

Sabermetricians like to compare MLB players to "replacement players." But sometimes it's a hard to grasp the concept. How exactly do they quantify "replacement level?"

Detroiters need look no further than that Tigers bullpen for the perfect example: Brad Thomas.

Thomas is the epitome of replacement-level talent in Major League Baseball.

Mariners 11, Tigers 3

The Good:

It only counts as one game in the standings.

The Bad:

No comeback this time. After giving up three runs in the third, it appeared that the Tigers were going to get right back in the game when they scored two in the fourth. But the comeback bid was stamped out by the M's answer of two runs in the bottom of the fourth and six runs in the fifth.

Swings and misses:

Who does Austin Jackson think he is?

I tell you, these kids nowadays.

Someone should teach this rookie some manners. He’s played about a week and a half in the big leagues, and you’d think he owns the place.

It all started on Opening Day, in Kansas City.

The 23-year-old whippersnapper of a leadoff hitter and center fielder for the Tigers was in the box against Zack Greinke. Yes, THAT Zack Greinke—the one who’s stingier in giving up runs than Jack Benny was with his money.

Today, late in the ballgame, Adam Everett was due up in a key RBI situation for the Tigers. Since offense isn’t exactly Adam’s specialty, Jim Leyland looked to his bench for a pinch hitter.

Who did he turn to? Was it young Alex Avila, who with one swing of the bat could have potentially turned the tide for the Tigers? Was it the experienced Ramon Santiago, who while will never be confused with Barry Bonds, has put together his share of key hits over the years?

I know I sound like an old man when I say it, but the Detroit Tigers starters need to go deeper into games to give the bullpen a break.

Five times the starter has lasted only five innings, and twice the starter has lasted six innings. Starting pitching has not yet recorded an out in the seventh inning.

I understand that baseball has changed. Gone are the days where complete games are commonplace, and even eight full innings now is quite a workload, but lasting only five innings—75 percent of the time—is a good way to burn out your bullpen.