The Curtis Granderson catch in Cleveland got me to thinking how much the Tigers defense has improved this year and what kind of an effect it has had on the pitching staff.  Through 30 games last season, the Tigers had a fielding percentage of .983 (11th in the A.L.) and a team ERA of 5.00 (13th in the A.L.).  Through the same amount of games this year, the defense has a fielding % of .985 (4th in the A.L.) and a team ERA of just 3.84 (2nd in the A.L)

So what does it mean.  Well, the Tigers proclaimed that off season moves to strengthen the defense would have a positive impact on the pitching as a whole.   Early on at least, the numbers seem to support the theory.  The Tigers provided one great play after another in the Cleveland series.  Rayburn's diving catch in left.  Everett's diving catch at short to start a double play.  Granderson's two gems in center field.  It would have been a much different series if those playes were not made.  So, while the starting pitching was fabulous over the weekend, the defense had its say in the outcomes as well.

Speaking of the Grandy catch, I've been asked many times the last two days if that is the greatest catch I've seen.  I think I've seen slightly better plays (Curtis climbing the wall on Wily Mo Pena at Comerica Park and Jim Edmonds had a few in Anaheim), but for sheer electricity of the moment, none compare to the play that is now known as "The Catch."

Brandon Inge is starting to garner a lot of attention with his quick start.   Inge has always been a fantastic defender (he made another great play last night), but now his bat is starting to catch up.  Through the first month of the season, Inge's production has ranked near the top among third basemen in the American League.   Here are his league ranks at third base:  18 RBI ( 3rd), 13 BB (2nd), 7 HR (1st),  .431 OBP (2nd) and .658 SLG (2nd).

A lot has been made of Brandon's work with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon's.  Mac has certainly done a lot to change Inge's fortunes at the plate by tweaking his approach.  The results have been striking in the first month.  The trick is now to stay the course, and it is Lloyd's job to make sure Brandon keeps his good habits.

There is however another facet to Inge's success.  That would be a mental adjustment.  Brandon spent a good portion, if not all, of spring training re-training his mind as well as his swing.  The mental part of the game is often ignored, yet it is just as critical as maintaining mechanics.  Brandon is more in tune with what the swing is supposed to feel like as opposed to what it is supposed to look like on video.  The theory goes a little like this.  Imagine swinging a golf club and shanking your shot.  Now try swinging the club with your eyes closed and relying on the "feel" of hitting the golf ball.  It's all about training your mind to find the right feel.  Golf ball, baseball. it's all the same.  So far , so good.  Let's hope May is as good as April.

The Tigers have a new way of doing business at the bottom of the order this season.  Not too long ago, 2006 to be exact, the Tigers would slug their way though the bottom of the order before turning it back over to the top.  In 2006, the Tigers 7-8-9 hitters combined to hit .266 with a whopping 74 home runs.  This season however, things are a little different.

With the addition of Josh Anderson from the Braves, the Tigers have a little more speed at their disposal.  Gerald Laird has also given them a solid hitter toward the bottom of the line-up that can run the bases fairly well.  The result?  The Tigers through ten games have manufactured a little more offense as opposed to hitting the ball out of the park.

This season, the Tigers 7-8-9 hitters have combined for a .320 average with 4 home runs and 20 RBI.  They have also stolen three bases and chipped in with 2 sacrifices.  They won't soon be confused with the Los Angeles Angels, but there is a bit of a different style to the Tigers offense this season.  Heck, we've even seen Miguel Cabrera steal a base already this year.  That, by the way, equals his total from a year ago.

Edwin Jackson deserved better.  He tossed 7 and 1/3 innings of two-hit ball and has nothing to show for it.  Really disappointing loss tonight considering the Tigers got a deep performance after going to the pen early last night.  Jackson was in command all night long and took control because he pounded the strike zone with first pitch strikes regularly.  Scott Rolen said after the game that Jackson controlled the game all evening.  It's starting to become evident why he won 14 games last year with the Rays.  Very impressive tonight.

Brandon Inge is starting to look like the guy the Tigers had in 2006.  His second home run of the season tonight was impressive.  Last night Inge hit one off Roy Halladay to the opposite field.  Inge said before today's game that the opposite field shot is great indication that his new approach at the plate is working so far.  In the past he would have pulled his front shoulder off the ball.  The result was that he was pulling everything.  By going to rightfiled last night, he feels it is a sign that he is staying back on the ball longer.  By the way, the last time Inge hit a home run to right field was 2007.

So much for a slow start for Miguel Cabrera.  Cabby is 4-6 with 2 walks.  He started 2-20 last season.

New Tigers outielder Josh Anderson was quite a basketball player in High School.  Anderson grew up in Kentucky and in high school he was selected to take part in a slam dunk contest.  He was unsure he wanted to participate at first, but he ended up winning the contest easily.  Standing a litttle over six feet, Anderson executed a 360 dunk on his first try and then a two handed slam off the backboard.  Josh said he got his hops from his dad who was shorter than he was.

Jim Leyland today announced that Justin Verlander will be the club's opening day starter on April 6th in Toronto, and I'm sure that surprised very few.  There is no doubt that Verlander is now considered the ace of the Tigers staff, notwithstanding last year's stats.

For Verlander and the Tigers, 2009 is a big season.  Justin is determined to return to his 2006-2007 form when he was throwing no-hitters and overpowering line-ups to the tune of 35 victories in those two season combined.  With uncertainty surrounding much of the rotation this year, Verlander is one of the few in the starting five that Leyland has no worries about. 

So what went wrong for Verlander last season?  His walks were up and his strikeouts and velocity were down.  Justin admitted that because of a different off-sason program prior to last year, he was at about 85% of where he needed to be on opening day.  Many have said that a guy with his ability to overpower hitters tried to work the corners too much and the result was more walks, higher pitch counts and not enough starts in which he went into the 7th, 8th and 9th innings.

After a slow start this spring it appears that Verlander is now gearing up for that opening day match-up against Roy Halladay.  Justin domintated the Atlanta Braves today in Lake Buena Vista.  He used all three of his pitches and more importantly threw them all for strikes.  He also got a lot of outs early in the count today and that is important to note when you consider that one way to make sure you stay in the game longer is to minimize your pitch count.  And, if that means striking out fewer hitters, than so be it.  Expect Verlander to challenge hitters more this season and utilize an improved defense.

Verlander fired seven innings of shutout ball today and in his last three spring starts his numbers are sparkling:  18ip 5h 1r 1er 6bb 9k

Verlander-Halladay promises to be a great one on opening day.  Just don't blink.