Looks to be a special year for Tigers ace

Recently, I published an article on positive things in Detroit sports. On that very list, Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was highlighted, oh, I don't know, about six times in a 17-item list.

Couldn't help it.

The way the season has gone so far, it's hard not to love Verlander. For one thing, the Tigers ace has always been a fan favorite. From the moment he made his debut in 2006 and hurled a 100 mph (102 at its best) fastball, Verlander was the symbol of awe for this team.

Now, from a statistical and psychological standpoint, the franchise player for the Tigers at the time was probably either Pudge Rodriguez or Magglio Ordonez. Now one can make the case that it is Miguel Cabrera. After all, he's the slugger, the top bat, the guy who gets it done. And it is certainly fair to argue that Cabrera is Detroit's most valuable player right now.

But Verlander is the exclamation point.

Verlander is capable of creating more hype than Cabrera. I think it would also be correct to say that Cabrera has, at this point, lost some approval. Granted, fans are starting to grow accustomed to player misbehavior. Getting pulled over while sipping whiskey, after already being drunk before and beating one's wife isn't something everyone just magically forgets. Respect was certainly lost.

How's that for a stat?

Ah, the quality start. In an age of statistical jargon (what's OPS again?), this stat sounds surprisingly, well, simple.

A quality start entails that a starter pitch for six innings or more and allow three runs or less. Pretty good, right? Well, if you are Verlander, that's your everyday stuff this year.

I'm not kidding. And neither is the stat. In Verlander's 9 starts this year, he has 9 quality starts. That was not a typo. 9 for 9. Perfect.

And it doesn't stop there. Verlander's also averaging less than 4 1/2 hits per game. In fact, one's odds of striking out against Verlander are much better than getting a hit. In only two games did he surrender more hits than strikeouts, and he's averaging nearly a strikeout an inning (62 in 65).

Really, it's the quality starts that get you. Consistency in baseball isn't very common. And consistency for pitchers in baseball is even less common. But for Verlander, it's no problem. Really, he set the tone on Opening Day. On a cold day, facing a tough Yankee lineup, and, as he admitted later, being fairly unprepared, disaster struck and Verlander allowed a unthinkable THREE RUNS. As columnist Michael Rosenberg would reason, if that's as bad as it gets for Verlander this year, the rest of the American League is in serious trouble.

Now his theory is starting to appear correct.

Oh, that too

And, oh yeah, Justin also threw the second no-hitter of his career this year.

The no-no just goes to show that, as I said earlier, Verlander is this team's exclamation point. Home runs are nice. Big home runs are nicer. But even big home runs are rarely remembered as long as a no-hitter. That may seem unfair to the hitters, but since when is being a pitcher easy? Hit a walk-off and the crowd loves you for maybe the rest of the week. Throw a no-hitter and the crowd is with you the whole game, goes berserk when you finish, and keeps talking about it long after it happens.

With Cabrera, good hitting is a nice thing. But overall, it's hard to get behind the guy. Too many harsh thoughts. Fans support him, but most support him while feeling somewhat reluctant to do so. Cabrera gave us something to worry about, but Verlander gave us something to get behind, something to feel good about. He gave us a good conflict; he gave us good things to wonder about.

Like, how many more no-nos does this kid have in him?

Silly me, though, I almost forgot the disclaimer. It is after all, still early in the season, so things are unclear a lot can change, blah, blah, blah.

Glad that's out of the way.

Now I can get back to enjoying the season that #35 is having.