Before the weekend, I would have said with relative certainty, the Tigers Justin Verlander would become the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986 to be named MVP.
The reasons are many. There is no clear-cut position player, who has emerged for the honor. Verlander was ahead of other pitchers in the American League in most important categories - by a wide margin in most. He won all those games after Tigers losses. He pitched a no-hitter. He's just stood out like no other pitcher of his generation in a single season.
Those parameters are still very much in place, but not to the same degree. They would have been if Verlander had pitched better Saturday against Baltimore. Giving up five runs in seven innings raised his ERA to 2.40, narrowly ahead of the Angels Jared Weaver, who will carry a 2.41 ERA into his final start Wednesday against Texas. It had been a given Verlander would win the triple crown of pitching - wins, ERA, strikeouts. It's not anymore. Also, Verlander wasn't involved in the decision (the Tigers eventually lost the game that night). It kept him at 24 victories. If he had gotten to 25, it would have been on his MVP resume that Verlander had the most wins in a season by any major league pitcher since Bob Welch had 27 in 1990.
At the same time, the Tigers have surged down the stretch of the season behind Miguel Cabrera, who now leads the American League in hitting. Will there be MVP voters who view Cabrera's contribution as more important to the Tigers, because he plays every day, than those of Verlander? Will it split some of the votes that would have otherwise gone to Verlander? Cabrera has never won the MVP before. There might some voters who feel this is year.
I still think Verlander will win the MVP, which I think is important to him gathering credentials to possibly reach the Hall of Fame someday. But it might be close.

This is how the Tigers postseason roster will likely breakdown and the decisions they must make, which are fairly minimal
Infield
1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Jhonny Peralta
3. Ramon Santiago
4. Wilson Betemit
5. Ryan Raburn
6. Brandon Inge
Outfield
7. Austin Jackson
8. Delmon Young
9. Magglio Ordonez
10. Andy Dirks
11. Donald Kelly
Catcher
12.Alex Avila
DH
13. Victor Martinez
Pitchers
14. Justin Verlander
15. Doug Fister
16. Max Scherzer
17. Rick Porcello
18. Jose Valverde
19. Joaquin Benoit
20. Phil Coke
21. Daniel Schelerth
22. David Pauley
23. Ryan Perry
24. Brad Penny
Decisions have to be made on the injury-plagued duo of Carlos Guillen and Alberto Alburquerque, depending on their health. Guillen is a veteran presence, who is more than capable of delivering a big hit in the postseason. Inge has more value to the Tigers on the postseason roster because he can catch if something happens to Avila and serve as da efensive replacement. Inge might even be used for a spot start against left-handers, but hasn’t done so well against the top lefties Tigers might see in postseason (0-3 against Jon Lester, 2-for-8 against David Price, .190 in 58 at bats with just a homer and three RBI against C.C. Sabathia).
But if Alburquerque’s health is still iffy, why not put Guillen in? Do the Tigers need 12 pitchers in postseason? Probably not. If both Alburquerque and Guillen are in, that would leave Penny likely out. But that would be a bit of gamble. They need a pitcher to capable of coming in relief in case a starter has a short outing. Half of Penny’s eight postseason appearances have been in relief, and he’s been reasonably effective in the role.