This week in Minnesota will be an interesting one for the Tigers. It will telling whether their success in Cleveland over the weekend was really because their pitching is that good, or whether it was because the Indians are just that bad.
The Indians aren’t beating anybody, but they do lead the American League Central in runs scored. The Tigers three starting pitchers over the weekend didn’t just pitch well, they also threw well. In other words, it wasn’t like a fluke they won with, for the use of a better term, their "stuff."
Verlander was brilliant Friday. The complaints about Edwin Jackson’s inconsistency are being proven false. He couldn’t be more consistent. Porcello has been everything advertised from his pitch command to his poise. The Tigers did beat a couple really good starters in Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona, although Carmona has struggled to return to the form he displayed in 2007.
Curtis Granderson’s "for the ages" catch on Friday probably saved the weekend. The series have taken on an entirely different tone had Grady Sizemore’s drive cleared the wall.
But every year, there are certain turning points that either keep a team going or start to drop it out of contention. That was probably one of them - a sign the Tigers will contend this summer.
There were also contributions from players it is not expected. The Tigers are hurting offensively with Magglio Ordonez slumping and Carlos Guillen hurt. It helps the Tigers a great deal when a role player like Jeff Larish comes through. It’s another sign of a contending team - unlikely heroes.

Random Thoughts

- Chuck Daly’s passing has invoked many memories - all of them good. He was a great coach and a terrific motivator. People sometimes forget how much success he had at Penn and Boston College before becoming an NBA coach. Honestly, I have never met anybody who didn’t like Chuck Daly. That says a lot given his profession often involved saying "no" and cutting players. It’s been a sad past year for the Pistons’ family on a number of levels. William Davidson, Will Robinson and Chuck Daly were true giants - for all the right reasons. Hearts out to them.

- Count me as among those skeptical about Dontrelle Willis’ start on Wednesday. The Twins are as good as it gets at waiting out pitchers and forcing deep pitch counts. It will be a lot different than the minor leagues where the hitters tend to swing at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone.

My column in Tuesday's Oakland Press on Chris Osgood:

http://tinyurl.com/o85xxb

My column in Monday's Oakland Press on the Red Wings-Ducks Game 5:

http://tinyurl.com/oo9r75