Kuzul

So long Joel Zumaya, Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, and Magglio Ordonez.

Hello Ryan Perry, Don Kelly, Scott Sizemore, Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, and Jeff Larish.

The Detroit Tigers are hurting, but the end to the summer of 2010 could set the table for a great run of success for years to come.

Because of this run of injuries, the Tigers will probably not make any significant moves at the trading deadline.  That means prospects like Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver will remain in the organization as opposed to being traded for Dan Haren or Ted Lilly.

In the case of Ordonez, the Tigers will probably not have to pick up his $18 million player option for next season.  This will give the Tigers a lot of shopping money in the offseason. 

Aside from Miguel Cabrera and Johnny Damon, the rest of the Tigers lineup for Sunday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays featured rookies or players who should still be developing in the minor leagues.

Clearly for the Detroit Tigers, the future is now.

For the rest of 2010, the Tigers will be relying on one of the youngest lineups and pitching staffs in all of baseball.  However, that doesn’t mean the Tigers will be completely devoid of talent.

Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Austin Jackson, and Brennan Boesch are just a few of the young stars who will make the future very bright in Detroit.

Jacob Turner, Andy Oliver, Soctt Sizemore, and Danny Worth are all prospects who are supposed to be stars in the making.  Aside from Turner, the rest of the players in this group should get a lot of experience through the end of 2010.

There is no doubt that the loss of those four veterans will severely decrease the Tigers’ odds of making the playoffs.  However, even with them in the lineup, the Tigers were still stuck in a three-team race against opponents who they struggle mightily against.

The Tigers would have definitely had to make a costly move in order to acquire a player that would could have catapulted them into true playoff contention. 

In the long run, these injuries could not have happened at a better time.

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It’s always fun to imagine the best athletes in the world playing a sport other than their own. Bo Jackson is arguably the greatest athlete to have ever accomplished this feat in two professional leagues.

Even Michael Jordan (pictured) tried his luck with baseball for a couple seasons in the prime of his basketball career.

With the Home Run Derby taking place tonight, there are several star athletes today who could probably compete with baseball’s best.

Here are the top 10 non-baseball athletes who could compete with the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Corey Hart in the Home Run Derby.

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Every Summer there is a great deal of controversy surrounding who was left off the MLB All-Star rosters.

This year is no different, as the National League roster is littered with controversial selections. Players like Omar Infante, Yadier Molina, and Michael Bourn have all had fine seasons, but there are many analysts who believe they could be easily replaced by players who were left off of the roster.

Here are the top 10 snubs from the National League roster this year.

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It seems that there is always a lot of complaining about the All Star rosters, no matter who makes the team.

Fans not only complain about the process of selecting the players, but they will often heavily criticize the manager’s selections as well.

However, the fact remains that this year’s American League roster is loaded with talent, and there are very good reasons for each player being on the team who was selected.

Despite this, there are still many position players and pitchers out there who also have a very strong argument for being on the roster as well.

Here are the top 10 players who were left off of this year’s American league roster.

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Miguel Cabrera and Jose Valverde will represent the Detroit Tigers in the 2010 Midsummer Classic.

Cabrera narrowly lost out to for the starting position at first base to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins. Through Saturday night’s game against the Mariners, Cabrera had a .338 batting average, 20 HR and 68 RBIs. 

Cabrera is most likely the last remaining hitter with a chance at the American League triple crown this season. He ranks in the top five in batting average, runs batted in and home runs.

Valverde, the Tigers’ dominant closer, will join Mariano Rivera of the Yankees and Joakim Soria of the Royals as the closers in the AL bullpen.

Valverde has collected 18 saves so far while posting a league-best 0.51 ERA.  Valverde has been nearly perfect this season.

The Tigers’ closer has only given up two earned runs in 35 innings pitched this year.  Valverde will hopefully be given an opportunity to display his talent and creative antics on the mound in Anaheim.

Despite the Tigers landing two players in this year’s game, they could have easily had two more in the forms of Justin Verlander and Brennan Boesch.

Boesch has taken MLB by storm ever since he was called up in late April when Carlos Guillen was sent to the disabled list. Through Saturday, Boesch has hit .342, 12 HR and 46 RBI. However, he has only 219 at-bats, which is roughly 100 less than most position players who have been playing the entire season.

Boesch could certainly make a strong case to have a roster spot over other AL outfielders such as Vernon Wells or Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. Wells is currently sporting a .274 BA to go along with 19 HR and 48 RBIs.  Bautista has hit 21 HR and 52 RBI, but he only has a .230 average so far.

Boesch’s ability to hit left-handed pitching just as well as right-handers could have also proved useful in the All-Star game.  The left handed hitting Boesch is hitting .453 versus lefties as opposed to .307 against right handers.

Verlander is off to another strong season in 2010. Verlander picked up his 10th win of the season versus the Mariners on Saturday night. He has 103 strikeouts to go along with a 3.85 ERA. 

The hard throwing Verlander is arguably one of the best starting pitchers in the AL today. It would have been hard to find an argument against him being on the team if he was selected.

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Tigers’ fans know this probably won’t last forever.

However, Brennan Boesch has continued his hot streak much longer than anyone could have expected when he was called up from Toledo on April 24th.

Prior to Wednesday night’s game with the Nationals, Boesch had hit eight home runs  on top of driving in 30 runs.

If Boesch had enough at-bats, he would rank fifth in the AL in batting average at .338, third in slugging percentage at .611, and fifth in OPS at .994.

He is doing it the old school way.  His hitting philosophy can be summed up in four words.

See ball, hit ball.

In his first two at-bats Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals, Boesch saw exactly two pitches.

Both pitches were each hit straight up the middle for solid base hits.

Later in the game, he showed off his power and hit another monstrous home run roughly 25 rows back in right field.

See ball, hit ball.

For some reason, Boesch still isn’t getting the national respect he should deserve.

According to ESPN, he is owned in only 75 percent of fantasy leagues on their website.  On the all-star ballot, you have to write him in.

When you compare Boesch to fellow rookie star Jason Heywayd, Boesch should be getting just as much attention, if not more.

Boesch leads Heyward in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.  If he began the season starting with the Tigers, Boesch would probably have equal or better power numbers than Heyward.

Yet, Heyward is owned by 100 percent of fantasy leagues on ESPN, and you do not have to write him in on the all-star ballot.

One of the reasons for this lack of popularity for Boesch may reside in the fact that his performance has been so unexpected.

If Carlos Guillen never went on the disabled list in April, Boesch might still be playing in Toledo for the AAA Mud Hens.

The Tigers certainly caught lightning in a bottle with this 25 year-old from Santa Monica, California.

Boesch’s performance this season is arguably the biggest reason why the Tigers have remained above .500 and within striking distance of the Minnesota Twins.

If the Tigers are going to contend for a playoff spot this season, they will need Boesch to continue to do two things—see ball, hit ball.

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Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game this evening.

Unfortunately, the scoreboard will forever show the Cleveland Indians getting one hit.

Jim Joyce’s missed call on the 27th out will most likely go down as the call that instituted instant replay into Baseball.

There have always been controversial calls throughout baseball’s history.

However, that has been the beauty of America’s game. Human error has always been a factor in the game.

Up until tonight, I loved the fact that baseball didn’t use instant replay.

That is until a pitcher who I have cheered for on my favorite team was robbed of history.

Galarraga has seen his ups and downs throughout the last three seasons. He was not on the Tigers’ Opening Day roster this season. 

Nearly three weeks ago he was still pitching for the AAA Toledo Mud Hens. The combination of multiple double-headers and the struggles of Dontrelle Wills forced the Tigers to bring him up as an extra starter.

In the best start of his career, Galarraga could have become the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game. 

No matter how the rest of his career went, he would have been etched in baseball history forever.

This game should be remembered for the pitching display put on by Galarraga and the outstanding catch by Austin Jackson to preserve that performance in the ninth inning.

That won’t happen though.

In my opinion, it wasn’t just Armando Galaragga who was robbed tonight. 

The entire sport of baseball was robbed by Jim Joyce tonight.

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