Don't get me wrong, Verlander is not as dominant as he has been. I might be a Yankee fan, but I follow Verlander because...well, because he's on my fantasy team, and I can tell you that there have been games this year where he deserved better.
As Miller mentioned, the Tigers bullpen has allowed six of the nine runners it's inherited from Verlander to score. Get rid of those runs (and that crappy bullpen), and the ERA goes down to something like 5.02. Yeah, yeah, not great...I know.
The main thing though is the Tigers offense. There was the game against the White Sox where Verlander gave up one run through seven innings. If the miserable Tigers lineup scored more than a run, Verlander would have left with the lead. The Tigers never pushed a run across, Verlander stayed in the game in the eighth, and he proceeded to give up five more runs. With a lead, the bullpen takes over, and Verlander's line would have been impressive.
Take another game: In his last start against the Twins, he surrendered two runs through the first six innings. His offense, who was hitting against a long reliever after Baker's injury, belted out exactly one run. The Tigers would lose 4-1.
Verlander has not been dominant this year, but he should not be 1-5. A 3-3 record is really more indicative of the way he has pitched. The offense, which will turn around almost certainly, is crap right now.
The runs scored by the Tigers in Verlander's seven starts are as follows: 4, 2, 0, 1, 10, 2, and 1. Can you guess which game he won? Yep, the game where the Tigers scored 10 runs against Texas. The guy can only hold back opposing hitters so much while his team struggles to push men across the plate. When the run support gets better, some of those games he was losing early in the season will turn into wins.
You're still looking at a guy who can win 13-15 games this year. The offense has to do their part, though.
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