Verlander Avoids Arbitration
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm by Jack Doles under Sports
The Tigers have signed Justin Verlander to a one year contract. Verlander was eligible for arbitration.
Important move, because this is one guy you don’t want to go to arbitration with. After winning rookie of the year honors in 2006 and being named an all-star in 2007, Verlander lost his command in 2008. 11-17, 4.84 ERA, 163 Strikeouts. You wouldn’t want to sit in a room with an arbitrator and throw those numbers in the face of the ace of your staff.
Of all the things that have to happen for the Tigers to become a contender again, Verlander recapturing the magic of his first two seasons, is #1 on the list. Great teams have an ace that can stop losing streaks and give a team confidence every time he steps on the mound. Verlander was missing that mojo in 2008.
Can Verlander return to previous form? We Tiger fans sure hope so! What else sure thing do we have on the pitching staff for 2009? Nate Robertson, Jeremy Bonderman, Zach Miner? None of these pitchers had good seasons last year. What ever happened to all those great pitching prospects that the Tigers had?
They need to return to their 2006 form and hopefully they have strong bull pen with a dominant closer!
As a far-away (Europe) Tigers fans, i enjoy reading blogs like this. Maybe one day I can make it to the US to attend a baseball game.