Jayson Stark has a nice piece up discussing Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and the potential they have to be a very strong one-two punch for the Detroit Tigers. Here is of the piece:
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The names on the list are Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and … Max Scherzer.
Now here's the category: Name the four qualifying starting pitchers in American League history who have averaged at least 11 strikeouts per nine innings in a season.
Max Scherzer, a man who entered that club by whiffing 11.1 per nine innings last year, has seen those other names. He knows they're pretty cool. He’s also aware of what name isn't on that list.
That would be a friend of his -- some guy named Justin Verlander.
Asked Sunday if he'd mentioned to Verlander which Detroit Tigers starter has made that list and which hasn't, Scherzer flashed a smile as wide as the Ambassador Bridge.
"Oh yeah," he replied, with a thoroughly enjoyable chuckle.
You can read the entire article at http://espn.go.com/blog/spring-training/post/_/id/802/max-scherzer-could-be-poised-for-stardom.
In other Tigers news, a scary situation for the team’s relief pitcher Brayan Villarreal, who’s family was attacked and by three masked men at a home in Venezuela. You can read more on this horrible story at http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2013/story/_/id/9010029/family-home-detroit-tigers-brayan-villarreal-attacked-venezuela.
Finally, here are the standings for the 2013 World Baseball Classic as of 9 a.m. EST.
Pool A
Japan 2-0
Cuba 2-0
Brazil 0-2
China 0-2
Pool B
Chinese Taipei 2-0
Netherlands 1-1
Korea 0-1
Australia 0-1
Pool C
Venezuela 0-0
Dominican Republic 0-0
Puerto Rico 0-0
Spain 0-0
Pool D
Mexico 0-0
Italy 0-0
Canada 0-0
United States 0-0
*For more, log on to http://espn.go.com/extra/baseball/wbbc/standings.
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