2007 Michigan Preview: The Offense

Let's just get this out of the way real early: Michigan's offense is going to be DYN-O-MITE in 2007. I can't remember the last time they had an offense this talented, maybe the 2000 season with Anthony Thomas and Drew Henson and David Terrell and co.?

Quarterbacks

Chad Henne (Senior)

Career stats: 666/1109, 60.1%, 7777 yards, 70 TDs, 28 INTs

What's left to say about the kid that will own virtually every Michigan passing record in the books? He's a 4th year starter, a natural leader, and has a cannon for an arm. The only thing left in his sights is beating Ohio State and winning a bowl game. Look for him to have another big season in 2007 because he is surrounded by the most talent he has ever had at Michigan.



Ryan Mallett (Freshman)

The first QB recruit to ever enroll early at Michigan, this kid has all the talent in the world. If something happens to Henne, he is first in line at the backup spot but that would be asking a lot from a true freshman. Then again, Henne himself lead Michigan to the Rose Bowl as a true freshman starter and he wasn't as talented as this kid. 6'7" with a cannon arm and deceptive mobility, he could be a star some day.


David Cone (RS Freshman)

This kid fits every stereotype you can think of for a Michigan QB. He's tall (6'6"), slow a foot, and has a strong arm. Not highly touted coming out of high school in Georgia, he redshirted last year learning the system and will battle Ryan Mallett for the backup job this fall.


Tailbacks

Mike Hart (Senior)

Career stats: 750 carries, 3679 yards, 27 rushing TDs, 59 receptions, 516 yards, 2 receiving TDs

Michigan Mike Hart is the heart and soul of Michigan's team. He bleeds maize and blue and is the most outspoken person you will find on the team. Nobody is more able or willing to put the entire team on their back and carry them in crunch time. He's on pace to be Michigan's all time leading rusher, breaking Anthony Thomas' record of 4.472 yards. He also has a chance to join Jamie Morris and Anthony Thomas with 6000 career all purpose yards. Despite his small stature, Hart is a strong inside runner that rarely turns the ball over. He lacks blazing speed, but can crank out 5 and 10 yard runs all day long to keep the chains moving.



Brandon Minor (Sophomore)

Career stats: 42 carries, 238 yards, 2 TDs, 1 reception, 9 yards

Brandon Minor showed up last year and was about 4th or 5th on the depth chart behind guys like Mike Hart, Kevin Grady, and Carlos Brown. In the end, he ended up 2nd on the team in rushing behind Hart. Minor was a bit of an unknown coming out of high school in Richmond, Virginia. When he showed up on campus, however, his combination of size (210 lbs), breakaway speed, and rushing instincts were apparent. A homerun hitter in the backfield, he had a pair of 40 yard carries last year. With Kevin Grady sidelined with a torn ACL, Minor has the backup spot all to himself this year and will be looking to make big things happen.





Carlos Brown (Sophomore)

Career stats: 16 carries, 44 yards, 0 TDs

Carlos was a highly touted speed back out of South Carolina who chose to come north and play Big Ten football for Michigan. Unfortunately he ended up buried on the depth chart last year and bounced around between CB and TB during spring practice. He's back full time at TB for now and is looking to get some more action in 2007.



Wide Receivers


Mario Manningham (Junior)

Career stats: 65 receptions, 1136 yards, 15 TDs

Super Mario made an impact as a true freshman with 100 yards against Wisconsin and 2 TDs in the comeback win against Penn State, but he didn't even begin to make his mark until his 2006 sophomore campaign. After not seeing much action in 2 warmups to start the year, he exploded in the next 3 games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Minnesota with 381 yards and 6 TDs. His season would get derailed with a shoulder injury, but not before firmly stamping his place amongst the favorites for the Biletnikoff in 2007. He isn't the tallest WR in the country (only 6'0") and he isn't a track star, but he might be the best at keeping his speed in and out of breaks which makes him nearly uncoverable on deep routes. His double moves are ankle breaking and he frequently makes great corners look bad.



Adrian Arrington (RS Junior)

Career stats: 42 receptions, 556 yards, 8 TDs

Adrian has battled everything from homesickness to injuries to off the field problems in Ann Arbor, but he's a dangerous receiving threat that perfectly complements Manningham and helps form one of the most dangerous duos in the country. He's a big target in the Marquise Walker mold that knows how to use his body to get open and has very good hands. He really stepped up against Iowa and Penn State last year with Manningham out and came up with 13 catches for 162 yards. Expect big things this year from Arrington as opponents focus their coverage on Manningham leaving him to pick on lesser DBs, much to Chad Henne's delight.



Greg Mathews (Sophomore)

Career stats: 7 receptions, 68 yards, 0 TDs

Those aren't big numbers for Mathews, but as a true freshman and the #4 receiver last year they are exactly in line with what former Michigan greats have done in their debut seasons. Mathews is big and very strong and has great hands. Already a great blocker, he'll get plenty of throws his way as he slides into Steve Breaston's spot as the #3 WR.



Some candidates for the #4 WR spot include true freshman Junior Hemingway, Zion Babb, and Toney Clemons, along with redshirt freshman LaTerryal Savoy. Nobody knows who will win that competition, but rest assured that they will be very talented and have beaten out some other great players.


Tight Ends

Mike Massey (RS Junior)

Career stats: 16 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TDs

The younger brother of Pat, Mike is going to be thrust into the starting gig this year after the losses of Tyler Ecker to graduation and Carson Butler to stupidity. He's a good blocker and has good hands, but needs to work on being more consistent with his route running.



Chris McLaurin (RS Sophomore)

McLaurin has not played any TE for Michigan yet, but he's an interesting prospect with good size and speed. He'll be firmly in the running for the backup TE spot this year.

Carson Butler (RS Sophomore)

Career stats: 19 receptions, 166 yards, 1 TD

Butler's status on the team is still being worked out. He was thrown off the team this past offseason after an altercation with a fellow student and the filing of assault charges. Well, charges against Butler will ultimately dropped and he's trying to beg his way back on to the team. That status has yet to be determined. What doesn't have to be determined is his talent level. He's a phenomenal athlete who could be an NFL TE someday if he caught the ball more consistently. I have no idea if he will be back on the team at any point this year.

Offensive Line

We'll just tackle this as one group. Why? Offensive lineman never get any recognition anyway. Here are some of the guys in contention for major playing time:

Jake Long (RS Senior)
Alex Mitchell (RS Junior)
Adam Kraus (RS Senior)
Justin Boren (Sophomore)
Stephen Schilling (RS Freshman)
Mark Ortmann (RS Sophomore)
Corey Zirbel (RS Sophomore)
Jeremy Ciulla (RS Junior)
David Moosman (RS Sophomore)

The starters at this point figure to be Long at LT, Schilling at RT, Kraus and Mitchell at guard, and Boren at C. Jake Long is as good as they get on the college level. He would've been a likely top 10 pick if he came out last year. Now? Look out award shows and All American lists, because he's coming to collect some hardware. The rest of the line isn't quite as dominant, but the potential is there. Take a look at that list again. Aside from the fact that there are only 2 seniors on it, you might also notice the lack of a redshirt next to Justin Boren's name. In 2006, he became only the 4th true freshman OL in modern times to start for Michigan joining Bubba Paris, Tom Dixon, and Dean Dingman.

As for the line as a whole, run blocking figures to be their strength. Schilling and Long and Boren are all quite capable of pushing people around. In pass protection, the youngsters might make some slips but Long will have Henne's blindside on lockdown. All in all it's a very good line that should dominate the LOS in most games.




Synopsis

What's not to like? Michigan's got the offensive line, the quarterback, the tailback, and the wide receivers to match up with any defense they play. USC is probably the only team in the country with as much talent on the offensive side of the ball. Michigan does, however, have a reputation for being pretty conservative with the playcalling and not going for the jugular when they get a lead, instead being content to sit on the ball and grind out the clock. With some question marks on defense, the 2007 Michigan offense might feel pressure to air it out and put points on the board every week. If so, look out. They've got the talent to win some shootouts. I figure somewhere around 32-33 points per game on the season is well within reach.

It's Almost Football Time

Blogging offseason is going to be winding to a close sometime soon as the joy and majesty that is college football is about to return in a few short weeks. Recruiting news just doesn't do much for me, so you'll have to get your Sam McGuffie fix elsewhere. I'll try to get some previews of the 2007 Michigan Offense and Defense up and perhaps a little schedule analysis (hint: it's nicely set up).

Pitching

The Tigers have pitching and lots of it. Since Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson are now back and rookie league ball has opened play this past week, let's talk a little bit about the Tigers current and future pitchers. Who better to start with than the 2 young studs of the rotation, Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman.

Justin Verlander - 24 years old, RHP. You might have noticed that he tossed a no hitter last week. What you might not have noticed is that his strikeout rate has been steadily climbing this year which is a phenomenal sign for the future of this star in the making. Last year, Justin put up good W/L and ERA numbers, but his K numbers were very mundane. You might say, so what? But strikeout rates are excellent predictors of future success. It was a bit of a strange stat, however, because Verlander had excellent strikeout numbers in both college and the minors and it looks like he has finally regained the magic touch.

2007 stats: 9-2, 2.78 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 7.89 K/9, 3.15 BB/9, 0.74 HR/9

What this means for the future? I believe it is spelled A-C-E. The kid is holding opponents to a paltry .213/.299/328 hitting line this year which is awesome for a 24 year old. If he continues to get better, their will be multiple Cy Youngs in his future.


Jeremy Bonderman - 24 years old, RHP. If Verlander has been Batman this year, Bonderman is definitely Robin. He got no luck in his first five starts with all no decisions, but now he is getting the run support and has run off 8 consecutive victories. Once again this year, he's a little bit snake bit from the defense putting up excellent peripheral stats but struggling just a bit with the ERA. The good news is, though, that he just keeps getting better every single year.

2007 stats: 8-0. 4.01 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 7.92 K/9, 1.73 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9

What this means for the future? He better wear shades it's so bright. His season long numbers are nearly identical to Verlander's which is scary good. I mean 4.5 strikeouts for every walk? Puts him in elite company. If he ever figures out how to throw a good change consistently, he might have an even higher ceiling than Verlander (if that's even possible). As for now, Verlander appears to be putting it together after his no-no so I'll give him the teeniest edge.


Andrew Miller - 22 years old, LHP. This kid is likely the future 3rd member of a dominant trio alongside Verlander and Bonderman (Millanderman?). Tonight, he'll make his 4th big league start in Atlanta on ESPN's game of the week. He's a big kid with a good fastball and a great slider. His forte is inducing groundballs, but he can also get the punch out.

2007 stats: 2-1, 3.63 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 4.67 BB/9, 1.56 HR/9

What it means for the future? Miller will likely get hit a little bit this year. He also still needs to work on his control. But his kid has a future as a strikeout and groundout machine from the leftside which blends in nicely with the righthanded power arms the Tigers already have.


Kenny Rogers - 42 years old, LHP. The Gambler was last seen in October hurling 23 consecutive shutout innings in one of the greatest single postseason performances I have ever seen by a pitcher. He missed the first 2.5 months of the season after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot from his left arm. Yesterday, he returned with a vengeance to the Tigers rotation hurling 6 shutout innings.

2007 stats: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 7.50 K/9, 0.00 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9

What it means for the future? Kenny might not have many years left for the Tigers (is this his last?) but he has plenty of gas in the tank to be a very good pitcher in 2007. The past few years he has done better in the first half of the season before faltering down the stretch. Considering he is just now getting going, it isn't unreasonable to think he might be able to power through the rest of the season with his A stuff. He also is a great resource for the youngsters in the rotation and I suspect he'll have some excellent teaching points for Andrew Miller.


Nate Robertson - 29 years old, LHP. Coming into this season, Nasty Nate had lowered his ERA in each of his first 5 seasons in the bigs. In 2007, he got off to a hot start before getting shelled in May. A stint on the 15 day DL for a "dead arm" is over and he'll back in the rotation this week. Will he return to his old self? Well, 6 innings of no hit ball in AA suggest he will which would be excellent news for the team.

2007 stats: 4-6, 5.07 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 4.66 K/9, 3.29 BB/9, 1.23 HR/9

What does it mean for the future? I think it is quite likely that Nate did have a dead arm and if he gets his stuff back he should return to being a very good left handed starter capable of an ERA around 4.00 and some decent strikeout numbers. If not, he might be trade bait this offseason.


Chad Durbin - 29 years old, RHP. The Durbinator had a good 2006 for the Mudhens and basically took Kenny Rogers spot in the rotation this year. His MLB career to date was nothing to write home about, however he has been a major bright spot in 2007 for the Tigers even allowing them to trade both Mike Maroth and Wil Ledezma.

2007 stats: 6-3, 4.37 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 4.71 K/9, 3.44 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9

What this means for the future? He's got himself a spot locked down as a long reliever and spot starter with his quality work this year.


Zach Miner - 25 years old, RHP. It's hard to believe this kid is only 25, but he is and he is actually a pretty good pitcher. He has worked out of the pen this year after being the #5 starter last year, but his numbers are even better this year.

2007 stats: 0-1, 2.38 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 7.15 K/9, 2.38 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9

What this means for the future? Sure it's only been a little over 11 innings out of the pen this year, but Miner is a keeper. His career ERA now sits at 4.57 and for a ground ball pitcher his 2/1 K/BB ratio over his career is very nice. He is a solid player and would be a nice #5 starter for nearly any team in the league. As it stands, he is just another cog in the Tigers pitching machine.

How about off to the minor leagues now? Apologies to guys like Eugolio De La Cruz and Joel Zumaya, but your future is in the bullpen and I'm not talking about that today.

Jon Connolly - 23 years old, LHP, Toledo Mudhens. This lefty has already been traded once from the Tigers and then resigned as a free agent. This year, he has regained some confidence and has pitched well between Erie and Toledo.

2007 stats (combined): 4-3, 3.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 6.08 K/9, 2.22 BB/9, 0.70 HR/9

What this means for the future? All around, those are excellent numbers for a 23 year old between AA and AAA. He has really been tough to hit and has also shown excellent control. He is making quite a resurgence this year on the prospect lists and now probably has to be considered one of the better young pitchers in the Tigers organization. He will, however, need to show this isn't a fluke by continuing to pitch well in the 2nd half because thse numbers are significantly better than 2006 across the board.


Virgil Vasquez - 24 years old, RHP, Toledo Mudhens. Virgil got called up to make 1 start for Detroit this year and got shelled. Fortunately, he has been doing much better in Toledo.

2007 stats: 7-2, 4.37 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9.42 K/9, 2.64 BB/9, 1.61 HR/9

What it means for the future? Virgil is a good pitching prospect. He doesn't have dominant stuff, but still strikes out a ton of batters. You'll notice his K rate is the highest of any player listed thus far. However, his HR allowed rate is also the highest and he has never been known as a ground ball pitcher. Doesn't seem like a super high ceiling kind of guy, but he could blossom into a solid #3 starter in the bigs in 3-4 years. Then again, that would probably make him a #5 at best in Detroit so he could definitely be trade bait.


Jordan Tata - 25 years old, RHP, Toledo Mudhens. Tata was a very good pitching prospect last year, but he missed the first 2 months of this season with injury. He's back now, and slowly getting his stuff back.

2007 stats: 1-1, 3.91 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 3.91 K/9, 3.52 BB/9, 1.56 HR/9

What it means for the future? Depends on how he bounces back the rest of the year. If he keeps improving and gets back to where he was last year, he's as good as Vasquez. His numbers through 5 starts, however, are not very good in the K or BB areas. We'll have to wait and see how the 2nd half of the year goes.


Jair Jurrjens - 21 years old, RHP, Erie Seawolves. This kid has always been very young for his age. He has also thrived on excellent control thus far in his minor league career.

2007 stats: 2-3, 3.80 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 6.10 K/9, 3.12 BB/9, 0.27 HR/9

What it means for the future? Jair is walking a few more batters this year which is making his WHIP suffer. He is, however, nearly impossible to hit a HR off allowing only 2 through 66 1/3 innings on the season so far. Last year he only allowed 11 through 140 innings so this isn't really a fluke. He has fallen off a little from his past performance, but he's still really young and the strikeout rate isn't bad and the HR rate is amazing. Still gotta think of him as a very good pitching prospect.


Dallas Trahern - 21 years old, RHP, Erie Seawolves. This kid is a groundball specialist from the right side. He has steadily moved through the Tigers system and now finds himself quite young for the Eastern League and still performing well. In all actuality, he has actually played better this year than in the past and is really moving up in the prospect world.

2007 stats: 10-3, 3.25 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 4.87 K/9, 2.64 BB/9, 0.51 HR/9

What it means for the future? You can tell by his WHIP and K numbers that his ERA has been a little on the lucky side. However, he has pretty good control and his insane ground ball rate helps keep the HRs to a bare minimum. Considering his age and the league, he has put himself up alongside some of the best pitching prospects in the organization.


Christopher Cody - 23 years old, LHP, Lakeland Tigers. This steady lefty out of Manhattan College just got the move up to Lakeland from West Michigan. It's well deserved as he was tearing up the Midwest League. He's still a bit old for Lakeland, but if he tears it up he'll be in Erie or Toledo next season.

2007 stats (MWL) - 5-5, 1.77 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 9.07 K/9, 1.48 BB/9, 0.10 HR/9

What it means for the future? Hard to say. He flat out dominated in the Midwest League with scary good numbers across the board. Then again, he is 23 and should be dominating that level of competition in a very good pitchers park. But the park has nothing to do with those K and BB numbers. If he puts up big numbers in Lakeland this year, he might be the real deal. Not like Verlander/Zumaya/Miller good, but very good (especially for a lefty).


Lucas French - 21 years old, LHP, Lakeland Tigers. He isn't as dominant as Cody, but he's 2 years younger and has spent the whole year in Lakeland already.

2007 stats - 4-5, 3.74 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 6.35 K/9, 1.93 BB/9, 1.02 HR/9

What it means for the future? He's got pretty good numbers at an age appropriate league and he's a 6'4" lefthander. Sounds like a solid MLB prospect to me.


Ramon Garcia - 22 years old, LHP, West Michigan. This kid just made his 2007 debut after missing the 2nd half of 2006 and the first 2 months of 2007 with arm problems (I don't recall the details). In 2006, he dominated the Midwest League as much as Cody did this year (and he was 2 years younger) with a 1.92 ERA and 5 times as many Ks as BBs.

2007 stats: 0-1, 27.00 ERA, 3.86 WHIP, 3.86 K/9, 3.86 BB/9, 3.86 HR/9

What it means for the future? It will be interesting to see if he can regain his touch from last year. He as obviously brilliant in 2006, but got rocked in his first start of 2007. I have no idea how likely it is that he can once again find his dominating stuff.


That's about it for the Tigers major pitching prospects at this point. There are other guys out there like Jonah Nickerson that still have a lot to prove before getting mentioned with these players.

As it stands right now, I'd rank the Tigers minor league pitching prospects as follows (not including Andrew Miller who is up to stay):

1) Virgil Vasquez
2) Dallas Trahern
3) Jair Jurrjens
4) Jon Connolly
5) Christopher Cody
6) Jordan Tata
7) Ramon Garcia
8) Lucas French

Detroit's Justin Verlander Throws No-Hitter

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander was throwing 100 MPH heat on Tuesday night and in the process threw the sixth no hitter in Tigers history.

The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year came back with the game of his career, striking out 12. He benefited from several stellar defensive plays, the best by Neifi Perez, who turned a possible single up the middle in the eighth into an inning-ending double play.

Verlander (7-2) worked around four walks in the Tigers’ first no-hitter since Jack Morris in 1984.

The 24-year-old trotted to the mound for the ninth to a standing ovation from the crowd of 33,555.

“I had way too much adrenaline, to be honest,” Verlander said.

Amped up, he struck out Counsell and Tony Graffanino. That brought up J.J. Hardy, and Verlander had a momentary lapse, throwing a high breaking ball. At that point, Verlander stepped off the mound.

“I said, ‘Let’s get it back down,”‘ he said.

Verlander then got Hardy to lift a high fly ball that right fielder Magglio Ordonez caught at the edge of the warning track.

Verlander didn’t even see the ball settle into Ordonez’s glove.

“I wanted to watch the catch, but Pudge was yelling in my ear,” he said.

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was already at the mound and hugged Verlander as the pitcher wheeled around.

Verlander was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2006.

Andrew Miller versus Justin Verlander

Sure, they have their differences. Verlander is a RHP that was taken #3 overall from Old Dominion in the 2004 draft. Miller is a LHP that was taken #6 overall from North Carolina in the 2006 MLB draft. By know, you know Justin Verlander went 17-9 last year in Detroit and was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Andrew Miller got his cup of coffee in the big leagues in September in 2006 and went back to the minors this year.

Andrew Miller is on fire at AA Erie right now. His pitching is most probably most similar to what 22 year old Justin Verlander did in 2005 in the minors. Here is how they compare in a few categories by level (both started at Lakeland and then went to Erie).

Verlander
Lakeland - 13 starts, 86 innings, 9-2 record, 104 strikeouts, 19 walks, 70 hits, 1.03 WHIP, 1.67 ERA
Erie - 7 starts, 32.2 innings, 2-0 record, 32 strikeouts, 7 walks, 11 hits, 0.55 WHIP, 0.28 ERA

Miller
Lakeland - 7 starts, 41.1 innings, 1-4 record, 28 strikeouts, 15 walks, 43 hits, 1.40 WHIP, 3.48 ERA
Erie - 4 starts, 30.2 innings, 2-0 record, 24 strikeouts, 5 walks, 22 hits, 0.88 WHIP, 0.59 ERA


Not a bad start at Erie for Miller, huh? Looks even better if you throw in his 6 scoreless innings for the Tigers against St. Louis. But what can we expect from Andrew Miller in the future? Well, he's got a couple things going for him. For one, he's a lefty. Lefthanders with his stuff don't come around every day. He's also an extreme GB pitcher. In Lakeland he got 4.50 ground outs for every out made in the air (fly ball, line drive, pop up, etc). In Erie, he has bumped that up to 4.62 ground outs for every air out. Why do Ground Outs matter? Well, pitchers that have high ground ball rates and high strikeout rates are a rare bird. And I mean that in a good way. This post at The Baseball Analysts talks about MLB pitchers and GB% and K rate in 2006. Notice the names at the top of the list including Francisco Liriano, Brandon Webb, Jeremy Bonderman, John Smoltz, Roger Clemens, etc. It's good company to keep.

I'm not sure exactly when Miller will be in Detroit for good. After a slow start in Lakeland this year, he has certainly taken off in Detroit and Erie only allowing 2 runs over 36 innings pitched with excellent peripherals. A few months ago I would have laughed at any notion that he would be in Detroit for good this year. Now, I'm not sure. And I say that knowing Kenny Rogers and Joel Zumaya are coming back soon. I hope the Tigs keep him in the minors this entire season and keep him starting all year and limit him to 180 innings or less. I'd love to see him make the rotation next spring alongside Bonderman and Verlander was one of the best young pitching staffs in the majors and a foundation for the Tigers for years to come.

You Better Recognize

As much as I love Curtis Granderson, you just have to give it up for Magglio Ordonez right now. He is just crushing the ball. 4-4 today with another 3 RBI leading the Tigers to a 12-0 win and series win over the Angels.

He is hands down at the front of the AL MVP race right now. Check out his stats and ranks in the American League.

Batting average - .361 (3rd)
Home runs - 12 (3rd)
Runs - 42 (1st)
Runs Batted In - 45 (1st)
Doubles - 23 (1st)
Extra Base Hits - 35 (1st)
On Base Percentage - .441 (3rd)
Slugging Percentage - .710 (1st)
OPS - 1.151 (1st)


Can you say WOW?!?!?!?! His lowest rank in any of those major stats is 3rd in the American League. This from a guy that was battling injuries the last few years and thought to be horribly overpaid by the Tigers when they signed him as a free agent. And let's not forget, he's the same guy that authored the single biggest moment in Tigers history in the last 20 years back in October.

Hi, My Name Is

Isn't it about time for Curtis Granderson to get a little recognition nationally? So far in 2007, he's off to a great start. Here are some of his ranks amongst American Leaguers:

8th in Slugging Percentage - .580
10th in OPS (On Base Percentage Plus Slugging Percentage) - .920
11th in Home Runs - 7
1st in Triples - 5
8th in Doubles - 12
12th in Stolen Bases - 6
2nd in Range Factor (amongst CF) behind Ichiro Suzuki



Come on, how can you not love a kid that plays the game like he does? And he's not even on the All Star ballot? Are you kidding me? He's one of only 2 players in the majors with at least 5 doubles, triples, home runs, and steals (Jimmy Rollins is the other).