A big reason Detroit should challenge the Twins all season is the bullpen. Tigers relievers entered the weekend leading the majors with a 2.56 ERA, and the Twins were next at 2.66. Jose Valverde, the Tigers' new closer, had converted 10 consecutive save opportunities and made 15 straight scoreless appearances since the second game of the season.
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When the Royals replaced Trey Hillman as manager, there was this from Joe Posnanski's incomparable blog (joeposnanski.com): "When a manager gets fired, a team almost always hires the exact opposite ... and so the Royals hired Ned Yost to fill in. Yost has plenty of experience -- he played parts of six seasons, was bullpen coach for some great Atlanta teams in the 1990s and was manager of the Brewers for six seasons. His managerial experience was mixed ... but the point seems to be that unlike Hillman, he certainly understands the inner workings of a big league baseball team. And for now, that's what matters in Kansas City."
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Cleveland's Jake Westbrook beat the Royals on Tuesday for his first victory since April 8, 2008. But the Indians kept up their light-hitting ways. Grady Sizemore, who averaged 25 home runs per year for five seasons, hadn't homered in his first 121 at-bats.
