Empty the Bench

By: Zachariah Blott

I know it’s a bit belated, but I wanted to put together a few lists that show some logo trends in the NBA over time and some great logos in other sports. Enjoy!

Again, all of these logos are found at Chris Creamer’s SportsLogos.net.

See Also:
– NBA Logo Report Cards, Pt. 1
– NBA Logo Report Cards, Pt. 2
– NBA Logo Report Cards, Pt. 3

Trends From the 1940’s Into the 1970’s

Early logos tended to use ridiculous cartoons of the mascot playing the sport.

Atlanta Hawks 1969/70

Denver Nuggets, 1976-1981

Ft. Wayne Pistons, 1948-1957

Houston Rockets, 1971/72

Milwaukee Bucks, 1968-1993

New York Knicks, 1946-1964

Philadelphia Warriors, 1951-1962

Trends From the 1970’s

Teams used super simple shapes and colors, akin to construction paper cut-outs. Apparently they had time machines back then and consulted with the South Park creators to see what they would have done in middle school.

1974/75 All Star Game in Phoenix

Buffalo Braves, 1971-1978

Golden State Warriors, 1972-1975

Indiana Pacers, 1976-1990

Kansas City Kings, 1975-1985

New Jersey Nets, 1978-1990

New Orleans Jazz, 1974-1979

Philadelphia 76ers, 1963-1977

Phoenix Suns, 1968-1992

San Diego Clippers, 1978-1982

Washington Bullets, 1974-1987

More logo trends and awards from around sports, after the jump …

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Professional baseball players, in general, are pigs. They dip. They spit. They have a fascination with adjusting their genitals. They have massive guts and ’90s-style goatees. And, at least in the case of Hall of Famer George Brett, they shit their pants with some degree of regularity.

Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, this one’s worth watching in its entirety. Thanks to ETB reader Judd for the find.

ETB has a special treat for Detroit Tigers fans as we celebrate the team’s season-opener this afternoon against the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Curtis Granderson is the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Tigers, who’ll sport an offense that should challenge a few all-time scoring records this season. He’s also one of the nicest guys in baseball. The son of two educators, he’s one of only a handful of major league players with a college degree. Curtis does indeed take academic achievement seriously: his Grand Kids Foundation charity is dedicated to spearheading educational initiatives for youths as well as bringing baseball back to inner cities across the country.

On the field, he’s one of the American League’s brightest rising stars. As the leadoff hitter in a revamped lineup that has added the potent bats of Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria, he figures to score a ton of runs this season in addition to his typically stellar production across the board. He’s also one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, and last season joined Willie Mays, Frank Schulte and Jimmy Rollins as the only players in MLB history to record at least 20 home runs, 20 steals, 20 triples and 20 doubles in a single season.

Granderson will start the season on the DL because of a broken finger suffered in spring training, but should be back on the field by mid-April. He recently took the time to sit down with ETB and answer question ranging from his desire to steal more bases, his blogging and future broadcast career, his entrance music, and more.

Empty the Bench: Everybody knows you’ve got some wheels—you stole 26 bases last year and only got caught once. Do you want to run more on the basepaths? Think you could be a 40 steal guy in the near future?

Curtis Granderson: I would love to run, and feel that the potential to steal 40 plus bases is a possibility. I’m still learning when to run, and how to run from our first base coach Andy Van Slyke, and have already learned a lot, but still have room to learn.

ETB: You struggled versus lefties last year, but I know you’ve been working on hitting left-handed pitching this offseason. What kinds of things can you do to prepare for lefties, and what can you change in your approach at the plate?

Curtis Granderson: I need to continue to face more lefties and continue to get repetitions against them and for the most part that’s the main thing I can do to get better hitting them. In the past, I have been able to hit lefties, but this past year, they figured me out. My approach has to be to go the other way against them like I have done in the past when I had success and continue to stay positive.

ETB: You had some of the best entrance music in baseball last year. You putting together a new set of tunes for 2008? Got anything in mind? What albums have you been listening to lately?

Curtis Granderson: As for my entrance music I’m going to most likely stay old school again. Old school never really can get old. New music I still need to grab the new Lupe Fiasco CD and add it to the collection, and see what new is coming out this spring.

ETB: You did some work with TBS covering the 2007 MLB Playoffs this year. Do you see yourself getting into broadcasting sometime down the road? What about it appeals to you?

Curtis Granderson: The broadcasting was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I would like to get into it after baseball is done (hopefully a long time from now). The things I really liked about it are that I was talking about guys I’ve either played with or against, and able to remember what happened which made it a little bit easier to be able to commentate along side with Frank Thomas and Cal Ripken. Remember, I also got to commentate next to John Kruk and Dusty Baker over at ESPN.

ETB: You weren’t on the All Star Game ballot in 2007 because of Sheff, but you will be this year. How important is to you to make the All-Star Game? Is that a big goal of yours?

Curtis Granderson: It never has been a goal of mine to make an All-Star team. I think that the All-Star vote is a great accomplishment, but when you look at it, you are really only rewarding a player for what they have done for just over a half of a season. My goals are the end of the year awards which cover the entire season (gold glove, silver slugger, players association all-outfield team, etc…) If I do happen to make an All-Star team, I will be extremely happy and I hear it’s a great experience, but I’ll have to leave and get right back to finishing up that second half.

Much more from Mr. Curtis Granderson after the jump…

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Yowzers. This is probably the most athletic play we’re going to see on the basepaths this season. Note how the act of jumping over a human being doesn’t even slow him down when he touches down. Joey is such an exciting player, a freak on the basepaths and able to cover so much ground in the outfield, and I’d like to see more of him. That .266 career batting average has prevented him from reaching 80 games in any season so far, but with a .307 BA and .371 OBP in 74 games last year perhaps we’ll be seeing the 26-year-old do more of this in 2008:

We shouldn’t be too surprised by Mr. Gathright’s leaping ability at this point though if you recall this clip we posted last April. He is the man:

We’re still about 21 hours from Major League Baseball’s 2007 Trade Deadline, but the moves are already pouring in. This afternoon saw a few significant trades that will have an impact in fantasy baseball, this year’s pennant chases and the near future of several franchises. In the early going, Atlanta has to be considered a major winner so far, making moves to shore up their bullpen and offensive lineup. A couple of closer situations have also been shaken up in the last few hours, so let’s get to it.

The Mark Teixeira Deal: This is a major coup for the Braves this season, but a bittersweet deal for some Atlanta faithful as they’re giving up a big chunk of their future. The folks over at Start Salty, who have spearheaded the ‘Be American !!! Join The KeepSalty Campaign’, are likely crying tears as big as horse turds in their domestic beers tonight. That’s because the biggest piece in this deal after Teixeira is Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a catcher/first baseman and one of the game’s most promising offensive prospects who should be a 30 HR/100 RBI hitter sooner than later. As they put it, “Saltalamacchia is currently in a slump, but is still the future of Major League Baseball.” However, nobody should be more upset right now than Philadelphia Phillies fans who have seen their team’s best player injured and their closest rival in the standings make immediate improvements. From my perspective, it’s still going to be a hard fought battle, but the Braves have overtaken the Phils for the Wild Card berth despite still being one game back.

The full deal has Texas sending Teixeira and Ron Mahay to Atlanta in exchange for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz and a player to be named later (likely injured 22-year-old top pitching prospect Matt Harrison). Salty will likely start at first base in Texas for the balance of the season and makes an interesting fantasy addition, one who should certainly be picked up in all AL-Only leagues with his Catcher eligibility. Meanwhile, in addition to gaining Salty the Rangers got two legitimate top prospects in Andrus and the injured Harrison. Elvis Andrus is an 18-year-old shortstop with a very promising future.

Even though Teixeira is just 27 years of age, this is a move for the present. Atlanta wasn’t going anywhere with their glaring need of offensive production from first base (Their 1Bs have combined for a .211 BA, .270 OBP and .363 SLG- ranking last in MLB in all three categories). Tex is in the midst of a down year, but he has averaged 38 home runs over the last three seasons, is coming off of consecutive Gold Glove campaigns and is now in line for a monster finish to his season batting in a lineup that can give him more RBI opportunities and protection. Mahay is a mediocre middle reliever, but he will fill some of the void left by the Mike Gonzales injury.

The Octavio Dotel Deal: That Dotel was on the trading block and that Atlanta was a possible destination wasn’t news, but that the Braves were able to pull off trades for two of the more high-profile names available within a matter of hours was a bit surprising. It’s not confirmed who will be heading to Kansas City yet, but no matter what the fallout from the Royal’s perspective isn’t going to be too bad because there’s no way they were going to become competitive while Dotel was still effective and they already had two solid options for their closer of the future (Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria). Right now it looks like it will be AAA RHP Kyle Davies. The other possible names involved would be Yunel Escobar (unlikely), shortstop Brent Lillibridge, RHP Tommy Hanson or outfielder Jordan Schafer.

The move means that Joakim Soria will inherit closing duties for the Royals, and he needs to be added in all leagues. He’s posted tremendous numbers this season (2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP .194 BAA, 51 Ks and 10 SVs in 44.1 innings), has been on fire over the last month (2.31 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 15 Ks, 2 BBs in 11.2 innings) and he’s in line for around 10 SVs over the final two months.

On the other side of the ledger, Dotel loses most of his fantasy value. He’ll be a setup man for the Braves. Even if behemoth Bob Wickman were to be injured again or suffer a bad spell, Rafael Soriano would likely be the next in line to close out games. He’s been in a slump recently, but Soriano is their closer of the future, he’s had a solid season and he filled in admirably for Wickman earlier this season.

Atlanta may not be done yet, either. While Reports are trickling in that they are currently in negotiations for Bronson Arroyo of the Reds, looking to bolster the middle of their starting rotation.

The Ty Wigginton Deal: There were a number of teams in the market for the versatile Wigginton, including the Twins and Yankees, but the Astros won the auction on Saturday. They shipped extremely valuable middle reliever Dan Wheeler to Tampa Bay after watching Morgan Ensberg flounder for the last year and a half. Ensberg has been designated for assignment, but it’s a curious move despite Morgan’s struggles. He boasts a career OPS 70 points better than Wiggy, gets on base more, strikes out less and has a better glove in the field. Still, Ensberg has fallen a long way since his 2005 season in which he knocked 35 home runs and was one of the best 3Bs in baseball. Wigginton should post solid fantasy numbers for the rest of the season in HRs, RBIs and Runs with an offense that can better protect him and knock him in.

The Luis Castillo Deal: Ladies and gentlemen: let the Alexi Casilla era begin! Ok, maybe I’m the only one excited about the youngster whose skill set is eerily similar to a young Castillo. Hell, Ron Gardenhire will probably end up starting Nick Punto the rest of the season anyways. Castillo is a nice upgrade for the Mets defensively. He’s still rangy and has only committed 9 total errors over the last two seasons with the Twins. An extreme ground-ball hitter (He’s led MLB in ground ball percentage for the last four seasons), Luis pounds the ball into the dirt and excels at getting on base with infield hits. He should continue to do so for the Mets, and will score a bunch of runs if they hit him anywhere in the top of that order (Right now he looks like he’ll be plugged into the two hole . . . get your mind out of the gutter). He’ll also likely steal some bases if Rickey Henderson, Joe Reyes & Co rub off- he does have 315 career SBs, though a bulk of those coming with the Marlins. The Twins acquired outfielder Dustin Martin and catcher Drew Butera. Um, I don’t have much to say about those two.

Other moves and potential moves: The Phillies nabbed perennial disappointment RHP Kyle Lohse from the Reds (for LHP Matt Maloney), who doesn’t warrant much consideration in fantasy leagues but could be a capable 5th starter . . . The Red Sox are making a run for Eric Gagne, which would all but ruin his fantasy value, but would make probable closer Akinori Otsuke a valuable commodity again once he’s fully healthy . . . The Red Sox also want Jermaine Dye, but will not part with either Manny Delcarmen or Justin Masterson along with Wily Mo Pena in any deal . . . Felix Pie will not be on the move, and that’s a good thing for Cub fans. This kid is going to be a player in then ext few years . . . Dan Wheeler could already be on the move again . . . The Dan Wheeler trade means Chad Qualls will be the primary setup man in Houston and the backup for Brad Lidge as closer should he, you know, spontaneously combust again . . .

Writing about Pat Neshek all afternoon inspired me to visit his website again, where I was greeted with some wonderful Midwestern sentiment (“I really have no purpose for this page. I figured hey, why not start a webpage about my life . . . “). He’s really an amazing guy, you have to check out all the auctions and other efforts he does for charity. He also wasn’t too proud to post fan videos about himself campaigning for Neshek to win MLB’s Final Vote contest to secure that last All-Star roster spot. Hey, the guy deserved it. Unfortunately, he lost out to another player mentioned in the fantasy pitchers article below, Hideki Okajima.

That does nothing to diminish the efforts:

But man I need you guys to vote, vote and vote [ . . . ] it’s unlimited voting…tell everyone you know and come together and get creative we have like 5 days or something! We need everyone, all Minnesotan’s, all graphers , fans of baseball and yes everyone in Yankee Nation ( and we know why!) I seriously would like to promise everyone All Star balls or jerseys for voting but it might be a stretch…I will promise this [ . . . ] multiple updates each day letting everyone know what the heck goes on behind closed doors, I will always inscribe anything with All Star 07…dont even have to ask.

The Minnesota attitude and accents (below) really bring me back. Fargo was hyperbole, but it really wasn’t that far off. We are good people and we do sound like that. Joel and Ethan Coen are from St. Louis Park, MN after all.

If you need anything signed or want to trade signed hockey/baseball cards for my cards send items with SASE to:

Pat Neshek C/O Minnesota Twins
Metrodome
34 Kirby Puckett Place
Minneapolis, MN 55415

You have to appreciate a player who’s an emerging star and still just seems like a regular guy who happens to play baseball. For a while he even kept track of every letter fans sent him and posted their names on his site.

Enjoy the no-budget goodness:

With th All-Star break approaching it’s a great opportunity to take the few minutes you would have put into lineup decisions and evaluate the state of your fantasy baseball squad. The most important thing you can do it to look at the overall standings and see where teams are clustered in a certain category. You’ll also want to take a look at where potential trading partners stand so you can make an offer that will get their attention. For example, if there’s only one other team ahead of you in steals and the next guy is 20 back, it might be time to sell off some of those coveted SBs to a team in the middle of the pack who’s desperate for a boost and will value them more than you. And that one guy in front of you? He’s probably not willing to pay a fair price for Brian Roberts. If there are three of four teams within 15 or fewer home runs, then buying low on a power hitter like Paul Konerko, Ryan Howard, Lance Berkman, Troy Glaus, Jim Thome, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira or Travis Hafner will serve you well. Given their talent and track records, we know the best part of their season is yet to come.

For today though, we’re going to take a look at pitching. Specifically, buy-low players who may even be on the waiver wire or in your free agent pool that can give your team a boost down the stretch. As the season gets further along WHIP, ERA, K/BB and the other ratio stats you may use for pitching will become more and more difficult to make up ground in so the time to take action is now. Those are also categories where most leagues tend to have logjams in the rankings as well. Here’s a short list of the guys ETB recommends looking at to right your pitching ship, starting with a strategy that can pay immediate dividends: grabbing middle relievers. Obviously, your league size and format greatly impact the value of these hurlers so take that into consideration before doing anything drastic.

Pat Neshek, RP, MN: There’s nothing wrong with stud closer Joe Nathan, but that didn’t stop Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire from saying Wednesday that Mr. Neshek has the mentality to be a closer. Nathan will be the man in Minnesota as long as he’s under contract (through next season), but this could be Gardy’s way of getting us used to the idea of Neshek taking the job in 2009. And of course, if Nathan ever went down for any reason this year Pat would instantly become one of the top five relief pitchers in fantasy baseball. After a stellar rookie season a year ago, it’s more of the same in 2007: a 1.74 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP and a 51/13 K/BB ratio in 41.1 innings pitched. On top of that, he has 4 wins in those 41 innings, making him a must-own in all formats.

To put that in perspective, if a starting pitcher totals 20 wins and over 200 Ks in his 200 innings pitched he’s on the short list of Cy Young candidates. If he does it with a 0.73 WHIP he’s had one of the best seasons in the history of fantasy baseball. There isn’t a fantasy squad in existence that couldn’t use a Pat Neshek. Now he probably won’t go over 85 innings this season, but that just means you need to have two of three of these types to make up for it instead of one stud starter and one or two mediocre ones.

Neshek is representative of a whole class of middle relievers who may have dominant numbers and a low ranking and trade value simply because their limited innings lead to low W and K totals relative to starters. Don’t let the rank throw you, these are quality players who can make a major contribution in your ratios. Target guys like Hideki Okajima (0.88 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 2 Ws, 4 SVs, 37 Ks in 41 innings), Heath Bell (1.45 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 51 Ks in 49.2 innings), Rafael Betancourt (1.19 ERA, 0.66 WHIP, 34 Ks and a K/BB of 11.33 in 37.2 innings), Scot Shields (1.81 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 2 Ws, 2 SVs, 42 Ks in 44.2 innings), Carlos Villanueva (2.75 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6 Ws, 54 Ks in 59 innings) and Jonathan Broxton (2.86 ERA, 1.20WHIP, 3 Ws, 54 Ks in 50 innings).

If they aren’t available as free agents, trade for them. They’re often easy guys to convince another manager to ‘throw in’ as part of a package because the manager doesn’t think he’ll miss them too much. Three other super subs in this category that also have a good shot at taking over closer duties this season are Zack Greinke, Carlos Mármol and Rafael Soriano . . .

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- Fed up with the play of his White Sox, Ozzie Guillen apologizes to fans, says the team is a joke, and asserts that we thought he was a good manager when the team was winning. No, Ozzie, we actually never thought that.

- Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Ian Snell wants to clear the air: he was done cooking, for chrissakes, and was simply cleaning out the edge of the burner. What’s the big deal?

- Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks on signing Juan Gonzalez to a two-year, $24 million deal back in 2002: “Juan Gonzalez, for $24 million, after he came off steroids probably… we just gave that money away.”

- Elijah Dukes, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder who impregnated a 17-year-old girl on his step-grandmother’s living room sofa, calls into a sports talk-radio station and confirms that his mother never smoked crack, but he knows how much it costs in “the hood.”

- You could say the Detroit Tigers’ collective bats are coming alive; as a team, they’re batting an outrageous .333 so far in the month of June.

- Pedro Martinez is still officially a Major League pitcher. No, really. He’s throwing bullpen sessions now, should be facing real batters in practice in a few weeks, and succumbing to another significant injury in about a month.

- This is probably nothing new to Washington Nationals fans (all seven of you), but one of these guys–we can’t pinpoint exactly who it is–has a nasty, filthy habit of chewing gum during live broadcasts. Loudly. Can someone in management please ask him to stop?

- Frank Thomas is trying. Oh, lord, how he is trying.

- 2006 National League Manager of the Year Joe Girardi is being mentioned as a strong candidate to fill the same position for the Baltimore Orioles. He may have been/still is stalling in hopes of taking over for Joe Torres in New York, but a managerial job is a managerial job.

- Johan Santana is back on track, throwing just 92 pitches (!!) last night against the Mets in a complete-game shutout win, 9-0. Oddly enough, however, he did it while only recording one strikeout. “I wasn’t even trying to strike anybody out. I didn’t even get to two strikes,” Santana said. “I’ll trade my strikeouts for all those kind of outs right there because it’s quicker.”

ETB had a conversation the other week about MLB closers, and we came to a general conclusion that the Detroit Tigers’ all-time leader in saves, Todd Jones, is very likely the “worst good closer” in baseball. Surprisingly effective, among the league leaders in saves, but probably has the most underwhelming stuff in the majors when it comes to closers.

You don’t see many of these guys succeed by just throwing strikes and hoping for the best. Okay, that’s a little unfair and oversimplifying what Jones brings to the table when he takes the mound. He’s got nice movement on his curve, some decent off-speed pitches, and, well, he throws strikes, something a lot of pitchers–closers or otherwise–frequently struggle with. For the season, he’s 1-3 with a 5.86 ERA, 17 saves (out of 21 opportunities), and just 14 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. Hitters are batting a collective .304 against him thus far; not exactly the kind of numbers you’d expect to see from a guy ranked in the top 10 for saves in all of baseball. Are you comfortable with him as your fantasy team’s primary closer? Didn’t think so.

Boy howdy, does this guy know how to create drama. Case in point: last night, Jim Leyland brings him on in the ninth inning with the Tigers up 9-5 on the lightweight Washington Nationals. Jonesy then quickly takes his team on his trademark rollercoaster ride, yielding three runs before facing Dmitri Young with no outs and two men on. To his credit, his closer mentality then took over: he fanned Young, forced Austin Kearns into a fielder’s choice, and got Ronnie Belliard to ground out, preserving the 9-8 win for Detroit. Despite the win, afterwards Jones was frustrated and fed up:

Jones didn’t accept the ready excuse for his difficult inning, saying he was perfectly ready to pitch. But he wasn’t happy, either, complaining about the way he thinks he’s perceived. “I’m sick and tired of everybody poking fun at me, or whatever,” he said. “I’m trying to get three outs every night. It’s not a laughingstock, it’s somebody’s career. I’m trying to get outs whenever I can. I’m a grown man. I know how to get outs. And everyone wants to make fun of me.”

Todd, you seem like a good guy, a good teammate, and despite what some of your stats might indicate at the moment, you’re a good pitcher, too. There’s a very simple way to end the jokes, or the poking fun at you, or whatever it is you call it: simply help reduce the heart-attack rate in the metro Detroit area by firmly closing the door on the opposing team at a minimum 90% of the time you get the opportunity to do so.

- All on the Field thinks that because of an unwritten rule in professional baseball, NY Mets pitcher Jeff Maine should bean Hong Chih-Kuo next time they meet.

- Empty the Bench was all over Justin Verlander’s amazing no-hitter last night against the Milwaukee Brewers, but we weren’t the only ones to bear witness. Cheers to you, Justin Verlander.

- Home Run Derby tackles baseball’s best beards. We’ve always been partial to Rick Sutcliffe.

- All kinds of conflicting reports last week about whether or not Tigers ace middle reliever Joel Zumaya would pitch again this season (messed up middle finger). Yesterday, the man himself said he would definitely be back, perhaps as early as six weeks from now.

- Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes threw a bottle of Gatorade at his baby’s mama when he found out she’s pregnant. The Gatorade angle is a good one, but so is the fact that the 18-year-old got all detailed with investigators by telling them where, exactly, the babe was conceived (on his step-grandmother’s living room sofa). We could not confirm whether or not grandma protected her couch with that plastic casing stuff.

- Don’t forget to cast your vote for Placido Polanco as starting second baseman for the American League in next month’s All-Star Game in San Francisco, CA. He’s finally pulled ahead of the NY Yankees Robinson Cano. If you’re on the fence as to why, exactly, you should choose substance and performance over “someone you heard of,” Quo Vadimus breaks it down magnificently on why Polanco more than deserves your vote.

- Is this the worst excuse ever for striking out four times in one game? Sayeth Tony Graffanino: “I don’t know how it couldn’t be a distraction. [Seagulls] were flying all over the place. There’s nothing you can do about it. You have to stay focused. But I’d rather face [Verlander] without birds flying around.”

- The Minnesota Twins desperately need their ace, Johan Santana, to be at the top of his game (much) more often than not to keep pace in the stacked AL Central. So, what’s wrong with him and can he get “it” back?

- Who will be the next to beat the piss out of Chicago Cubs punching bag Michael Barrett?

- There is only one group of fans out there that still believes the Cleveland Cavaliers can come back and win four straight to take the NBA Finals away from the Spurs. That group of fans is not from Cleveland.

We thought it was impressive when Detroit Tigers ace right-hander Justin Verlander hit 99 mph on the radar gun in the 8th inning. But that was nothing–a few batters later, the defending AL Rookie of the Year clocked at 101 in the 9th inning! But that’s a footnote to his unbelievable performance: with all kinds of nasty, nasty, unhittable breaking balls and fastballs in his arsenal tonight, June 12, 2007, the 24-year-old became the first Tigers pitcher since Jack Morris did it during that magical 1984 season to toss a no-hitter. And the last time a Detroit hurler tossed a no-hitter at home? Virgil Trucks back on August 25, 1952, against the visiting New York Yankees.

The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t have a chance tonight. One after the other, one through nine in the batting order, the NL Central-leading Brews headed back to the dugout shaking their heads in confusion. Verlander did surrender a few walks, but more than made up for it with 12 count ‘em 12 strikeouts. I picked the game up in about the 5th inning, and as Verlander moved through the game he seemed to be picking up more and more steam, like a locomotive speeding down a downhill slope with its head engineer still shoveling as much coal into the engine as he could. He got some help from his friends, too, like early-season MVP candidate Magglio Ordonez making a sliding catch in the 7th, and utility infielder Neifi Perez teaming up with All-Star game bound Placido Polanco on an amazing double play in the 8th.

When it was all over, after Verlander had struck out the first two batters in the 9th, then forced J.J. Hardy into a fly out to right, the home crowd erupted like the Tigers had just won the World Series, and manager Jim Leyland was seen tearing up in the dugout (reports could not be verified that he was actually crying because he had misplaced his last pack of cigarettes). It’s hard to describe the sense of joy that was evident in Comerica Park after this one, from the fans on down to every single Tigers player in uniform. A no-hitter is certainly something that all teams hardily celebrate, but this particular one just seemed… special.

Here’s one guess why: everyone on hand–the fans in the crowd, the players, the home-viewing audience–feels like, just maybe, they just watched a young, talented kid take another big step towards becoming not just arguably the league’s best pitcher under 25, but one of its very best, period.

Ignore his lack of doctoral credentials. We don’t care if he’s only qualified to play third base, not give an accurate diagnosis of pitchers recovering from blood-clot surgery. With the Detroit Tigers’ pitching staff in disarray (yesterday starting pitcher Nate Robertson became the first Tigers hurler in 14 years to fail to retire a batter before being yanked), we’ll believe anybody close to Kenny Rogers if they say he’s ready to return to the staff.

Danny Knobler for the Tigers Insider reports that after batting against him a few times in a simulated game yesterday, Brandon Inge is convinced that Rogers could pitch right now:

“In my honest opinion, I think he’s ready,” said Brandon Inge, who batted against Rogers three times in the two simulated innings. “He could pitch right now. I think he’s ready. That’s my opinion.”

Rogers faced 11 batters, throwing 37 pitches. Inge said what impressed the hitters most was that Rogers’ fastball and changeup looked the same as they came out of his hand, making both pitches more effective. Inge hit a long fly ball that might or might not have been caught (there were no outfielders for the simulated game), and two ground balls to shortstop.

Assuming all is well, Rogers will throw a regular bullpen session on Thursday, and then the Tigers will set up the next step. They haven’t said that he’ll be ready for minor-league rehab start after that, but it would hardly be a surprise if he is. “It depends on how I feel physically,” Rogers said. “I could go out right now and pitch innings in the big leagues. I just don’t know how long I could go.”

Whenever Rogers returns, it’ll not only fortify the starting rotation but also bump either Mike Maroth or Chad Durbin into the bullpen, which is currently trotting guys out to the mound named Tim Byrdak, Jason Grilli, and Bobby Seay. Yep, even adding a struggling starter to the ‘pen would be a boon for now.