Ankündigungen » DETROIT — Justin Verlander can expect a warm welcome

Monday night when he pitches against his former team Trevor Hoffman Jersey , the Detroit Tigers, for the second time in his career and first time in Comerica Park.Verlander (14-9, 2.73 ERA) remains a popular figure in Detroit even after the Tigers dealt him away at the waiver trade deadline last year. It was a trade he agreed to only at the last minute as his desire to pitch for a championship team overcame his reluctance to leave the franchise where he made his bones as a major league pitcher.“I am sure he had this series marked on his calendar for a while,” Detroit catcher James McCann told reporters. “Regardless of what we did to him last time. You know he’s going to want to come out and pitch well, coming back to Comerica.Article continues below ...He has faced his ex-team just once so far and it didn’t go so well for him.Detroit visited Houston earlier this year and pounded the ace of the World Series champions for four home runs among six hits good for six runs (one unearned) on July 15. Verlander took the loss but struck out 12 in six innings and didn’t walk a batter.Since his first appearance against Detroit, Verlander is 5-4 with a 3.93 ERA in his last nine starts.The Astros head to Detroit after losing 6-5 at Boston on Sunday night on a walk-off single by Red Sox pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland. Houston is 89-54 and 2 1/2 games ahead of Oakland in the AL West while Detroit (59-84) is riding out the rest of the season, though it is 6-3 in its last nine games.“It will be a completely different animal the first time I go back to Comerica,” Verlander said in July.He will be opposed by left-hander Francisco Liriano, who at this time a year ago was pitching for the Astros.Liriano (4-9, 4.90) faced Houston in the other series against the Astros but did not figure in the decision during a start in which worked three innings Evan Longoria Jersey , giving up a run on one hit with three walks and three strikeouts.Liriano picked up his first win since April 28 on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox when he allowed three runs, on seven hits in 5.0 innings.For his career, Liriano is 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA over four starts against the Astros.Rookie left fielder Christin Stewart can expect to get his first major league at-bat against Verlander after being called up to Detroit on Sunday when his team (Toledo) was eliminated by Durham from the International League playoffs. He hit .264 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI for the Mud Hens.“That’s one of the things we’ve been waiting for,” said manager Ron Gardenhire of the Tigers. “He’s going to play a lot this month. He’s going to get a lot of swings. He’s part of the future.“I want him playing (left field). I don’t want him DHing.”Also called up from Toledo by Detroit were veteran Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who will give the Tigers a third catcher, plus right-handed reliever Zac Reininger.Another pitcher or two will be called up by Detroit soon but Gardenhire declined to identify them because they haven’t been told yet. He said another infielder might be brought up if shortstop Jose Iglesias is unable to return from an abdominal strain.At least one of the pitchers is joining the rotation, the manager said, and Detroit will be going to a six-man rotation at that point.“I’ll tell those guys to keep doing what you’ve been doing,” Gardenhire said. “There’s a reason you’ve been called up here.” Looking back at the first year of executives Gary Denbo and Chip Bowers under Derek Jeter and the new ownership."With the Marlins offseason now in full effect, we must take a step back and analyze the past year both on and off the field.The end result of the season was not what any of us hoped Andrew McCutchen Jersey , as the Marlins finished under .500 for the ninth season in a row. However, there were plenty of positives to take from it. Two examples of that being the emergence of Brian Anderson as an everyday player and the rise of PabloL贸pez through the minors.But what about the front office? How did Derek Jeter and company perform this calendar year?In February, they brought in former Golden State Warriors executive Chip Bowers, a big addition to the organization that certainly has paid its dividends already. You can see his impact simply by looking around the ballpark.Bowers immediately brought in Ocean Bank as a partner to the Marlins. That was just one of dozens of deals aimed at increasing revenue streams that had been neglected by prior ownership. Bowers and his business operations team have also made it a focal point to change the atmosphere of Marlins Park, changes which are set to debut in 2019.Known largely for the work he has done previously, Bowers has what it takes to turn around a Marlins franchise that was sold with hundred of millions of dollars in debt. While there is still a long way to go, he is owning up to the large responsibility. Gary Denbo is arguably the most important piece to the Marlins in their rebuild. Like Bowers, the new VP of player development and scouting has a long record in professional sports. Before being recruited to Miami by Jeter, Denbo presided in the Yankee organization as a player development consultant since 2009. Since then, their farm system has been among the best in terms of depth and producing homegrown stars at the major league level.After just one year in Miami http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , Denbo and the rest of the player development staff have elevated one of MLB’s poorest farm systems into the middle of the pack.A large factor in that improvement was the Marlins draft class last summer. They managed to sign four players who were projected to go in the first round, beginning with outfielder ConnorScott at No. 13 overall. Each of them already rank among the organization’s top 20 prospects.Pulling that off is evidence of a front office that was well prepared and persuasive (three of the four top picks had commitments to play college ball).Connor Scott: Marlins 2018 First Round Draft PickPhoto by Perfect GameMore recently, the Marlins signed top international free agent V铆ctor V铆ctor Mesa, who immediately became the organizations top prospect, as well as his brother, V铆ctor Mesa Jr. These signings only further elevated the system up the rankings.President of baseball operations Mike Hill was scrutinized heavily during the Loria era, and even more because Jeter stuck with him once he came in. Hill is one of the few remaining holdovers from the old regime. With the opportunity to prove himself, Hill has done his job this year by getting Marlins valuable returns in trades, including international bonus pool money that was used to secure the Mesa brothers.Photo by Mark Brown/Getty ImagesLastly, we have the face of it all: The Captain. Since Day 1 Gregor Blanco Jersey , Jeter has taken the public’s abuse for sending away stars and lowering payroll, forcing the Marlins to take a step back at the major league level (from 77 wins in 2017 down to 63 wins). But one thing that we cannot deny is that he has been working hard. Traveling to the Dominican Republic to check on the facilities there, working with the Miami community and fans to improve the relationship between owner and fan, etc.Jeter has also pushed the language barrier, making players and staff learn Spanish and English, respectively. As a critical figure on many successful teams during his playing career, he’s applying what he learned to the Marlins organization.Whether or not this ownership brings a winner to Miami remains to be seen, but one thing that cannot be denied is that they are moving in the right direction and mending open wounds from the past. After Year 1, they are well on their way.