Are the Deroit Tigers Unstoppable?

The AL Central is shaping up to be a Detroit playground.

If their team is really as good as it looks, the Tigers won't be playing 162 games this year; they will be playing 162 scrimmages.

Let's take a look at this stacked team better known as the Detroit Tigers.

Pitching 

Although all five starters had a combined ERA of 4.6 in 2007, the Tigers don't require perfection from their pitching staff.

Why is this? Simply because of their murderous batting. The only thing Detroit needs from their pitchers is for them to keep games close, and let their bats swing free. If they can allow that to happen, more often than not, they will come out with a win.

The Detroit bullpen, on the other hand, is probably the weakest point on this Tiger team. They will be without the flame-throwing Joel Zumaya until at least June, thanks to the right shoulder surgery he had in November. Fernando Rodney, who is coming off a season in which he was pounded with injury after injury, will be looking to return to his 2005 and 2006 form.

Detroit President/GM Dave Dombrowski thinks that other players will help in their relief pitching, saying "We also feel that guys like [Zach] Miner and [Jason] Grilli had a real good last couple of months of the season, [and] that they can step up a little bit for us [in 2008]."

The return of Joel Zumaya in June will be a huge morale boost for this team, and until then, other players will be certain to step up and take his place.

In most games, though, if Detroit can hit like they usually do, perfect pitching will not be required to win.

Batting

They're all superstars and live up to their big names consistently almost every year.

The combined 2007 average of the eight position players and DH is .305. That's pretty impressive.

Defense

With the addition of Cabrera and Renteria, Detroit's offensive production shouldn't be the only thing rising this year. Their fielding should also be superb.

Third baseman Brandon Inge had 18 errors last season, and a fielding percentage of .959. His 2008 replacement, Miguel Cabrera, had 23 errors and a fielding percentage of .941.

It's a slight dip, but now the "almost 31-year-old" is on the bench, and being replaced by an All-Star six years younger than him, I expect better fielding from Cabrera.

How does that saying go? You can't teach an old dog new tricks? I'm not saying 30 is old, but it's older than a 24-year-old Miguel Cabrera. I think Cabrera will mesh well with this new infield, and become more consistent at third base than Inge ever was.

Carlos Guillen, another aging infielder, had 24 errors last season while playing shortstop, and a fielding percentage of .955. His replacement, Edgar Renteria, only had 11 errors in 2007, with a .977 FP to add to his impressive resume.

Both Cabrera and Renteria will both go through a tough transition period, as every new player does. During this time they will get to know their teammates and their style of play a little better. I expect this time to go by fast because both of these guys are All-Stars, and shouldn't struggle too much during this transition.

The Detroit Tigers may have the best team in their franchise history this year. They clearly have all the needed parts to go all the way.

No, the question is not "Do they have the right players?"

It isn't even "Do they have the ability?"

The real question is, "Who can stop them?"