Flirting with Excellence

Why is this man smiling?
I've followed Justin Verlander's career since his first game as a Tiger. It was on the 4th of July six years ago, against the very team that he stonewalled last night - the Cleveland Indians.

In that game, however, Cleveland touched the greenhorn Verlander for 7 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs in Verlander's 5 innings of work. To say Verlander has improved in those six years is an understatement. He's now one of the top pitchers in the AL, if not the entire MLB.

Last night, Verlander needed 117 pitches to mow down the Cleveland roster. They registered two singles and one walk. Since his no-hitter, Verlander has posted a sterling 1.82 ERA. Even more impressive is his WHIP during that time. In his 64 innings of work, Verlander allowed just 45 combined hits and walks. That's an incredible 0.70 WHIP. Not surprisingly, Verlander leads the majors in WHIP, followed by Phillies' Cole Hamels.

Of course, we've seen greatness from Verlander before. Many times throughout his career, Verlander has appeared untouchable, only to give up 7 runs his next game. The guy is plagued by inconsistency. It's the only thing that separates the Tigers' ace from the top pitchers in the game - Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee. Has Verlander, at the age of 28, finally found a semblance of consistency?

This season, Verlander conceded 4 or more earned runs just once in 15 starts. That's dominant stuff. Today is June 15th. The big question is whether Verlander continues the hot streak. He normally starts slow, but this year he needed no time to warm up. He's already firing on all cylinders.

US Nats

Very ho-hum effort from the Nats last night. The team dominated Guadeloupe, as they should, for extended stretches. But they simply could not finish. Well, one guy could finish. That was Jozy Altidore. His goal, early in the game, was simply... well... take a look for yourself:

It's incredible that after a finish like that, the US team could not muster another one. Dempsey, in particular, blew numerous chances. None more painful than this:

Regardless, the game finished as a 1-0 win. The defense, overall, did enough to keep Guadeloupe off the board, though they did hit Howard's crossbar in the 4th minute.

Next up for the US is Jamaica in the quarterfinals. Jamaica won their group in impressive fashion, as did Mexico. Based on the group stage games, the US is no favorite. Yet, this is soccer, and anything can happen. Who knew the US would thrash Egypt and Spain immediately after embarrassing drubbings by Brazil and Italy? The game is unpredictable... even with Bob Bradley at the helm.