That's Offensive: The Detroit Tigers

Nothing groundbreaking here, but was pondering the top offenses in the American League. The Yankees and Red Sox are always prominent, but take a look at Detroit's potential lineup for 2008:

Curtis Granderson

Placido Polanco

Miguel Cabrera

Magglio Ordonez

Gary Sheffield

Carlos Guillen

Edgar Renteria

Ivan Rodriguez

Jacque Jones

That's about as scary a 1-8 as has ever been assembled. The Yankees offense is nothing to sneeze at, but the Tigers arguably have more firepower and consistency. Sheffield's health is a concern, but the real question mark is their pitching.

Can Dontrelle Willis return to form? Will Jeremy Bonderman ever put it all together? Is Nate Robertson able to emerge if Kenny Rogers continues to be an injury prone aging lefty? Justin Verlander can't pitch 600 innings.

The bullpen is just as porous with Fernando Rodney never able to stay on the field, Joel Zumaya recovering from shoulder problems and Todd Jones well still being Todd Jones.

Two Stories Of Alcoholism

Bret Boone claims a bout with alcoholism forced a sharp decline and early exit from his baseball career.

Boone, 38, revealed that an alcohol problem was the reason he retired. According to Boone, the problem goes as far back to his peak years with the Mariners, but he happily reports that he hasn’t had a drink in seven months.

...Boone’s problems started in a more subtle matter, but it got to a point where he would drink 12 to 15 beers after a game. At age 32, for example, Boone recalls dinking heavily after a game and then going 3-for-4 the next day. But as he got older, Boone’s stats declined and he lost the passion for baseball.

“For me, it was an alcohol thing,” Boone said. “It wasn’t to the point where I was down and out. But it was to a point where I could see it was going there.

“I don’t want to make a big deal about it, but I was at a point where sometimes it was more important to me to go to a hotel bar after a game. At the end, it takes away your passion and everything inside that makes you tick. I’m not proud of it. I’m proud I took care of the situation before it got to a point where it could have.”

Call me a cynic, but it's altogether possible Boone faded from baseball because of abuse of drugs other than alcohol. Perhaps the kind that builds muscle and allows you to hit 450 foot opposite-field homeruns. Citing alcoholism - though a terrible disease - and being called a recovering addict is much more forgiving territory than being called a cheater who used steroids.

Max St. Pierre, a once heralded catching prospect in the Tigers farm system, also revealed a serious drinking problem in his recent past.

He began his career as a catcher. Nearly ended it, though, as an alcoholic.

“I drank all night, every day of the season,” Max St. Pierre said.

...After four seasons at Double A Erie, St. Pierre finally rose to Triple A. Instead of seizing the opportunity, though, his demons seized him.

“I started not caring as much,” he said. “My priority was drinking instead of wanting to be a baseball player. It happened more than a couple of times that I almost fell asleep in the bullpen because I’d barely slept the night before. “I lost my job because I was just partying. I wasn’t going the right way, and people finally found out.”

That sounds more like an addict's behavior than Boone's "alcohol thing."

Today's Pitching Matchups

1) Yankees vs. Orioles

• Andy Pettitte will try to improve his win total to 14 on the year, and draws an unlikely matchup as Brian Burres is essentially a reliever being asked to start. For Burres, his last start saw him go seven shutout innings, the first scoreless appearance of his career. He is 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA against the Yankees this year, but also has put together such gems as his August 22nd outing against Texas in which he went 0.2 innings, allowing 8 runs on 8 hits.

2) Tigers vs. Indians

• Following losses from both Boston and Detroit last night, the Yankees find themselves two out of the division and five up in the wildcard races. Cy Young hopeful and Cleveland's ace, C.C. Sabathia, draws pedestrian southpaw Nate Robertson. Robertson has a losing record and an ERA approaching 5.00, while Sabathia looks to notch his 18th win and lower his 3.21 ERA.

3) Red Sox vs. Blue Jays

• Clay Buchholz made history in his last start, joining a short list of rookie pitchers who tossed a no-hitter. The Red Sox hope Buchholz can stop the bleeding, as the Yankees have crept just two games out of the division lead. In July and August, Pat Litsch posted a 2.48 ERA. But his past three starts were all losses due to an ugly 10.37 ERA. Boston won't provide much breathing room as Litsch has a 7.20 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox.