...barring a rain out.
Honestly, it looks like the rain will subside in the next half hour or so, which is a good thing because the White Sox are not slated to return to Detroit this season. Thus, the make up would have to be on a day that both teams are already scheduled off, which is likely next Monday.
If the game were to be played next Monday instead of today, the Tigers would have to wonder if they could let Nate Robertson start tomorrow in Cleveland, or to skip him and keep the rotation in order. If they were to skip him, then Zach Miner would get the start on Monday, which is something that a majority of Tiger fans likely wouldn't want.
Or, they could let Robertson pitch tomorrow, and skip Verlander or Rogers, and let one of them pitch the game. This is all moot, however, because the rain delay does not look to turn into a rain out.
However, it brings up a point: What are the Tigers going to do with their rotation in the season's final month. First of all, Miner has to get one more start. If he doesn't, then the Tigers might as well give up on him for the future too. Unfortunately, that start would likely come against the Yankees, for whom the Tigers might be smart to set up their rotation, but also for whom they likely will not.
Leyland is the type of guy that sends his pitcher out there every fifth day. He has confidence in them (more than most), and that is what makes him an excellent manager. He had the confidence in Todd Jones, when half of Comerica was wearing "Trade Todd Jones" t-shirts, and he has his confidence in Miner now.
Another option would be to start Wilfredo Ledezma in a spot start five days from now. He was as shaky as Miner yesterday, but he didn't give up any runs save for the two he inherited from Miner. However, Ledezma attacked his hitters, getting out of jam after jam. Miner wasn't even in a jam in the first inning yesterday. He looked great after two hitters, and then made Thome swing and miss at a nasty fastball to get him down 0-1. He then got to 0-2, and then seemingly got scared. Leyland even said that he pitched like he didn't want to give up the home run.
Well, after Thome walked and Konerko singled, Miner proved him wrong--by giving up that home run to Jermaine Dye. After looking bad to start the 2nd and giving up a homer to Joe Crede, Miner was out of the game.
In comes Wilfredo Ledezma who somehow got through four innings after giving up seven hits without a run crossing the plate being charged to him. He didn't look that great, but he attacked hitter after hitter, and to be honest, they were hitting some pretty good pitches. The defense ran down some balls and kept runners from scoring, and Ledezma was charged with keeping his team in the game. For all intents and purposes, he could have gotten the win if another ball or two would have bounced the Tigers' way.
Unfortunately, he didn't. But he did do something that should get him that spot start in five days. To be honest, Miner is more rested than him right now, and if the Tigers get shelled again early, it would not be a bad idea to put him in the game to fill some innings--especially if the lead seems insurmountable. By doing this, it would cover two things. One, Ledezma would have to pitch the spot start until Mike Maroth could come back, and two, Miner would get a bit comfortable in a bull pen role.
It is always hard to take confidence away from someone, but this is crunch time. It is time to keep your confidence up and not pitch around Jim Thome after getting ahead in the count. He's not going to chase those pitches, and it is those pitches that should chase Zach Miner out of the rotation.
