Verlander makes his pitch

[Omaha Steve]

Full story: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-verlander081606&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Verlander makes his pitch
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
August 16, 2006

CHICAGO – He talks like a kid raised on the principles of Local 2201, and maybe that's because Justin Verlander spent countless hours in a stroller on picket lines. His father, Richard, was the president of the Communication Workers of America union in Richmond, Va., and foolish is the group that doesn't trot out children to curry sympathy.

There is something about union kids, a savvy borne of every shop's code of togetherness. It's why at 23 years old, in his rookie season, Justin Verlander talks about the Major League Baseball Players Association, long considered one of the nation's strongest unions, if not the most formidable, in reverential terms instead of asking why his paycheck gets docked $40 a day for dues.

"The people before me worked hard to get what we have now in the system," Verlander said. "If you don't take advantage of that and learn and realize what the previous guys went through to get where we are now, you can't appreciate it."

Oh, how his dad loves to hear that. Richard Verlander works for the CWA national now, and to see his boy stump for a union like that – well, it feels almost as good as watching him pitch.

Which, make no mistake, Richard enjoys above all. In quiet fashion – or at least as quiet as a 100-mph fastball sounds when it pops into a catcher's mitt – Verlander has turned in a season worthy of American League Cy Young consideration in addition to his push for Rookie of the Year, all the while dragging his team, the Detroit Tigers, off of skid row and toward the playoffs.

All in the country's greatest union town, no less.

The pieces are there for the right-handed Verlander to be the best thing Detroit has produced since the White Stripes, and games like today's against the Boston Red Sox at 7 p.m. Eastern only foster a fledgling legacy. The Tigers, reeling after a sweep by the Chicago White Sox, can close out a sweep of their own at Fenway Park with a Verlander victory against David Wells, who pitched a season in rookie ball before Verlander was born.

Victories haven't been scarce on days Verlander pitches. His 14 wins rank second in the major leagues behind former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, and Verlander's earned-run average of 2.95 is one of only two below 3.00 among AL starters.

"He's a guy no one wants to face," said Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge, "and think about that reputation. He's a rookie. In 20 starts, he's convinced everyone that they should be scared when he's on that mound."

Scared, or frustrated, or clueless. Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya, the only Detroit pitcher who throws harder than Verlander, has seen opponents shake their heads after trying to catch up with a 100-mph fastball, then buckle their knees at a 75-mph curve. Nothing tickles Verlander more than hearing the sound of bats flying in the dugout. He knows he's got them then.

[Lefty48197]

1. Great news about one of my Tigers!

We're looking forward to a LONG and successful career from Justin.