I had some nice responses to my last post on Moneyball. Not so much on the actual book, but from fans of some of the other books I’m reading. If you ever want to talk books or stocks, as well as baseball, feel free to drop me a line. I have my opinions. And hopefully everyone went and read Aaron’s work. Those were some really good columns.

The Tigers bounced back from a poor performance on Thursday to even the series with the Twins. Rookie Jason Smith doubled his career homerun total with two solo shots, and Jose Guillen hit a three run shot to start things off in the first to give the Tigers the lead, for good.

With the win, the Tigers won their 40th game of the year. That was July 9th. Last year the Tigers didn’t win their 40th game until September 24th. They could realistically pass their previous season’s mark for wins the weekend after the All Star Break.

Last year, the Minnesota Twins were down by 7.5 games in the AL Central and sitting in third place right before the All Star Break. Two wins this weekend, and Tigers will be five games back (5.5 if the White Sox win both their games) and probably tied for third with the Indians. Yes, their pitching could wear down. But it may not. I’m going to go on record now, because I haven’t said it before, but this team now has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.

Look at it this way. If Vina and Inge come back, it will help the offense down the stretch. We’ll bring up Will Ledezma and Nate Cornejo to bolster the pen. What I’d like to see them then do is trade Urbina, but not for prospects. Maybe get two good middle relievers who will really help in critical situations. I know there’s a ton of if’s, but this isn’t unrealistic.

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