The Detroit Tigers organization of past decade has been full of staples: power hitters, hard throwers, and bad bullpens.
Most notably, though, has been the presence of a frustrating, if still effective closer. I am sure that I do not need to remind any Tigers fans of Jose Valverde, Francisco Rodriguez and Joe Nathan.
Enter Shane Greene. The right-handed starter-turned-reliever has been up-and-down during his tenure as a Tiger, but is currently dominating the opposition at the start of the best season of his career.
Greene has saved 18 of the team’s 22 wins on the year, and it would hardly be outrageous to assume that if somebody else were in that role – including past versions of Greene himself – the Tigers’ already bad 22-32 record would be even worse.