So what would you rather have: a line-up with at least five players with 20 or more homers, or a starting pitching staff of five players with 13 or more victories? Its a no-brainer really. You take the pitching and run if you want to be a contender. Why did I throw out that comparison? Well, it related directly to the Blue Jays and the Detroit Tigers. The Jays became the first team in the Majors this season to have five players with at least 20 homers: Edwin Encarnacion (36), Jose Bautista (28), Colby Rasmus and Adam Lind (22) apiece and J.P Arencibia (20). On the other hand, the Tigers have five starters with at least 13 victories after Doug Fister won his 13th on Thursday. He joined the club that includes Max Scherzer (19), Anibal Sanchez (14), Justin Verlander (13) and Rick Porcello (13). All five have winning records and oddly enough Verlander, arguably the best pitcher in the American League, has the worst winning percentage with a 13-12 mark. The Tigers also have three starters who have cracked 200 innings: Verlander (206.1), Scherzer and Fister (201.1). The other two starters are pretty much a lock to break 180 innings. Health has certainly factored into this. Detroit has only had to use one other starter this season. Jose Alvarez went to the mound five times and was 1-4 with just one quality start while pitching only 34 innings. The improvement in Sanchez, Fister and Porcello has been dramatic over a year ago, and has more than made up for a dip in performance by Verlander this season. Sanchez, an in-season pick-up a year ago, was only (4-6) with Detroit. Fister was (10-10) and Porcello only (10-12). Its in quality starts where you notice the big difference in that trio. They went from 38 last season to 58 this season. That kind of production takes pressure off the bullpen and gives skipper Jim Leyland the valuable time to sort out his closer situation. By the way, Joaquin Benoit is 22-22 as the closer since taking over from Jose Valverde. I know wins arent the be all and end all for pitchers but to me, what the Tigers starters have done seems to be taking on historic overtones. The 1971 Baltimore Orioles were the last team, and the first since the 1920 Chicago White Sox, to have four 20-game winners. The Os quartet included Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cueller and Pat Dobson. Yet there has to be something said for having five pitchers with 13 or more in this day and age. Lets compare them to the last three World Series winners. The 2012 Giants only used six starters all season, like the Tigers this year. They had two 16-game winners in Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner, Barry Zito had 15 and Ryan Vogelsong had 14, but Tim Lincecum struggled to a 10-15 mark. Edge to the Tigers. How about the 2010 Giants? They only had three starters in double digits in victories; Lincecum with 16, then Cain and Jonathan Sanchez with 13 each. Sandwiched in between is the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. They had four starters with at least 13 wins including ex-Jay Chris Carpenter (21), Jaime Garcia (18), Kyle Lohse (16) and Jake Westbrook (13). Again, edge to the Tigers. Finally, what about the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won a record 116 games and lost only 46. They had four starters with at least 15 wins, including Jamie Moyer (20), Freddy Garcia (18), Paul Abbott (17)and Aaron Sele (15). If you combine the other two prime starters, John Halama and Joel Piniero, you get 16 wins, but thats six starters, so for me, the edge still goes to the Tigers. Incidentally, as great as the Mariners were, they dropped the ALCS to the Yankees in five games. What does all of this mean to Detroit? Not much if they dont win the World Series but it may be a very long time before we see five starters put together a season like this. This and That The Baltimore Orioles still have a shot at a Wild Card slot. If they get there, their defence has to get as much credit as their offence. The 0s have played 115 errorless games this season and thats the best mark since 1900. Vernon Wells of the Yankees has played 1,726 Major League games without ever having played in the post-season. The only other active player with a long drought is Adam Dunn of the White Sox with 1,863. Sadly for Vernon, it was his former team the Blue Jays that pretty much snuffed out his hopes for another season Thursday night with that 6-2 win over the Pinstripes at Rogers Centre. Only fitting that the Dodgers should be the first club to clinch a division title. After a miserable 30-42 start that had skipper Don Mattingly worried about his job, L.A was 9 1/2 games back of Arizona entering play on June 22nd. From that point on, they went 58-23, including a 42-8 run at one point, and wrapped up the NL West with 10 days to play in the season. They also clinched right in the ball park of the second place DiamondBacks with a 7-6 victory. Authentic Nike NBA Jerseys .Fucale will not only be one of the local boys, he is also a Montreal Canadiens draft pick and will have a huge cheering section when Canada opens the tournament Dec. Wholesale NBA Jerseys .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. http://www.cheapjerseysnbacustom.com/ . “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. Best Cheap NBA Jerseys .com) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to win two straight games for the first time since mid-January on Monday night as they play host to the struggling New York Islanders. NBA Jerseys Outlet . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders have added another proven veteran to their rebuilding defence, signing free-agent cornerback Carlos Rogers to a one-year contract on Monday. Rogers, 32, joins former San Francisco 49ers secondary mate Tarell Brown on Oaklands overhauled defence. The Raiders have also brought in defensive linemen Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley and Antonio Smith. All of those other players are at least 29 years old and have played in the Super Bowl in their careers as general manager Reggie McKenzie is counting on that experience to help end an 11-year playoff drought. "The Raiders have been one of the teams that have been more active in the off-season, trying to turn things around," Rogers said. "I see where this team is going and it wasnt hard to come here and finalize the deal." Oakland is coming off back-to-back four-win seasons and hasnt had a winning record since winning the 2002 AFC championship. After showing some promise early in the season, the Raiders defence wilted late and allowed the second-most points per game (28.3) in franchise history. Oakland has had two of the three highest scoring seasons allowed in coach Dennis Allens first two years with the franchise. That led to the big changes on defence this off-season. Rogers played an NFL-high 1,259 snaps as a slot cornerback in his three years in San Franciscoo, according to Pro Football Focus.ddddddddddddHe will likely play that role again in Oakland on the nickel defence and will also compete with last years first-round pick D.J. Hayden for a starting spot outside across from Brown. "We were a big part of the puzzle that turned San Franciscos defence around, so hopefully we can translate that over here and be even better," Rogers said. Rogers was let go earlier this off-season by the Niners in a cost-saving move. He said he holds no ill will to his former team but is looking forward to playing San Francisco this upcoming season. Rogers has started 116 games over nine seasons with Washington and San Francisco. He has 17 career interceptions and 109 passes defenced. His best year statistically came in his first season in San Francisco in 2011 when he had six interceptions and was picked for the Pro Bowl and earned second-team All Pro honours. That performance helped lead San Francisco back to the playoffs after eight straight years without a berth. Rogers played in three NFC title games in three seasons with the Niners and also lost the Super Bowl to Baltimore following the 2012 season. "I want to continue to win and I want to continue to be a big part of helping to turn this organization around, like I did in San Francisco and continue to win and try to get to that Super Bowl and win it," Rogers said. ' ' '