Roaring Tigers off to 8-2 Start (NXPL)

The ace of my 1981 Tigers.

My Detroit Tigers of the NXPL (No Expansion Professional League) are off to an 8-2, first place start after two 4-1 series victories over the Seattle Mariners (at home) and the Toronto Blue Jays (on the road). They will try to keep their great start going with their next, as they continue on the road to play the second-place Minnesota Twins (7-3) and the Boston Red Sox (5-5).

My pitching has been impressive, with the overall team locked down at a 1.72 ERA in 10 games, with my bullpen logging a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 innings.

Pete Redfern (my #4 starter) is 2-0, with a 0.00 ERA in two quality starts for 13 innings, allowing 8 hits and one run (no unearned runs); Redfern also has 7 K's. Most of my starters don't have big-time strikeout power, only Mario Soto (1-1, 1.32) fits that bill, and he leads the team with 12 K's in 13 innings of work.

The rotation so far / 2 starts each:

• Tom Seaver: 0-1, 1.80 ERA, 7 K/6 BB & 1.200 WHIP (15 IP).
• Mario Soto: 1-1, 1.32 ERA, 12 K/3 BB & 1.171 WHIP (13.2 IP).
• Dan Petry: 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 9 K/5 BB & 1.023 WHIP (14.2 IP).
• Pete Redfern: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 7 K/4 BB & 0.923 WHIP (13 IP).
• Steve Trout: 1-0, 2.19 ERA, 3 K/2 BB & 1.459 WHIP (12.1 IP).

My bullpen will be that of a committee, most of the time. My bullpen has logged 5 Saves & 6 Holds; Dave Tobik leads the team with 3 Saves, while Randy Martz has 2 Saves. Andy Hassler has been so far a pivotal piece with the Tigers, with 3 Holds & 5.1 scoreless innings of relief, with 4 K's & one hit allowed (0.188 WHIP).

The lineup did much better against Toronto, than in our first series against Seattle. I believe we barely batted over the Mendoza line that first series, and now have our team average up to .254; Led by Kirk Gibson (.371, 3 HR & 7 RBI, with 13 hits), Jason Thompson (.250, 2 HR & team-lead 8 RBI) & Alan Trammell, leading the team with his .406 batting average, to go along with his 13 hits (all singles) & 4 RBI; Trammell was not yet the offensive shortstop we get to know at this point in his career. Bill Madlock has yet to get rolling, coming back from his injury -- he's only hitting .182 so far.

*** Next we visit the Minnesota Twins for 5 games at the Metrodome. ***