Barring Disaster, Sheffield & Co. are 3.5 Months Away from Being Crowned

I don't care what the standings say (entering the break, the Tigers and Angels trail the Red Sox by a 1/2 game for the best record in baseball)...

...THE TIGERS ARE, WITHOUT EVEN A SHRED OF DOUBT, THE BEST TEAM IN BASEBALL.

They mash, they pitch, they move runners along, they defend (middle of the pack with 57 total errors...to put it into perspective, the Yanks have made 50 errors while the Red Sox have committed 51 errors). Did I say they mash...as in, they pound the hell out of the ball????

And yes, I'm well aware that pitching wins championships. Great, exactly...you're proving my point -- with the the lone exception of the Padres (Jake Peavy & Chris Young), there is no other team in baseball that possesses a better 1-2 combo than Justin Verlander & Jeremy Bonderman -- and even the Padres comprise a questionable argument, as they are in the NL after all.

Not the Red Sox. Not the Angels. Not the Yankees. Not the Blue Jays. Not the A's. Not the Mets. Not the Braves. Not the Brewers. Not the Cubs. Not the Dodgers. Not the Diamondbacks. Get my point yet??

Some offensive stats to shut your arguments up...

• In 86 games, the Tigers have put up a crooked 512 runs (49 more than any other team in baseball...in 2 fewer games, at that)
• 103 HR's (3rd best in the AL -- 6 fewer than the Indians, and 3 fewer than the Rangers). No team is even close to them in Total Bases (they lead the league in doubles and trail only the Royals in triples)...not even close!
• As a team, they are batting .290 with an OPS of .825! As a team! That is insane.
• It's actually crazy how balanced a lineup they possess -- as their #9 hitter, Brandon Inge has 11 HR's and 41 RBI's. Unbelievable. On a similar note, Placido Polanco is one of the five most underrated active players in the game -- all he does is rake, year-in and year-out. And, oh yeah...he has yet to committ a single error this season. Again, unbelievable.
• They boost the best middle of the order in baseball in Sheffield (.303, 21 HR, 58 RBI), Magglio (.367, 13 HR, 70 RBI), and Carlos Guillen (.325, 14 HR, 67 RBI). That defines deadly! Mets fans...please, please shut up -- Delgado's swing has aged a decade in the past year.

...And with an absolutely depleted staff, the Tigers have somehow managed the 5th best team ERA to-date (trailing only the A's, Red Sox, Angels, and Twins).

• Veteran Kenny Rogers has just joined the rotation this year, to the tune of a 3-0 record with a 1.04 ERA. Say what you want about him...but at 42, he's a much better pitcher these days than either Mussina and/or Schilling.
• Andrew Miller has only made 6 starts (4-2, 3.31 ERA) at the major league level thus far. At 22, there is no denying that he is both a current and future STUD.
• Their #4 starter (Nate Robertson) missed 3+ weeks while on the DL in June. He's just now rounding back into form.
• Their 2 best relievers in Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney have been injured for the majority of the season. Combined, these two flame-throwers (arguably) make up the best 7th-8th inning combination in the game. When healthy, the Tigers play on a 6-inning clock.

In the end, the AL's best manager (only Mike Scioscia can present even a compelling case) is managing the team with the most talent.

GM Dave Dombrowski...give yourself a pat on the back. You have earned it.