Kenny Rogers last five starts have been nothing short of spectacular. He is really resembling the crafty ol’ vet that was almost unhittable in the 2006 playoff run. (Foreign substance on his hand or not…)
What is that stuff anyway?
Since giving up four runs on eight hits in a 9-4 win against the Mariners on May 21st, the 43 year-old Georgia native has put up some staggering numbers. In his five starts since, he has gone no less than seven innings and has given up no more than two earned runs in each game, no more than 6 hits dropping his ERA nearly 2.5 runs going from 6.66 to a much more respectable 4.36.
Kenny has many more reasons to smile of late!
This coming from a guy that everyone (including me) had written off and complained at his inability to go farther than five, maybe 6 innings into a game. I had even suggested a shift to the ‘pen was in order, but man has he shut both me and the rest of the cynics up with his stuff of late. Eliminating any discussion about the possibility of him being done.
He has stated that he may have been trying to overthrow his stuff and had added a little velocity. He simply suggests that this is straying from what has made him successful through the last few years, and maintains that what has worked for him is mixing up his speeds and painting the corners.Control has never been an issue for Kenny, but he said keeping hitters on their toes will be the key to his success. Kenny has become a pure contact pitcher, and now depends on ground balls and fly-outs.
He no longer has the ability to rack of 10 punch-outs in a game without the big over-powering stuff, but you can expect him to keep batters guessing each at-bat. However, his knack to throw such a range of speeds creates a lot of both early and late contact that results in those simple outs.
Without the smoking gun arm of likes of Verlander or Zumaya, K-Rog is still a joy to watch. I’m not sure how any Tiger fan can’t get excited watching this run that Rogers is currently on. 
Paws just happens to be Kenny’s #1 Fan!
With this more than likely being his swan-song in D-Town, Kenny is certainly contributing to salvaging the Tigers season. With Dontrelle struggling and Bondo done for the year, the Tigers will need the leadership that Kenny provides, as well as his arm to try to dig themselves out of this mess that they’ve put themselves in.
Should he be able to continue to perform the way that he has, it’s certain that he will be one of the few in that locker room that can hold his head high and say that he has given it all that he has got.
A tip of the cap to you Kenny!
