Justin Verlander out to prove people wrong

LAKELAND, Fla. – If nothing else, Justin Verlander is defiant.

In a firm tone with some angst, Verlander will take on anyone who is willing to question his ability as he moves forward in his career. Better yet, JV will also defend his team.

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Both have had bumps the last year or so. Verlander, 32, hasn't been Verlander in a good two seasons now.

 And the Tigers? With the loss of two-fifths of their rotation, most believe their window of opportunity to win their first World Series since 1984 has been closed.

Verlander strongly disagrees. In fact, 2015 is the season he hopes to prove many wrong on both fronts.

"You guys say is the window closing," said Verlander, whose next scheduled start is on Sunday afternoon. "I say, 'No!'

"We still have the perfect puzzle pieces to slide in and continue to build this championship franchise in the future."

Although the Tigers aren't the favorite anymore by MLB experts to win the American League like previous years, Verlander expects this team to be there come October. "This is still a good team," Verlander said.

On Tuesday, in his third spring start, that declaration didn't sound as good because Verlander gave up four runs on five hits in four innings of work against the Washington Nationals.

Verlander threw 60 pitches, and two left Joker Marchant Stadium.

Still, few get worried about spring games, especially for a veteran like Verlander with an impressive resume.

The only reason to worry, though, is because the Tigers really need Verlander to be good. Not great, but good again.

Let's face it. Verlander was bad a year ago. He had a bloated 4.54 ERA and a chubby 1.40 WHIP, both ranked as his worse since 2008. He also averaged just under seven strikeouts per nine innings, a career low.

It was easy to pass everything off on the fact that he was coming off core muscle surgery from January 2014.

Still, it made many wonder if perhaps maybe we've seen the best of Verlander and it's only downhill from here on. It happens to guys with as much mileage as Verlander all the time.

Overworked pitchers lose velocity, command and effectiveness often in their 30s.

Hence, there is pressure on Verlander to reclaim his ace-ship on a staff that once had three Cy Youngs. Max Scherzer, who was a free agent in the offseason, is gone. David Price, a free agent after the season, is still here. Nonetheless, fans still look to Verlander as a sign for good or bad things.

And rightly so. The Tigers became legit when JV showed up in 2006, taking the team from worst to first. They made it to the World Series out of nowhere in JV's rookie season.

Verlander is a competitor, hardly gives in on the fact that someone got the best of him. Same here. He's not simply going to accept he can't be back to the level he excelled in.

"There's a chip on my shoulder," Verlander told the media. "You definitely don't want to dwell on things that don't go your way, but when you have a will and you want to be the best, it puts a little spur on your side or whatever it may be for extra motivation."

Not only does he still has believe in his ability, but so do his teammates. Catcher Alex Avila said with his current velocity (92-93 mph) it's just a matter of better pitch selection to get his straightened out.

The Tigers have had basically a cakewalk, winning the last four AL Central titles. Last year's wasn't as impressive. They won it by just a game when it should have been a runaway.

Nonetheless, the division is much better. There are three other very good teams (Royals, White Sox and Indians) to go against the Tigers.

"It's an extremely hard division," Verlander said. "I don't think any team is going to go whatever-and-two against a inter-divisional team."

Many coaches and teammates are predicting that Verlander will have a big season, turn back the clock to when he was money on the mound.

It's for good reason. The Tigers know they need JV to be more than just defiant. They need him to produce.