George Sipple

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander deemed it a poor choice of words, so he came to the defense of teammate Michael Fulmer in a social media exchange today with a senior writer for Fox Sports.

Dieter Kurtenbach wrote a column explaining why he thought Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees should win American League rookie of the year.

“Normally, Sanchez’ short-season candidacy would be buried by other elite rookies, but the American League has been particularly poor in first-year performers in 2016,” Kurtenbach wrote.

Sanchez has 19 home runs and 38 RBIs in 44 games for the Yankees.

Kurtenbach then went on to list the competition for Sanchez: Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers, Tyler Naquin of the Cleveland Indians and Fulmer.

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The article sparked Verlander's interest and he and Kurtenbach went back-and-forth on Twitter.

Asked about the exchange today, Verlander said he doesn’t have a problem with any of the candidates.

“What I didn’t approve of is his wording in a paragraph where he said all of the candidates have performed poorly,” Verlander said. “That’s not the case whatsoever. There’s a number of guys having great seasons and I just pointed out that the guy that’s on our team is also having a great season. And if you took a month or two or three clip, he was having a historic season. That was my only point. I’m not putting down Gary Sanchez or any of the other guys. But I took offense with the way he worded some things.”

Fulmer needs 13 2/3 innings to qualify for the ERA title. He entered today’s game with a 3.03 ERA, which would lead the AL if he did qualify. Through Thursday’s games, the Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka was the AL ERA leader (3.07), followed by ex-Tiger Rick Porcello (3.08) of the Boston Red Sox.

Verlander said it would be “extremely significant” if a rookie won the ERA title.

“What’s more significant -- we wouldn’t be where we are without him,” Verlander said.

Asked where the Tigers would be without their trio of young starting pitchers – Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd, Verlander said: “Wouldn’t be here, that’s for sure. We’d be packing our bags already.”

Verlander gave Fulmer advice this season, specifically on a shoulder strengthening regimen.

“You could quickly realize how good he can be,” Verlander said. “We needed him for the whole season, not just for a few months. It wasn’t just a plug in in the rotation. He was going to need to be a mainstay. Anything I could impart to keep him out there and keep him healthy for the whole season – and he was open ears.

“Obviously, I’m probably a little guilty of being stubborn as a rookie. He was very open and open to any suggestion and worked really hard. I think it has paid dividends for him.”

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In control: Verlander said the Tigers are in a position they want to be in late in the season – controlling their own destiny. “You don’t want to rely on anybody else,” he said. “This is kind of a unique situation. So many different ways things could go, regarding who we would play if we make it in. That’s why the wild card was made. It’s a lot of fun. Whether I would have to pitch the last game of the season or not, there’s so many different variables. That’s why you take this one game at a time. We know there’s only 10 left, but you can’t look forward. You have to look at the game happening today.”

Farmer starting Monday: Tigers manager Brad Aumsus confirmed right-hander Buck Farmer will start Monday when the Tigers begin a four-game series against the Indians at Comerica Park.

Ausmus on Scully: Asked whether he got to know Dodgers broadcasting great Vin Scully, Ausmus said: "Yeah. Great man. One of the nicest guys that’s been around the game. He goes out of his way to say hello, even when I was done playing. When I worked for the Padres, I’d see him, I’d be in the baseball operations booth watching the game and he’d wave. I’ll never forget, I was leaving Petco with my wife and daughters and Vince saw me and came over and introduced himself to my wife and daughters. He’s one of the nicest men I’ve met in the game.”

Asked whether he grew up with Scully in the 1980s, Ausmus said: "You’re talking about a time that was Saturday Game of the Week, and there was no cable. I was about 8 years old.”

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple. Download our Tigers Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!