Yes, Tigers ace Justin Verlander is coming off a miserable start, and if you look at the PitchFX data, his average fastball velocity for this season is about two miles per hour lower than it was last season -- a significant drop by any standard.

But why is it only an issue now? Why wasn't it when he was dominating with a 1.55 ERA over his first seven starts? This is a game, right? It's supposed to be fun? So why are you inventing things to worry about?

Yes, inventing them, because according to that same PitchFX data, he averaged 95.5 miles per hour in that start, the hardest he's thrown this season. In fact, he hasn't thrown that hard over a full season since 2009. Velocity wasn't Verlander's problem Thursday. The Rangers were.

I'll offer you Matt Harvey for him right now.