Sep 16th 2008 2:00AM by Matt Watson (author feed)
The Tigers officially shut down Kenny Rogers for the rest of the season, much to the dismay of opposing batters. In 10 starts since the All-Star game, Rogers posted a 7.45 ERA while allowing a .336 batting average. Jim Leyland didn’t give any reasons for the decision, but do you really need one? He’s made every batter over the last two months look like a batting champ — that should be reason enough.

At 44, Rogers has most likely thrown his last pitch after 20 seasons in the majors. Sure, he may have stayed one season too long, but he’s still enjoyed a heck of a career. Hall of Fame worthy? Not a chance, but if they ever build that Hall of Very Good that everyone talks about, he’s a candidate.

He was an above average pitcher for the vast majority of his career, finishing with a 4.27 ERA (108 ERA+). Those numbers may not jump out at you at first, but he did it over two full decades, and until this year did it without suffering any sharp decline — his worst season actually came seven years ago, and he’s just two years removed from finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young race.