Maybe, Brad Ausmus said, this is just the first phase.
Maybe there will be another phase to Justin Verlander’s evolution.
“Maybe there will be a Phase II, I’m not sure,” said Ausmus, the Detroit Tigers' manager. “But Phase I is almost as good as the original, the beta version.”
Or maybe this simply is what Verlander always has been: The best right-handed pitcher of this decade and one of the best pitchers in baseball, possessing a rubber arm like his idol Nolan Ryan and a resume that will put him in Hall of Fame contention.