Gage: Verlander's next start will be first that can be fairly judged

DETROIT -- Spring training in June is over for Justin Verlander.

It's time to move forward. In fact, it's high time to move forward.

The Tigers are searching for consistency in their starting rotation. Most of the time, they've searched in vain.

It's been David Price and "others" so far. They are 13-3 in starts made by Price, but 26-35 in starts made by anyone other than Price.

And that includes 0-3 in starts made by Verlander.

That can't continue, obviously -- but his appearances so far have fallen well within the parameters of the slack he needed to be granted, considering what he's been through.

Everything Verlander has done in his first three starts has been build-up. The locations of his appearances weren't Lakeland, Clearwater and Viera, but they might as well have been.

They've been tantamount to the last three starts of spring training.

But that changes the next time he takes the mound. In my mind, it'll be the first start in which he can be fairly judged.

And here's why.

When Verlander made his season debut on June 13, rust was evident -- and rightly so. If his complete repertoire wasn't working, if he couldn't depend on all his pitches, it was excusable.

An injury -- his strained right triceps, which the Tigers initially said in March was not expected to cost him a start -- ended up costing him more than two months.

No matter how Verlander has performed in the past, from his best years to a lackluster 2014 -- he always had confidence as a companion on the mound.

If he wasn't always king of the hill, he had the attitude that he was. All too often -- and again, rightly so -- he hasn't had that attitude this season.

He's been probing to see what pitches were cooperating -- and which ones weren't. Without everything working, he's not pretended to have his old swagger.

He was rusty in his first start, was probably asked to throw too many pitches in his second start, and took to the mound in his third start on Tuesday night not knowing if his back would bother him or not.

When he realized the situation was tolerable, he began to throw more strikes than he did in the first three innings.

I'm not saying to discard the results of his first three starts. There've been good points to them, and not so good. But at this point, meaning his next start, rust will be a diminishing issue as should any back-of-his-mind uncertainty about his back.

In that case, his next start could be viewed as his first of the season without an asterisk attached to it.

His first start was his first start* -- because of how much time he had missed.

His second start was his second start* -- because he still couldn't be expected to be himself.

His third start was his third start* -- still with an asterisk because of an intervening back issue.

But there should be no asterisk attached to his next start -- which, if all goes well in between, will be Sunday at Comerica Park against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Manager Brad Ausmus agrees -- sort of.

"I think it's pretty close," he said before Wednesday night's game. "Next start or two, I would think he'll be good.

"It didn't help that he had a little extra time between the last two starts."

The way Verlander has pitched so far can't be viewed as the way he will pitch for the rest of the season. Then again, it better not be the way he pitches for the rest of the season.

He has a 5.09 ERA and hasn't struck out more than three in any of his starts so far. Those who take solace in thinking "his stuff is there, just not the command," are groping for hope because one without the other doesn't unlock success.

Just as command without stuff wouldn't.

What good is velocity if you're not throwing the ball where you want?

But it's all been tolerable so far. It's been the process that probably we all thought Verlander would encounter.

To expect him to come back lights-out just wasn't realistic.

But it's far more realistic to think that from this point on, he must be a plus. The Tigers can't live on Price alone.

Not only that, but the front office -- without signs of consistency from Verlander -- is much more apt to feel a need for another starter at the trade deadline than it would if it looked like Verlander was headed for a strong second half.

The waiting period has run its course, though. Verlander's next start will be the last game of the first half of the season.

But I'm viewing it, because it's the Tigers' last home game until July 17, as the first game of the second half -- the opener of their second half, if you will.

And Verlander, as he has with many openers, will be kicking it off.