TAKING ON THE AL'S BEST: ANGELS AIM TO CHANGE TIGERS' TUNE TRIP TO MOTOWN TO FACE TOP TEAM WILL BE CHALLENGE.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA Staff Writer

DETROIT -- A convenience store that sits a mere block and a half from Comerica Park has bulletproof glass so thick the cashier's face seems distorted.

Items for purchase are placed on a revolving portion of counter fitted with more protective glass and then turned around so they can be scanned into the register.

Everything about the store screams, ``Danger!''

Yet people of all types have been flocking to the neighborhood this summer.

If there is one thing history has shown about a winning Detroit Tigers baseball team, it is that it has a way of bringing the community together.

From the 1968 team that won a World Series and momentarily united a city in a time of racial tension to this year's club that has helped to continue the revival of downtown Detroit, there is something moving about a Tigers team that wins.

The Angels will get to see a team and a town transformed this weekend.

Everything about what the Angels will witness this weekend is completely different, even from their first visit -- a brief two-game stop here in early May.

Back then, the Tigers were a curiosity. Nice little team, tons of promise, no way they are doing anything of significance by July. As the calendar turns to September, the Tigers are 83-51 and have the best record in the American League. They lead the major leagues in team pitching and are the only team with a staff ERA under 4.00.

That pitching, led by an ideal blend of youth and experience, has been so good it has more than made up for the fact that the Tigers entered the weekend eighth in the AL in batting and 10th in team defense.

``They're having a great year,'' Angels general manager Stoneman said with a smile that suggested a hint of envy. ``They're really doing it the right way. They've started with some guys that have come up a lot quicker than most people thought they would come up and produce at the major-league level, buy they've produced.

``They're a good club in general but their starting pitching and bullpen are both pretty good.''

Rookie pitching sensation Justin Verlander, and his fastball that tops out at 100 mph, has been a perfect fit alongside fellow 23-year-old starter Jeremy Bonderman. Then there is the old man of the group in 41-year-old Kenny Rogers, who was the steadying influence early in the season that helped a young guy like Verlander to ease into his role.

The Tigers started to slow down in August but had more than enough of a cushion in the standings to absorb their 13-16 mark. It was their first losing month of the season.

Verlander is the Sports Illustrated cover boy this week, and USA Today centered a Wednesday sports cover story about pitching around the Tigers' staff.

``If they get in (the playoffs), they're going to cause trouble,'' Boston's David Ortiz told Sports Illustrated. ``You know why? Power pitching. That's what wins in the playoffs because the strike zone tightens up and you need stuff, not finesse, to get hitters out.''

Ortiz said the Tigers remind him of last season's Chicago White Sox that won the World Series behind rock-solid pitching. Ozzie Guillen, the manager of those White Sox, was raving about the Tigers as early as last spring, but many chalked up that conjecture to Guillen's nutty side. So maybe he's not completely nuts.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia admitted that while the Tigers showed promise, achieving at this level has been a surprise.

``I don't know about a situation of seeing it coming,'' Scioscia said. ``You would have to have the knowledge of the internal workings of the organization to be to see all this coming. But that would have to be a stretch to predict how they have played baseball this year. It's been something special.''

One Angels player with an interesting insight to it all has been rookie Jered Weaver. He visited Detroit when his brother Jeff pitched for the club. But none of the Tigers teams Jeff Weaver played for ever made any noise and certainly never had the roar of these Tigers.

``It's unbelievable,'' said Jered Weaver, who is not scheduled to pitch against the Tigers this weekend. ``I was there when Jeff was going through it and they were struggling a lot and it wasn't very fun. They were showing up in the clubhouse and not having that edge that you can go out there and win.''

``They have turned it around and they have some great players and everything is clicking for them. It's going to be fun to go in there and see how that environment has changed.''

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Kenny Rogers' resurgence has been as big a part of the Detroit Tigers' success this season and a new attitude in the city.

Mark Duncan/Associated Press