Speculating the Stretch Run

I'll preface this post by saying that I didn't watch today's Tigers game (if it were live, being where I am, it would have been impossible anyway), but I'll assume that Rick Porcello was serviceable in defeat, and lost to a pretty decent pitcher (Gio Gonzalez).

Phil Coke was the Phil Coke of late, and Ryan Perry was... not good.

Now that the Tigers have wrapped up the AL Central, I'm curious as to how to go about these final 2 weeks of the regular season.  They're playing teams who have no factor in their own stretch runs, or anyone else's for that matter.  Who do you rest?  Who shouldn't you rest, for fear of rust?

In an earlier post, I suggested that Jacob Turner should be shut down for the rest of the season.  I still agree with myself there, except if you're not going to use him in the postseason, perhaps a spot start, or take the last start away from Justin Verlander, who after being the total workhorse needs himself some time off.  Doug Fister looks like he's well anchored in the number 2 slot, while Max Scherzer is probably in at 3.

Which leaves Porcello, who including today has 4 quality starts in his last 5 outings, and Brad Penny, someone no one wants to see pitch beyond September.  I suppose it's not out of the realm of possibility that a strict 4-man rotation be used in the playoffs, but certainly in a short series, you may only need 3, if you're lucky.

And what about the position players? Do you rest the Miggy's, the Victor's, the Alex's, hell... even the Maggs' of the lineup?  I bring up Magglio Ordonez only because he's on a bit of a tear right now, going 3 for 4 today, and has seen his batting average rise to .252.

Personally, I believe resting the offensive players any more than is already done might be a mistake.  As for your hurlers, it may be a little more important, not to mention they'll need to run out some of those bullpen arms to see just who is worth putting on the postseason roster.  Ultimately, if complacency doesn't settle in, it should be an interesting playoff for the Tigers.  Just makes me nervous to see who they have in front of them, from a competitive standpoint.