I have two daughters older than supermodel Kate Upton. That puts things into perspective rather quickly.

Honestly, I don’t know Kate Upton.

The only thing I know about her is what I have seen on TMZ and on the pages of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

I guess that means I have seen a lot.

I don’t know the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, either. I mean, not really. I’ve seen him pitch plenty. I know he can throw a baseball 100 miles an hour. I know he won both the Cy Young and the American League MVP Award last season.

I didn’t know that Justin Verlander and Kate Upton even knew one another until I began reading they’ve been seen around town lately.

Normally, that would not bother me. I say congratulations to them both. Upton is originally from the west side of the state and Verlander works in Detroit. They are both young, they are both single, and they are both successful.

However, Verlander’s success means a lot more to me than Upton’s. If he is successful, so are the Tigers. If the Tigers are successful, people around the Detroit area feel good. If the people around Detroit are feeling good, that includes me. I like feeling good and that has nothing to do with Kate Upton.

Normally I couldn’t care less how somebody pitches in the Major League Baseball All-Star game. Those games mean less to me than watching Tom Cruise bounce around on Oprah’s couch. But Tuesday night wasn’t normal. There was Verlander on the mound throwing 100 miles an hour out of the gate. Then he was throwing 101 miles per hour at the urging of teammate Prince Fielder. It was as if he was showing off.

For his fellow All-Stars. For the fans in Kansas City. For Kate Upton?

Verlander got rocked. He got rolled. He pitched worse than Buttermaker before a couple of boilermakers.

It was the Bad News Bears. Is this bad news for the Tigers?