Game 105 Recap

Tigers 5 A's 2

Yet again, a Toledo Mud Hen puts up a great performance and leads the Tigers to a win. This time it was Jordan Tata, who got the win (as I write this Todd Jones has just applied the shaving cream facial) in his first major league start. Just as important as pitching well, Tata pitched seven innings, something a Tiger starter has only done three times since July 17. Chad DurbinTodd Jones help rebuild some bullpen calmness after a nuclear weekend, by pitching a scoreless inning a piece...babysteps....babysteps. Tata also received help from Curtis Granderson who put on a base running clinic tonight, by turning singles into runs. After a lead off single, he went from 1st to 3rd on a Polanco single, and subsequently scored on a Sheffield fielder's choice. After another single in the 6th he never stopped running and scored from first easily after centerfielder Mark Kotsay bobbled the ball. Then in the 7th, he took 2nd on a Kotsay
and overthrow to the plate, and was driven in by a Polanco double. Speaking of Polly he was 3 for 5 on the night, and lifted his average to .343. That places him just .004 back of Ichiro for 2nd place in the Majors in batting average. Bottom line Tigers needed a win bad, and not only did they get one, they got it while looking like a contender.

Tiger Hero:
Jordan Tata. Call him the Tourniquet. Tata scattered 6 hits, while striking out 5, and walking two.

Tiger Zero:
Gary Sheffield. 0 for 4 tonight. Add to that the Anti-Selig comments, and possibly some time off. There's a fine line between crazy and stupid, and Sheff may have crossed it.

Tigers Record:
W - L
61 - 44
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 1 GB)

Worst Weekend Ever

In honor of "The Simpsons Movie" opening this weekend...here's the Tigers weekend "Simpsonized":



Now let us of never speak of this weekend again.

Game 101 Recap

Tigers 3 White Sox 4

Wasn't able to hear much of this game due to a busy workday, and it's probably better that way. I heard that the game ended with a throwing error by a pitchers, and that's all I needed to know. Let's just move along to Anaheim shall we?

Game 100 Recap

Tigers 13 White Sox 9

RYAN RABURN!!!!!!
Kenny Rogers owes this kid something big. All the runs Kenny allowed, Ryan Raburn personally took it upon himself to score them back. Behold the power of Mud Hens. First it was Mike Hessman's big hits, then Virgil Vasquez pitched a great game yesterday, and now Raburn. Let's not forget Mike Rabelo, who would have been in Toledo had Vance Wilson been healthy. He is 9 for 15 in his past four games. Former (and future?) Mud Hen Jason Grilli got the "win" tonight, in spite of a typical Grilli outing. Tim Byrdak, who just came back up from Toledo, pitched two perfect innings to close out the game, and got credit for the save. Strangest thing of all about this game, every Tiger had a hit except the guy that leads the team in hitting, Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers go for the series victory tomorrow afternoon, and I'm hoping for a game that will let me listen peacefully at work with limited profanity, and breaking of office items.

Tiger Hero:
Duh...one Mr. Ryan Neil Raburn

Tiger Zero:
Kenny Rogers. 7 runs, and anytime Juan Uribe hits a home tun off of you, it's a bad night.

Tigers Record:
W - L
60 - 40
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 1.5 GB)

Games 98 & 99

Game 98

Tigers 3 White Sox 5

Game 99

Tigers 7 White Sox 8

Unreal. What was the point of saving the bullpen earlier today in case they were needed in the night game, if they were going to go out and do what they did? Seven runs in three inning to the worst hitting team in the AL. This game may have forced Dave Dombrowski's hand. I don't see a way they can let the trade deadline pass without making a move now.

Tigers Record
W - L
59 - 40
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 1.5 GB)

Game 97

The White Sox limp back into Chicago after losing 3 straight to the Red Sox, and who do they find? A Detroit Tigers team surely looking to bounce back after losing the weekend series to the Royals. I'd feel sorry for the Sox if Ozzie Guillen weren't in charge. Oh yeah, a Mud Hen is up to play first, but it's not Chris Shelton. Mike Hessman gets the start against the lefty Mark Buehrle. Finally Curtis Granderson gets a start against a lefty. Let's see if the C-Mo comeback tour can extend to game 3. The numbers look good, C-Mo is 3-8 with a HR the last two times he's faced Buehrle.

Line-ups:
Detroit (58-38)
C Granderson CF
P Polanco 2B
G Sheffield DH
M Ordonez RF
C Guillen SS
I Rodriguez C
C Monroe LF
M Hessman 1B
B Inge 3B

Chicago (43-54)
J Owens CF
T Iguchi 2B
J Thome DH
P Konerko 1B
A Pierzynski C
J Dye RF
J Fields 3B
J Uribe SS
A Gonzalez LF

Pitchers:
Tigers - Andrew Miller LHP (5-3, 3.18 ERA)
White Sox - Mark Buehrle LHP (7-5, 2.91 ERA)

Post-game:

Tigers 9 White Sox 6

Well another one under "not pretty, but a win". Andrew Miller was channelling Nuke LaLoosh
with seven strikeouts 5 walks and three wild pitches. After all that, somehow Jason Grilli turned two walks and a hit batter into a win. What was pretty was the Tigers racking up 14 hits on Mark Buehrle. New Tiger Mike Hessman is no Jack Hannahan, he went 2 for4 and drove in the two runs that put the Tigers up for good. 4 Tigers had 3 hit games tonight, but Gary Sheffield of all people was the only starter without a hit. After tonight's game, the Tigers now have half for their starting line-up hitting above .300, and if you throw in Casey and Pudge 7 of 9 have a average above .285. C-Mo added another hit, to bring his monthly total up to 8, 4 of those have come in the past three games.

Tiger Hero:
Curtis Granderson. Now can he start against lefties? Grandy reached base all five plate appearances, with 4 RBIs and 2 extra base hits...all vs. left-handed pitching.

Tiger Zero:
The first six innings of Tiger pitching. The only reason the White Sox were in the game is 8 walks handed out by Tiger pitchers.

Tigers Record:
W - L
59 - 38
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 2 GB)

Game 96 Recap

Tigers 2 Royals 5

I didn't catch really any of this game. I spent the first inning or two switching between the game and the last holes of the British Open. Then I went out on the golf course and performed my own Sergio Garcia impression. 4th round Sergio...not 1st 3 rounds Sergio. With a hot Royals team coming into town, and the looming 11 games in 10 days, I kind of expected this series to be a let down. Not that it makes losing a series to the Royals any better. But the Tigers do still get to play the last place team in the AL Central, as the White Sox have moved into a tie with the Royals for the bottom team.

Tiger Hero:
Craig Monroe. Without the threat of Marcus Thames taking his job, he seems to have reverted back to the hitter we thought he was...at least for two games.

Tiger Zero:
The 2-6 hitters. They were 1 for 17 today. with that one hit not coming until the 9th inning.

Tigers Record
W - L
58 - 38

Game 95 Recap

Tigers 10 Royals 8 (10 innings)

Well it wasn't pretty(except for those kick-ass throwback unis) but it was a win. On the plus side, the last three games I've been to have been wins for the Tigers. The last two being extra inning affairs...everything's coming up Milhouse!
As fo rthe game itself, well for starters (no pun intended) Justin Verlander had an interesting night. The first five outs he recorded were strikeouts. But two wild pitches in the first inning allows David DeJesus (who reached via walk) to go from first to third, and was later driven in on a weak liner by Billy Butler. Again in the third Verlander threw a pitch Pudge couldn't block and another run scored. Lucky for the Tigers C-Mo launched phase one of his second half comeback (fingers crossed) tonight. After Ryan Raburn's lead-off home run, C-Mo drove in the next 4, capped by a 3 run shot down the line in left in the 3rd inning. I don't know if they showed it, but C-Mo got a big round of applause when he came out to left field in the 4th after his home run. Magglio and Sheff also kept doing their thing, going a combined 5 for 8. Unfortuantly the bullpen also did their thing, and gave back all those runs. Luckily, Mr. Excitement Brandon Inge, made sure all the fans went home happy with a walk off shot in the tenth.

Tiger Hero:
Craig Monroe: Yeah Inge won the game, but C-Mo got the offense rolling. Let's hope this is the thing to get him back on track

Tiger Zero:
Todd Jones. Seems like every time I complement him on resembling a competent closer, the next game he goes all gas can on me.

Tigers Record:
W - L
58 - 37
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 2 GB)

Game 94 Recap

Tigers 2 Royals 10

What a crap game tonight. One of maybe three times this year where I just couldn't watch it anymore. The let down game is out of the way...tomorrow Justin Verlander takes the mound and everything better get back to normal.

Game 93 Recap

Tigers 4 Twins 3 (10 innings)

With their win today the Tigers swept the Twins at home for the first time since 1999. All it took was the best performance of the year from an inconsistent pitcher, and getting the best of arguably the best starter and closer in the AL in consecutive games. Timo Perez, who arrived minutes before the game taking the roster spot of the injured Marcus Thames, reached base with a walk in the 10th and came around on a Brandon Inge double to score the game winning run. That run stood up thanks the Todd Jones, who notched his 26th save of the year. Remember this series the next time you want to bash Jones. 3 Games, 3 saves. Only 2 Twins reached base. Ever since the blown save against Texas June 26, where he called himself out for being terrible after the game, Jonesy has cut his ERA by a run and a half. Good stuff all around these past three games. Let's just hope the Tigers keep the momentum going and beat up on the Royals and White Sox, their next two opponents.

Tiger Hero:
Brandon Inge. Hitting a game winning RBI is tough, doing it off of Joe Nathan is nearly impossible. Great job today by Inge

Tiger Zero:
Gary Sheffield. I didn't really get to see the play, but by the sound of it he was just caught napping at 2nd base when he was picked off. Carlos Guillen got a hit after the pickoff, and Sheffield more than likely scores the run that keeps the game out of extra innings.

Tigers Record:
W - L
57 -36
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 2 GB)

Game 92

Poor Andrew Miller, for the fourth time this year he'll take the mound against the opposing team's #1 pitchers. This time it's probably the #1 guy in the Majors...Johan Santana. While the Tigers have been able to get some hits off of Santana earlier this season, this is the time of year
when he turns it on. So for the Tigers sake this one better be a pitching duel, because I don't see Miller getting much run support tonight.

Line-ups:
Detroit (55-36)
R Raburn CF
P Polanco 2B
G Sheffield DH
M Ordonez RF
C Guillen SS
I Rodriguez C
M Thames 1B
C Monroe LF
B Inge 3B

Minnesota (49-44)
L Castillo 2B
J Bartlett SS
J Mauer C
M Cuddyer RF
J Morneau 1B
T Hunter CF
J Cirillo DH
L Ford LF
N Punto 3B

Pitchers:
Tigers - Andrew Miller LHP (4-3, 3.35 ERA)
Twins - Johan Santana LHP (11-6, 2.60 ERA)

Post-game:

Tigers 3 Twins 2

Magglio Ordonez owns Johan Santana. No one in baseball has hit more HR or driven in more runs off of Johan then Magglio. Led by Maggs and pitching performances that subscribed to the "bend, but don't break" theory, the Tigers hand Johan Santana his first loss since June 9th. Guess what, the Tigers now possess the best record in the Major Leagues. It did come at a price, both Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames (after a diving catch that kept the tigers in the lead in bottom of the 8th) both left the game with injuries.
It will be interest to see how Jim Leyland fills out the line-up card for tomorrow afternoon's game.

Tiger Hero:
Magglio Ordonez. He has driven in all 4 runs the tigers have scored this series.

Tiger Zero:
Pudge. Hitless in his last three games. I'm sure the off day tomorrow, and Royals pitching this weekend will help turn things around.

Tigers Record:
W - L
56 - 36
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 2 GB)

Game 91

The second series of the second half opens up just like the first, with the Tigers facing another team looking to make a case to be included in any postseason discussion. The Twins send Matt Garza to the mound for his second start of the year. Last he was credited with the win in a Twins 9-5 victory. Overall his stats are typically of a rookie pitchers first year in the league. In 8 innings pitched so far this season he has yet to allow a run, and has struck out 7. But 6 of those inning were against the slumping White Sox. He has given up 7 hits and walked three, so if any team could take advantage of him, it would be the Tigers. The key for the Tigers will have to be getting more than 6 innings out of Nate Robertson, something that hasn't happened since the last time Nate faced the Twins in April.

Line-ups:

Detroit (54-36)
C Granderson CF
P Polanco 2B
G Sheffield DH
M Ordonez RF
C Guillen SS
I Rodriguez C
S Casey 1B
M Thames LF
B Inge 3B

Minnesota (49-43)
L Castillo 2B
J Bartlett SS
J Mauer C
M Cuddyer RF
J Morneau 1B
T Hunter CF
J Cirillo DH
J Tyner LF
N Punto 3B


Pitchers:
Tigers - Nate Robertson LHP (5-6, 4.92 ERA)
Twins - Matt Garza RHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Post-game:

Tigers 1 Twins 0

After games like this I feel more confident about the Tigers keeping their lead in the AL Central. The Tigers only managed 4 hits (I know the box score says five, but Marcus Thames hit Luis Castillo in the Chest with a soft line drive yet it wasn't an error..) yet still came up with the win. Not only did Nate Robertson get in seven innings there were 7 outstanding innings. The key moment of this game was the 6th, with one out Nate gave up a hit and a walked a batter to have two on for the heart of the order. He struck out Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer to end the inning, and for good measure stuck out Justin Moreneau at the top of the 7th. Curtis Granderson continued his ridiculously hot second half streak, going 3 for 3 with a double.

Tiger Hero:
The Pitchers. In addition to Nate Macay McBride pitched a scoreless 8th, and Todd Jones pitched a 1-2-3 9th to preserve the shutout.

Tiger Zero:
Pudge. 0 for 4 with 3 K's. Everyone outside of Granderson struggled so I guess I'll pick on the guy that swung and missed the most.

Tigers Record:
W - L
55 - 36
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 1 GB...2 if Chicago wins it in extra innings)

Digging Through the Basement

Recently I moved back to my parents' house because:

A) my current roommate is getting married at the end of and I thought it would be creepy if I was still there after the nuptials
B) With my own wedding and impending move, I need to save money and you can't beat no rent and free meals for a few months.

So anyways while sifting through mounds of unwashed clothes, my mother points out a container filled with my old baseball cards. So I crack it open for the first time in over ten years not knowing what to expect. My prized possessions were all still there. One of those being my Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie, which was supposed to be my retirement fund, now can be found for roughly the amount of money I wasted on packs of cards to get the damn thing. Don't even get me started on all my Todd Van Poppels. In addition to the cards I knew I still had, I found some hidden gems. Like these Tiger greats from the late 80's and early 90's:

Gary Ward

Lance McCullers

Mike Heath

Paul Gibson

And who could forget Mark Salas?


I also have some other quality finds:
Why here's a card with the patron saint of Big Al's site...


And by the look on face of the dude on this card how did we not know the Lions were screwed


And here's a young Ozzie Guillen wondering what slur to use while signing an autograph for a young Jay Mariotti...


Here's two guys whose last names made me giggle in grade school...and still do


and just because Greg W. Harris was a pansy...GREG A. HARRIS!!!!

Seriously, this dude pitched righty and lefty in the same game...and has a bitchin 'stache. He's badder than B.A. Baracus

This was fun It might even turn into a regular off day feature.
If you enjoyed this please visit Joe Sports Fan where I "borrowed" this idea from

Game 90 Recap

Tigers 11 Mariners 7

Coming into this series the Mariners had won 9 of their last 12 games and at home had won 10 of their last twelve. So leaving Seattle with a split isn't half bad. The Tigers again seemed more comfortable with 2 outs, driving in 6 of the 11 scored while down to their last out of the inning. Curtis Granderson, Gary Sheffield and Pudge might be sad to leave Seattle, since they went a combined 21 for 33. It was also good to see Magglio hit his first home run since June 2nd. You know things are going your way when Sean Casey gets a steal. Speaking of steals, there must be something in the Seattle air, because the Tigers swiped 5 bases today. That's the most they've had in a game since April 23 of last year when they were playing at Safeco Field.

Tiger Hero:
Marcus Thames. Drove in 4 runs and another nail in C-Mo's coffin.

Tiger Zero:
Carlos Guillen. Committed a inning prolonging error, which led to 3 more runs being scored by the Mariners, and made the game look a lot closer than it was.

Tigers Record:
W - L
54 - 36
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 0.5 GB)

Game 89 Recap

Tigers 4 Mariners 6

Tigers, Curtis Kenny Rogers only gave up 5 hits before being removed in the 6th inning, the problem was when the Mariners got those hits there were people on base due to Kenny's 4 walks. Key example of that was in the 6th when a leadoff single started the inning, then two walks loaded the bases, and the coup de grâce came with a grand slam off Kenji Johjima's bat. Things looked good early for the Tigers with Curtis Granderson leading off the game with a home run. Brandon Inge had another amazing play with a superman dive into the stands to catch a foul ball. But Kenny's bad 6th happened. The Tigers put together a rally in the 8th, but J.J. Putz entered the game and the door was shut on the Tigers chances. The Mariners more than likely saw this as a must win game if they wanted to make a statement in the series with Justin Verlander squaring off in the series finale tomorrow afternoon. Any time you have Jeff Weaver standing in your way of a series split, you have to like your chances.

Tiger Hero:
Curtis Granderson. Added a triple to his home run to tie Chase Utley for the Major League lead in extra base hits

Tiger Zero:
Kenny Rogers. Just wasn't fooling anyone today, while lead to a lot of base runners and runs.

Tigers Record:
W - L
53 - 36
1st place AL Central (Cleveland 0.5 GB)

Game 88 Recap

Tigers 6 Mariners 3

Gary Sheffield unloaded on his former team in an interview with HBO's Real Sports, which were made public today. Tonight he came up and unloaded on a Jarrod Washburn offering for the 7th Grand Slam hit by a Tiger this year. That was all the help Jeremy Bonderman needed to pick up his 10th win of the season. Two other positve notes: 1) the defense finally had an error free game; led by Brandon Inge who made a great diving catch at third. 2) another game with the bullpen not allowing the run is nice.

Tiger Hero:
Gary Sheffield. Only one hit tonight, but it was big.

Tiger Zero:
Craig Monroe. Another 0fer, with 2 K's

Tigers Record:
W - L
53 - 35
1st Place AL Central (Cleveland 0.5 GB)

Mid-Season Review

Can't believe the All-Star break has come and gone...well after packing and unpacking and driving 1400 miles over the past two days, it's finally time to sit down and look back at the first half of the season

The Tigers:

• Offense: A- Still up there, but until the last few games of the recent home stand, it had been suspiciously absent
• Starting Pitching: A- The injured starters are all back, and look to be in top form.
• Bullpen: C Making strides, partly due to dumping Jose Mesa and Wil Ledezma, plus moving in Chad Durbin. With a Healthy Zumaya and Rodney I expect improvement towards the end of the year.
• Defense: C Carlos Guillen has been playing in the field like C-Mo has been batting. It seems like a few players take it a bit too easy and that's where most of the mistakes come.
• Coaching: B+ Jim Leyland's finally starting to give Curtis Granderson the start regardless of pitching match-up, but until C-Mo finds the pine no A for Leyland.

Individual Grades (1st Quarter grades in parentheses)

Pitchers:

• Jeremy Bonderman: A- (B+) Still having trouble not allowing the big 1st inning. But 2-9 he's almost unhittable
• Tim Byrdak: C (INC) Started out strong, but one more hitters saw him, and maybe because of injury as well, tailed off towards the break.
• Jose Capellan: INC (NA) Has looked very promising at times, and has also looked scary...a perfect fit for this 2007 bullpen.
• Eulogio DeLaCruz: INC (NA) Frankie came and went, showing he wasn't quite ready for prime time.
• Chad Durbin: B+ (B-) Did all that was asked of him, and more. Looks to be the to go-to guy for a long reliever in the pen
• Jason Grilli: D+ (D-) Still struggling, but has had less gas can moments this past quarter of the season
• Todd Jones: B (B) Still has his roller coaster moments, and believe it or not, by my count has more 1-2-3 appearances (12) than ones he's allowed runs (9)
• Macay McBride INC (NA) A younger paler version of Wil Ledezma hasn't shown much, but really hasn't been asked to. Looks like he's just holding a roster spot for Zumaya or Rodney
• Andrew Miller: B+ (NA) Has looked very good in his few starts, most recently going 7 innings shuting down the Red Sox. If he stays at this level he's got an outside shot at rookie of the year, if he falters, shut him down and put Chad Durbin back in the rotation.
• Nate Robertson:C- (B) Still not able to make it out of the 6th inning, which due to the bullpen struggles is probably why the Tigers are only 4-10 when Nate starts.
• Fernando Rodney: INC (C-) Hurt again, and probably has been most of the year. So hopefully when he's healthy, the inconsistency will stop.
• Bobby Seay: C (C) An average LOOGY no more no less.
• Justin Verlander: A+ (A+) Anyone who throws a no-hitter gets an A+
• Joel Zumaya: INC (INC) Best case scenario, he's back in August, worse case September. Any way he comes back it needs to be 100%.

Edit: I cant believe I left out Kenny Rogers...he gets an easy A for his 1.04 ERA in 3 starts.


Position Players:

• Sean Casey: B (C-) Has turned around his hitting enough to turn trade talks away from first base mostly, but the lack of power from 1st base will more than likely be an offseason focus.
• Curtis Granderson: A+ (A) The catch Sunday earned him the plus. Yes, the strikeouts are still there, but he is tied with Chase Utley for the Major League lead in extra base hits. He is also on pace to easily surpass all his totals from his rookie year in all stats. In fact he has already stolen more bases (9) then he did all last year(8). After this breakout year shouldn't we start talking about Cameron Maybin being the leftfielder of the future for the Tigers?
• Carlos Guillen: B+ (B+) Frequent errors still keep him off the honor roll.
• Omar Infante: C (B-) The only thing keeping him from playing time is the ability to hit a breaking ball.
• Brandon Inge: C+ (C+) After a hot June has cooled off a bit. But still is one of the best #9 hitters in the league
• Craig Monroe: D- (C-) If he doesn't have his patented post All-Star break turn around, these could be his last games in a Tiger uniform
• Magglio Ordonez: A (A+) Slowed down off of his mind-boggling pace for double, yet still is in the thick of it for the AL MVP.
• Neifi Perez: D- (C) We found out not all performance enhancing drugs, enhance performance. His play that saved the no-hitter for Verlander is the only reason he didn't get an "E"
• Placido Polanco: A (B+) Polly is the straw that stirs the drink. A straw with a ridiculously large noggin.
• Mike Rabelo: C (C) Vance Wilson is out for the season and the Tigers could have had worse than Mike as a back-up catcher.
• Ivan Rodriguez: B (C) Has gotten the average higher and may even draw double digit walks this year
• Gary Sheffield: A (B-) It just killing the ball, and surprisingly has been one of the best stolen base threats. If not for Magglio, would be the Tigers MVP
• Marcus Thames: C+ (D) Is starting to make good contact, and with C-Mo slumping, it's going to be real hard for Jim Leyland to leave him on the bench in the second half.

Game 87

The Tigers took the series from the Mariners back when they visited in April. But that was back when Seattle was just supposed to be an also ran in the AL West race. Now the M's are looking to prove they belong in the playoff race playing a Tiger team who has 5 players returning from the All-Star game and possesses the Majors best road record. Plus this gives me something to watch as I prepare my mid-season report

Line-ups:
Detroit (52-34)
C Granderson CF
M Thames LF
G Sheffield DH
M Ordonez RF
C Guillen SS
I Rodriguez C
S Casey 1B
O Infante 2B
B Inge 3B

Seattle (49-36)
I Suzuki CF
J Vidro DH
R Ibanez LF
J Guillen RF
R Sexson 1B
A Beltre 3B
K Johjima C
Y Betancourt SS
J Lopez 2B

Pitchers:
Tigers - Andrew Miller LHP (4-2, 3.31 ERA)
Mariners - Felix Hernandez RHP (5-4, 3.72 ERA)

Post-Game

Tigers 2 Mariners 3

The Tigers lose one in Seattle thanks in part to a strange series of events in the 5th inning. Bruce Froemming's lack of vision, and Carlos Guillen's brain fart by not simply throwing the ball to third allowed the game deciding run to be scored in the 4th. Add Froemming's call, to the hair trigger ejection of Pudge in the 4th, and this was not a banner day for the umpiring crew. The Tigers did get to Seattle's ace, Felix Hernandez, they just weren't able to bring any runs in. Something that should change when facing the rest of Seattle's rotation.

Tiger Hero:
Gary Sheffield. 3 for4 with 2 stolen bases

Tiger Zero:
Tiger Fielding. With 3 errors tonight, they have 8 in the past two games.

Tigers Record:
W - L
52 - 35
1st place AL Central (Cleveland 0.5 GB)

Game 84 Recap

Tigers 9 Red Sox 2

Oh that felt good. There are few things I despise more than Red Sox fans, and by fans, don't mean people who follow the Red Sox, I mean the obnoxious A-holes who come out of the woodwork in every city that Boston plays...sort of like locusts. Exhibit A: The guy last year who was yelling "1984!" every five minutes. Well even a lopsided score like this rarely shuts them up, but it make me feel better. As for the game, first of all they should put a warning on HDTVs whenever Julian Tavares is pitching. Now I know the reason why he is so angry. I'd be pretty ticked off at life if my face looked like it was a landing strip for bottles of sulfuric acid. His pitching was ugly as well, as the Tigers knocked him around for 8 runs on 10 hits. Andrew Miller bounced back from a shaky start against the Twins to pick up the win in his longest outing as a major leaguer. Miller did walk 4 which is way too many walks to give to a great hitting team like Boston, but only gave up one run thanks to his 6 K's and some fine defense. The most glaring example was Grandy's laser from center field to nail Wily Mo Pena at the plate in the 3rd.

Tiger Hero:
Marcus Thames. The River sent two balls deep tonight. One was to straightaway center for a sac fly, the other was over the left field fence for a grand slam. C-Mo is very, very nervous.

Tiger Zero:
Neifi Perez. He needed stimulants to help him play like that?

Tigers Record:
W - L
50 -34
Tied for 1st Place in the AL Central


I'll be at the game tomorrow...then off to Atlanta. See you all late next week!

Cleveland Series Recap

Game 81

Tigers 4 Cleveland 5 (11 Innings)

Game 82

Tigers 6 Indians 4

Game 83

Tigers 12 Indians 3


The Tigers bounced back from a disappointing extra innings loss, to take the series and move one game back of the Indians for first place in the AL Central. IN that first game the Tigers had their chances, and the bullpen only allowed two hits...except that those two hits were home runs. Newly acquired Jose Capellan pitched well striking out three, but his one bad pitch was the deciding run in the game.

The 4th of July was just another game won in Mister Rogers' neighborhood. Kenny's last five starts at home (including the playoffs) he is 5-0 with only 1 earned run. Aided by 4 runs scored with 2 outs, some great defense and some good pitching the Tigers pulled out the win.

As for today's game, this is the team we all think that we should be seeing every night. Not only did the Tigers bast explode with 17 hits, those hits were against a Cy Young contender in C. C. Sabathia. Every starter recorded a hit, which is amazing considering Craig Monroe was in the starting line-up. Of course all this was a bit of overkill since Justin Verlander was showcasing wifilurty pitching at it's finest, at one point striking out 5 straight. Me...well I was just happy to be at a game where the Tigers were up and I could relax and enjoy the day.

This weekend will be loaded with packing and driving. I might be able to get a recap of tomorrow's game in...but with being at Saturday's game and leaving to take my fiancee to Atlanta Sunday morning, I should be back with my mid season review sometime late next week.

Weekend Review

A few quick personal notes here before the allergy medications kick in and I zonk out...wasn't able to catch most of the action this weekend (save for the 9 innings spent at the CoPa on Saturday) for two really big reasons:

1) Myself and my girlfriend of 2 1/2 years just got engaged and time was spent with family celebrating.
2) My new fiancee is a teacher. Since teaching jobs are just as scarce as every other job in Michigan. We will be relocating to Atlanta. She is leaving next weekend(with myself following near the end of the year), and time not spent with family or at the ballpark, was spent packing.

So in between helping her pack and getting pats on the back...there was my weekend in a nutshell. A little insight on why I had to marry this girl, we were going to leave on Saturday, but she delayed to Sunday morning so we could get one last Tigers game in. I can thank the fireworks for that one, as I don't know if she might have been so receptive of the idea had not the lure of the after game firework show been there.

Here's the weekend's baseball action, in box score form:

Game 78

Tigers 1 Twins 11

Game 79

Tigers 5 Twins 8

Game 80

Tigers 1 Twins 0