Archive for the '2005 Tigers' Category

I missed the Ernie Harwell/Fox TV boondoggle. I’m not sure if they aired it when I was listening in on the radio or if I just missed it while watching and typing. Actually, I’m glad I missed it, because it was pretty rude. Had they put Ernie Harwell in the booth and kicked Buck (who I’m not really keen on) and Tim McCarver (who I know a lot of people hate but I actually don’t mind as much), I’m sure more people would have tuned in.

And if you didn’t get enough Ernie and you missed Billfer’s interview with him, you can check out Part one and two by heading on over to his site.

One thing I haven’t touched on too much is the ascent of Chris Shelton. After tearing up and winning the MVP of the Arizona Fall League, and then summarily hitting AAA pitching pretty hard, he finally got the call up when Carlos Pena was sent down after some pretty poor hitting. This has to be the single biggest upgrade the Tigers have made in the second quarter of the season because Shelton has been hitting at a .345/.391/.580 clip in 119 at bats (not including his 1 for 2 night he’s having right now). The .970 OPS is probably the most impressive part of it and the sample size is getting larger so it’s making it more legit.

UPDATE – Make that 2 for 3. He just hit a solo shot.

A couple of reasons why can be deduced by looking at some of the Hardball Times advanced statistics. He’s been extremely patient at the plate (4.2 pitches per plate appearance is the best on the team) and he’s made great contact (26.1% line drive percentage trails only Polanco’s 26.3%). Making good contact has resulted in an impressive .386 batting average on balls in play. And in half of the at bats, he’s matched Omar Infante’s 28 Runs Created (although with the homer tonight, he’s probably passed him).

Buddy Bell is in town. Bell has the distinction of being the manager of the second worst Tigers team ever. After replacing Sparky Anderson in 1996, the Tigers lost 109 games and they set the single season record for homeruns allowed by a pitching staff (241). The pitching staff was even worse then the 2003 version as they sported an ERA of 6.38, which was the second worst of all time. Only the 1930 Phillies had a worse ERA (6.71), although they were a tick worse then the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (6.37).

The 2005 All Star Game has come and gone. As I look back on it, I thought it was an okay game. No real drama, but it was nice being able to see the guys play. It’s funny how with the advent of cable television and the internet, it’s much easier to follow ALL of the teams. It wasn’t that long ago that the All Star Game was a huge deal just because it was one of the few times you got to see some of the National League players play. And the only time you saw the AL play the NL other then in the All Star Game was in the World Series. So while I like having a couple of choices every night as far as games to watch, I do miss the nostalgia.

It was nice listening in on Ernie Harwell in the fourth inning. While I thought they should have let him do more play by play (he only called one batter, Jason Varitek’s walk in the bottom of the fourth), hearing him in the booth is always a good thing.

Now it’s back to reality. Tigers start off with a four game series against the Royals tomorrow. Hopefully they can keep up their recent hot streak. Fighting for a Wild Card spot might be too tough a road to travel, but I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the season. Seeing Jeremy Bonderman blossom into a star has been the best thing about 2005. 20 wins isn’t out of reach, and that in and of itself will make the season a good one for me.

Ernie Harwell is supposed to do the radio play by play in the fourth inning. I’ll definitely be listening to this.

It’s always nice to see the Tigers being mentioned by the national media (unless of course it was 2003). Peter Gammons mentioned somewhere (I heard this on the radio but I couldn’t find the story to confirm) that he thinks the Tigers are the team to watch out for in the second half. He also posted the results of a poll of 50 GMs, executives, scouts and managers. Brandon Inge’s name came up a couple of times. He trailed only Brian Roberts as the most improved player and he finished tied for fifth for best fielding infielder. Not too shabby for a guy who just over a year ago didn’t have a job.

With the All Star game in a couple of days, I thought back on what I thought was the biggest surprise of the first half of the 2005 season. For the Tigers, I think it’s the fact that they’re pitching has been carrying them. Prior to the start of the season, I figured if anything, the hitting would be the strength while the pitching staff would be mediocre. But this is turning out to be one of the best pitching seasons for the Tigers in quite some time. At this point in time, the Tigers have a 3.88 ERA. The last time they had an ERA that good for an entire season was 1988 when they posted a 3.72 ERA. I know there’s a long way to go, but even if the pitching staff tanks and that number goes up to 4.25, you’re still looking at 1988 as the last time it’s been that low.

As far as the entire league, I think the Yankees topsy turvy season has to be at the top, with the White Sox run a close second. I picked the Yankees to win the AL penant, and I’m still standing by it. I also think you’re going to see the White Sox taper off, but at this point, they’d have to play pretty bad to give up their lead.

The Tigers finished off the Devil Rays and won three of four. They were a couple of outs away from a sweep, but Troy Percival once again had problems in the ninth Saturday night. With three blown saves and two other losses, I really don’t think we’re getting our money’s worth considering he’s only saved eight games. But the Tigers head into the All Star break winning five of their last six, which is definitely a good thing.

My All Star Game plans are the same as last year. I’ll watch the first couple of innings with my son before he goes to bed and I’ll probably finish my column for the Hardball Times with the game on in the background after that. Hopefully the next time the All Star game comes into town, I’ll be able to go to the game with him.

Box scores cannot tell the entire story of a baseball game. At times, when I don’t get to catch the game on television, I rely on them for my columns. And when I checked out the boxscore for Justin Verlander’s debut, it obviously told me a different story from what really happened. If you want a different (and better) take on what happened, check out the comment Todd left on my column last night. Todd also has his own blog, Be the Power. Be sure to check it out.

Quite a bit happened both when I was getting ready to leave for my weekend trip and while I was gone. Magglio Ordonez made his real debut for the Tigers and hit a homerun in his first game back off the DL to help the Tigers top the Yankees. He doubled on Saturday but was held hitless the rest of the weekend. Fortunately he bounced back today and hit a two run shot tonight and the Tigers are up 3-1. He also has his first multihit game in a Tiger’s uniform.

Also of note was the shifting of Bruce Fields and Kirk Gibson. A lot of what I’ve read I agree with. Fields is a former minor league manager and is probably a better sounding board as far as strategy goes because he’s been there before. But I just don’t picture Gibby as a hitting instructor. In a radio interview Tram simply stated things weren’t working and things needed to change. Apparantly Gibby isn’t too happy about it, so it’ll interesting to see what happens once the season ends.

Finally, Ivan Rodriguez got the nod as the lone Tiger All Star. I thought consideration could have been given for both Jeremy Bonderman (ace of the staff with 10 wins) and Brandon Inge (third in the AL in VORP among thirdbasemen). Grady Little said Matt Clement, who was also snubbed, would have gotten the start ahead of Bonderman anyway so it looks like Jeremy will have to wait until next year.

I also want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. Some of you even wanted to send me money or presents. It’s not that I disapprove of people who do, but I don’t solicit donations. The advertising pays for any site maintenance, but I guess there’s also the time I put into the site. If you’re seriously interested in making a donation, send me an email off line or check out my Amazon.com wishlist.

Probably the best birthday present was hitting a milestone today. Sometime tonight I’ll have my 50,000th visitor. I know that’s a weeks worth of traffic for some of the larger sites, but it’s something that I’m proud of.

Game 1 (Final Score 3-9, Indians win)

Johnson faced Elarton in the first half of the day/night doubleheader in Cleveland. While Elarton and the Detroit offense combined to throw zeroes on the board, Johnson gave up some crooked numbers. It started in the first with one out gone and Crisp at bat; He doubled and scored on Hafner’s single (0-1). Hafner made it to second on Johnson’s wild pitch but Broussard struck out, reducing the scoring threat. Belliard hit an infield single but Gerut ended the inning.

Crisp again started a successful inning for the Indians, hitting a one out single. Hafner’s singled sent him all the way around to third and Broussard’s single scored Crisp (0-2). Belliard hit a sac fly that only scored Hafner and Johnson escaped after allowing another single when Hernandez jumped on the first pitch he saw and hit an inning ending groundout (0-3).

Bard brought the pain in the fourth, leading off with a double and scoring on Peralta’s single (0-4). Sizemore singled and Hafner, Johnson’s last batter, brought everyone home with a three run homer (0-7). Creek relieved Johnson and pitched pretty well until Hafner connected again, deep to center this time, in the sixth (0-8).

Both teams scored in the seventh, the Tigers on White’s single (the third in a row) and the Indians on Peralta’s (1-9). The Tigers’ singles all came with no outs used but only one crossed the plate because Rodriguez and Young combined to make three outs. The last Tigers’ gasp was in the top of the ninth when Shelton and White hit back-to-back extra base hits, Shelton for two and White for four (3-9). That was, however, a new line of harmony added to the Tigers’ 2005 Season Symphony I’m dubbing “Too Little Too Late.”

Game 2 (Final Score: 0-6, Indians win)

The Indians tagged Verlander for three early runs and never looked back. Sizemore became Verlander’s first major league victim and Crisp took the first hit of Verlander’s career. While Crisp stole second, Hafner became Verlander’s first career strikeoutee. Martinez’s double was the first extra base hit and Crisp the first earned run allowed by Verlander (0-1). Broussard followed with another double and Peralta hit an RBI single (0-3). Verlander threw his first wild pitch and issued his first and second walk to Gerut and Hernandez respectively before finally completing his first major league inning courtesy of Cora. Oh by the way, it was Verlander’s first career major league appearance today.

The second and third innings were also quite interesting. Monroe hit a one out double and Wilson drew a two out walk in the second but Logan stranded them. Not to be outdone, the Indians’ Sizemore hit a lead off double in the bottom half and was stranded. Inge singled to start the Tigers’ third and was doubled out on Polanco’s grounder so Shelton thought it was the perfect time to hit a double and Ordonez thought he’d groundout to end the inning. Verlander had his first major league fielding error but it came to nil since the Indians weren’t in a threatening position.

The fourth and fifth innings passed unremarkably into history but the Indians started something in the bottom of the sixth. Peralta singled, Gerut walked, Hernandez hit a fly for an out, and Walker replaced Verlander, ending his day. Cora was good for the second out of the inning but Sizemore hit a double that plated Peralta (0-4).

To start the seventh, the Tigers looked like they could claw their way back into the game. Miller replaced Davis on the mound for Cleveland and Infante greeted him with a lead off double. Wilson’s single was followed by Logan’s fielder’s choice, which featured Infante being thrown out at home. Inge used the second out but the Tigers still looked dangerous since Miller helped the cause with a balk, sending Logan over to second and Wilson to third. Alas, Polanco could only hit a hard grounder for the third out. Rodney was called on to put out the bases loaded fire in the bottom half and the game moved to the eighth inning.

The Tigers did jack against Miller’s replacement but Cleveland struck again with the long ball. Crisp beat out an inside-the-park homerun on a ball that Logan couldn’t play cleanly and Hafner crushed Rodney’s full count pitch deep into right field (0-6).

Riske finished the Tigers in the ninth but Detroit again made it interesting. Wilson was ejected when he complained that both strike two and three were off the plate and he wasn’t getting those calls all day. During the verbal exchange, the third base umpire ran down to help out and tripped, falling into Wilson, who thought he was getting tackled. Wilson later insinuated that the umpire was in a hurry to leave and that is why he called a couple of bad pitches strikes. I might have made that last bit up, but I swear I read it some where.

Game 3 (Final Score: 3-2, Tigers win)

The Tigers avoided the sweep in Cleveland by winning a close game, powered by the pitching of Maroth. The Tigers’ new batting order started the game right, two men on with one out and bases loaded with two out in the first inning but couldn’t get anything done. Maroth did his part keeping the Indians scoreless until his hitters gave him a lead.

The Tigers strung together a few hits in the third. Polanco led off with a single, took third on Guillen’s double, and scored on Shelton’s groundout (1-0). Ordonez came up next and he parked the 1-0 pitch in the cheap seats in right and escorted Guillen home (3-0). Maroth threw only six pitches in the bottom half of the inning but one of them Boone hit for a home run to put the home team right there (3-1).

The Tigers and Indians traded 1-2-3 innings or innings with only a single base runner through eight. Westbrook gave way to Cabrera in the sixth and Maroth gave way to German in the seventh, who gave way to Farnsworth in the eighth when the fun started up again. Farnsworth got Sizemore to swing at strike three in a full count but Crisp singled and Martinez walked, giving Broussard runners at the corners and one out. He went the way of Sizemore and so did his buddy Belliard. Percival entered in the ninth to close the game out but being a showman, he decided to give the home side’s fans some hope. Peralta led off with a solo shot but only Hafner was able to get on base the rest of the inning with a walk and Percival squeaked out another one (3-2).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	8	2	5	0	0	6	0.625	0.750
O Infante	3	0	1	0	1	2	0.333	0.667
B Inge	11	0	1	0	0	1	0.091	0.091
N Logan	7	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	10	0	2	0	0	3	0.200	0.300
M Ordonez	8	1	2	2	0	5	0.250	0.625
P Polanco	8	1	2	0	0	2	0.250	0.250
I Rodriguez	8	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Shelton	12	1	3	1	0	5	0.250	0.417
J Smith	3	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	7	1	2	3	1	5	0.286	0.714
V Wilson	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	9	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Totals	97	6	19	6	4	30	0.196	0.309
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
D Creek	2.2	1	1	1	1	3	4.09	0.91
K Farnsworth	1	1	0	0	1	3	0.00	2.00
F German	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
J Johnson	3.1	11	7	7	0	4	20.32	3.55
M Maroth	6.2	4	1	1	2	4	1.45	0.97
T Percival	1	1	1	1	1	1	9.00	2.00
F Rodney	1.1	2	2	2	0	2	16.36	1.82
C Spurling	1	2	1	0	1	0	0.00	3.00
J Verlander	5.1	7	4	4	3	4	7.06	1.96
J Walker	1.1	3	0	0	1	1	0.00	3.64
Totals	25	32	17	16	10	23	5.76	1.68

Game 1 (Final Score: 2-10, Tigers win)

Bonderman drew Johnson to start the series and pitched pretty well. He allowed base runners in every inning but two and only two runs. The team’s defense was pretty good; They helped Bonderman out by turning a pair of double plays with runners on early in the inning and the one error didn’t hurt much. Reviewing the game log, a majority of the outs (22 of 27) were recorded with groundouts or strikeouts, including double plays. The furious Yankees rally in the ninth (a double, two walks, and a wild pitch) was calmly handled by Bonderman, who definitely earned his win today.

The teams traded first inning runs before the Tigers broke the game open in the second. A pair of singles and a balk put Sheffield in a perfect position to punish the Tigers but he hit a groundout that scored Jeter from second and advanced Cano to third (1-0). Rodriguez (ARod for the rest of the series) and Matsui ended the inning quietly. Inge’s and Polanco’s back-to-back doubles tied the game up before the rest of the inning was wasted by Guillen, Ordonez, and Rodriguez (IRod for the rest of the series) (1-1). White hit a lead off single and Shelton smacked a two run homer (1-3). Monroe followed with a single, took second on Logan’s successful sacrifice, and third on Johnson’s wild pitch. Inge drew a walk and advanced on Polanco’s sac fly (1-4).

The Tigers added to their lead with liberal use of the long ball, except in the fourth when Logan pretty much killed a good inning with his double play ball after Shelton and Monroe hit a pair of singles to start (1-5). Guillen singled with one away in the fifth and Ordonez had his first home run in the Majors this year (1-7). For the curious, Ordonez is hitting .071 with one homer for $7.2 million in salary this year (Yes, I know he’s been injured).

Polanco trebled Matsui’s solo homer in the top of the sixth with his three run shot in the bottom. With two outs, Logan was hit by a pitch, stole second, and Inge walked. Polanco hit the 1-2 pitch from Proctor-ologist deep into left and put the Tigers way ahead (2-10). The lead off triple and one out walk in the seventh that were erased on Monroe’s double play didn’t much matter as the Tigers took care of business in the opener.

Game 2 (Final score: 8-4, Yankees win)

The Tigers scored a respectable number of runs and still lost because the Yankees made Percival pay with two outs left in the ninth. These things happen to good relievers every now and again against good teams so it is disappointing but not depressing to see this result. What is disappointing is that Womack and Williams combined for the deathblow that totaled four runs and neither is having a year worth remembering. A tip of the hat to Douglass who continues to look like a major league level fifth starter and kept the team in the game.

Douglass and Mussina traded scoreless innings until the fourth when ARod walked on four pitches. Matsui added a single and ARod scooted all the way over to third and scored on Posada’s fielder’s choice hit to short (1-0). Williams added a single but it was in between outs two and three so it didn’t amount to much. Polanco and Guillen led off the bottom of the fourth with two singles and Polanco scored on Ordonez’s double (1-1). After IRod made the first out, Young cleared the bases with his homer before Shelton and Monroe combined to end the inning (1-4).

The Yankees mounted an effective come back that began when ARod reached first with some help from IRod, who dropped strike three and couldn’t make the play. Matsui walked, Posada struck out, Giambi grounded out, and Douglass looked like he was going to be OK. Williams hit a single that plated both runners and squished that thought (3-4). The come back was completed with Rodney on the mound facing Sheffield. After Jeter worked a nine pitch at bat for a weak single and Cano popped out, Sheffield smacked the second pitch Rodney threw him for a double, scoring Jeter (4-4). Rodney and Walker combined to keep the Yankees from taking the lead by striking out ARod and getting Matsui to ground out.

Gordon steamrolled the Tigers in the bottom of the seventh and Farnsworth pitched an exciting eighth. With one out used, he walked Giambi (pinch runner Womack) and Williams followed with a single. Martinez pinch hit for Crosby and hit into a fielder’s choice but the lead runner stayed on. Jeter walked and Cano jumped on the first pitch he saw, sending it to short for the third out. Gordon allowed two base runners on a walk and an error in the bottom of the frame but they didn’t do anything to help.

In the top of the ninth, ARod hit a one out double and scored on Womack’s single (5-4). Matsui popped out and Posada was intentionally walked by Percival to get to Womack. With two men on, Williams hit a three run homer, paving the way to Rivera’s scoreless ninth (8-4).

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-0, Yankees win)

The rubber match went to the Yankees in stomach turning fashion. Wang was effective but not even close to dominant; I’m not sure how in the span of two games you can go from kicking around a great pitcher to being kicked around by a rookie. This game is a story of missed opportunities and another example of Robertson catching the shaft from the Detroit offense. He reminds me of a friend that goes out and has women all over him every weekend but always ends up going home with a drag queen instead (Not that there’s anything wrong with that).

In the first, Inge and Polanco led off the game with a single and a hit by pitch and Guillen, Ordonez, and IRod couldn’t get them home. Polanco hit a two out triple in the fifth and Wang convinced Guillen to strand him there. Ordonez worked a walk during a ten pitch at bat to start the sixth and IRod followed him on base, getting hit by another pitch. Young struck out and Shelton hit into a double play and no one came home. Those were the golden opportunities the Tigers wasted with Wang pitching.

Meanwhile Robertson had only three nasty situations in his nine innings of work. He allowed two singles to start the third before getting Flaherty and Jeter to end the inning. In the fourth, Cano scored the game’s only run on Sheffield’s single after his lead off double (1-0). ARod struck out and IRod gunned down Sheffield on his steal attempt so Williams’ and Matsui’s back-to-back singles were squandered when Sierra used up the last out of the inning. Giambi walked to start the fifth and Flaherty botched his bunt, letting the Tigers erase the lead runner. Jeter followed with a single but Cano and Sheffield wasted both runners.

IRod took Rivera deep to left in the bottom of the ninth- like against the White Sox -but not deep enough. His lead off extra base hit was diddled away once again by the Tigers batters and the Yankees took the series.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
C Guillen	12	2	3	0	0	3	0.250	0.250
B Inge	11	2	3	0	2	4	0.273	0.364
N Logan	8	1	1	0	0	1	0.125	0.125
C Monroe	12	1	3	0	0	3	0.250	0.250
M Ordonez	10	2	2	3	2	6	0.200	0.600
P Polanco	10	2	4	5	0	10	0.400	1.000
I Rodriguez	11	0	3	0	0	6	0.273	0.545
C Shelton	11	2	4	2	1	7	0.364	0.636
R White	4	1	1	0	0	1	0.250	0.250
D Young	8	1	1	3	0	4	0.125	0.500
Totals	97	14	25	13	5	45	0.258	0.464
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	9	8	2	2	2	5	2.00	1.11
S Douglass	6	7	3	1	2	6	1.50	1.50
K Farnsworth	1	1	0	0	2	0	0.00	3.00
T Percival	1	3	4	4	1	0	36.00	4.00
N Robertson	9	9	1	1	1	4	1.00	1.11
F Rodney	0.2	2	1	1	0	1	45.00	10.00
J Walker	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	27	30	11	9	8	16	3.00	1.41

Justin Verlander made his MLB debut last night in the second half of the Tiger’s doubleheader with the Indians. One start isn’t a good sample size, but he took the loss. He didn’t get shelled, but I’d hardly say he pitched well. I’m still not sure what Dombrowski and Tram were trying to accomplish with this, but I’m hoping Verlander quietly gets sent back to Erie and continues where he continues his great season, along with a more normal MLB progression.

Today is my 34th birthday. I’m not sure if that’s old by blogging standards anymore because there’s hundreds of baseball blogs out there now. Unfortunately my birthday won’t be nearly as fun as the long weekend since I have to work. So, it will come and go with little fanfare.

The long weekend trip was a nice one although travelling with a one year old always makes things interesting. We got down to the Great American Ballpark in time to see the ninth inning of the first game (Reds lost), then stuck around for most of the second game (Reds won). The ballpark is a really nice one. We were sitting on the first base line about half way up the outfield. I got to see Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey both hit homers, and my son was having a blast.

Yesterday we went to King’s Island and once again, Devin did really well. He even stopped trying to pull his ear plugs out of his ears and was able to have some fun in the water park. Probably the funniest thing he did was when we put him into a kids ride (cars that go around in circles). He was having such a blast he was screaming and waving to everyone as he went around.

The drive home was uneventful, which was definitely a good thing. Now it’s back to reality. With quarter end at work, another Business of Baseball Report due for Wednesday over at the Hardball Times, and the fact that once again I’m behind on both the 1935 Tiger Diary and 1975 Reds Diary, I have to put my nose to the grindstone and get some work done this week.

Game 1 (Final Score: 1-2, White Sox win)

In close games the missed opportunities really jump out at you since you feel like they would have made the difference. There’s no guarantee that the two on, one out spot in the bottom of the first would have made the difference. The one that stings is the wasted lead off triple in the bottom of the ninth that WOULD have give the Tigers more time to tack up some more runs on the Sox. Young actually had a pretty good at bat from what I caught of it except for the end of it when he popped up into the troposphere. Monroe and Shelton showed their youth it looks since they both swung at the second pitch they saw and beat it into the ground.

The Tigers struck first in the second, getting a run on Shelton’s single. With one out, Monroe singled and took third on Widger’s throw when he was stealing second. Shelton’s single scored him from third and the rest of the inning went out quietly (1-0).

The Sox tied the game in the fifth and took the lead an inning later. Uribe’s one out triple became the first run on Podsednik’s sac fly (1-1). Robertson escaped the single and walk he gave up to the next two batter when he convinced Konerko to swing at a really tempting pitch. With one out gone in the sixth on a 2-2 count with Dye, Robertson hung an inside fastball that was sent post haste into the outfield for the winning run (2-1).

Game 2 (Final Score: 3-4, White Sox win)

I’m sorry I missed watching more of this game; As it stands, the six innings I watched was less than half the game. Johnson was effective but not as good as he’s been. Sidebar: Could someone please tell me who defined a “quality start” to be what it is? (Back to the usual blather.) He staked the Sox to an early lead with men on second and third after a pair of singles by Everett and Pierzinski and a bad throw in from the outfield. Crede’s one out single plated Everett and Johnson’s wild pitch did the same for Pierzynski (2-0). In the bottom half Shelton smacked a two run homer after Monroe’s one out single (2-2).

Konerko’s third inning job put the Sox up and the game stayed pretty even until the eighth (3-2). Johnson’s second wild pitch went for naught just like both teams’ incidental base runners. The game was tied after a one out triple by Shelton on White’s pinch hit sac fly (3-3). The Tigers loaded the bases on Politte’s ineffective pitching with two singles from Polanco and Guillen and Young’s walk. Rodriguez struck out on three pitches to make the first out and Monroe hit the 1-2 pitch he saw into the ground for two more.

Vizcaino almost let the Tigers take the game in the ninth with two out singles from Inge and Logan before Polanco grounded out to end the threat. German returned the favor in the ninth before escaping the deadly Thomas with a foul out.

The game looked like it was over in the bottom of the eleventh or top of the twelfth but either was not to be. Vizcaino and Takatsu gave up a pair of runners but the Tigers couldn’t convert and Rodney gave up a pair of one out base runners before finally escaping only to be greeted with Thomas’ homer on a 2-0 count in the top of the thirteenth (4-3). The Tigers came storming back, loading the bases on two singles and an intentional walk, but Takatsu mowed down Inge and Polanco for the Sox victory.

Game 3 (Final Score: 6-1, White Sox win)

After last night’s excellent game and the long rain delay today, the Tigers laid this piece of crap on us. Yes, I am bitter. This was a great game through five innings and then it just fell apart and the team is watching .500 and respectability get further away. If the team is below .500 at the end of this year there will continue to be a substantial Tiger premium to sign free agents and some of the best will likely ignore the money entirely. Illitch looks like he’ll spend but I don’t want to have to overpay a pitcher like Jason Johnson to hold up the bottom end of the rotation for three years since that is embarrassing. Yes, there is young help in the minors but we’re one or two freak injuries away from no future.

The Tigers had a potent offense for two innings. Garcia allowed runners on second and third with one out after he threw one away and we watched White and Monroe waste this opportunity. Gomez led off the second with and single and Infante joined him on base after an error by Ozuna. Wilson plated Gomez and Logan used the first out to sacrifice the runners over to second and third (0-1). Inge and Polanco ended the last serious scoring threat and this inning quietly for the Tigers.

Crede of all people scored the first three runs when he belted Maroth’s pitch he saw in the fifth into the stands (1-3). Maroth allowed his second homer of the day when Everett plated two more with his effort in the sixth (5-1). Spurling relieved Maroth in the seventh and Dye finished the scoring with his RBI double (6-1). A lead off double was all the rally the Tigers could sustain in the ninth and the Sox’s sweep passed into the history books.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
A Gomez	6	1	1	0	0	1	0.167	0.167
C Guillen	10	0	2	0	0	2	0.200	0.200
O Infante	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	15	0	2	0	0	2	0.133	0.133
N Logan	9	0	3	0	2	3	0.333	0.333
C Monroe	14	2	4	0	0	4	0.286	0.286
P Polanco	14	0	3	0	1	4	0.214	0.286
I Rodriguez	10	0	3	0	0	6	0.300	0.600
C Shelton	14	2	6	3	0	11	0.429	0.786
J Smith	1	0	1	0	0	1	1.000	1.000
R White	8	0	3	1	0	4	0.375	0.500
V Wilson	3	0	1	1	0	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	9	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
Totals	117	5	29	5	4	39	0.248	0.333
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.00
F German	2	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	7	7	3	3	0	2	3.86	1.00
M Maroth	7	6	5	5	2	1	6.43	1.14
T Percival	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
N Robertson	7	6	2	2	2	9	2.57	1.14
F Rodney	2	3	1	1	0	1	4.50	1.50
C Spurling	2	2	1	1	2	0	4.50	2.00
J Walker	1	1	0	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
Totals	31	27	12	12	7	17	3.48	1.10

For the previous three years, my family and I have gone on a baseball trip every year around Independence Day, which is also near my birthday (July 5). The first trip was in 2002 and we went to Boston for a memorable trip to see the Tigers play the Red Sox at Fenway Stadium. The next year I got to see Roger Clemens pitch against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and last year we went to Toronto and watched the Blue Jays play from our hotel room.

This year’s trip was supposed to be to Cleveland, but the Indians aren’t in town this weekend. Instead we’re going to Cincinnati to check out their new ballpark. It doesn’t look to be a great pitching match up (Wandy Rodriguez vs. Aaron Harang), but I’m hoping to see Ken Griffey, Jr. and Adam Dunn for the first time.

The White Sox finished their sweep of the Tigers this afternoon. Most disheartening is the fact that we could have put away the first two games, but didn’t. The loss puts us six games back of the Orioles for the Wild Card, with some other teams in between us. One of those teams is coming to town this weekend. We didn’t have much luck against the Yankees when we went to Yankee Stadium, so hopefully that will turn around. Jeremy Bonderman will be going up against Randy Johnson tomorrow.

Magglio Ordonez hit a homer and is two for three for the Mud Hens tonight. You can actually tune into the game by going to MinorLeagueBaseball.com.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Game 1 (Final Score: 2-1, Diamondbacks win)

I’ll start with a newsworthy observation by the espn.com recap: “Former “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff watched the game from the Diamondbacks’ executive seats.” Methinks they put the quotation marks around “Baywatch” instead of “star” unintentionally. Like Haselhoff, the Tigers are mediocre, reaching .500 again with today’s one run loss.

Tigers’ hitters had a “Hasselhoffian” (mediocre) day. Shawn Estes held them in check with the only run coming in the fifth with two outs when Monroe came around to score on Maroth’s single (1-0). Inge followed with another single but Estes got Polanco to line out. With two more singles in the sixth the Tigers looked in decent shape to repeat their one run feat of the previous inning but Estes closed the inning out again.

The Diamondback hitters caught up with Maroth in the bottom half, scoring both runs with the help of a questionable play (not as questionable as NBA Finals officiating though). Until then Maroth had avoided jams like he had in the fourth with two on and none out. Luis Gonzalez, likely to be the first run of the game, was gunned down at home as he tried to score from first on Troy Glaus’s double. But in sixth, Royce Clayton and Gonzalez were both safe on a fielder’s choice call that Trammell argued before getting ejected. Glaus walked and Tony “Half Season” Clark hit an RBI single off Inge’s glove to tie the game and Shawn Green’s sac fly ended up the winning edge (2-1).

The Tigers threatened in the seventh and eighth but couldn’t crack Estes or the Dbacks bullpen. Logan walked and took second on Maroth’s sacrifice but he joined Inge to end the inning on a strike’em out, throw’em out double play. Polanco and White paired singles in the eighth but Rodriguez and Monroe ended the inning and fans’ hopes with a pair of fly outs.

Game 2 (Final Score: 1-5, Tigers win)

The Tigers finally turn to a fifth starter and surprised only those fans without a pulse by calling on Sean Douglass for his first big league start as a Tiger. Douglass’ opposition was Javier Vasquez who recently made the Tigers line-up look atrocious during the Dbacks visit to Comerica. Vasquez continued his dominance of the Tigers by allowing only one base runner in each of the first four innings, on three singles and a walk. Douglass countered with a less dominating though effective performance with his only serious black mark coming on a lead off homer by Jose Cruz Jr. in the second (1-0).

Douglass made it through six full innings so he got to see the Tigers come from behind for the win. The game was tied by Polanco in the bottom of the sixth on Rodriguez’s two out single (1-1). Vasquez started to pitch in the seventh like he was still a Yankee: Infante doubled, Shelton had a pinch hit RBI single, Inge smacked a triple, and Polanco singled him home (1-4). Javier Lopez entered the game and provided the Dbacks some relief since he got Young to fan while Polanco took second on a passed ball. Brandon Medders relieved him ineffectively and gave up an RBI single to White (1-5). Both teams’ pens closed the door on their opponents’ batsmen setting up a rubber match tomorrow.

Alas, there was no information about David Hasselhoff’s plans for the evening.

Game 3 (Final Score: 13-7, Diamondbacks win)

Perhaps you’ve heard of Jeremy Bonderman? Well he was supposed to pitch in this game but he apparently has a body double that pitches like Jose Lima and that’s the guy who threw BP for the Dbacks during the first three innings. They scored off Limderman in the first on a single by Alex Cintron and a two home run by Shawn Green, in the second on a two run single by Cintron and a single by Chad Tracy, and finally in the third on Cruz’s two run homer (8-0). Creek relieved Limderman but not the Tigers in the third since he allowed another run on Counsell’s double (9-0). Meanwhile the Tigers earned first base on a walk, an intentional walk, a hit-by-pitch, and second on a wasted double.

Creek increased the deficit in the fourth after Chad Tracy extended a single into a triple with the help of Logan’s error. He crossed the plate on Green’s second homer and Creek later completed the inning (11-0). Spurling entered the game in the sixth and surrendered the third two run homer of the day to Tony Clark (13-0).

The bats finally woke up in the bottom of the sixth, perhaps rejuvenated by watching their old mate park one in the outfield like he did so infrequently as a Tiger. The batters smacked three doubles, a triple, and a homer, resulting in five runs (13-5). Where were all these extra base hits earlier? Two more runs were added in the ninth on a lot of singles and an error by Cintron but the Dbacks took the series (13-7).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
J Bonderman	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
S Douglass	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
T Giarratano	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Guillen	5	0	1	0	0	2	0.200	0.400
O Infante	10	2	2	3	0	6	0.200	0.600
B Inge	12	1	3	1	1	5	0.250	0.417
N Logan	9	1	1	1	2	2	0.111	0.222
M Maroth	3	0	1	1	0	0	0.333	0.000
C Monroe	13	1	6	0	0	7	0.462	0.538
P Polanco	10	2	4	1	1	4	0.400	0.400
I Rodriguez	10	0	1	1	0	1	0.100	0.100
C Shelton	6	3	2	1	0	2	0.333	0.333
J Smith	3	2	2	1	0	4	0.667	1.333
R White	10	0	3	1	1	3	0.300	0.300
V Wilson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
D Young	9	1	3	1	1	4	0.333	0.444
Totals	106	13	29	12	7	40	0.274	0.377
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	2	9	8	8	1	1	36.00	5.00
D Creek	2	3	3	3	1	3	13.50	2.00
S Douglass	6	4	1	1	2	1	1.50	1.00
K Farnsworth	1.2	2	0	0	1	2	0.00	2.50
F German	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.00	2.00
M Maroth	6.2	7	2	0	1	2	0.00	1.29
T Percival	1	0	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
F Rodney	2	0	0	0	1	2	0.00	0.50
C Spurling	2.1	2	2	2	1	4	8.57	1.43
J Walker	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
Totals	25	29	16	14	9	16	5.04	1.52

Due to recent time commitments and my own general idiocy I would like to apologize to my one loyal reader at this time for the tardiness of my posts. Sorry Mom!

Game 1 (Final Score: 7-2, Tigers win)

Bonderman started the series against a team that the Tigers haven’t played well in the last few years. The opportunity to be a game over .500 and pick up a full game on a team in the Central isn’t tremendous pressure in the larger scheme but this is a team that hasn’t had a winning record very often and small victories make fans like me feel better. Thus Bonderman’s stellar performance helped to wash away some of my bitter feelings towards the team and its “pitching prospects” of past years and poor season performances. Whew.

The hitters provided a fair lead in the top of the fourth with three runs scoring on a pair of singles. Polanco, on third after hitting a single, making second on an error, and advancing on Young’s groundout, was joined on base by White after he earned a walk. Rodriguez’s single pushed everyone ahead a base and gave Monroe two base runners (1-0). His single gave Shelton the bases loaded and Shelton’s single scored two more runs before Infante and Logan stymied the inning with ineffective hitting (3-0).

Bonderman was excellent through three innings. He got some defensive help from Pudge’s pickoff of Joe Mauer in the first after Mauer’s double, but Pudge wasn’t able to help with Shannon Stewart’s double in the fourth. Mauer and Justin Morneau helped the Tigers by making outs but they were sandwiched around Lew Ford’s run scoring single (3-1). With Torri Hunter at the plate, Pudge erased another Twin base runner, catching Ford trying to take second. In the fifth, the Twins touched Bonderman up for another run when Jacque Jones singled Hunter (single and stolen base) home from second but by then the Tigers had doubled their run output for the game.

Kyle Lohse issued another walk (a rarity from a Twins pitcher) to Inge to start the inning. He got Polanco to fly out but Young’s fly cleared the fences for two runs (5-1). After White’s groundout and Rodriguez’s single, Matt Guerrier came in for Lohse. Monroe greeted him with a double and took third on a wild pitch to Shelton after Rodriguez had scored, but Shelton ended the inning (6-1). Guerrier gave up three singles in the seventh and Rodriguez earned an RBI with his groundout to complete the scoring (7-2).

Terry Mulholland continued the effective Twins’ relief in the eighth and ninth and Bonderman finished out the game using only 107 pitches.

Game 2 (Final Score: 8-1, Tigers win)

Another excellent start supported with plenty of runs. It makes me wish the Tigers would save some runs for when they need them but I’ll take the win and so did Robertson. Despite surrendering just singles the entire game and working against his penchant for issuing walks, Robertson was still in the hole early. The game started fine with Stewart jumping on the third pitch for a groundout but Luis Rivas took first on a bunt single and second on Young’s error. He scored on Ford’s single but Hunter erased Ford with his 5-4-3 double play (1-0).

The Tigers evened the game up in the second and pulled ahead in the third. Monroe hit a two out double and scored on an Infante single after the Shelton walk (1-1). Logan drew a walk but Inge failed with runners at the corners after his grounder was gobbled up for the third out. In the third, Polanco led off with a double and White earned a one out walk. Rodriguez singled Polanco home from third, which he’d taken on Joe Mays’ wild pitch (2-1). Monroe plated White but Shelton’s hard hit ball was directly at Rivas and was turned into two outs (3-1).

Infante struck again in the fourth with a leadoff homer and was followed home by Logan, who’d singled, on Inge’s double (5-1). Polanco sacrificed Inge to third and Smith made out two with his grounder. White took first on an error by third baseman Michael Cuddyer and Inge scored (6-1).

One more Tiger run was added in each of the fifth and seventh innings. Infante inefficiently grounded out Monroe home from third (walked, second on a wild pitch, third on Shelton’s groundout) only to be followed by a Logan double and an Inge walk. They were stranded when Polanco finally made one of his rare outs but he later delivered in the seventh. Polanco was at bat with one out used and the bases loaded; A Shelton walk, Infante fly out, Logan’s reached on an error, and Inge’s walk had already passed. He plated Shelton and watched the rest of the inning go by on a pair of fielder’s choices from Smith and White. And Robertson pitched on.

Game 3 (Final Score: 2-6, Twins win)

No pitch-by-pitch info so this will be mercifully short. Carlos Silva provided the starting pitching the Twins wanted and didn’t get in the first two games, limiting the Tigers to a pair of runs on plenty of hits and no walks. Shelton stepped up big, scoring twice with three hits, while hitting third in the lineup. It was an off day for Pudge and Young so the Tigers had three mostly dead bats between Gomez, Infante, and Wilson hitting today.

Jason Johnson ended his streak of near domination, managing only 5.2 innings on 90 pitches. He had as ugly a first inning as I can imagine, allowing two runs on his wild pitch/strike three when he calmly watched Morneau and Mauer score without covering home. He gave up a single and two walks to load the bases, all with two outs. LeCroy’s single scored an additional two runs and the Tigers never recovered. Johnson was tolerable the rest of the way but it was still a putrid way to lose a chance at a sweep.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
A Gomez	4	0	1	1	0	1	0.250	0.250
O Infante	13	1	3	3	0	6	0.231	0.462
B Inge	10	2	3	1	4	4	0.300	0.400
N Logan	11	1	2	0	1	3	0.182	0.273
C Monroe	12	2	5	2	1	7	0.417	0.583
P Polanco	13	3	5	1	1	6	0.385	0.462
I Rodriguez	10	2	4	3	0	4	0.400	0.400
C Shelton	11	3	4	3	2	7	0.364	0.636
J Smith	5	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	12	2	2	0	2	2	0.167	0.167
V Wilson	3	0	1	0	0	1	0.333	0.333
D Young	6	1	2	2	0	5	0.333	0.833
Totals	110	17	32	16	11	46	0.291	0.418
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	9	5	2	2	2	9	2.00	0.78
J Johnson	5.2	9	6	5	2	3	8.65	2.12
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
N Robertson	9	5	1	0	1	6	0.00	0.67
F Rodney	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
T Percival	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
Totals	26	19	9	7	5	21	2.42	0.92

For those of you looking for even more content, be sure to check out the newest Tigers blog, Bless You Boys. It’s run by none other then Jeff, who helped me out a ton by writing a weekly column for the last couple of months. Be sure to check him out.

It took me a couple of weeks, but I’m now completely caught up on both the 1935 Tigers and 1975 Reds diaries. If the old teams are your bag, be sure to check them out. And just as a little teaser, the 1935 Tigers season is about to get really interesting.

Now I just have to make sure that I don’t fall behind again. Or even better, I need to try to get ahead.

In some ways I was wrong about my initial analysis of the Placido Polanco trade. He’s helped the team a lot more then I thought he would, and in that respect, I was wrong. Since starting with the Tigers on June 10, the Tigers are 9-6, which for the Tigers at this point really isn’t bad. What I was correct about was whether he’d put us into contention because since June 10, the White Sox are 10-5, so we’ve actually dropped a half game in the standings.

Just to put our deficit in perspective, say the Tigers sweep the Sox to end the month. At that point, they’ll turn a thirteen game deficit into a ten game deficit. Then lets say the Sox hit a soft patch and finish the rest of the season going .500. That would put them at 92 or 93 wins. For the Tigers to catch up to the Sox, they’d have to go 53-34. And that’s assuming the Twins and Indians are equally apathetic.

I hate to give up on the boys at this point, but I honestly think they should be looking to next year. I know there’s the wild card, but even for that we’re 4.5 games back with four teams ahead of us (and the Yankees tied with us). And while I’m sure they won’t start retooling for 2006 right now, by the trade deadline it’ll all be pretty apparant.

If you’ve been a reader of this site, you’ll know how much I hate the save statistic. In my personal opinion, Goose Gossage is the all time best reliever ever. Jose Mesa saved his nineteenth game of the season today, and he passed Gossage on the all time saves list with number 311. Those in the “know” are aware that Mesa isn’t even close to being in Gossage’s league, but 50 years from now, who will know what people will think when they see the all time list.

White Sox are on deck. Be sure to check out Black Sox Blog to get a feel for how well these guys have been playing.

I’m slowly getting caught up with the 1935 Diary. Hopefully this weekend. If you’re looking for something to read, check out my latest Business of Baseball Report over at the Hardball Times.

Game 1 (Final Score: 4-0, Giants win)

Jason Schmidt pretty much did what he wanted against the Tigers’ hitters today. The number of hits is misleading since they were scattered across his eight innings of work. Only in the ninth did they really threaten his command of the game and Tyler Walker relieved him and beat up Pudge, Monroe, and Shelton and then stole their lunch money. For the most part the Tigers didn’t work Schmidt very hard during each at bat and he made big pitches when necessary.

Nate Robertson’s pitching performance doesn’t disgust me and you could probably describe me as marginally satisfied. The two run second was almost completely his fault since he bailed the Giants out with that two out walk and gave up a single to a poor hitter like Mike Matheny. His wild pitch that put Todd Linden on third (scored on a groundout by Snow) was regrettable but pretty standard fare for him. The only thing that gets me is the number of early inning (none or one out) doubles he gave up. Twice these hits lead to runs and the outfield defense is about as good as it’s going to get this year with White, Monroe, and Logan out there.

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-8, Tigers win)

Jason Johnson continued his outstanding season for the Tigers even though he started rough. The pair of first inning one out singles led to a pair of runs when Johnson misplayed Moises Alou’s batted ball giving the Giants an extra out so Michael Tucker was able to hit another single (2-0). Those were the only runs Johnson allowed even though he consistently gave up singles to the Giants and issued several free passes. One huge difference for him was the dearth of extra base hits he allowed the Giants. As the Tigers have proved it is hard to score runs if you’re only getting one base at a time.

The hitters started strong and ended up with an excellent performance. In the first, Inge, White, and Rodriguez hit balls for extra bases and tied the game (2-2). Infante continued their train of strong hits with a double that ended up being the game winning run once Polanco batted him home (2-3). In the third Pudge hit his second double of the day and scored on Shelton’s two out single to center (2-4). The batters rested in the fourth so they were well prepared to run up the score in the fifth. Four runs crossed the plate; Rodriguez singled and scored on Monroe’s (Rueter’s last batter) double off Rueter, Shelton’s single scored Monroe from first, Infante doubled again and joined Shelton at home on Inge’s one out single (2-8).

Some stout ninth inning defense helped Fernando Rodney avoid giving up more runs. Matheny lead off with a double and was on third after Omar Vizquel followed with a single. Rodney got Jason Ellison to tap the ball back to him and he successfully made out one at home. J.T. Snow hit an infield single to load the bases for Adam Shabala (in for Alou) who struck out in four pitches. Ray Durham iced the game by jumping on Rodney’s second offering and sending it straight at Polanco.

Game 3 (Final Score: 8-10, Tigers win)

After watching the White Sox win some exciting games it was sure nice to read the same about the Tigers. Mike Maroth started poorly when he gave the Giants another early lead in the second. A two out walk to Pedro Feliz and a two out single to Yorvit Torrealba don’t sound dangerous until you pile on another walk to Todd Linden and a two run single by Adam Shabala (2-0). Rondell White halved the gap with his lead off homer in the bottom half on a 1-2 pitch from Jesse Foppert but the other batters wasted a single and two walks with a botched bunt, an Infante strikeout, and Inge’s fly out (2-1).

Lance Niekro’s single went for naught in the top of the third but Polanco’s lead off walk in the bottom half resulted in a tie game on Monroe’s sac fly with the bases loaded (2-2). Sadly Pudge’s stolen base and Shelton’s walk were wasted by Alexis Gomez who struck out on the eighth pitch of his at bat. This free base spree continued in the fourth with one to impatient Infante and another to Polanco. Young’s double only scored one run (Infante was on third after Foppert’s earlier balk) but Polanco still found home this inning after Jeff Fassero tossed a wild pitch (2-4). The Giants struck right back with a two run shot off Maroth by Niekro (Deivi Cruz was on) and the game stayed tied until the eighth (4-4).

Farnsworth allowed his first run since he was a Cub (a slight exaggeration) on Cruz’s single that scored Linden, who was on after a lead off walk (5-4). The lately deadly Infante got the run right back in the bottom of the frame with a triple that scored Gomez from first (5-5). The game looked to be in good hands when Percival took the mound in the ninth and got two strikeouts after giving up a single and a walk. That made Linden’s three run homer especially painful since the Tigers looked to be ready to hand it to Da Meat of the order in the bottom half (8-5).

Da Meat came through in the bottom half anyway. Actually, it was White who got things started with a one out walk. He made third on Rodriguez’s single and scored on Monroe’s sac fly (8-6). Chris Shelton stepped up and delivered a huge two run shot to tie the game and give the lucky fans some extra baseball (8-8). (Does one big hit validate a call-up?) In the tenth Walker pitched a 1-2-3 inning and ended up earning the victory on Polanco’s walk off two run homer in the bottom half, emphasizing the dubious value of the Win statistic (8-10).

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	4	1	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	8	3	5	1	0	9	0.625	1.125
B Inge	13	2	5	3	2	9	0.385	0.692
N Logan	6	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	10	1	2	3	2	3	0.200	0.300
P Polanco	13	3	4	3	2	7	0.308	0.538
I Rodriguez	12	3	6	0	0	7	0.500	0.583
C Shelton	12	2	3	4	2	6	0.250	0.500
J Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
R White	12	3	4	2	1	10	0.333	0.833
D Young	14	0	3	1	1	4	0.214	0.286
Totals	107	18	32	17	10	55	0.299	0.514
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
K Farnsworth	1	1	1	1	1	0	9.00	2.00
F German	1.2	2	0	0	1	1	0.00	2.50
J Johnson	8	9	2	1	3	4	1.13	1.50
M Maroth	5	7	4	4	3	2	7.20	2.00
T Percival	1	2	3	3	1	3	27.00	3.00
N Robertson	7	8	4	4	1	5	5.14	1.29
F Rodney	1	3	0	0	0	1	0.00	3.00
C Spurling	2.1	1	0	0	0	2	0.00	0.48
J Walker	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
Totals	28	33	14	13	10	19	4.18	1.54

• I know that nine games do not a trade make, but nearly two weeks in, could the Polanco-Urbina trade look any better? The Tigers’ new second baseman has hit safely in eight of his nine games in a Detroit uniform (and he looks darn sharp), putting up a .378/.415/.514 line. He hit a walk-off home run last night to bring the Tigers back to .500 again, and he’s provided solid defense and a consistent presence in the #2 hole. The timing was nice, too, with Carlos Guillen still on the DL and Tony Giarratano looking like a young player who was having a medicore season at Double-A before his call-up three weeks ago (0-for-his-last-15, 6-42 in the bigs on the season). Despite his scuffles, though, middle infield looks set to become the strength we thought it could be before the season. Guillen will come off the DL this week, and Omar Infante’s two starts at shortstop since he lost his 2B job produced three doubles, a triple, and even a walk. If Guillen is healthy and Infante starts to turn it around, or Trammell wants to give him a chance to turn it around, the Tigers should consider playing Infante at second, Guillen at short, Polanco at third (he played there very effectively every time David Bell got hurt in Philly), Inge in center, and Logan as a pinch runner and bunter.
• Ugueth Urbina got shelled in his first outing with the Phillies, but has pitched extremely well since (3 IP, 0 H, 6 K). That’s fine — I hope he does well there as Ed Wade’s latest mid-season relief-pitching acquisition. The fact remains that a second expensive bullpen man was a luxury the Tigers didn’t need.
• Polanco wasn’t the only Tiger hero on Sunday. Chris “Babyface” Shelton tied the game with a two-run blast in the ninth. That the blow came off nominal Giants’ closer Tyler Walker was even more satisfying — Walker struck out the side with the bases loaded in the ninth two days before to seal a win, and Shelton was his final, overmatched victim. I have high hopes that Shelton might turn into a Dmitri Young-type hitter someday, or even this year. If Guillen is healthy enough to play but cannot take the field, it opens a spot for Infante but forces Shelton or Young to the bench. That’s a net loss.
• Next up for the Kitties: a trip to the Metrodome. All is well, though. For the third time in three series so far this year with the Twins, the Tigers won’t have to face Cy Young winner and generally scary dude Johan Santana, he of the 124 Ks and 17 BBs. The Twins’ historic stinginess with the walk, however, will still pose a problem for the hacktastic Tigers.
• What’s the value of a decent team? About 6,000 fans per game. Attendance in the dark days of 2003 slipped to 17,000 per game. It rose last year to almost 24K, and is nearly identical in 2004. The number seems low. Large market, reasonably exciting team, nice new stadium, twenty-first in attendance. What’s missing?
• It kills me that Robert Horry was open at the end of overtime last night. Kills me.

Alright, I made some progress tonight and I completely caught up the 1975 Reds diary over at Blade’s site. If that’s your bag, be sure to check it out.

I’m all for constructive criticism, but everyone once in a while, someone takes it a little too far. While looking through my referal logs, I ran across a new, rather mundane site. Apparantly, someone doesn’t have anything better to do then rip on other people’s material. I love sports history, so the diaries are a special treat for me. But to others, I suppose I’m “obsessive” and a “total loser.”

I debated whether to give these guys any publicity at all by linking to their site since that may be exactly what they’re looking for. I finally decided I’d give you a look at what these jokers are up too. I’m sure the five or six of you who go click over will double their outside their traffic. So go check out the “noise” at Sports Blog Critics.

Game 1 (Final Score: 8-4, Tigers win)

Returning home after that dreadful Colorado skiing trip, the Tigers got to face a top notch squad in the Padres. There was a two hour rain delay and the Tigers were Jekyll before and Hyde after it. Ginter took over the pitching duties from Johnson per Trammell’s established policy and provided some motivation for the hitters in his first inning of work. In the third the Padres played some National League ball with Ginter’s help. Khalil Greene lead off with a single, was sacrificed to second, and was on third with two out and Ryan Klesko at bat. Dmitri Young botched Klesko’s effort and Greene crossed the plate (1-0).

After the rain delay the Tigers’ hitters remembered how to put the ball in play successfully. During the first two innings the Tigers exhibited great skill in both missing the ball when they swung at it and successfully keeping it in the infield (Jekyll). Shelton and Giarratano wasted their at bats so Logan looked pretty pathetic with his two out walk. In an effort to look manlier, he stole second (enter Hyde). Inge was facing a 3-1 count and Jake Peavy threw him a pitch he probably wanted back; To get it however, he’d have to go wrestle a fan in the fountain (1-2). Polanco continued his hot hitting with a double and Young redeemed his miscue in the top half with an RBI single (1-3).

Doug Creek took the reins in the sixth and started ugly. Klesko benefited from another Tiger miscue, Creek’s, and reached second base on another infield grounder. Fernando Rodney was called on to keep the Tigers’ lead and he couldn’t do it. Phil Nevin scored Klesko from third with one out used and Mark “I wanna be like Mike” Sweeney doubled him home to tie the game (3-3). Klesko must have felt bad for the home fans because he made a fielding error that benefited the Tigers in the bottom half. With White and Polanco on first and second, Klesko’s head started spinning and he spewed projectile vomit and lost the ball hit towards him in the mess. White and Polanco both scored when the rest of the Padres went to help him out and poor Monroe was trying to clean himself up at first base (3-5).

The Tigers provided some insurance runs in the eighth. Polanco singled, stole second, and scored on White’s triple (3-6). Rodriguez hit an RBI single, stole second, and scored on Monroe’s RBI single (3-8). Shelton kept the magic going with a single but Giarratano Muggled the magic with a double play ball. Walker, Farnsworth, and Percival finished the game out from the seventh on and only Percival allowed a run on Sweeney’s solo homer (4-8).

Game 2 (Final Score: 2-8, Tigers win)

Pretty much all that needs to be said about today’s game was covered by Maroth (quote from espn.com’s recap) “Today felt good,” he said. “I haven’t been pitching with leads very often lately.” Maroth has pitched well enough to win most nights out this year but he’s still lost five games in a row, mostly due to the Tigers’ well documented offensive incompetence. Maroth quickly ended his shutout bid with no outs in the first when Greene produced the first run with his RBI double (1-0). In the second the Tigers closed the gap with Polanco scoring on White’s double (1-1). Polanco has been an absolute hitting beast since he came over from the Phillies and is making me quickly forget how to spell Ugueth Urbina.

In the second the Tigers gave Maroth his first lead in about a month. Monroe and Shelton were on after a single and an error and one out was used by Giarratano’s popped up bunt. Logan’s fielder’s choice gave Inge runners at the corners, who made second after the throw home on his run scoring single (1-2). Polanco bested Inge’s feat, scoring two runs with his single, and the inning got really interesting (1-4). Adam Eaton loaded the bases with a walk to Young and a hit White to face I. Rodriguez. Pudge demonstrated his usual impatience and hit the second pitch for out number three into right fielder’s mitt.

Maroth stuck it on cruise control in the second and abused the Padres the rest of the time he was on the mound. In the third the Tigers extended the lead with back-to-back doubles from Monroe and Shelton (1-5). The last man Eaton faced was Logan and he drew a walk. His relief, Darrell May, followed with another walk to Inge after Logan stole second. Polanco plated Shelton from third and May got Young to end the inning with a double play (1-6). May struck again in the seventh, allowing a double and home run to White and Monroe respectively (1-8).

Franklyn German was given the opportunity to end the game quietly and he wasn’t terrible. He started the ninth with a walk to Klesko, got Nevin to miss strike three, uncorked a wild one that advanced Klesko to second, and gave up Robert Fick’s RBI single before ending the game with a 6-4-3 double play (2-8).

Game 3 (Final Score: 1-3, Tigers win)

With the series already won, Bonderman faced Woody Williams with a chance to pitch the Tigers into a sweep of another first place team. Except for the first and seventh innings, Bonderman was very good. Dave Roberts was the first Padre on in the first and he thoughtfully batted himself home with his lead off homer (1-0). After two quick outs, Bonderman had a first base giveaway party attended by Brian Giles and the less famous Sweeney, Mark. Ramon Hernandez was Bonderman’s next opponent and he struck out to end the inning. In the second, the less famous Sweeney hit a single that went for two bases after the error by Monroe. He was joined on base by Geoff Blum who earned a one out walk. Greene had a real opportunity to do some damage with the Tigers ahead by only a run but Bonderman induced an inning ending double play.

The Tigers scored runs in the second, third, and seventh. Chris Shelton tied the game on his single, the third consecutive hit of the inning, scoring Pudge (doubled, advanced on Monroe’s single) from third (1-1). Inge tripled to start the third and scored on Young’s sacrifice fly (1-2). Shelton led off the seventh with his first major league homer (1-3). The offense provided just enough runs to give Bonderman his eighth win and Percival his fifth save.

I’m not going to complain about the offensive output in this series but the Tigers are still impatient at the plate. If you look at the pitch-by-pitch logs you’ll see a lot of at bats that aren’t longer than four pitches. The one thing that doesn’t show up is what kinds of pitches they are swinging at early in the count; All these pitches they’re choosing could be really good ones to hit but since so many are going for groundballs I’m a little skeptical. Just something to watch for those of you that are lucky enough to get Tigers broadcasts on the TV.

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB	AVG	SLG
T Giarratano	10	0	0	0	1	0	0.000	0.000
A Gomez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
O Infante	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000
B Inge	12	3	4	3	1	9	0.333	0.750
N Logan	7	2	0	0	2	0	0.000	0.000
C Monroe	11	3	5	3	0	9	0.455	0.818
P Polanco	12	4	6	3	0	7	0.500	0.583
I Rodriguez	11	2	3	1	0	4	0.273	0.364
C Shelton	11	2	4	3	0	8	0.364	0.727
R White	10	3	3	2	1	6	0.300	0.600
D Young	9	0	1	2	1	1	0.111	0.111
Totals	95	19	26	17	6	44	0.274	0.463
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
J Bonderman	7	4	1	1	3	4	1.29	1.00
D Creek	0.1	0	1	0	0	0	0.00	0.00
K Farnsworth	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00
F German	1	1	1	1	1	1	9.00	2.00
M Ginter	3	3	1	0	0	1	0.00	1.00
J Johnson	2	1	0	0	1	1	0.00	1.00
M Maroth	8	6	1	1	0	5	1.13	0.75
T Percival	2	2	1	1	0	0	4.50	1.00
F Rodney	1	2	1	1	0	0	9.00	2.00
J Walker	2.1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.48
Totals	27	19	7	5	6	13	1.67	0.93

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