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Being a Tiger fan is one of the most frustrating paths
a person can take in life. Every time this team looks
like they're ready to take the next step they fall off
the face of the earth. Just when you think they've
got it all working the hitting goes south and a losing
streak ensues. This week was one of the most
maddening that I can remember. However, the Tigers
managed to salvage a bit of hope by winning the last
two games at The Jake to earn a four-game split with
the Indians. I followed most of the action by
watching out-of-town scoreboards at other stadiums or
the bar TV at Caesars Palace in Atlantic City as I was
on a baseball road trip with nine other guys. Details
of that trip are to come in next week's issue. All I
will say now is that the trip was the greatest week of
baseball of my life.
When you have a struggling offense there is no better
medicine than a trip to Tampa Bay. Four games remain
before the All-Star break, and the Tigers must win at
least three of them to keep my hopes alive for any
kind of contention.
New Subscribers...
Mike "Kirby" Puckett
Marc "O-Dawg" Ostrander
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"Week" of 6/29 - 7/6
Record: 3-6 LLWLL(LL)WW
Undy-Five-Hundy: The index topped out at six games
this week, but thankfully it currently is sitting at
four. These four games against the Devil Rays (losers
of X straight games) would be lovely to sweep. The
Tigers open up, post-All-Star Break, with four against
the Royals. 6-2 would get the team back to even and I
don't think that's asking too much. If our pitching
continues to be solid, the hitters should find a way
to score runs against these sub-par opponents.
Up Next for the Tigers...
7/7 - 7/10 @Tampa Bay
7/11 Home Run Derby @ Comerica Park
7/12 AL/NL All Star Game @ Comerica Park
7/13 MLB Day of Rest and Brian O'Toole's 29th
birthday
AL Central Standings...
CWS 57 26 -
MIN 46 36 10.5
CLE 46 38 11.5
DET 39 43 17.5
KCR 28 55 29
Tigers Division...
CWS 57 26 -
|
CHC 40 42 16.5
ARI 41 45 17.5
MIL 40 44 17.5
DET 39 43 17.5
LAD 40 44 17.5
PIT 36 47 21
SEA 35 48 22
Tigers News and Notes: Magglio Ordonez is back! The
Tigers activated him on the 1st and he has been a key
player in each of the Tigers' three wins this week.
He homered in the first two and had a two run double
in the third. To make room the team designated Alexis
Gomez for assignment. For the double-header on Monday
Detroit called up young phenom Justin Verlander to
start the nightcap. Jason Smith went down, but after
the game Verlander was sent back to Erie and infielder
Kevin "Crosstown" Hooper was chosen to fill his spot.
I saw Hooper play a little in spring training and he
was unimpressive...almost out of the Warren Morris
mold. I am having trouble locating stats for (said in
the style of Captain Quint of Jaws) Mr. Hooper.
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Tiger of the Week...
--------------------------------------------
Even though Magglio had a nice week in his comeback I
cannot justify giving the award to any offensive
player. If you saw the middle game of the White Sox
series (which the Quieras Baseball road trippers
attended) you must have pulled some of your hair out.
Except for a ten-run outburst against the Yanks and a
seven-run effort tonight against Cleveland (where
Detroit got a lot of breaks) the offense was terrible.
Jeremy Bonderman was far from terrible. The last time
was saw Jeremy he got destroyed by the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Unfazed, Bonderman rebounded with
back-to-back stellar performances against the Yankees
and Indians; two of the best hitting teams in the AL
(currently). Granted, he was the recipient of the
only run support the offense offered all week, but he
made sure that those runs stood up (unlike agains the
D-Backs). Jeremy now has 11 wins and his ERA is back
under four. Kenny Rogers may not attend the All-Star
game so it's a possibility that Bonderman would take
his place. It's an optimistic hope, but it would be
nice for Detroit to have more than just one All-Star.
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National Coverage...
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The Tigers/Indians game was not shown on FSD
Wednesday, but it was seen on ESPN... by the whole
country! The premier game last night was Cubs/Braves.
Thanks to a rainout, ESPN had to broadcast the backup
game (Tigers v. Indians) to everyone. The nation got
to see Bonderman's excellent night and the Tigers
actually score some runs. Not a bad night to catch a
break like that. The best part was when some Tiger
fans got a "Let's Go Tigers" chant going and were
booed by the home crowd. Way to represent! Also,
Thursday's game against the Devil Rays (not shown on
FSD) can be seen on ESPN.
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Tigers Weekly Baseball Game...
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The game is just two days away! I am really pumped
about this. I have been in training for a while now
as I've gotten some good games of catch in over the
last few weeks and I actually went running last night
to see what my knee felt about playing. I think I'm
good to go.
As of now I have seventeen confirmed players with a
couple of guys trying to bring a couple of others.
There is still time to get on board if you are
interested in playing. We still need at least one
more and it would be nice to have a player or two on
each bench. Also, if you would like to come and work
the stereo or keep the scorebook, we need someone to
handle these duties (if push comes to shove they can
be performed by the bench players.
The location of the field is now in question. I
learned of this just today, but the fellow who is
securing a field for us is quite certain that he'll be
able to lock down another in time for the game. We
will be hiring an ump or two and the game will be
played at full speed.
Now I just have to spend a few bucks at the batting
cages.
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Claus Baseball Stadium Tour 2005...
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Toolie reporting for duty...
Like I said earlier, this was an amazing experience
and I rate it A+. I am having different member of the
trip give their accounts of different aspects. These
accounts will be collected this week and published in
the next issue of the Weekly. Next issue promises to
be monstrous as it will contain these accounts, the
recap of the TW baseball game, and all of the All-Star
material.
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All-Star Game...
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The rosters for the All-Star game at Comerica Park are
set. The Tigers have a disappointing one All-Star.
The rosters can be found below:
| 2005 ALL-STAR GAME |
| AL ROSTER |
|
NL ROSTER |
| Pos |
Player |
Team |
Pos |
Player |
Team |
| C |
Jason Varitek |
BOS |
C |
Mike Piazza |
NYM |
| 1B |
Mark Teixeura |
TEX |
1B |
Derrek Lee |
CHC |
| 2B |
Brian Robers |
BAL |
2B |
Jeff Kent |
LAD |
| 3B |
Alex Rodriguez |
NYY |
3B |
Aramis Ramirez |
CHC |
| SS |
Miguel Tejada |
BAL |
SS |
David Eckstein |
STL |
| OF |
Vladimir Guererro |
LAA |
OF |
Bobby Abreu |
PHI |
| OF |
Johnny Damon |
BOS |
OF |
Jim Edmonds |
STL |
| OF |
Manny Ramirez |
BOS |
OF |
Carlos Beltran |
NYM |
| DH |
David Ortiz |
BOS |
DH |
Albert Pujols |
STL |
| SP |
Mark Buerle |
CHX |
SP |
Chris Carpenter |
STL |
| AL RESERVES |
NL RESERVES |
| C |
Ivan Rodriguez |
DET |
C |
Paul Lo Duca |
FLA |
| 1B |
Paul Konerko |
CHX |
2B |
Luis Castillo |
FLA |
| 1B |
Mike Sweeney |
KC |
SS |
Cesar Izturis |
LAD |
| 2B |
Alfonso Soriano |
TEX |
SS |
Felipe Lopez |
CIN |
| SS |
Michael Young |
TEX |
3B |
Morgan Ensberg |
HOU |
| 3B |
Melvin Mora |
BAL |
3B |
Scott Rolen |
STL |
| OF |
Garret Anderson |
LAA |
OF |
Moises Alou |
CHC |
| OF |
Scott Posednik |
CHX |
OF |
Jason Bay |
PIT |
| OF |
Gary Sheffield |
NYY |
OF |
Miguel Cabrera |
FLA |
| OF |
Ichiro Suzuki |
SEA |
OF |
Luis Gonzalez |
ARI |
| DH |
Shea Hillenbrand |
TOR |
OF |
Andruw Jones |
ATL |
| P |
Danys Baez |
TB |
OF |
Carlos Lee |
MIL |
| P |
Bartolo Colon |
LAA |
P |
Roger Clemens |
HOU |
| P |
Matt Clement |
BOS |
P |
Chad Cordero |
WAS |
| P |
Justin Duchscherer |
OAK |
P |
Brian Fuentes |
COL |
| P |
Jon Garland |
CHX |
P |
Livan Hernandez |
WAS |
| P |
Roy Holladay |
TOR |
P |
Jason Isringhausen |
STL |
| P |
Joe Nathan |
MIN |
P |
Brad Lidge |
HOU |
| P |
Mariano Rivera |
NYY |
P |
Pedro Martinez |
NYM |
| P |
Kenny Rogers |
TEX |
P |
Roy Oswalt |
HOU |
| P |
B.J. Ryan |
BAL |
P |
Jake Peavy |
SD |
| P |
Johan Santana |
MIN |
P |
John Smoltz |
ATL |
| P |
Bob Wickman |
CLE |
P |
Billy Wagner |
PHI |
| |
P |
Dontrelle Willis |
FLA |
The interactive roster is kind of neat. The two extra
players voted in by the players were Roy Oswalt of the
Astros and Scott Podsednik of the White Sox. So far
I've learned that Cesar Izturis and Pedro Martinez are
pulling out of the event and they will be replaced by
Jimmy Rollins and Billy Wagner. Good news for Philly
fans.
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/events/all_star/
y2005/index.jsp
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Poll Question...
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The All-Star rosters are now out. The Red Sox have
four starters on the AL team and there are six
Cardinals on the NL team. The Tigers have just one
representative and they are hosting the game. In
contrast, Milwaukee had two representatives when they
hosted.
What do you think of the rosters and who would you
add/drop? Also, what do you think about the format of
the Home-Run Derby this year? There will be one
representative from a collection of countries. Pudge
will participate as a citizen of Puerto Rico.
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Game Linescores...
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June 29: Chicago White Sox 4 - Detroit 3 F/13
Starters: CWS: McCarthy 6.1IP - DET: Johnson 7IP
CWS 021 000 000 000 1 4 11 0
DET 020 000 100 000 0 3 15 1
W: Takatsu (1-2)
L: Rodney (1-1)
More about this game next week...
June 30: Chicago White Sox 6 - Detroit 1
Starters: CWS Garcia 9IP - DET: Maroth 7IP
CWS 000 032 010 6 9 1
DET 010 000 000 1 5 1
W: Garcia (8-3)
L: Maroth (5-9)
July 1: New York Yankees 2 - Detroit 10
Starters: NYY: R. Johnson 5IP - DET: Bonderman 9IP
NYY 100 001 000 2 8 0
DET 130 123 00X 10 12 1
W: Bonderman (10-5)
L: R. Johnson (7-6)
July 2: New York Yankees 8 - Detroit 4
Starters: NYY: Mussina 6IP - DET: Douglass 6IP
NYY 000 102 104 8 13 1
DET 000 400 000 4 7 0
W: Gordon (2-3)
L: Percival (1-2)
July 3: New York Yankees 1 - Detroit 0
Starters: NYY Wang 7IP - DET: Robertson 9IP
NYY 010 000 000 1 9 0
DET 000 000 000 0 6 0
W: Wang (5-3)
L: Robertson (3-7)
S: Rivera (18)
July 4: Detroit 3 - Cleveland 9 Game One
Starters: DET: Johnson 3.1IP - CLE: Elarton 9IP
DET 000 000 102 3 6 2
CLE 102 401 10X 9 15 0
W: Elarton (5-3)
L: Johnson (5-7)
July 4: Detroit 0 - Cleveland 6 Game Two
Starters: DET; Verlander 5.1IP - CLE: Davis 6IP
DET 000 000 000 0 6 1
CLE 300 001 02X 6 12 0
W: Davis (4-2)
L: Verlander (0-1)
July 5: Detroit 3 - Cleveland 2
Starters: DET: Maroth 6.2IP - CLE: Westbrook 5IP
DET 003 000 000 3 7 0
CLE 001 000 001 2 6 0
W: Maroth (6-9)
L: Westbrook (6-10)
S: Percival (6)
July 6: Detroit 7 - Cleveland 3
Starters: DET: Bonderman 8IP - CLE: Sabathia 4.1IP
DET 000 141 001 7 15 0
CLE 000 100 011 3 8 1
W: Bonderman (11-5)
L: Sabathia (6-5)
S: Percival (7)
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Readers Write In...
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Andy "Pack-Man" Karnitz
Julio Franco is still ALIVE? I never watched the
Braves before I turned the cable off(the best
broadcasts to nap to), so I just didn't realize.
Who's the oldest position player ever(no pitcher's, so
that means no Satchel Paige, and don't include Minnie
Minoso with his "one day on the roster per the last
two decades in his carrer").
Anyone know? One other question: which park in the
majors is the best for triples. I've got to think that
Coors' and the CoPa are right near the top of the
list, but I can't find the stat!
Happy Cinquo de Moustaches, Andy
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Toolie's Trashtalk...
What a week it was on the road! I don't think there
could have been a better bunch of guys with which to
do this trip. The group gelled well and everyone
involved had baseball savvy. We made it to every game
on time except the first. There was mad traffic in
downtown Detroit as there were fireworks planned.
This turned out to be very interesting as the Tigers
played thirteen innings with the Sox. Right around
10PM the fireworks went off. The next couple of
innings were played with the spectacle in the
background. Too bad for the Tigers that there weren't
any fireworks occuring inside the stadium.
After that loss to the Sox (where the Tigers blew
chances in the eighth, ninth, eleventh, and thirtheeth
innings) I proclaimed the Tigers done for the year.
They proceeded to lose five of their next six (after
that loss) but stayed somewhat alive by winning those
last two in Cleveland. I've changed my mind. I
really think that a sweep is necessary in this next
series in Tampa for we fans to have any hope of
contention.
Magglio Ordonez is back and I think this is great for
the club. We've already seen what impact he can have
and he should really improve as he gets more at bats.
Also, with Carlos Guillen in the mix, the hitting
lineup looks imposing. They haven't hit much of
anything lately, but that should turn around.
So Pudge is the only All-Star for the Tigers. That
just stinks. Jeremy Bonderman has 11 wins and a
respectable ERA. If I had to choose anyone from the
team to make the big game I'd choose Jeremy. Pudge
has been a bit of a disappointment this year, though
he continues to put forth maximal effort (the first
run of the night this Wednesday was due to good hustle
by Rodriguez). One could also make a strong case for
Kyle Farnsworth. If I had to boot one pitcher from
the list it would be Joe Nathan of the Twins...or
maybe even Johan Santana, though that would be tougher
to justify.
The Home Run Derby format doesn't rub me one way or
the other. I guess it's all right since Pudge gets to
represent Puerto Rico. The sad thing is that he only
has five homers on the year. For the most part I
really don't care about the Derby.
Some things that I will now say about the road trip:
My favorite park was Citizens Bank Park in
Philadelphia. Most of the group thought that Camden
Yards was the best, and it was second on my list. I
liked how, at Camden, they showed highlights of other
games during the game we were watching. It was
especially nice since this was the night the Tigers
smoked the Yankees. Some moronic fans started to
heckle us as we got a "Let's Go Tigers" chant going.
The birdbrains didn't realize that a Tiger win
indirectly helped their own cause. Idiots. The
warehouse in right field makes an awesome backdrop.
Also, there are many watering holes around the stadium
and we maanged to score some free beer at a Rolling
Rock promotion. Philly had a nice layout...very
similar to Comerica. Their out-of-town scoreboard is
one of the best I've seen, rivaled only by The Jake.
They also had a great system for serving food and the
cheesesteak sandwich hit the spot. It wasn't as good
as I expected but it did the trick. The Philly
Phanatic was a hilarious mascot. Whoever writes the
Philly day will elaborate more. RFK was the worst
stadium, but it wasn't designed for baseball so I can
forgive Wsahington for that.
Next week's issue will be enormous. I'm terribly late
this week. Next issue should come out Tuesday night
in the wake of the All-Star Game. Let's hope there
isn't a tie.
Finally I want to congratulate Dr. Deborah Kent for
successfully defending her thesis in mathematics at
the University of Virginia. Dr. Kent is a Hillsdale
graduate and a good friend. Now I have to match her
with a doctorate of my own! Way to go, Dr. Kent.
I'm out.
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Tigers Weekly is in no way affiliated with the Detroit
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Play Ball!
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