Tigers Weekly 2005 Season

Week 15: 7/14/05 - 7/19/05

This week we saw a five-hundy baseball team play
five-hundy baseball.  To make any kind of move in the
standings the Tigers will have to play better. 
Dropping the last game of the KC series and blowing
the 4-1 lead on Monday night are signs that the Tigers
are not prepared to take the next step.  I'm not
writing them off, but those games need to be won if
the Tigers want to get a whiff of the playoffs. 
Still, it's nice that I'm complaining about a 3-3
week.  At least our expectations have been raised. 
The Undy-Five-Hundy index was started as a joke, but
these last two years the team has had a legitimate
shot to make that mark.  
 
The injury bug has hit Detroit and the club will be
without Troy Percival for the rest of the season. 
Whether that is a good or a bad thing is debatable. 
Troy hadn't exactly been lights-out.  
 
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article
.jsp?ymd=20050719&content_id=1137153&vkey=news_det&
fext=.jsp&c_id=det
 
Kyle Farnsworth will take over the closing duties.  He
was dynamite Saturday night against the Royals,
striking out all three batters he faced.  Placido
Polanco also has missed considerable time, though he
is expected back any day now.  
 
Photos from the Tigers Weekly baseball game can now be
viewed at the website: www.tigersweekly.com. Thanks
to Josh Tkaczyk for taking them and sending them
along.
 
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Week of 7/14 - 7/19
 
Record:  3-3  -LWWLLW
 
Undy-Five-Hundy:  It remains the magical barrier that
the Tigers can't get away from.  This section has been
sort of boring to write about as the index hardly
changes (at two this week).  One thing's for sure, it
beats 2003 when it finished at (shudder) 76.  When the
Tigers next win the Series, we'll all be able to say
we were there for the dog days.  
 
Up Next for the Tigers...

7/20         @ Chicago White Sox
7/21 - 7/24  Minnesota (double-header on Saturday)
7/25 - 7/27  @ Seattle
 
AL Central Standings...

CWS  62 30 -
MIN  50 42 12
CLE  48 46 15
DET  45 47 17
KCR  33 60 29.5
 
Tigers Division...

CWS  62 30 -
|
FLA  46 46 16
TOR  46 47 16.5
MIL  46 48 17
DET  45 47 17
ARI  46 50 18
SEA  41 51 21
 
Tigers News and Notes:  As mentioned above, Troy
Percival is finished for this season.  He headed to
the DL and the team called Craig Dingman up to fill
his spot in the bullpen.  Also Justin Verlander is
expected to be called upon again as the Tigers have
another double-header this Saturday.  Not sure who
will be sent down, but if Polanco is back by then it
could be Kevin Hooper.  Verlander probably won't stay
up, though, as Sean Douglass has pitched well enough
(2.35 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17K, 7BB in 23 innings) to stay
in the rotation.  
 
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Tiger of the Week...
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Magglio Ordonez signed a fat contract at the beginning of the season and this week he put up fat numbers. Since the break, Maggs has gone 13 for 29 with six RBIs and has scored (only) twice. His average is up to .300, and that includes the 0 for 11 start he had before going on the DL. If he keeps hitting like that the runs and RBIs should follow. I'm loving what the line-up is starting to look like.

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More From the Baseball Road Trip...
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2005 Baseball Road Trip Hotdog Review
by:  Jason "The Sensation" Cravenb
 
I don’t eat hotdogs very often, but there is just
something about eating a hotdog at a baseball game. On
the road trip, I ate at least one hotdog at each park,
except for Philadelphia where I had a Philly
Cheesesteak instead. The following ratings are only my
opinions of the hotdogs I ate. It is quite possible
that poor ratings are because I went to the wrong
vendor at the wrong time. Just because I rate a hotdog
poorly doesn’t mean all hotdogs are always bad at a
certain park.
 
The quality rating is how I thought it tasted (1 –
worst, 5 – best) and the value rating takes into
account the size and quality for the price.
 
Comerica Park
$3.50
Quality – 2
Value – 2
 
I really love Comerica Park, but this hotdog was
terrible. The bun was dry, and the dog didn’t taste
like it was fully cooked. Normally, $3.50 isn’t a bad
price, but not for these dogs.
 
RFK
$4.00
Quality – 4
Value – 4 
 
I was pleasantly surprised by RFK’s hotdogs, and I
ended up eating 2 of them. They were both fresh, tasty
and very thick. 
 
Camden Yards
$4.50
Quality – 5
Value – 3.5
 
The hotdog at Camden Yards was easily the best of the
trip; and for $4.50 it better be good. 
 
Shea Stadium
$5.75 (footlong)
Quality – 3.5
Value – 5
 
Shea offered a regular hotdog for $4.00, which I
didn’t try, and the footlong for $5.75. I gladly paid
the extra $1.75 for a hotdog that was almost twice as
long. The taste wasn’t anything special, but it is the
best bang for your buck. On a side-note, I thought
Shea had the worst condiment stands. They were so
small, that only one person could use them at a time.
I was stuck behind a woman with 4 hotdogs and she was
taking her sweet old time. Comerica’s hotdogs may
suck, but at least they got the condiment stands
right.
 
Yankee Stadium
$3.00 – Stadium Dog
Quality – 3.5
Value – 4.5
 
$4.50 – Super Dog
Quality – 4
Value – 3
 
I tried both kinds of dogs at Yankee Stadium, and both
were pretty good. The Super Dog was just a thicker
version of the Stadium Dog; they both tasted about the
same. These days, $3.00 for a regular hotdog at a
ballpark is a pretty good deal. As for condiments
stands, I didn’t see any at Yankee Stadium; they just
used little ketchup and mustard packets. I probably
would not have liked this if it hadn’t been for my
experience at Shea. It was actually quite convenient
to just grab a few packets and take care of the
ketchup and mustard at my seat.
 
Jason Craven
 
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Bret Boone Weekly...
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With Mo Vaughn out of the league, Bret Boone is
probably my least favorite player.  Now I have more
reason to hate the man as he is a member of the rival
Minnesota Twins.  Thankfully Boone is struggling
mightlily this season, much like Mo did after I
started to give him negative press.  We'll see plenty
of Mr. Boone this weekend as the Tigers have five
games against the Twinkies.  I hope we don't see that
ridiculous bat flip.  Perhaps Boone is now a little
more humble now that he stinks.  
 
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Poll Question...
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The trade deadline is just a couple of weeks away. 
What are some of the best and some of the worst trades
that you can think of in MLB history?  These can come
from any year and they don't have to have occured near
the trade deadline.  In my eyes, the Jeff Weaver deal
the Tigers made has been fantastic for Detroit.  
 
Also, do you think the Tigers should make any deals?  
 
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Game Linescores...
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July 14:  Kansas City 12 - Detroit 9
Starters:  KCR: Greinke 5.1IP - DET: Bonderman 6IP
KCR  200 011 260  12 13 1
DET  000 101 340   9 15 2
W: Greinke   (2-11)
L: Bonderman (11-6)
S: MacDougal (12)
 
July 15:  Kansas City 1 - Detroit 4
Starters:  KCR: Lima 6IP - DET: Robertson 5IP
KCR  001 000 000  1  8 1
DET  020 101 00X  4 11 0
W: Robertson  (4-7)
L: Lima       (2-8)
S: Farnsworth (2)
 
July 16:  Kansas City 3 - Detroit 5
Starters:  KCR: Howell 4.1IP - DET: Johnson 8IP
KCR  110 010 000  3  7 4
DET  010 202 00X  5 10 0
W: Johnson    (6-7)
L: Wood       (3-4)
S: Farnsworth (3)
 
July 17:  Kansas City 5 - Detroit 0
Starters:  KCR: R. Hernandez 5IP - DET: Maroth 6.1IP
KCR  310 000 001  5 10 0
DET  000 000 000  0  6 2
W: Hernandez (7-9)
L: Maroth    (7-10)
 
July 18:  Detroit 5 - Chicago White Sox 7
Starters:  DET: Douglass 6IP - CWS: O. Hernandez 6IP
DET  100 030 001  5  7 0
CWS  001 000 51X  7 10 0
W: Vizcaino (4-3)
L: Spurling (2-1) (3HR's allowed in 7th inning)
S: Politte  (1)
 
July 19:  Detroit 7 - Chicago White Sox 1
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 8IP - CWS: Contreras 5.2IP
DET  030 004 000  7 12 1
CWS  000 010 000  1  3 0
W: Bonderman (12-6)
L: Contreras (5-6)
 
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Readers Write In...
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Dan "Berol" Kemp
 
Sweet Edition of the weekly!  I enjoyed reading all of
the stories from the trip.
 
How did you guys get tickets for the Nationals game? 
Did you buy them through MLB?  I'm going there 
in August and while I'm there I'm going to catch a
Cards/Nats game.   We had to get our tickets through 
scalpers because the only seats available through MLB
were in the upper deck.  We paid through the nose for
the tickets.  I'll write in about the game once I get
back.
 
There's one major thing that irks me about the All
Star game format.  Everybody keeps saying that "This 
one counts" (haven't the last 3 been this way).  I
despise how the coaches don't play to win.  The 
politically correct coaching method always shines
through and both sides start pulling the starters
after the first inning.  I didn't like this 4 years
ago, but now that "This one Counts" it makes even less
sense.  Since MLB would have us believe that this game
is so important, why not leave your best players on
the field so that you can win the game (and the
"bonus" of homefield advantage for the WS)?   This
method of coaching the game will inevitably make alot
of people mad who want to see their teams' player in
the game, but it's the logical conclusion that results
from Selig's format for the game.
 
I also despise what has become of the Home run derby. 
What is up with trying to gain international appeal? 
This is like affirmative action in baseball.  Let's
try to get the most diverse group of people together
on one spot so that we'll feel good about ourselves,
even if the people we hire have no talent.  Apparently
MLB feels they have to supplement the contest somehow
if Barry Bonds can't be there to 
bask in all of his steroid glory.  I still can't
believe that Hee Shop Choi made it to the derby.  
 
Dan
 
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Dr. Bob "The Hessian" Hesse
 
Matt,
 
I believe you are off on (baseball and the Olympics).
I do love baseball, but it is not a world-wide sport.
One of the problems with the Olympics (summer
especially) is that it has gotten too big. Smaller
cities/countries have a very hard time supporting it
when it has a million sports, many of them not played
in their country. Take Athens. If memory serves me
they were required to build two baseball stadiums for
a sport that is not played in their country. What a
waste. Yes baseball is popular in Pan Am and PARTS of
south-east Asia, but it is not a world-wide sport. If
they end up replacing it with Rugby (which is a world
wide sport--look at the teams in the Rugby world cup
2003) I would believe it to be reasonable. I can't
stand the US demanding sports be in the olympics just
so we can win the medal count.  The US is especially
bad at this in the winter games (SNOWBOARDING? Hot dog
skiing??!! Give me a break!) 
 
-The next month will decide the wild card in the AL.
This has typically been the big month for the Twins.
If they do well the Tigers can kiss their chances
goodbye. 
 
P.S. In the effort to be fair, I played Rugby during
college and in grad school, so I am biased. Ask your
foreign friends at MSU how many of them are familiar
with Rugby and how many of them new baseball before 
coming to the US. I think you will see my point.
 
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Toolie's Trashtalk...
 
I love it when the Tigers win on the night the Weekly
ocmes out!  It puts me in a good mood.  Let's get to
those kitties.  
 
The offense is moving in the right direction.  Other
than the shutout on Sunday, the Tigers have scored a
good deal of runs.  Even with the shutout they
averaged five runs per game this week.  If we see
performances from the pitching staff akin to those in
the first half, then these offensive numbers will be
money in the bank.  It should be noted that last year
Bonderman and Maroth had good second halves, while
Johnson and Robertson struggled. 
 
There's not many songs out there that top "You're the
Best" from Karate Kid (the song played during the
karate tournament).  That song has been pumping me up
since middle school.  Thank goodness for downloads,
though I may one day invest in the soundtrack. 
 
The Tigers and Royals had a huge bench-clearing brawl
on Sunday.  It started when Carlos Guillen tried to
take first base as he thought he was hit in the foot
by a Runelvys Hernandez pitch.  The ump ruled that he
was not hit.  On the next pitch Hernandez left no room
for doubt as he nailed Guillen in the head with a
fastball.  The two exchanged some heated words and
Guillen and Bonderman had to be restrained.  The
benches cleared and Kyle Farnsworth got into it with
Jeremy Affeldt (Farnsworth speared Affeldt and took
him to the ground...there is a good picture of this if
you follow the link below).  Unfortunately the brawl
did little to spark the offense, as Chris Shelton
followed by hitting into a double-play. Suspensions
are sure to follow.

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article
.jsp?ymd=20050717&content_id=1134695&vkey=news_det
&fext=.jsp&c_id=det 
 
Dr. Hesse, I think that world-wide popularity is one
factor that should be considered when determining an
Olympic event, but the quality of the event should
also carry a lot of weight.  I'm sure every country
has good arm-wrestlers, but I think you would agree
with me that it would be a ridiculous Olympic event. 
I am not saying that rugby is ridiculous.  I think
that rugby would make a fine Olympic sport.  I enjoy
the team sports much more than the individual events. 
You get more of a sense that the team is playing for
the country.  For instance, if Justine Henin-Hardene
won the gold medal for tennis, I would view that more
as a victory for her and not for Belgium.  I think
team gymnastics has some appeal while the individual
competition isn't that exciting at all.  A great team
sport like baseball belongs in the Olympics.  I think
enough of the world is involved in it and I don't
think that America is guaranteed a medal (in softball,
yes this is true).  
 
Now, assuming that baseball one day gets back into the
Olympics, I'd really like to see the professionals
play.  MLB could easily stop the season for two weeks
in the summer.  Simply add a week on either end of the
season and your problem is solved.  If there is
interest in promoting the game then MLB would do well
to showcase their stars at an event like this.  Maybe
if this World Baseball Classic goes well it will
encourage Selig to consider this option.  I believe
that most of the players (Gary $heffield excluded)
would jump at the chance to play for their country.  I
don't think that allowing professionals would ruin the
parity of the event, as it did in basketball (for a
while, anyway).
 
As far as trading goes, I'd say the Tigers are
currently in limbo.  Only five games out of the Wild
Card (think about that...if the Tigers had won five
more games then they'd be tied with the Twins and tied
for the Wild Card lead...that shows how important
those close games are) there is certainly hope for the
team this season.  However, Detroit is currently 11th
out of 14 American League teams.  Only the D-Rays,
Royals, and Mariners have a worse record.  I can't
predict any big moves in the near future.  That
changes, of course, if the Tigers get red-hot or
ice-cold in the next couple of weeks.  I still think
that Rondell is serious trade bait.  If the Tigers can
get a good player that can contribute next year, then
I'd say they should trade him.  They may even be able
to re-sign him at the end of the season if they wish
(this seems unlikely with the possible outfield of
Monroe-Logan-Ordonez).  I don't see any fire-sales or
trading top prospects for a chance at the Wild Card. 
The plan has been to compete in 2006 and I think that
Dombrowski will stick to that. 
 
I love Chris "Ron Weasley" Shelton.  He is solid.  He
has some serious power and can really hit the ball. 
My ideal lineup at this point looks like this.
 
2B Polanco
SS Guillen
1B Shelton
RF Ordonez
DH White
LF Monroe
C  Rodriguez
3B Inge
CF Logan
 
When Dmitri gets out of his slump he can be thrown in
for Shelton or White.  Rodriguez has been a little
disappointing in RBI situations this season.  I like
Logan and Polanco back-to-back, but Polanco is more
seasoned and better suited (right now) to hit
lead-off.  Feel free to comment on where you would bat
'em.

Here's a little piece on Magglio's return to Chicago. 
So far he has carved up White Sox pitching.  That has
to feel good for Ordonez.
 
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article
.jsp?ymd=20050718&content_id=1136139&vkey=news_cws&fext
=.jsp&c_id=cws
 
BIG game tomorrow afternoon against the Sox.  No TV
(the Sox website says it's on CSN Chicago and I assume
that's not WGN), so you'll have to catch it on your
local Tiger's radio affiliate.  Also, if you can pick
up the broadcast on 1000AM out of Chicago, that's
another option.  It still floors me that Muskegon
doesn't have an affiliate, especially since they now
have a 24-hour sports station (the ever-changing
97.5FM).  The Tigers have played pretty well these
last two games and beat the Sox for just the second
time in ten tries.  A series win on the road would be
enormous.  Then come the Twins, who the Tigers have
had relatively good success against this season (4-4).
 
We're at mid-July and the Tigers are still in it. 
Let's win some games!
 
I'm out.
 





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