Tigers Weekly 2005 Season

Week 17: 7/27/05 - 8/2/05

What a week it was for the Tigers.  Any hopes of
staying in contention were essentially squashed
courtesy of the Seattle Mariners and Oakland
Athletics.  The turn of the last two months has been
"that time of the month" for the Tigers.  After
clawing back to five-hundred, the club went through
their almost ritualistic collapse.  The wild card is
now a galactic 9.5 games out of sight.  Welcome to the
dog days.
 
Thankfully there are some non-game related issues to
talk about this week.  Kyle Farnsworth was traded to
the Braves, Placido Polanco signed a four-year
extension, and a couple of major-leaguers were
suspended for violating the league's steroid policy. 
All will be discussed below.  
 
New Subscribers...
 
Debbie "Ted" Williams
 
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Week of 7/27 - 8/2
 
Record:  0-5  L-LLL-L
 
Undy-Five-Hundy:  Frickin' A!  The Undy-Five-Hundy
always seems to get the last laugh.  I suppose the
team will spend the rest of August getting the index
back to zero only to give the UFH one more chance to
stick it to us.  Five-hundred is still a reachable
goal, but teams that are out of contention in
September don't exactly play the A-team every day.  
 
Up Next for the Tigers...

8/3 - 8/4  Seattle 
8/5 - 8/7  Cleveland
8/8 - 8/11 @ Toronto
 
AL Central Standings...

CWS  69 36 -
CLE  56 51 14
MIN  54 52 15.5
DET  50 55 19
KCR  38 68 31.5
 
Tigers Division...

CWS  69 36 -
|
BAL  51 55 18.5
ARI  52 56 18.5
DET  50 55 19
LAD  48 58 21.5
CIN  47 59 22.5
 
AL Wild Card (BOS, CWS, ANA lead divisions)...
OAK  60 46 -
NYY  56 48 3
CLE  56 51 4.5
TOR  54 51 5.5
 
NL Wild Card (ATL, STL, SDP lead division)...
HOU  58 48 - 
WAS  56 50 2
FLA  54 50 3
PHI  55 52 3.5
CHC  54 52 4
NYM  54 52 4
 
Tigers News and Notes:  One of the most shocking deals
made at this year's deadline was the one that sent
Kyle Farnsworth to the Atlanta Braves for Roman Colon
and Zach Minor.  Minor was sent to Toledo, but Colon
stays with the Tigers and takes Farnsworth's spot in
the bullpen.  Colon pitched a scoreless inning in his
Tiger debut Tuesday night.  Fernando Rodney will take
over the closing duties, making him the fourth closer
the Tigers have had this season.  Hopefully the Tigers
can get him some opportunities.

The following is from an article originally published 
by ESPN.com on 8/2/05.

--- 
Placido Polanco signed an extension that will pay him
roughly 4.85 million dollars a year for the next four
years.  The middle of the infield now appears to be
locked up and stable, with Polanco joining Guillen as
another great pickup signed by Dombrowski.  
 
Detroit Tigers: Infielder Placido Polanco and the
Tigers agreed Tuesday to an $18.4 million, four-year
contract extension through the 2009 season.

"This is exactly what the Detroit Tigers need,"
manager Alan Trammell said. "He's what I call a good
ballplayer who does a little bit of everything."

Polanco was acquired by Detroit from the Phillies on
June 8 in the deal that sent right-handed reliever
Ugueth Urbina and infielder Ramon Martinez to
Philadelphia.

"I see a team that's committed," Polanco said Tuesday
of the Tigers. "They're putting together a pretty good
team. They have a Hall-of-Famer [Ivan Rodriguez]
behind the plate, they have Carlos Guillen and Magglio
[Ordonez], they're putting together a very good team
here.

"If I didn't think they have a chance to be good, I
wouldn't have signed here."


The 29-year-old second baseman is batting .358 with 22
runs scored, eight doubles, a triple, two home runs
and 17 RBI in 31 games with the Tigers.

He is making $4.6 million this year and will earn the
same amount annually during the extension negotiated
by agents Sam and Seth Levinson, making the package
worth $23 million over five seasons.
---
 
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Tiger of the Week...
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Placido Polanco is a stud. Since coming off of the DL he's gone 12 for 22 with three runs and three RBIs. He's been one of the few bright spots during this slump and will be a solid bat near the top of the Tigers lineup for the next few years now. I love the way this guy plays...even if his head is shaped funny. It's amazing that he never won a full-time job in either St. Louis or Philadelphia. Chalk another good call up to Dave Dombrowski.

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Raffy on 'roids...
-----------------------------------------------------
 
Two major leaguers were suspended this week for
testing positive for steroids.  Those players were
Ryan Franklin of the Mariners and "Mr. 3000" Rafael
Palmeiro of the Orioles.  Both players deny that they
intentionally took steroids.  Franklin is not as big
of a name as Palmeiro, but I'd say an equivalent Tiger
would be Mike Maroth, so you can imagine what it would
be like if he tested positive (Mariner fans correct me
if this comparison is way off).  
 
There is a big part of me that believes that Raffy did
not take steroids intentionally.  After the
congressional hearings and being named in Jose
Canseco's book Palmeiro has been living under a Sword
of Damocles.  To knowingly take steroids after those
instances (not to mention while in the midst of his
chase for 3000 hits) would be absolutely foolish.  Is
he really that dumb?  I tend to think not.  It
certainly doesn't look good for him, though.  People
are already questioning what this will do to his Hall
of Fame chances.  I still think (right now, anyway)
that he'll get in with little problem.  
 
There are some links on this issue in the Poll
Question section.
 
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Bret Boone Weekly...
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What better way to forget your own troubled times than
by reveling in the misfortunes of another?  I tell
you, it's not a good thing to be on my bad side.  Bret
Boone was released this week by the Twins, marking the
second time he's been cut this season.  Looks like
Boone may be headed for early retirement.
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2122127
 
Now who do I go after?  
 
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Poll Question...
-----------------------------------------------------
 
There are two big issues this week.  One is the
Farnsworth trade and the other is the steroid scandal.
 
 
What do you think of the trade and how would you judge
Dombrowski as the Tiger's GM?  Here is a link (sent in
by Derek "Lee" Muller) showing all of the moves made
by DD.  
 
http://www.detnews.com/2005/tigers/0508/01/D03-265270.htm
EN: This link no longer works
 
What are your feelings on Palmeiro and Franklin being
suspended?  Is Palmeiro a Hall of Famer?  Do you
believe either athlete?  
 
Link stating that Palmeiro tested positive for a
steroid not found in over-the-counter supplements...

The following is from an article originally published 
by ESPN.com on 8/9/05.

---
NEW YORK -- Rafael Palmeiro's positive steroid test
was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that
is not available in dietary supplements, according to
a newspaper report.

The New York Times, citing a person in baseball with
direct knowledge of the sport's drug-testing program,
reported on its Web site Tuesday that Palmeiro tested
positive for the drug known by the brand name
Winstrol, most notably linked to the Olympic sprinter
Ben Johnson of Canada.

Johnson was stripped of his 100-meter gold medal in
1988 after testing positive for stanozolol.

"It's a mildly strong to strong steroid," Dr. Gary
Wadler, a professor at New York University and an
expert in sports doping, told the Times. "Potent is
the word I would use."
 
The person who said that Palmeiro tested positive for
stanozolol did not want to be identified because the
testing policy prohibits anyone in baseball from
disclosing information about test results without
authorization, the Times said.

The Baltimore Orioles first baseman was suspended by
Major League Baseball for 10 days on Monday after
testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. The
highest profiled player to be punished so far,
Palmeiro testified before Congress in March that he
"never used steroids."

Palmeiro didn't deny turning in a positive test, but
was adamant it was an accident.

The test was taken some weeks after Palmeiro testified
before Congress in March, meaning he is probably not
at risk for perjury, the Times reported, citing a
committee staff member who spoke to the newspaper on
condition of anonymity because official statements are
supposed to come from members of Congress.

The Baltimore Sun reported on its Web site Tuesday
night that Palmeiro tested positive in May and chased
his 3,000th hit with the knowledge that he had failed
a drug test. Palmeiro appealed the ruling in secret
arbitration proceedings in June, a source told the
Sun.

The Sun also said that Congress is looking more
closely into the chronology of Palmeiro's case and is
poised to call on baseball to reveal more details:
when his drug test was conducted, analyzed and
disclosed to the player and the team. Some members
also want officials to reveal what Palmeiro tested
positive for.

The House Government Reform Committee was drafting a
tentative information request Tuesday, the Sun said.

Palmeiro was the seventh player to fall under
baseball's new, tougher steroids policy; Seattle
Mariners right-hander Ryan Franklin became the eighth
when he was also suspended 10 days for a violation
Tuesday. Baseball does not release what type of drug a
player has tested positive for, and so far none of the
eight have spoken openly about details of their
violations.
---
 
Link reporting Franklin's suspension...

The following is from an article originally published 
by ESPN.com on 8/2/05.

---
DETROIT -- Seattle Mariners pitcher Ryan Franklin was
suspended 10 days for violating his sport's steroids
policy, the eighth major-league player caught under
tougher drug rules enacted this year.

The announcement Tuesday came one day after Orioles
slugger Rafael Palmeiro was suspended after testing
positive for steroids.

Franklin said he has "no idea" how he tested positive.

"There's got to be a flaw in the system," he said
Tuesday before the Mariners played the Tigers at
Comerica Park. "I have no clue. I tested in [early]
May and again three weeks later. The first was
positive, the second was negative."

The pitcher said he first was told of his positive
test in May -- and "thought it was a joke" -- then
appealed and appeared before two arbitration
committees.

"I'm one of the guys who was supportive of strong
testing," Franklin said. "I believe I got to the big
leagues on God-given talent, and that's how I've
stayed here. It's hard to swallow."

"I know deep in my heart that I have never done
anything like that."

Franklin, a 32-year-old right-hander, is 6-11 this
season with a 4.61 ERA in 22 games, including 20
starts.

"We are very disappointed to learn this news,"
Mariners spokesman Tim Hevly said. "But at the
direction of Major League Baseball, and, following its
rules, we are not able to comment further."

Manager Mike Hargrove declined to comment before
Tuesday night's game.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Franklin pitched for the
gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics, going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four
appearances. He was an Oklahoma All-State baseball
player at Spiro and played two seasons at Seminole
State College, going 20-0 before signing with the
Mariners in 1993.

Franklin would not discuss what he tested positive
for. But he did say that he took supplements he bought
at a nutrition store. Franklin said he gave up all
supplements after the positive test. After that, he
said he tested negative.

"I'll never take [supplements] again. ... I won't even
take a vitamin until I'm done with baseball," he said.
"I hate what's happened for the organization, for me,
and my family. I'm done with taking anything."
---
 
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Game Linescores...
-----------------------------------------------------
 
July 27:  Detroit 3 - Seattle 9
Starters:  DET: Maroth 1.2IP - SEA: Moyer 8IP
DET  000 000 021  3 10 1
SEA  330 200 01X  9 13 0
W: Moyer  (9-3)
L: Maroth (8-11)
 
July 28:  no game scheduled...
 
July 29:  Detroit 4 - Oakland 8
Starters:  DET: Douglass 2.2IP - OAK: Harden 5.1IP
DET  001 003 000  4 15 0
OAK  043 001 00X  8  8 0
W: Harden   (9-4)
L: Douglass (3-1)
 
July 30:  Detroit 5 - Oakland 9
Starters:  DET: Robertson 6IP - OAK: Zito 7IP
DET  210 011 000  5 10 0
OAK  000 610 02X  9 13 0
W: Zito      (10-8)
L: Robertson (5-9)
S: Witasick  (1)
 
July 31:  Detroit 2 - Oakland 5
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 6IP - OAK: Saarloos 9IP
DET  000 000 002  2 7 0
OAK  101 101 01X  5 9 0
W: Saarloos  (7-6)
L: Bonderman (13-7)
 
August 1:  no game scheduled...
 
August 2:  Seattle 4 - Detroit 1
Starters:  SEA: Campillo 1IP - DET: Johnson 7.2IP
SEA  010 000 030  4 6 0
DET  000 000 100  1 6 0
W: Mateo    (3-4)
L: Johnson  (7-9)
S: Guardado (25)
Note:  Campillo left with an elbow injury after the
first inning.
 
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Readers Write In...
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Matt "Chip" Stevens...
 
The answer to the poll question is simple and not
baseball related.  Mr. Bill Walton.  He may have been
a relevant and skilled player when he actually touched
a basketball, but he now has become more obnoxious and
retarded than a XFL "He Hate Me" jersey.  The
commentary this man provides is so lacking in thought
and depth that a kid who watches the AND1 mixtape tour
could best him with shouts of "Oh baby"(yes Mr. Vitale
you are an idiot too) and "Hot sizzle."  Please
America, ship off Mr. Walton and all of his sons to a
maximum security prison where the only announcing to
be done is who's next to be treated like a woman. 
PEACE. 
 
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Jason "J-Bo" Boddu
 
toolie -
 
so i went to a couple devil rays/red sox games, monday
and tuesday, at tropicana field in sunny st.
petersburg, fl. both games were good lasting into the
10th inning. game one wasn't as spectacular as the
2nd, but the rays made some sweet plays in the final 3
innings to give them the edge. the winning hit sent
rays fans crazy.
 
game 2 was so much better as far as crowd energy was
concerned. the bo-sox came back from 6-8 in the 9th. i
think varitek hot a solo, and later there was a drive
in run. player of the game had to be damon. the catch
in the 9th was amazing. it was right below me, so i
wasn't sure what happened but then i looked around and
boston fans were screaming "oh my God!" ... the replay
showed me what i missed. then he comes up to bat and
solo's the winning run.  the crowd was so intense. 9th
and 10th innings felt as if i were at fenway park.
"let's go sox!" chants drowned out any rays fans.
 
good times,
 
jason
 
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Dallas "Utility Man" Senters
 
although i love imagining ridding the world of one of
my hated sports figures/icons, i must say i hate the
invasion of reality tv into my tigers weekly
conversation.  blast you, survivor!
 
my answer here is easy....TOM BRADY...sure, he comes
off as a likeable enough guy, but i hate u of m...i
hate the patriots.  i hate that everyone annoints tom
brady as joe montana and god.  neither god nor joe
montana would need as much help from the  defense to
win.  no, he is not the best in the league now...he is
no where near the greatest of all time, and
sportswriters need to get their heads out of their
butts, and their noses out of brady's.
 
if the answer had to include baseball i would get rid
of the white sox announcers....put em in a figure
foooooouuuurrrrrrr.....yessssss.  (i blame matt's
houser and o'toole for the above wrestling reference)
 
reds:  trade someone already if you're gonna do
it...i'm sick of wondering who my boys are gonna be.
indians:  casey blake is not an every day major
leaguer...do something about it.
 
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Dan "Berol" Kemp
 
I tried thinking about how to narrow my list down to
one person but I found it impossible to do so.  I 
have narrowed it down to one category of annoying
sports people that have the potential of ruining the 
game for everybody not in attendance:  annoying sports
announcers. 
 
In particular, I would vote off any body that
broadcasts games for a "neutral" corporation, like Fox
or ESPN, and yet show an undeniable bias for or
against certain teams during their broadcast.  It's
gotten to the point where I can barely tolerate to
watch a game on Fox if Tim McCarver is broadcasting
the game.  I don't know what St. Louis did to him when
he was a player, but it must have been something 
near medieval torture considering the number of jabs
he has to poke at them.  During the playoffs last 
year the second-rate announcers on Fox (not McCarver
this time) during the St. Louis/Houston series 
were blatantly rooting for the underdog (whoever
didn't have the series lead) just to drum up drama for
the fans.  They changed their bias game-by-game in an
attempt to get higher ratings.
 
In general, I don't mind biased annoucners as long as
they broadcast on either a radio or TV station 
that is purposely biased.  An example would be WGN and
the Cubs.  Everybody expects that the 
announcers on WGN will be pro-Cub biased.  I'm fine
with that.  But my second group of annoying 
broadcasters fall into the category of biased
annoucers that become over-zealous.  They're not just 
trying to be "like a normal fan annoucing the game"
but they're out to say anything biased at the drop 
of a hat.  
 
A good example of this would be Steve Stone and Chip
Caray before August of last year.  They were so 
blasted annoying that I couldn't listen to them
anymore.  I actually like watching the Cubs, even if I
don't particularly care for their team, but these guys
were so far pro-Cub that it just became stupid 
after a while.  I saw a game last year during which
the Cubs had men on first and second and the batter 
gets a hit.  Instead of running home, the man on
second stops at third after a small tangle with the 
third baseman.  Steve Stone started to gripe on and on
about interference, which it may have been, but 
then his next statement was "In order to fix the
situation, I say the umpires should let ALL the 
baserunners score."  Come on, Steve.  That's so far
biased that it's just stupid.  The same goes for 
Caray.  I enjoyed listening to Harry.  Even if Harry
said something stupid, it was at least funny.  Chip
has the annoying habit of saying stupid stuff that
isn't funny and unfortunately, he falls miles short of
Harry in regards to being entertaining.  
 
That said, I'm about to contradict myself.  I did
agree in general with Steve and Chip's assessment of 
the Cubs after August of last year.  I do feel it's
unfortunate that the team basically made their lives 
miserable and drove them to quit.   I don't blame
Stone or Caray for walking away after the team 
wouldn't even let them ride on the team bus anymore. 
The team voted them off the island, but for all 
the wrong reasons.
 
-----------------------------------------------------
 
Andy "Kin Korn" Karnitz
 
Matt-

Rafael Palmeiro stinks!
There. I said it. Again.

I've mentioned it before in the Weekly how I
believe Mr. P. is one  of the most overrated players
I've ever seen. Can't hit in the clutch. Never could.
Glad the Cubbies went with Mark Grace's consistency
instead of Rafi's (clear throat) power. As stated
previously, Mr. P. has made a career of knocking the
ball out when his team was down 7-2 or up 10-1. 

If anyone would like to hunt down the stats to
prove me wrong, I'm alright with that. Won't
change my mind, though. Perception is belief (in this
case, anyway).

Now this. Tells the U.S. Congressional Comittee
that he never used steroids. Never. Steroids bad.
Viagra good. Rafi no be bad.

Then the lame-ass response that he didn't know he
took steroids.I'll crib George Vescey's
story from Tuesday's NY Times here: Rafi, ask the team
trainer or physician if those "vitamin's"
are on the up and up. Ask your personal physician. Ask
the guys who make Viagra(they'll take their fee out of
your next check). JUST ASK!!!

A friend said to me yesterday, "Well, he's old.
It's hard to recuperate from those nagging little
injuries. Doctors prescribe them to regular Joe's all
the time."

"Yes, pal, you are correct, physicians prescribe
them to heal muscle tears, prescribe them in asthma
inhalers, but they do PRESCRIBE them. And although an
athlete might need these
drugs for those reasons, many take them to build
muscle mass or improve fast twitch muscle reflex, not
because they're asthmatic," I answer. "Imagine," I
continue, "going to your doc and asking him for some
'roids because you can't get the bat around quickly
enough in your fast-pitch league. He'd laugh you out
the door."

That's what we should all be doing for Mr. P.
today. Laughing him out the door.
                                                      
-Andy
 
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Toolie's Trashtalk...
 
Last year I remember driving near Detroit and hearing
the Stony and Wojo Show playing Taps while having a
funeral for the Tigers around the start of August.  It
wouldn't surprise me if they have another one on
tomorrow's show.  Two months remain in the season, but
the team has hit a slide and will need a minor miracle
to get back into the race.  August will need to be an
extraordinary month.  
 
I was really shocked at first when I learned of the
Farnsworth deal.  In fact I was a little angry about
it.  However, I gave Dombrowski the benefit of the
doubt and soon realized that it was probably the best
thing for the Tigers to do.  Farnsworth had turned
down three-year offer from the Tigers, stating that he
was set on testing free-agency this off-season.  So
the Tigers got something in return and Bobby Cox is
apparently a big fan of this Colon.  Perhaps he'll be
a welcome addition to the staff, which has not been on
its game recently.  Who knows... Farnsworth could
re-sign with the Tigers next season. 
 
I really don't know what to think of the steroid
situation quite yet.  We'll have to see how many more
people test positive this season.  It looks very bad
for these guys who do test positive.  Somehow those
steroids got into their system, and we can't believe
that they all did it unintentionally.  There are
definitely some guilty parties out there.  But how
will we ever know who is truly guilty?  Players will
need to be extra careful about what they put in their
bodies.  After this season I don't think I will be
cutting slack to anyone.  
 
Why can't the Tigers get hits when they need to? 
Friday night they out-hit Oakland 15-8 yet went down
in defeat by the score of 8-4.  That's amazing.  The
offense is getting plenty of hits, they just can't hit
with runners in scoring position.  This week the
Tigers scored more than two runs in an inning only
once.  
 
One thing that keeps me hopeful and helps me handle
struggles this season is that management's plan all
along has been to compete for the Central title in
2006.  It looks like the pieces are falling into
place, but now there is a hole at the closer position.
The Tigers have gone through Percival, Urbina, and
Farnsworth already.  Percival may be back next season,
but there's a definite possibility that he's done for
good (which may be the better of the two situations
giving how he pitched this season).  The rotation is
also questionable.  One thing we've learned, though,
is that a lot can change before the start of next
year.  I'd say that the hitting is going to be there. 
 
 
I know relatively little about the Steve Stone / Chip
Caray fallout with the Cubs.  Here is a USA Today
article on Stone's resignation that gives a brief
explanation.  I'd appreciate further input from Cubs
fans.  
 
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/cubs/
2004-10-28-stone_x.htm
 
Last night I dreamt that I was playing baseball...
against the Yankees!  It was quite exciting.  I worked
a 1-2 count on Mariano Rivera before he threw a
fastball that grazed my uniform and I took first base.
Unfortunately that was the extent of that portion of
my dream, as my brain decided to create new
hallucinations for me to enjoy.  It was fun while it
lasted.  
 
The Tigers face the Blue Jays on Monday...the first
time they will play Toronto since April 15th, 2004. 
Yes, the Blue Jays are still in existence.  For the
love of it all, get rid of interleague play and let's
play some American League teams more than six times a
year!  
 
Good feedback this week.  Keep it coming.  Two months
to go in the season.  We march on through the good and
the bad.  
 
I'm out.
 





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