Tigers Weekly 2005 Season

Week 2: 4/12/05 - 4/18/05

All's well that ends well, I suppose.  The Tigers
began this eight game road trip getting swept by the
Twins in Minnesota.  They followed that up by blowing
a five run lead Friday night in Kansas City.  Things
looked pretty bleak, but Jeremy Bonderman and Mike
Maroth turned in back-to-back solid starts to carry
the Tigers to another series win over the Royals.  The
bats exploded in Baltimore Monday night to salvage the
week and give the team a chance to have an even road
trip.  I must admit that I was getting impatient as
the losing streak hit five games.  If not for a shaky
bullpen the team would currently be three games over
five-hundred.  The team's record in one-run games this
season is 0-4.  This must change.
 
New Subscribers...
 
Emily "Willy" Muller
Gina "Hot Wheels" Bottinelli
 
...the ladies love the Weekly...
 
Bill "Gullickson" Duplissis

-----------------------------------------------------
Support Ferny!!!
-----------------------------------------------------

Want to know how you can support one of the Weekly's
readers?  Anthony "Ferny" Morano, former MCC
battery-mate of my brother Brian, has a radio show
that airs on Saturday nights (Sunday mornings) at 2AM
Eastern time on KLAV 1230AM Las Vegas.  You can listen
to the show on the internet at www.klav1230am.com or,
if you want, you can call the show toll free
1-866-820-5528 (and tell 'em Tigers Weekly sent you!).

Ferny, one of these nights I will be calling in about
the Tigers (as Furious Fred on the bench), so stay
sharp, for know ye not when the master of the house
will call.

-----------------------------------------------------
Goin' To Work...
-----------------------------------------------------

Attention Pistons fans!!!  Fellow MCC grad Steve
Sprague is the author of the weekly Pistons
newsletter, Goin' To Work.  If you love the NBA then
you will love this newsletter.  E-mail him at
ScubaSteveUM@hotmail.com to join the party. 
DEEEETROIT BAAAASKETBALLLLL!

-----------------------------------------------------

Week of 4/12 - 4/18
 
Record:  3-4  LLLLWWW
 
Undy Five-Hundy:  As mentioned above, poor bullpen
performance has led to UFH inflation.  It could have
been a lot worse, but the index is held to just one
game at this point.  Par for the course.
 
Up Next for the Tigers...

April 18    @ Baltimore
April 19-21   Chicago White Sox
April 22-24   Minnesota
April 25      no game scheduled...
 
AL Central Standings...

CWS  9 4 -
MIN  8 5 1
CLE  6 7 3
DET  6 7 3
KCR  4 9 5
 
Tigers News and Notes:  As noted below, Magglio
Ordonez hits the disabled list for a good amount of
time.  Pitcher Andrew "Better Than Ezra" Good was
recalled from Toledo to take his place and provide
more bullpen support.

-----------------------------------------------------
Tiger of the Week...
-----------------------------------------------------

Nook Logan has been huge for the Tigers these last couple of games, but Mike Maroth personally put the team in a position to win both games he started this week. The club couldn't get the job done in Minnesota, but they managed to close the deal against Kansas City. Maroth has been largely overlooked this spring (the baseball shows have given much more attention to Bonderman, Robertson, and Ledezma), which is probably because he doesn't have great velocity or movement on his pitches. Maroth is a guy who really knows how to pitch, much like Frank Tanana was after he had his arm troubles. I love this guy, and I hope that he is a part of the organization for a long time.

 
-----------------------------------------------------
Ordonez out 4-6 Weeks...
-----------------------------------------------------

There was more bad news for the Tigers as Magglio
Ordonez will be on the DL recovering from hernia
surgery.  Ordonez, who missed most of last season with
knee problems, had been experiencing virus-like
symptoms since the first series of the year.  Let's
just hope this doesn't develop into a Juan Gonzalez
situation.

The following was originally published by ESPN.com
on 4/16/05.
 
---
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who
signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the
Detroit Tigers in the offseason, will undergo hernia
surgery and miss at least 4-6 weeks.

Ordonez, who missed all but 52 games with the Chicago
White Sox last season because of a knee injury, has
been ailing most of the spring.

Manager Alan Trammell had said on Thursday he did not
think Ordonez would need to go on the disabled list.
But general manager Dave Dombrowski said Friday he was
informed by doctors that they had discovered the
hernia.

"I'm glad they found it," Dombrowski said. "It's been
a situation where he's been quite ill. It's very
unusual for somebody who's a very healthy, hardworking
31-year-old person who's had the misfortune he's had.
He's had the flu, he's had some infections. There's
been a variety of things."

Taking Ordonez's spot on the roster is right-hander
Andrew Good, whose contract was purchased from
Triple-A Toledo.

Ordonez had been sent back to Detroit from Minnesota
on Wednesday after experiencing recurring symptoms
from what was described as a viral infection. He began
feeling ill the last week of spring training and
appeared in only three games, going hitless in 10
at-bats.

He was one of the league's premier power hitters in
eight seasons with the White Sox, batting .307 with
187 home runs and 703 RBI.

The surgery will be scheduled after Ordonez meets with
specialists early next week, Dombrowski said.

"This is a quality player, a quality individual,"
Dombrowski said. "It's unfortunate for him and for the
club that he's not going to be in the lineup for this
period of time. But it's not career-threatening."

Ordonez was the last top-tier free agent left on the
market when the Tigers made him their most expensive
free agent signee ever. He agreed to a five-year deal
with two option years that could raise the total to
$105 million over seven seasons.

Other clubs were wary to commit to a long-term deal
because Ordonez had knee surgery last season. He
missed 36 games when he hurt the knee on May 19 and
then went on the DL for good on July 22.

The Tigers got some protection written into the
contract, but only relating to the knee. If his left
knee puts him on the disabled list for 25 days or more
in 2005, the Tigers can void the rest of the contract
after paying him between $6 million and $12 million
this year -- depending on how much time he misses.

Trammell said he was uncertain who would take
Ordonez's place in right field.

"I'm not going to rule anything out," he said. "If a
guy comes in and steps up and does a good job, you'll
probably see him another day. We'll kind of go from
there."

Dombrowski said Ordonez was at least grateful to know
what the problem was.

"He didn't sound like he was distressed -- not happy
by any means. But he's had to deal with a great amount
over the time period," Dombrowski said. "He's just
kept an unbelievable attitude -- 'OK, let's get this
thing fixed as fast as I can.' "
---

-----------------------------------------------------
I Want My...I Want My UPN!!!
-----------------------------------------------------

Tuesday I was checking to see if the Tigers were going
to be on TV.  Unfortunately for me, they played second
fiddle to the Pistons-Magic game on FSD, so I checked
the UPN website to see if they would be on there. 
Sadly, UPN is no longer carrying the Tigers.  I found
the following article explaining the situation.

The following is an excerpt from an article written by
Mike Austerman and originally published by
Michiguide.com on 5/7/05.

---
Tigers have no broadcast TV outlet this year
That's right -- as of right now, the Detroit Tigers
have no deal to broadcast any of their games over
"regular" TV. Fox Sports Net, available via cable and
satellite, will carry 110 games this year, but no deal
could be worked out between the Tigers and Channel 50
to put a 30 or 40 game schedule on UPN 50.

I can totally understand where Ch. 50 is coming from -
paying big bucks to broadcast baseball doesn't seem to
be a slam dunk in the face of declining ratings and a
team that has been anything but stellar. The Tigers,
thinking that the team will be better and more
interesting this year, are probably asking for too
much money for the local TV package -- forcing the
20-30% of people without cable or satellite to do
without Tigers games this year.

It'd be nice for the Tigers to do what something like
the Pistons have done with Channel 20-- work out a
deal where the team essentially pays for the air time
and produces it's own broadcasts, then takes whatever
revenue they earn for itself. Working out a deal with
a station like Channel 38 would seem to be a win-win
situation. Add Channel 31 from Ann Arbor in the deal,
and you'd have decent enough over-the-air coverage at
a low price. If I ran Channel 38, I'd be pretty
aggressive in attempting to get the Tigers - and then
the other sports teams too when they become available.
Turning 38 into a sports powerhouse would finally give
that station some legs.

It's a sad day for Channel 50 as they now have lost
all their regular season sports play-by-play deals.
The Red Wings (when they return) are owned 100% by Fox
Sports Net, the Pistons are now on Ch. 20, and now the
Tigers are gone too. You have to wonder if the Lions
preseaon games are worth it for 50 now that they've
lost everything else.
---
 
This stinks, because every time there is a Pistons
game we won't be able to watch the Tigers.  At least
there is always radio, which is a far better medium
for baseball anyway, and I'd much rather listen to Dan
Dickerson and Jim Price than Mario Impemba and Rod
Allen.  I think the radio guys are a little more
straight forward.  You'll almost never hear the TV
guys criticize umpires when they're inconsistent and
they almost always overly praise the players on the
Tigers (Rod Allen commenting on how "special" a player
is has worn on me).  Maybe that's just me, though.

-----------------------------------------------------
Poll Question...
-----------------------------------------------------

There's not much that's worse than baseball on
artificial turf.  I can't stand those Metrodome
singles...mainly, I guess, because it's usually the
Twins who get them.
 
What is the worst venue that you've ever personally
played a sporting event at?  This can be any sport and
any level of play.

-----------------------------------------------------
Missing Persons Report...
-----------------------------------------------------

The first issue resulted in a lot of e-mails bouncing
back to me.  Here is a list of people that I have lost
touch with.
 
Gary Conkle
Craig VanSplunter
Mark Yingling
Tom Lenfesty
Chris Marlink
Jason Martin
 
If you know these people, find out if they are still
interested in receiving the Weekly.  If they are, get
me their new addresses and I will update their contact
info.  If they want off the list, let me know and I
will remove them.  Thanks.

-----------------------------------------------------
Game Linescores...
-----------------------------------------------------

April 12:  Detroit 4 - Minnesota 5
Starters:  DET: Maroth 5IP - MIN: Mays 5IP
DET  100 020 100  4 7 2
MIN  001 011 011  5 9 1      ***BULLPEN***
W: Rincon (1-0)
L: Percival (0-1)
 
April 13:  Detroit 4 - Minnesota 8
Starters:  DET: Johnson 0.1IP - MIN: Lohse 6.1IP
DET  110 002 000  4 11 0
MIN  500 200 01X  8 12 0
W: Lohse   (1-1)
L: Johnson (1-1)
 
April 14:  Detroit 4 - Minnesota 10
Starters:  DET: Robertson 5IP - MIN: Radke 6IP
DET  200 001 010   4  9 3
MIN  023 014 00X  10 11 0
W: Radke     (1-2)
L: Robertson (0-1)
 
"It was not a good effort tonight. Nine walks and two
hit batsmen -- that's a formula for a loss." - Tram
 
April 15:  Detroit 5 - Kansas City 6
Starters:  DET: Ledezma 6IP - KCR: Lima 7IP
DET  500 000 000  5  7 0
KCR  002 101 02X  6 10 1   ***BULLPEN***
W: Cerda     (1-1)
L: Urbina    (0-2)
S: MacDougal (1)
 
"The way things have gone the first nine games, I'm
going to tell you right now, I am not happy with the
pitching.  How could I be?" - Tram
 
April 16:  Detroit 7 - Kansas City 1
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 8IP - KCR: Anderson 7.2IP
DET  000 200 104  7 12 1
KCR  000 001 000  1  6 1
W: Bonderman (2-1)
L: Anderson  (1-1)
 
April 17:  Detroit 6 - Kansas City 1
Starters:  DET: Maroth 7.2IP - KCR: Hernandez 5IP
DET  004 100 001  6 12 0
KCR  000 000 100  1  5 2
W: Maroth    (1-1)
L: Hernandez (1-2)
 
April 18:  Detroit 13 - Baltimore 3
Starters:  DET: Johnson 7IP - BAL: Bedard 4.2IP
DET  102 234 010  13 16 0
BAL  020 000 010   3  8 0
W: Johnson (2-1)
L: Bedard  (0-1)

-----------------------------------------------------
Readers Write In...
-----------------------------------------------------

Matt "Doc" Weiland
 
Hey I forgot to mention what one of my local sports
casters said concerning the tigers the other day.  
He was highlighting a hit of Nook Logan and he said
"everyone loves a little nookie!"  I was a little
taken back but hey at least now you know why I respond
to the Weekly! 

-----------------------------------------------------

Ch"Aase" Claus
 
I have relatively little to say this week.
 
1. The Twins make me sick to my stomach.  I despise
losing to them, I despise their ugly-Aase stadium, I
despise every player who has played for them in my
lifetime, and I most despise the fact that they
absolutely own the Detroit Tigers.  The Twins are
Justin Thompson to the Tigers' Ken Griffey, Jr.
 
2. I'm even more sick of NY/Boston now than I was a
week ago.  The world's hatred toward the Yankees is
well-documented but the proverbial 'loveable 
losers' that Boston played until last season have
turned into arrogant bullies, just like the Yanks. 
They remind me of Dr. Seuss's two stubborn Zaks - and
I, for one, have "left them there standing, unbudged,
in their tracks."
 
3. In response to the question of the week, the 'roid
thing seems to be working out to some extent.  The
league seems to have decided to make the policy, give
everyone time to clean themselves out, then make
patsies out of a bunch of minor-leaguers and some
fringe professionals.  Alex Sanchez gets to be the
example that warns Barry "I'm Tired" Bonds that
they're actually serious this time.  And I guess that
I'm comfortable with that.  It's better than nothing.
 
4. For those of you wondering about the Editor's
nickname for me - ChAase - the name comes from the
surprisingly successful journeyman middle reliever 
of the 1980s, Don Aase.  Don came to recent fame as a
can't-miss contender for the ugliness round of the
great Claus Brothers invention: "Pack Wars."  
[Perhaps in future weeks, we'll publish some official
rules for Pack Wars in this publication.  Stay
tuned...]
 
Anyway, if you want to check out Mr. Aase, here's a
couple of stops to make:
In-depth stats:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/aasedo01.shtml
Disappointingly small photo of His Hidiousness: 
http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0406
 
Claus OUT.

-----------------------------------------------------

Toolie's Trashtalk...
 
It's a late one tonight, but spirits are high. 
Nothing like an old-fashioned beat-down to make for an
easy night of watching baseball.  The Tigers were 0-6
against the Birds last year, so it was pretty
satisfying to get off on the right foot this season. 
Nook Logan was amazing!  With Ordonez out of the
lineup we'll probably be seeing a lot more of Nook. 
Monroe will play right field, except when Higginson is
in the lineup.  Higgy played only one game this week
and went 0-4 with a K in Friday's loss to Kansas City.
 His stock is certainly at an all-time low.
 
Tigers starters have a 6-4 record so far this year. 
Not bad!  The bullpen was pretty terrible early in the
week.  Urbina surrendered big runs in the one-run
losses but turned things around with four strike-outs
in four at-bats on Sunday.  Still, in that last
appearance, Urbina was working with a five run lead. 
He needs to be better in the clutch.
 
I'm sure that everyone has played at some terrible
venues.  Here are my top five...
 
5. Hillsdale Gymnasium:  I can't remember the exact
name of the place, but this garage makes the list
pretty much only because I injured my knee multiple
times there.  It's more of a grudge than anything.
 
4. Mona Shores High School Baseball Field:  I had to
play a good deal of Pony League games and some high
school games here as well.  You couldn't run five
steps in the outfield without finding uneven ground. 
Bad hops and rolled ankles abounded here.  I was glad
to get the heck off of that field.  Also, this was the
site of the worst game I ever had to ump.  Would have
been a dime rule if the other team hadn't rattled off
about eight runs in the fifth, only to still lose in
seven.  Ugh.
 
3.  Jenison High School Football Field:  Again, this
is no knock on Jenison, it's just that we had to march
in a competition the day after a football game...where
it had downpoured.  Because we had a totally out-there
guy practically running the show, I (and a lot of
other guys in the band) had to face plant into muck. 
I was lucky to escape alive.
 
2.  Sacred Heart Elemetary School Playgroud:  What's
so bad about this place?  It's an asphalt parking lot,
which makes it a terrible place to play tackle soccer.
 Damned third graders.  You don't know what
"one-touch" is until you play tackle soccer with kids
that are bigger than you.  What were we thinking? 
 
1.  The Magic Carpet:  The game is basketball and the
grade was seventh.  We had to play some team, I think
it was Fremont Christian, on the road.  We get to the
gym and the floor is a carpet with a basketball court
design on it.  Hilarious!  Actually, it wasn't so
hilarious when I hit the floor.  Rug burns and a
resounding defeat left me cursing that place forever. 
 
I am anxious to hear your stories.  
 
Claus, I totally agree on points 1 and 2.  Nice Dr.
Seuss reference.  Now for triple points, try and work
in a reference to the Pale Green Pants with noone
inside them.  
 
Back to the team:  It's nice to see them string some
wins together, but D-Town has two big series coming up
at Comerica.  We'll see the new-look White Sox for the
first time on Tuesday, and then the Twins come to town
over the weekend.  I may be in attendance on Saturday
to see the cats get a little revenge on the Cities.  
 
Top play on Sportscenter is...a dunk.  How
predictable.  I'm surprised it wasn't a Yankees-Red
Sox dunk.  
 
I have a dream...and that is to own a piece of
paraphernalia from every team in the majors.  So far I
have a ton of Tigers stuff, a Reds Spring Training
shirt, a Dodgers hat, and an Orioles shirt.  The
latter two I can attribute to Nick Ciofani and the
generosity of the Solon Recreation Department.  I've
got a long way to go and this will probably take me
some years, but it can be done.  Going on the baseball
road trip this summer should help. 
 
2AM.  That's my cue.  Big week for the ball club. 
Cheer 'em on.
 
I'm out...
 





-----------------------------------------------------

Tigers Weekly is in no way affiliated with the Detroit
Tigers or Major League Baseball.  
 
If you know anyone that would like a subscription to TW,
send an email to editor@tigersweekly.com and give their
names and e-mail addresses. If your e-mail address is
changing, drop a line and it will be updated...

Play Ball!

-----------------------------------------------------