Tigers Weekly 2006 Season

Week 18: 8/23/06 - 8/29/06

Anyone else out there going through Tigers withdrawal?
With a scheduled day off on Monday and a rainout on
Tuesday we've had to endure two days away from the
Tigers for the first time since the All-Star Break. 
It's been tough.  I can't even fathom the off-season
right now.

The Tigers clinched their first winning season since
1993 this week...but just barely.  After two wins to
open a series with the White Sox, the Tigers dropped
four straight, continuing to keep the AL Central race
close.  The Twins and White Sox lurk in the shadows.
Traditionally the month of September has been rough in
Detroit, but not in a long while has there been so
much to play for. Three games with the Yankees before
the Tigers return home for six against AL West teams. 
Then four big ones at the Metrodome!  The high-stakes
games keep coming.

Out-of-towners alert:  Tigers on national TV this
Wednesday night and also on Sunday night (ESPN
networks both nights).

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Week of 8/23 - 8/29

Record:  1-4  LLLLW--

Magic Number:  The Tigers haven't done their part over
the last two weeks.  With the Twins at home against KC
and the Sox hosting the Devil Rays it will be key for
Detroit to notch a win or two against the Yankees.  27
is where the magic number stands (26 for the 
playoffs). The Tigers are just a half-game up on the
Mets for the best record in baseball.  But let's be 
real.  The Mets are playing almost all of their games
against the National League.  Their record is nowhere
near as impressive as the Tigers (or a good number of
other AL teams).  If the AL doesn't win the World
Seriesthis year, even if the Mets are the NL
representative, it will be a real coup.

Up Next for the Tigers...

August 30-31  @ New York Yankees (2 games Wednesday)
September 1-3   Anaheim 
September 4-6   Seattle (should miss Felix Hernandez)

AL Central Standings...

DET  82 49 -
CWS  77 54 5
MIN  76 54 5.5
CLE  62 69 20
KCR  48 85 35

Tigers Division...

DET  82 49 -
NYM  81 49 0.5
NYY  77 52 4
CWS  77 54 5
MIN  76 54 5.5

AL Wild Card  (NYY, DET, OAK leading divisions...)

CWS -
MIN 0.5
BOS 6

NL Wild Card (NYM, STL, LAD leading divisions...)

SDP -
CIN -     (still playing in LA)
PHI 0.5
FLA 1.5
SFG 2
ARI 3
HOU 3
ATL 4
MIL 5

Tigers News and Notes:  Only in baseball.  The MLB
draft was held in June and the Tigers selected pitcher
Andrew Miller #6 overall. Tuesday, less than three
months after he was drafted, Miller joined the Tigers
in New York.  Alexis Gomez was also recalled. Making
room for the pair were Colby Lewis and Brent Clevlen. 
Lewis saw more action than last time, but didn't last
very long on the roster.  Clevlen heads back to Erie 
(AA).  

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2565616

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Tiger of the Week...
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Not a great week for the Tigers, so Kenny Rogers wins again. Rogers did the Tigers a big favor on Sunday by shutting down the Tribe and ending the team's four-game losing streak. His experience (he is the only starter over 30) will be a big help in keeping the rotation focused for this playoff run. For being labeled a bad second-half pitcher, Rogers sure has stepped it up in his last five starts (his ERA has dropped from 4.63 to 4.02 in that span).

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player
.jsp?player_id=121386

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Gum Time: The Blog
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Got a few minutes to read and laugh?  Check out Nate
Robertson's weblog on mlb.com.

http://naterobertson.mlblogs.com/

Here you can learn the history of Gum Time (from its
inception to media reaction to it's effects in other
cities) and read a good deal of Nate's musings.  There
are also some comical pictures of Nate, the team, and
others enjoying Gum Time.  Great site.

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Papi Not My MVP...
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David Ortiz is having one heck of a season.  Big Papi
sports an OBP of .400, 47 homers, and 121 RBIs.  121
RBIs.  Ridiculous. And if you have watched
Sportscenter at all since April 1 it's a good bet
you've witnessed Ortiz winning a game for the Red Sox
in walk-off fashion. His numbers are crazy and he's
been clutch for the Sox.  But Ortiz doesn't play the
field, and thus he shouldn't be the MVP.

Two other candidates for MVP are Jermaine Dye and
Derek Jeter.  They have comparable OBP numbers (.392
and .413) but both trail Ortiz, considerably, in RBIs.
Jeter steals a good number of bases, but looking
solely at offensive numbers I would definitely vote
for Ortiz.

Now suppose that you are starting a baseball team. 
You can choose one of these three players.  Who do you
take?  Of these three the easy choice is Jeter.  Not
only do you get a solid hitter, but you get a guy
who plays a very good shortstop.  Some think that
Jeter is overrated at his position, but one must admit
that he is adequate. In taking Jeter you fill one of
the most demanding defensive positions and you insert
a versatile batter into your lineup.  Dye will also
give you a fielder along with a solid bat, but a good
corner outfielder isn't as demanding (or as rare) as a
good shortstop.  

Between Ortiz and Dye I might see taking Ortiz first. 
He is more imposing in the lineup and a suitable
replacement should be able to be had in right field. 
But putting Ortiz next to Jeter it is evident that the
shortstop has more value.  Take him away from the
Yankees, especially in a year when Gary Sheffield and
Hideki Matsui have missed considerable time, and that
team would be probably be in trouble.  As it is, the
Red Sox are a sub-.500 team versus the American
League. They have not been able to hold up when faced
with their own injuries (Trot Nixon, Jason
Varitek...). Derek Jeter has helped pull his team
through the struggles.

Now Ortiz is being hospitalized for a heart condition,
so the argument may become irrelevant.  Even if Ortiz
were to play out most of the rest of the season, it
would take a miraculous September for me to consider
him the Most Valuable Player.

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Poll Question...
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Do you think that a designated hitter can, or should,
win the Most Valuable Player award?  Also, the same
question for starting pitchers and relief pitchers.  

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Game Linescores...
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August 23:  Chicago White Sox 7 - Detroit 5
Starters:  CWS: Garcia 5.1IP - DET: Miner 1.1IP
CWS  330 000 100  7 15 1
DET  300 002 000  5  9 0
W: Garcia (12-8)
L: Miner  (7-5)
S: Jenks  (36)

August 24:  Chicago White Sox 10 - Detroit 0
Starters:  CWS: Garland 9IP - DET: Robertson 6.2IP
CWS  101 320 300  10 14 0
DET  000 000 000   0  6 0
W: Garland   (15-4)
L: Robertson (11-10)

August 25:  Detroit 2 - Cleveland 4
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 6.1IP - CLE: Sowers 6IP
DET  020 000 000  2 6 0
CLE  013 000 00X  4 9 0
W: Sowers     (6-3)
L: Bonderman  (11-6)
S: Betancourt (1)

August 26:  Detroit 5 - Cleveland 8
Starters:  DET: Verlander 4.2IP - CLE: Westbrook 7IP
DET  110 030 000  5 12 0
CLE  002 060 00X  8 12 1
W: Westbrook (11-8)
L: Verlander (15-7)
S: Mastny    (3)

August 27:  Detroit 7 - Cleveland 1
Starters:  DET: Rogers 7IP - CLE: Lee 5.2IP
DET  102 011 020  7 13 0
CLE  100 000 000  1  5 0
W: Rogers (14-6)
L: Lee    (10-10)

August 28:  no game scheduled...

August 29:  game postponed due to rain...

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Readers Write In...
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Scott "Rolen" Donnelly

Hey Hey from Vegas, Thanks for the Tiger news, I've
got the baseball TV package and it's great to see the
comeback cats. The sports books have had the tigers as
underdogs this whole series aginst the Sox (no love). 

SD from Vegas

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Danny "Tartabull" Simpson

Alas, it happened to me again. Several times, after
reading the Weekly, I have wanted to submit my
comments, only to think that I should probably wait
until the next one is about to come out - then I
forget to submit anything at all. Thus, here are my
votes for the past two polls.

I agree with Lee "new daddy" Cole about Chris Berman
and Stuart Scott. While watching part of a Tigers game
that Berman was broadcasting, I yearned for Mario &
Rod. When I'm "Boss of the World," I would limit
Berman to the Home Run Derby (he's entitled to one day
of "Back, back, back ....") and Scott to Stump the
Schwab. Also as dishonorable mention is whoever says,
"Down in the Boogie-down, here the Giambino in the 
3rd, "I am William Wallace." Huh? Am I listening to 
English, or was there just an alphabetical accident. 
Also, I am tired of the comment, "If it stays fair, 
it's gone" when the ball is to left-center. I like 
humor (esp. the Krukish variety), but this other 
stuff isn't humor, just babble.

But this offenses don't compare to the Deplorable Duo.
The first (and I'm sure some of you clones/clowns will
come to his defense) is Jim Rome. The second is Jeanne
Zelasko. 

My case against Rome: His ego is bigger than David
Wells' late 90s gut and he is too crude, but my
biggest beef with the jungle boy is his repetitivity
and lack of content and saying the same thing over and
over and repeating himself frequently and saying lots
of words but never having much to say and (you get the
point).

I frequently go home for lunch. My drive is around
8-10 minutes. If I listen to Rome, which I rarely do
anymore, I barely hear anything at all. 

A sample: 
If you want a slingbox, your e-mails better be good.
(pause) Here's one: "Hey Rome, (something about some
team choking), signed Phil Mickelson." (pause) And
another: "Hey Romey, give my a slingbox" Okay, 
that's going into the drawing. (pause). [a few more
humorous pun e-mails]

Now, did you hear about that pitcher that hit his
wife. He said, "She's my best friend and she means the
world to me." (pause) What is that? (pause) I mean, 
you can't say, 'she means the world to me' and then go
and hit her in the face. (papers rustle) Hey honey, I
love you and here's my fist in your face. (long pause)
Are you kidding me? (pause) "Means the world to me", 
yeah right (shorter pause) Last time I checked, 
hitting your wife in the face does not mean that she 
means the world to you (pause) It doesn't (more papers
rustle) What is going to say to her next? (very brief
pause) Honey, I love you and I think I'll hit you in 
the face now (pause) What does he say to his kids? 
Your mom means the world to me, but I still hit her 
in the face (pause) This guy's a joke.

[Meanwhile, 5 minutes have passed and I'm about to see
if I can tune in some Chicago sports station in spite
of the static]

Here my case against Zelasko, in Rome's words:

Did you see the All-Star Game last year in Detroit?
(pause) Jeanne Zelasko interviews the voice of Detroit
for over 30 years - Ernie Harwell (pause) She asks a
few pointless questions, without probing this great
baseball (pause) Then while Ernie answers, she
interrupts him to move on to something else (long
pause) She interrupts Ernie Harwell (pause) Huh?
(reflective pause) You don't just interrupt Ernie
Harwell. (pause) Harwell talking about the history and
you cut him off (pause) No way (pause) I mean, this is
Ernie Harwell (thankfully, a brief pause) Ernie
Harwell! (pause) This guy's in the Hall of Fame
(pause) You don't just interrupt some in the Hall of
Fame (pause) I mean, one moment he was speaking and
the next second it's Zelasko (yet another pause) He's
a Hall of Famer (pause) The freaking Hall of Fame
(long pause, he's thinking) Last time I checked, we'd
rather hear a Hall of Famer than what brilliant point
you might have to make Jeanne (pause) Now matter what
wild wardrobe you might be sporting today, I'd go with
the Hall of Famer (long pause) Hmm, fount of baseball
knowledge or... (poignant pause) not that (pause) I
know which one I'm going with.

I wish Zelasko and Rome would sign an exclusive
contract with PASS sports.

For this week's question, I think I would go with
Bonderman, Rogers, & Verlander for a 3 man rotation,
with Robertson added for the four man rotation. I
heard Tim Kurkjian make a good point about putting
Rogers second to come back with a calm veteran if the
Tigers lose Game 1. 

This rotation also depends on how well Maroth does
when he comes back. If he comes back pitching well, he
would have the benefit of having a fresh arm and could
replace Robertson. Miner is still too inefficient with
his pitches. I'd rather not the bullpen to have to
pitch 4-5 tough innings in Game 3 of a 7 game series.
Miner, being unique with the sinker, could be a big 
help in relief, though I think I'd bring him in at the 
beginning of an inning. For example, if Kenny got into 
trouble in a 6-5 lead and had 2nd & 3rd with one out
in the 4th, we could bring Zumaya in to get Ks for the
4th and then pitch the 5th, Maroth or Miner for 6 & 7, 
Rodney for the 8th, and Jones to close out the win. I
really like not having Zumaya as the closer for that 
purpose; he can bail out our starters who don't get 
many Ks in the 4th - 7th. 

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Nick "The Greek" Ciofani

I love five game sweeps of the Red Sox. 

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Anthony "Ferny" Morano

It's so hard to pick just one of my least favorite
sports personalities so i have to mention (3)

3. billy packer- how many times a game does he mention
duke/acc

2. Cleveland Indians T.V. guys. sorry to nic the greek
who is a tribe lover, but when I have to watch my
tigers via directv and they are the announcers, I turn
the volume all the way down and listen to music.

#1 goes to Stephen A Smith. His show is horrible, his
lingo is played out, and he doesn't know anything
about any other sports except basketball!

In regards to the tigers the bullpen and starters
continue to dominate. The one things that scares me is
the tigers do not play small ball when it matters (see
tex game when they couldn't score monroe on 3rd 0
outs!) this will hurt in the playoffs. look at recent
teams like the angels or white sox that's how they won
the world series! Thanks to the guy who had the
avs/wings video link awesome!

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Toolie's Trashtalk...

The Royals' magic elimination number is currently 1. 
Too bad for KC. In fact, I'm sure they are
mathematically eliminated as the Sox and Twins have a
series remaining between them (somebody has to win
those games).  

No errors from the Tigers in these last five games.
There's a step in the right direction.  

Most frustrating loss of the week had to be Saturday,
when Justin Verlander couldn't retire the Indians in
the fifth inning.  The Tigers had just taken a 5-2
lead and it looked like they would even up the series.
 But with two outs the Indians strung together
five hits (four off Verlander) to plate six runs and
turn the tables on the Tigers. Justin's first start
since gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated was
a bust.  Here's to better returns against the Angels.

Magglio needs to wake up, seriously.  Since the
All-Star break he is hitting .242 and has hit just one
home-run.  That's not going to cut it for the clean-up
hitter on a contending ball club. With all that hair
he should be resembling Samson, not Rapunzel. 

Ferny, this is the first time I've heard somebody
complain about the Tribe's TV announcers.  Normally
you only hear about the infamous "D.J. and Hawk" who
call White Sox games.  Sounds like the Cleveland
announcers are also flat-out homers.  Mario and Rod do
a good job of presenting the other team in a good
light and calling a fair game.  

Thanks to those who have been taking shots at the
trivia questions on http://www.tigersweekly.com. 
Some of the names of people who have responded
include:  Brandon, Brian Vessell, Chris, Dallas, Derek
Muller, Jake, Jeff Herman, Jim Hile, Josh Klomp,
Mandy, McKeown, Nick Flees, Shane, Tom Bellsky...  The
questions are archived, so you can look at the old
ones and give those a whirl.  You are not required to
enter your name, but we like you to so we know how
many different people are responding to the trivia
feature.  

A-Rod has been struggling, as have the Yanks as of
late.  Still, they are a team to take very seriously. 
Then the Angels, who need a string of wins to get into
the race with Oakland, come to town.  Six more
difficult games before the tail-spinning Mariners come
around.  But from here on every game is of the utmost
importance.  

Simpson, good call on Zelasko.  Let Ernie speak.  He
has more impact in two sentences than Zelasko will
have in her entire career.  

Tigers finish the season series with Cleveland with a
13-6 advantage. Very nice.  The White Sox still have
seven games left with the Tribe and the Twins must
face Cleveland four more times. I'd love for this
central rival to give the Tigers a few early Christmas
presents.  

I'm still quite optimistic for the Tigers.  Boston
trails Detroit by 11 games, so the only two teams to
worry about are Chicago and the Twins. Both of those
teams will have to have good Septembers, and the
Tigers will have to have a bad September, for the D to
miss out.  Odds are in the Tigers' favor.  

Time to hit the old sack.  Two games tomorrow (or
today, most likely). Tough to take both games of a
double-header.  A split would be acceptable.  

I'm out.





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