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"No no, no, no no, no no no no, no, no no, no, no, no
no, no no, no, no, no no, no, no, no no, no, no no,
no." - The Human Beinz
Thirty "No"s begin the song "Nobody But Me" by the
aforementioned group (I counted). Justin Verlander
faced thrirty Milwaukee batters on Tuesday night and
yielded zero hits; the first no-hitter pitched by a
Tiger since Jack Morris in 1984. The crowd was
electric beyond the sixth inning. A couple of
defensive plays behind Verlander were highlighted;
Magglio's signature sliding catch in the 7th and the
nifty double-play turned by Neifi and Polanco to end
the 8th. Verlander struck out 12 batters over the
course of the evening and finally could celebrate
after inducing a game-ending fly-ball to right. The
final two innings of Brewers batting were shown live
on ESPN (they only had poker reruns to interrupt) so a
good portion of the country got a chance to see the
feat. Verlander is the second pitcher this season to
toss a no-no. The other was Mark Buehrle, but Justin
has three things on Buehrle: he's younger, he's
better, and he doesn't play for the White Sox.
Verlander has performed remarkably for the short time
that he has been in the majors. We just have to cross
our fingers that he'll be able to replicate the
success of Jack Morris and not incur the injuries of
other phenoms such as Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.
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Week of 6/7 - 6/13
Record: 4-2 WLWW-WL
Up Next for the Tigers...
June 14 Milwaukee
June 15-17 @ Philadelphia
June 18-20 @ Washington
AL Central Standings...
CLE 38 26 -
DET 37 27 1
MIN 32 31 5.5
CWS 27 35 10
KCR 25 41 14
Tigers Division...
BOS 41 23 -
LAA 41 25 1
CLE 38 26 3
DET 37 27 4
SDP 37 27 4
LAD 38 28 4
SEA 35 27 5
NYM 36 28 5
ARI 37 29 5
Tigers News and Notes: The Tigers put two pitchers on
the DL this week: Zach Miner and Nate Robertson. They
were replaced by Aquilino Lopez and Yorman Bazardo.
Later in the week, Lopez was returned to Toledo and
Andrew Miller was called upon to make a start for Nate
Robertson. Miller is scheduled to make another start
this Saturday in Philadelphia.
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Tiger of the Week...
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No contest this week. When you toss a no-hitter,
that's pretty much a guarantee that you'll win Tiger
of the Week. Not much more to add here, except that
if we're lucky we can expect a lot more dominating
performances from the youngster. Maybe not
no-hitters, but 1 or 2-hitters will be fine. Jack
Morris thinks he can do it again!
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=
20070613&content_id=2025253&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp
&c_id=det
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Tigers Weekly Baseball Game...
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OK, a date is set. We're planning on playing baseball
on Saturday June 23rd and the game start time will
hopefully be around 10-10:30AM. If you are interested
in playing a game of near-full-speed baseball and you
can be in the Lansing area at this date and time, then
let me know as soon as possible so I can pencil you in
for a spot. This is always a good time. Photos from
previous games are posted on the website.
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Lament of the Chicago White Sox Nation...
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ESPN's Jerry Crasnick offers this piece about the
zap-less Chicago White Sox. The best part is where
Ozzie Guillen gets upset that their 3-0 loss to the
Phillies was televised nationally because he didn't
want people to see how bad they were (I euphemized
that, naturally).
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist
=crasnick_jerry&id=2901377
Normally I don't like to kick a man (or a team) when
he's down, but this is the White Sox.
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Poll Question...
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Where does Justin Verlander's no-hitter rank on your
list of greatest Tiger memories? Further, what are
your top five Tiger memories?
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Game Linescores...
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June 7: Detroit 11 - Texas 4
Starters: DET: Maroth 5IP - TEX: Loe 2.2IP
DET 126 200 000 11 17 0
TEX 101 100 001 4 10 1
W: Maroth (4-2)
L: Loe (1-6)
June 8: New York Mets 3 - Detroit 0
Starters: NYM: Sosa 8IP - DET: Durbin 8IP
NYM 000 100 101 3 7 1
DET 000 000 000 0 4 0
W: Sosa (6-1)
L: Durbin (5-2)
S: Wagner (14)
June 9: New York Mets 7 - Detroit 8
Starters: NYM: Perez 5IP - DET: Bonderman 6IP
NYM 100 020 310 7 12 1
DET 300 023 00X 8 12 1
W: Bonderman (6-0)
L: Perez (6-5)
S: Jones (16)
June 10: New York Mets 7 - Detroit 15
Starters: NYM: Glavine 4.1IP - DET: Miller 5.1IP
NYM 300 003 010 7 10 0
DET 112 061 04X 15 21 3
W: Miller (2-0)
L: Glavine (5-4)
---
Toolie Sees a Ball Game: Here's the quickie version
because it's late.
Cheli's Chili Bar was a good place to stop before the
game. Lia and I had a drink and a bite to eat and met
up, at the park, with a bunch of her friends from
work.
It was a hot day. We were about four rows down from
the shade (I would have paid an extra ten bucks for
those seats... oh well, these seats were on Lia, so I
can't complain!). Thank goodness for sunscreen. For
a guy that prefers night games I find it strange that
I've been to three games this season, all during the
day.
I think I was the only person to give Damion Easley
some love when he was announced as the second batter.
David Wright started the scoring with a three-run
blast off of Miller and I thought that it could be a
bit rougher for the pre-rookie taking on the Mets as
opposed to the Cardinals. Miller settled in and shut
the Mets down for the next four innings as the Tigers
fought back and built a 10-3 lead. The Mets mounted a
charge and closed the gap to 11-7, but a four-run 8th
inning sealed the deal.
This whole game was played in the presence of a flock
of birds that decided that Comerica would be a good
place to hang out that afternoon. It was quite a
spectacle to see all the birds just walking around the
field and then getting stirred up wnen the crowd would
get excited. I found it odd when Byrdak came in
amidst the birds, and then on Monday Paul Byrd of the
Indians pitched in similar avian conditions in
Cleveland.
Biggie Bagel won the Dunkin' Donuts Race. Go Biggie!
---
June 11: no game scheduled...
June 12: Milwaukee 0 - Detroit 4
Starters: MIL: Suppan 6.1IP - DET: Verlander 9IP
MIL 000 000 000 0 0 0
DET 001 002 10X 4 7 0
W: Verlander (7-2)
L: Suppan (7-7)
********** NO HITTER **********
June 13: Milwaukee 3 - Detroit 2
Starters: MIL: Villanueva 5IP - DET: Maroth 7IP
MIL 000 001 020 3 11 0
DET 000 100 100 2 10 0
W: Spurling (1-0)
L: Rodney (1-5)
S: Cordero (23)
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Readers Write In...
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"Minnesota" Tony Sertich
Toolie:
Regarding your A' Rod question...
I have always enjoyed players tweaking other players,
but this A-Rod stuff is unprofessional--especially for
a player of his stature.
There is a great story about Kaline pulling someone's
chain...
Seems there was a rookie on first and a powerhitter at
the plate. Kaline is in right (where else?). The
powerhitter gets all of a fastball and sends what he
knows is a sure fire homerun to the right field
stands. Kaline decoys the rookie, takes a couple of
casual steps back, stays at the warning track and
bluffs the rookie in to thinking he was about to make
a routine catch of the fly ball. The rookie takes the
bait and cements himself to first base. Meanwhile,
the powerhitter is paying attention to his ball going
in to the right field stands and paying no attention
to the rookie on first.
Long story short: The powerhitter runs past the
rookie for an out.
Now I admit, Kaline was kinda mean to the rookie. But
THIS is acceptable. What A' Rod did is pure
bush-league.
"Minnesota" Tony
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Paul "Jerome" Kersey
Toolie:
You wrote that you were about to commit "baseball
hari-kari".
Shouldn't that just be a "Harry Carey"? Or would that
be too obvious?
Paul "Jerome" Kersey
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"Hollywood" John Rothwell
Is it me only that every time I see Todd Jones
starting to warm up I start shaking with fear while
waiting for the next shark attack, Like I did the
first time I saw Jaws.
If I was In charge of the music played at the ball
park, every time Todd Jones came in to pitch I would
put on over the PA that old 1970's disco song..
"Roller Coaster"
Hollywood
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Anthony "Ferny" Morano
Once again thanks to Matt for this weekly! it
always seems to arrive when I'm bored at work ! I'm
counting the days until I return to visit ske town,
and watch my tigers at comerica for sat/sun games vs
redsox in July!
In response to the ? about AROD I understand both
arguments. I think it was ok cause these players are
paid way too $$$ to let this affect their performance
plus he didn't say I got it, ball ball ball or mine!
He said "Ha" I remember when I was a catcher the
opposing team would always yell "fence" when I tried
to catch a foul even though I wasn't close to it, or
hitters trying to peek back to see where i was setting
up for the pitch. That's baseball. Another argument is
it ok to deke a runner at 2nd when the catcher
launches a throw into center field? or stealing signs
when on base? The "unwritten rule" is over used these
days EVERTHING IS UNWRITTEN!
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Josh "Nexium" Bilsborrow
This is the first time I've written in to Tiger's
Weekly, and I wanted to discuss my favorite part about
baseball: brawls.
Matt introduced me to an old espn video of the top ten
baseball brawls the other day, and I've decided that I
would definitely like to see more violence in baseball
in the coming years.
The highlights were definitely this minor leaguer's
kicking of catcher's face after getting hit by a
pitch, Nolan Ryan beating the shit out of some guy's
skull (Robin Ventura), and this Korean Dodger's player
(Chan Ho Park) doing a jump kick on some guy, then
getting his ass whooped in retaliation.
Concerning Todd Jones, I have to admit that I'm
nervous every time he takes the mound, even though he
usually doesn't blow it. I think they should arrange a
brawl between Jones and Tampa Bay's mascot.
-Josh
----------------------------------------------------
Mike "Rocky Top" Claus
Last issue, Toolie pondered, "It can't be fun to play
a night game and then have to fly to another city and
play the next day. The difference isn't too big, but
I wonder what goes into deciding when these games are
scheduled. So far the Tigers are 2-4 in games where
they played late and traveled the night before."
Well, like Jeeves used to say on askjeeves.com, I know
the answers to these questions.
Having worked for the AAA club Colorado Springs Sky
Sox, I had the chance to sit in on the scheduling
meetings for the team. The short answer to your
question is that teams can basically do whatever the
hell they want when it comes to game-time scheduling.
We had posterboards with the schedules of every team
in the league, and, for the most part, we tried to
schedule day games or "getaways" on days when the
opponent had to travel that night. There is an
unwritten agreement between the teams to not screw
each other over. I remember that it was a pretty big
deal that Tacoma scheduled a night game with us to end
their home-stand, even though we had to play in New
Orleans the next afternoon.
But then again, that's the way it goes. Sponsorships
can affect the schedule quite a bit. Any promotion
night, whether it be bobblehead or computer geek night
(we had one), has a corporate sponsor. And corporate
sponsors want high attendance, which usually means
night games. So if Chic-fil-a wants to dress people up
like cows and give away coupons on a night that ends a
homestand (they did), the money will always trump the
opponent's travel schedule.
Game times are usually 1:05 or 7:05 for local
television schedules, but can actually be any time the
club wants. The White Sox, of course, sold the
sponsorship of their start time to 7:11. With the Sky
Sox we actually had a few elementary school days that
were 10:35 a.m. start times! As long as the
commissioner's office approves it, which they usually
will, anything goes for scheduling. The Tigers, it
seems, were the victims of some unfortunate luck this
year. Hopefully, payback will be a bitch.
See, O'Toole. Ask a boring question, get an even
more-boring answer.
TOOLIE: Not a boring andwer at all!
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Toolie's Trashtalk...
Love the response on the A-Rod situation. Gregg Goyle
of CBSSportline offers a piece with some lengthy
feedback from readers...
http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/10222796
I saw a replay and it looked like A-Rod said "Ha!"
That, to me, isn't doing anything wrong. Saying
"Mine" is different. It's sort of like yelling "Fire"
in a theater or crying "Wolf!" It could lead to
somebody getting hurt. One user comment that pissed
me off was a guy who belittled a fellow commenter by
saying "you obviously have never played baseball..."
Last week at softball, somebody told me that I
"obviously didn't understand the rules of baseball" as
we argued over a call involving the infield fly rule
(I double-checked the rules later; I was right). It's
a statement made out of fear that people aren't
believing you or siding with you. If you can't win an
argument, smear the other person's name. For more
examples of this, see politics.
And the Brewers show us that, no matter how you lose,
it's just one loss. Chris Spurling (former Tiger)
gets the win for the Brew-Crew! They got a late
home-run from Bill Hall off Fernando Rodney to take a
3-2 lead and the bullpen and made it stick. Rodney
has not been good since coming off the DL (five runs
in four appearances). To be a little bit fair
tonight, Rodney had Hall 1-2 and got squeezed on
consecutive pitches, setting up the 3-2 gopher ball.
Still, he's got to figure out how to bridge the gap
and be effective again.
One game back of the Tribe. After the wrap-up with
the Brewers on Thursday the Tigers play three straight
interleague series on the road. It will be
interesting to see if/how Leyland will work both Gary
Sheffield and Magglio Ordonez into the lineup. As hot
as they are it would be a shame to have to bench one
of them. Maybe Sheff can play some first base. I
seem to recall that Leyland was planning on playing
Monroe in center when facing lefties and moving
Sheffield to left field and giving Granderson the day
off. The first lefty on the slate is the Phillies'
Jamie Moyer on Saturday.
My first game ever was in 1985 as I saw the Tigers
beat the Cleveland Indians 3-2. Julio Franco played
for the Indians in that game as the shortstop.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/
DET198508160.shtml
22 years later, Franco took the field against the
Tigers as the Mets' DH. Amazing. Franco turns 49 in
August.
That's all for this week. Very exciting stuff on
Tuesday night. Savor it, folks. It may not happen
again for another 23 years.
I'm out.
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Play Ball!
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