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The long and winding road-trip is finally over and,
there to greet the Tigers in their return to Comerica
Park, were the Kansas City Royals. The first two
games with the Royals have been like a look back in
time at Tiger teams of not-so-long ago. The Royals
made three errors that led to four Tiger runs and
eventual victories. In contrast, the Tigers have made
a total of four errors, tied for best in the majors.
After last year's World Series the solid fielding has
been refreshing. Tiger bats have awoken as they have
posted thirty runs in their last four games. The
pitching of Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, and
Nate Robertson has been fantastic. If this pitching
continues and the hitting becomes more consistent then
the Tigers will surely be near the top of the league
again in 2007. Best of luck to the Royals in turning
things around. Tiger fans still remember what it's
like watching a team like that.
Check out "Readers Write In" for some great accounts
of Tiger Fans in other locales. There's some good
stuff there this week.
New Subscribers...
Ray "Harold" Reynolds
Bob "Jerry" Maguire
Ace "In The Hole" Hackenberg
Daron "Daulton" Garrett
Joseph "Eddie" Murray
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Week of 4/11 - 4/17
Record: 5-2 WWLWLWW
Undy-Five-Hundy: For those who are new, the
Undy-Five-Hundy was once a staple of the Weekly. It
was simply an index that measured how many games
under-five-hundred the Tigers were. The UFH was
unnecessary last season and has been as well so far in
2007. It has been a one-eighty from the years when
the index topped out at 76. I have adopted a saying:
"A win a day keeps the Undy-Five-Hundy away."
Up next for the Tigers...
April 18 Kansas City
April 19 no game scheduled...
April 20-22 Chicago White Sox
April 23-24 @ Anaheim (LA)
AL Central Standings...
DET 9 5 -
MIN 8 5 0.5
CLE 6 4 1
CWS 5 7 3
KCR 3 11 6
Tigers News and Notes: Vance Wilson recently went to
see the dreaded Dr. James Andrews for an inspection of
his elbow ligaments. This guy (Andrews) must be
rolling in benjamins, as it seems like he operates on
five major-leaguers a week. Thankfully he concluded
that Vance does not need surgery, though he will be
out 4-6 weeks. Expect a weekly dose of Mike Rabelo.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070411/SPORTS02/704110408/1050/SPORTS
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Tiger of the Week...
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The Tiger of the Week is Gary Sheffield. No, that is
not a mistake. This week I have noticed the
"Sheffield Effect," Tigers hitters exhibiting patience
that leads to runs. The Tigers earned a win over the
Blue Jays on Saturday in a rally that was started by a
Sheffield walk. The next two batters took some very
close pitches (ones that I thought should have been
strikes) and also earned walks, loading the bases with
one out. All three of those runners crossed home
plate, along with another to give the Tigs a three-run
lead that Todd Jones secured. The next day Sheffield
drew a walk that advanced a runner, which led to
another run. One word that was not in the Tigers'
vocabulary last season was patience. Gary Sheffield
brings that missing patience to this team. Years ago
I would lament as I watched the Yankees and Red Sox
take walk after walk until someone hit a
bases-clearing double, blowing open a close game.
Last year only two teams drew fewer bases on balls
than the Tigers (the pitiful Cubs and Mariners).
Going into action Tuesday the Tigers were ranked 7th
in the majors in walks. If the Tigers continue to
exhibit patience at the plate they will be a complete
team, a powerhouse that can't be stopped.
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Jackie Robinson Day...
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Initially it looked like Jackie Robinson Day was going
to be lucky for the Tigers. Here's how the day
started...
Curtis Granderson (#42) singles.
Gary Sheffield (#42) walks, Granderson (#42) to
second.
Granderson (#42) scores on throwing error.
2nd Inning...
Pudge Rodriguez (#42) singles.
But from that point on it was the Josh Towers (#7)
show and #42 lost its luck. Oh well.
Jackie Robinson Day seemed like it was a big success.
LA had the Sunday Night game, so there was much pomp
and circumstance there. Many more players wore #42
than I had originally reported. It was a fitting
tribute to the end of segregation (well, in baseball
anyway). But looking at the Tigers you'd think
segregation still exhists. For the most part, the
African Americans roam the outfield, the white boys
take the bump, and the Latinos patrol the infield.
They seem to get along in the dugout though. Whatever
works! I love this team.
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tigersweekly.com Gaining Steam...
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This past Wednesday I received the following e-mail
from Mike "Colonel" Kopec:
---
Hey Toolio,
You probably already know this, and this may be old
news to the rest of the fan base, but I was catching
up on my SI reading this week and was going through
their baseball preview. Anyhow, when I was reading
about the Tigers, there is a section on the page where
you can vote for the best source for Tigers
information - and "Tigers Weekly" was on the list of
four contenders! Even with my vote, Tigers Weekly had
received 0% of the vote (must be a rounded figure). I
encourage other Tigers Weekly fans to vote. Go to
www.si.com/tigersvote
Colonel
---
First I want to thank the Colonel for bringing this to
my attention. I let my SI subscription run out around
the end of January (just missed the swimsuit
edition... d'oh!) so I haven't seen the actual page
yet. Though the site got 0% of the vote I am still
quite thrilled and surprised that the website showed
up in Sports Illustrated and that it is linked on
SI.com's Tigers webpage... right up there with the
MLB.com site! The accolades here go to Nic "Gilby"
Gilbert, the most excellent webmaster that makes The
Weekly available to Tiger fans around the world. His
work has really increased the reach of this
publication.
UPDATE: With the word getting out to some of the
Tigers Weekly crowd this week, we are actually leading
the vote. That's cool, but also a little
embarrassing. The other sites on the list are very
good and they are updated daily, somthing Nic and I
just can't manage. I love doing this once a week and
I applaud the other fellows for their dedication. I
am surprised tigerscentral.com didn't make the poll.
I really like that site. Check out the Detroit
TigersWeblog as well. I am new to that site but have
enjoyed it so far.
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Tiger Blogs...
-----------------------------------------------------
Check out the following Blogs written by your very own
Tigers... but keep reading The Weekly as well!
Curtis Granderson (on ESPN.com)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=
granderson_curtis
Nate Robertson (on MLB.com)
http://naterobertson.mlblogs.com/
Todd Jones (on sportingnews.com)
http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/todd-jones/
There may be more, but I have not yet stumbled across
them. If you know of more Tigers that are blogging,
then send the info along.
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Poll Question...
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Villains are a part of sports, just as are heroes.
One of my most hated villains is Claude Lemieux. If
the Red Wings had ever traded for Claude Lemieux I
would have renounced my support for the team. Gary
Sheffield had always had a negative image to me, but
not so much that him being added to the Tigers made me
ashamed to be a Tiger fan. I'm sure I'll learn to
love the Sheff just as the rest of the team.
Who is the biggest villain in baseball, and could you
live with that player joining the Tigers?
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Game Linescores...
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April 11: Detroit 4 - Baltimore 1 F/12
Starters: DET: Verlander 7IP - BAL: Loewen 5IP
DET 000 000 000 004 4 11 1
BAL 000 000 000 001 1 6 0
W: Ledezma (1-0)
L: Birkins (0-1)
S: Jones (5)
April 12: Detroit 5 - Toronto 4
Starters: DET: Maroth 6IP - TOR: Ohka 6IP
DET 001 301 000 5 9 0
TOR 000 200 020 4 12 2
W: Maroth (2-0)
L: Ohka (0-1)
S: Zumaya (1)
April 13: Detroit 1 - Toronto 2 F/10
Starters: DET: Bonderman 9IP - TOR: Halladay 10IP
DET 010 000 000 0 1 6 0
TOR 100 000 000 1 2 9 0
W: Halladay (2-0)
L: Rodney (1-2)
April 14: Detroit 10 - Toronto 7
Starters: DET: Durbin 4IP - TOR: Burnett 5.1IP
DET 001 210 114 10 12 0
TOR 310 020 010 7 10 1
W: Ledezma (2-0)
L: Ryan (0-2)
S: Jones (6)
April 15: Detroit 1 - Toronto 2
Starters: DET: Robertson 7IP - TOR: Towers 7.2IP
DET 100 000 000 1 3 1
TOR 010 000 10X 2 7 1
W: Towers (1-1)
L: Robertson (2-1)
S: Marcum (1)
April 16: Kansas City 5 - Detroit 12
Starters: KCR: Greinke 0.2IP - DET: Verlander 6IP
KCR 020 010 200 5 7 2
DET 431 100 03X 12 10 0
W: Verlander (1-0)
L: Greinke (1-2)
April 17: Kansas City 6 - Detroit 7
Starters: KCR: de la Rosa 6IP - DET: Maroth 5.2IP
KCR 100 014 000 6 10 1
DET 102 110 11X 7 12 0
W: Ledezma (3-0)
L: Riske (0-2)
S: Jones (7)
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Readers Write In...
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Chris "Slooty" VanSlooten
Toolie,
Thanks for keeping the weekly alive! Ever since I've
moved to New Mexico I have missed my Tigers dearly.
The cable company where we live is pretty strange and
they switch every other day between broadcasting FSN
Arizona and FSN Rocky Moutain. So I am stuck watching
either the Diamondbacks or the Rockies. Neither of
which do I plan to change my loyalty to.
As far as the Poll question I'd have to say either
Carlos Guillen or Placido Polanco. Losing either one
of those guys for the year would remove a pretty
steady bat and dependable fielder as well as some team
leadership. Losing Pudge would also be tough, but not
as much as one of our middle infielders.
Chris VanSlooten
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John "Wockenfuss" Klozik
Toolie!
Greetings from the mid-west!
I was lucky enough to score a set of four tickets for
the Tigers last game in Kansas City and was among many
friends as Pudge won it in the ninth with his three
run homer. He came within 20 feet, as I would
guess, of hitting the prized Dodge Nitro in left
field. If a Royal hits this thing, one lucky fan get's
to win it! I enjoyed watching the ball fly past my
three kids and me as plenty of Tiger's fans lept to
their feet. My kids enjoyed going out onto the field
after the game for the Sprint Fun Run. We all trotted
the bases and got a couple of good pics
on the field!!
I was impressed with the performance of Bonderman and
have to say that our boys still have that never give
up sentiment running through them at the top of the
season. I just read about the 12th inning granny for
Monroe to win on Baltimore. Nice to see that grit and
determination to win games late!
I hope these connections for tickets come through for
me later in the year as I have gotten a verbal pledge
of a four pack when the Tigers return. Since the seats
were directly behind the visitors dugout, I
will have to show up earlier next time to get a few
autographs!! It is nice to know a season ticket holder
that is willing to part with their seats as a nice
gesture!! But then, Royal's fans don't usually have
too much to cheer for anyhow!!
John "Wockenfuss" Klozik
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Chas "Grey Fox" Claus
“WHAT I DID ON SPRING BREAK"
By Chas Claus
(I apologize for the length of this submission –
brevity has never been my strong suit. I give the
editor permission to cut it down and encourage
those who are bored with it to move on to the next
submission).
TOOLIE: To edit this would be an injustice...
This year for Spring Break, I visited three major
cities, each of them colder than the city I’m from.
After spending time with relatives in Chicago and
friends in Cleveland, I left the good old U.S. of A.
for a trip to the country to the south … which, for
Michiganders, means Canada.
In my brief but illustrious career of attending
baseball games, I had gone to games in every stadium
east of Phoenix … except for Toronto, which is odd
because it is probably the second-closest MLB city to
my home. In January I had been up to the Skydome –
a.k.a. the “Rogers Centre” – for the Western
Michigan vs. Cincinnati “International Bowl. With a
week off of school and my beloved Tigers playing their
only 2007 series at Toronto, I figured it
was high time to cross Toronto off the list.
The roster for the trip – affectionately dubbed
“Baseball Road Trip 5½” included myself, my dad, my
brother Dan, and longtime friend Mike “The
Colonel” Kopec. We headed up on Friday morning,
intending to catch the middle two games of the
four-game set.
The resounding success of the trip was foreshadowed
almost as soon as we crossed the border. Stopping for
the lunch at a rest area, we discovered that the whole
place was packed with proud residents of Tigers’
Nation, as well as a few confused-looking Canucks.
Arriving in Toronto in the mid-afternoon, we navigated
our way to the hotel, checked in, and
headed to the CN Tower, one of several alleged-tallest
buildings in the world. Dan & I had never been, and
without going into too much detail, I definitely
recommend it for everyone’s “100 Things to do Before I
Die” lists, especially standing on the nerve-wracking
glass floor that lets you leer
straight down at the ground from 100+ stories up.
Creepy.
After descending 147 stories to terra firma, we headed
to the game (which was next door). We were slightly
early and got to see some of the warm-ups.
Seated among a solid 50/50 mix of Tigers and Jays
fans, the four of us got a good laugh out of watching
the Granderson/Monroe/Casey flights of wind sprints,
during which Casey looked like he was in slow motion.
Another pre-game highlight was having backup catcher
Mike Rabelo, who had started his first game of the
season the previous night, stroll past our seats. I
yelled out, “Hey, Rabelo, nice game last night!” and
the section gave him a standing ovation, which he
acknowledged (Trammell-style, for BRT2
alumni).
A few anti-Skydome negatives must be pointed out.
First, the seats in Skydome were built for skinny
Canadians, not obese Americans. Even more
unforgivable, there are not cup holders attached to
the seats. The stadium itself has blandness typical
of indoor stadiums, the most pathetic factor being
that the “warning tracks” are not actual dirt, but
just carpeting painted brown-ish). Because of the
artificial turf, people are constantly driving cars
and tractors around on the field, like to "deliver the
game ball" or "drive out some idiot to make the first
pitch." Also, the fans in the outfield are not up
against the playing field at all, meaning that
almost every home run ends up in a bullpen or under
the unoccupied “batter’s eye” background. Overall
it’s hard to rate Skydome based only on a closed-roof
visit (I have the same issue with Miller Park in
Milwaukee) but I can easily say that Skydome is far
ahead of Minnesota or Tampa Bay in quality.
The game itself was a classic pitchers’ duel.
Bonderman was hit hard throughout the game, but
surrendered only a first-pitch home run to Rios
that cost him a run. Halladay was even better than
Bonderman, giving up fewer scoring opportunities and
allowing only a solo homer to Ordonez in the second.
After nine innings, the game remained tied at 1-1.
Halladay came back out and pitched a perfect tenth.
Though Bonderman’s pitch count was still only 96,
Leyland went to the bullpen for Fernando Rodney.
Rodney immediately brought out the gas can, applied it
liberally to the entire infield, and lit a match …
Walk. Bunt single. Bunt single. Sac fly. Good
night, Canada!
Though the outcome was a disappointment, it was still
a very enjoyable game. Both Bonderman and Halladay
worked quickly, and the entire 10-inning game took
only 2:14. Yours truly had a chance to catch a foul
ball that ricocheted off of the 5th deck and back down
at us, but I am ashamed to admit that I only got two
fingers on it and it fell into the row behind
me.
Also, a word must be said in affirmation of JaysFan.
They showed up in solid numbers: 26,000+ despite the
NHL playoffs being on TV and the Raptors having a game
at home at the same time. Also, the fans seem very
educated and do not require the usual “official”
promptings that so many cities (Detroit included)
overuse. There is none of the announcer demanding
noise, no fake noise-o-meters, no scoreboard graphics
of hands clapping, and no bad sound effects of rhythms
to be imitated. The fans stand and cheer with two
outs and two strikes, do lots of chanting/waves
without prompting, and do a sound job of heckling –
especially chanting “Rodney-Rodney…” at
Fernando while he built his death pyre. Also, the
ushers hold fans from coming down the aisles during
at-bats (Joe Louis Arena style). Having been around
baseball fans in 25 cities, JaysFan is easily in the
top ten as far as being both fun and educated (except
for one that we met on Saturday, more on her
later…)
After the game, it was back to the hotel to have a
couple of libations and hit the hay. Among our other
stranger discoveries was an odd French-Canadian beer
called “C’est What? Hemp Ale” –
http://www.cestwhat.com/beer.asp
In the morning, Dan headed back to the U.S. for work,
but the three remaining soldiers reported for duty at
the Hockey Hall of Fame and kissed Lord Stanley’s
grail before heading back to the Centre. This time we
were seated along the third base line, having been on
the first base line the previous night, and just as
our seats were a 180-degree change, so was the
game. Tigers’ starter Chad Durbin was shelled for his
second-straight start, and, besides working slowly,
six of the first seven pitchers in the
game gave up one or more runs.
Even more brutal than the minor-league pitching was
the woman seated behind us who talked incessantly but
‘said’ nothing. It started with her asking
midway through the 2nd inning “which team are we
rooting for?” and only got worse. Particularly
obnoxious was her tendency to yell out “NICE!”
into my Dad’s ear every time the bat hit the ball,
even if the hit was obviously a foul ball or a lazy
grounder. Also obnoxious was a JaysFan who heckled
LF Craig Monroe for a few innings, but eventually he
began to be heckled by an even drunker/louder
TigersFan, and no more was heard from him. Despite
these two, my overall impression of JaysFan remains
very positive.
After deservedly trailing for most of the game, the
Tigers caught a break when closer B.J. Ryan came on
and did his impression of … frankly, himself.
B.J. Ryan’s other appearance in a Baseball Road
Trip-related game will be remembered by all BRT3
attendees when, on the 4th of July at Yankee Stadium,
he took the loss with the following stat line: 0.2
innings, 3 hits & 3 walks, leading to 5 runs scored.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/
NYA200507040.shtml
Here’s how the 9th unfolded on Saturday … DET 6 / TOR
7. Walk to Sheffield. Walk to Ordonez. Walk to
Guillen. Pinch-hit, broken-bat, two-run double
by Thams. DET 8 / TOR 7. RBI ground-out by Monroe.
DET 9 / TOR 7. Fielding error allows Inge to reach &
Thams to score. DET 10 / TOR 7. Idiot lady shuts up
as Tigers’ Nation chants “Let’s go Tigers!” audibly
enough for Matt O’Toole to hear it on the broadcast.
Todd Jones slams the door. High-fives all around,
especially with some kid in front of me who wore an
“It’s Gum Time!” t-shirt, and was stuffing his face
with Big League Chew throughout the late innings.
Drove happily back to the land of feet,
inches, gallons, dollar bills, and choosing your own
doctor.
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Andy "Kin Korn" Karnitz
Hey all!
Who woulda thought that after 14 games the Tigs would
be 9-5? Okay, a lot of us I guess.
But who woulda thought that the bats would be so
stagnant AND the middle relief would look like ass?
Ledezma looks as if he's channelin' Jamie Walker,
circa '04-'05. Jose Mesa would, probably, at this
point in his career, be a great b.p. pitcher. And
don't get me started on Ichabod Crane, er, Fernando
Rodney, who, when in any sign of trouble (and I mean
as little trouble as a 1-2 count with no one on and 1
out, with a 3 run lead) gallops around the mound
tryin' to shake the Headless Horseman that haunts him.
Cripes sakes! Steve Grilli and Bobby Seay are the
rocks in middle relief right now!
Now let's get it straight, here. There are reasons the
Tigs are 9-5 right now. 1) Zumaya and Jones are nearly
un-hittable. 2) Placido Polanco is on fire. 3)Pudge is
pickin' up. 4) Verlander has been a bit better than
expected, and Robertson has been MUCH better. 5)
Curtis Granderson is playin' center like an old vet
with 5 gold gloves, and he's really learnin' how to
approach each and every at bat. Curtis has the world
ahead of him; I hope Messrs. Ilitch and Dombrowski
have the smarts to lock the kid up to a long-termer in
the near future. I think he's gonna be every bit as
good as Bernie Williams in that player's prime- 80%
would suit me fine.
If ya haven't picked it up yet, I got the Ernie
Harwell CD fer Christmas(Thanks, Mom!). It's really
good. Here's a link: http://www.eharwell.com/
Also, props to JD Rznar, aka Homeless James Bond aka
the Pedophile Gladiator aka the chief Dr. Phil. Are we
ever gonna see a second episode of "Prison Prison
Break" ? I sure hope so!
http://acceptable.tv/videos/26-Prison-Prison-Break
-----------------------------------------------------
Toolie's Trashtalk...
I have to say I am impressed with the representation
of Weekly readers at away games over this road trip.
It's great that good Tiger fans are showing up to
support the team in other stadiums. It will give the
rest of the country an idea what kind of fans we are
(I still refuse to refer to the lot of us as "Tigers
Nation").
I heard the Comerica announcer introduce Neifi Perez
tonight, and even he had trouble sounding pumped.
Neifi did lay down a nice sacrifice tonight, though,
that led to the go-ahead run on Polanco's two-out
single. He has also been playing the field well. For
all the trouble Neifi seems to get, he's actually
well-suited for the utility role.
That brings me to my next point. The Tigers have
great position versatility, something that is normally
associated with fantasy baseball. Tonight was a good
dexample of this. Inge wasn't feeling well, so Perez
filled in at third. The Tigers were facing a lefty,
so Leyland gave Casey and Granderson the night off
(half the night in Casey's situation) in favor of
Thames and Infante. Infante's ability to spell Curtis
is center is invaluable. When healthy, Vance Wilson
does a fine job on Pudge's off-days. A successful
season requires much more than your normal starting
nine. When needed, the Tigers bench provides some
nice options. For comparison, think back to the days
of 2003 when Trammell would put the "B" team in there.
Here's a nugget of joy from four years ago courtesy
of retrosheet.org:
April 17, 2003 Minnesota 6 - Detroit 0
Detroit's Starting Nine...
Higginson
Santiago
Pena
Palmer
Eric "E-5" Munson
Bocachica
Infante
Inge
Kingsale
Frightening. The winning pitcher that day? Kenny
Rogers tossed eight shut-out innings while striking
out nine. The Gambler... striking out nine... in one
game. Credit Carlos "The Whiff" Pena with three of
those. The sad thing is I probably looked at
Kingsale's 2 for 3 performance as a sign things were
looking up. The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-12.
Looking ahead things start to get a little tougher on
the schedule. Toronto is no slouch (they may contend
for a good part of the season), but Baltimore and
Kansas City are cupcakes by American League standards.
Before April is over the Tigers will tangle with the
White Sox and Twins and also with the AL West favorite
Angels. Thankfully the team is off to a good start.
The Tigers have yet to lose a series (knock knock
knock).
Holy crap, Jose Mesa scares me! I was willing to give
him a chance, thinking he might have Todd Jones-like
success in the face of everyone's doubts. So far it's
been bad, but the team's overall success has masked
Mesa's mediocrity (and I use that word very
generously). If he starts blowing leads against
conteders then people will be calling for his head.
We'll see what develops.
I think the worst possible player to lose would be
Pudge. He's a great catcher and a team leader. Not
sure how losing him would affect the pitchers, but it
wouldn't be in a positive way (neutral at best).
Pudge is where it's at. His signing was the day the
organizational turnaround was realized (the turnaround
began with the ousting of Randy Smith and the
installation of Dave Dombrowski). Plus, the
importance of Pudge is magnified with Vance Wilson out
for over a month.
Speaking of the Pudge signing, Fernando Vina is now
appearing on Baseball Tonight. Vina: you win some,
you lose some.
All right people, it was a great week, and I can't say
enough how happy I am that baseball season is back.
There's no game quite like it, and there's no team
like the Tigers. Enjoy the games.
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!
-----------------------------------------------------
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