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In a week that had the Tigers out west to finish off
their “last” road trip of the season, the Tigers hopes
were somewhat dim. In the past the west has not
treated the Tigers that well, especially in Los Angeles
or Anaheim or whatever they call themselves now.
However, this past trip more than made up for last
week’s failure in Oakland by taking the first two
games and guaranteeing their first road series win in
over two months. The Tigers then came home and
greeted the Rays with two out of three more wins to
finish the week 4-2 and gain ground in the AL
Central. With the White Sox in a whirlwind and the
Twins staying right where they are, the Tiger’s lead
in the Central grows from 2.5 to 4.5 with the Twins
sitting in second. September sure is going to be a fun
month for a change in the D.
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8/24 – 8/30
Record: 4-2 WWL-WLW
Undy-Five Hundy: Four wins and two losses on the
week extends the undy-five hundy to negative nine
on the season. Almost to double digits again, but not
quite. Maybe next week is the week?
Up Next for the Tigers...
Week One
August 31 Tampa Bay Rays (2-1, 2-1 Home)
September 1 - 3 Cleveland Indians (8-4, 4-2 Home)
September 4 - 6 @ Tampa Bay Rays (2-1, 0-0 Away)
Week Two
September 7 No Game Scheduled
September 8 - 10 @ Kansas City Royals (8-4, 4-2 Away)
September 11 - 13 Toronto Blue Jays (1-3, 0-0 Home)
AL Central Standings...
W L GB EL***
DET 69 60 -- --
MIN 65 65 4.5 (29)
CWS 64 67 6.0 (27)
CLE 58 72 11.5 (22)
KC 50 80 19.5 (14)
***Number (X) represents team’s elimination number
- 1st place team’s magic number is 2nd place team’s elimination number
Tigers Division...
W L GB
NYY 82 48 -
|
COL 72 59 10.5
TB 70 59 11.5
DET 69 60 12.5
ATL 68 62 14.0
FLA 68 62 14.0
Tigers News and Notes: On Tuesday it was
announced the infielder Jeff Larish, currently at
Toledo (AAA), will miss the remainder of the season
after undergoing surgery on his wrist. He would
more than likely have been called back up to the
Tigers when rosters expand on September 1st.
On Saturday, the Tigers optioned Armando
Galarraga to Toledo (AAA) and activated Nate
Robertson off the disabled list. Galarraga was
experiencing some inflammation in his elbow and
thus the Tigers needed someone to emergency start.
With the off day on Thursday, the Tigers were able
to push Porcello up a day early while still on normal
rest. This also gave Robertson an extra day rest to
get ready for his first start in a long time for the
Tigers. On Saturday, Robertson went four strong
innings giving up two runs (only one earned) in the
Tigers 3-1 loss to the Rays. Let’s hope that he can
maintain this relative consistency with the Tigers for
the rest of the season. Although Galarraga was
option to Toledo, he did not go anywhere as it is
expected that once rosters expand on September 1st,
Galarraga will rejoin the team.
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Tiger of the Week...
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One Tiger this week had a very quiet, yet really big
week for the Tigers. This week’s Tigers Weekly
Tiger of the Week Award goes to none other than
Fernando Rodney who picked up three saves on the
week, all in big situations. His save on Monday was
probably one of the biggest saves of the season, as he
had to come in the 8th to get the four our save after
the Angels came all the way back from a 10-0
deficit. Rodney also had big saves on Tuesday and
Sunday and his change-up was deadly as ever. For
as rocky of outings as Rodney has had this season,
he still has been almost perfect this year when the
Tigers needed him most (only one blown save). If
Rodney can continue to get the outs when needed,
he will be a very valuable piece of the puzzle in
getting the Tigers to the postseason again.
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Tiger Homerun Kings of the Week...
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Season Weekly Weekly
Player Total Total No(s)
Pujols (STL) 41 1 (41)
|
Cabrera 27 2 (26, 27)
Granderson 25 1 (25)
Inge 25 1 (25)
Polanco 8 1 (8)
Guillen 6 1 (6)
Everett 3 1 (3)
|
Huff 13
Thames 13
Raburn 10
Ordonez 7
Santiago 7
Thomas 7
Laird 4
Avila 3
|
Larish 4
Ramirez 1
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Poll Question...
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In a preview of what is to come, Toolie discusses his
issues with Granderson leading off for the Tigers.
Who would you bat in the leadoff spot, who would
bat second, and where would Granderson ultimately
bat in your lineup? The only stipulation is you can
only select from players on the 40-man roster. It
definitely is not as easy of a process as you would
think.
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Wild Card Race...
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*Number (X) represents team’s elimination number
- 1st place team’s magic number is 2nd place team’s elimination number
**Detroit Tigers currently 1st in AL Central
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Season at a Glance...
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CENTRAL SHOWDOWN...
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Outside of playing in Minnesota, the Tigers are at or
above .500 against every team in the division (no
matter where they are playing). With 25 games left
against the AL Central, this should mean more
success and a possible trip to the post-season.
Traditionally, the Tigers have not played very well
against the Central. This year’s record is a much
welcome surprise and can only mean good things. If
only on this last trip to Minnesota coming up the
Tigers can turn things around, the division could be
wrapped up with more than a week to go. However,
with Minnesota staying hot on the Tigers heels, we
shall all have to wait and see.
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Arby's Index...
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Arby’s Index +11 still.
(April 8, April 25, May 13, May 20, May 30, June
19, July 7, July 12, July 21, July 29, August 15)
Keep those free sandwiches coming Tigers!
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Fan Ballpark Photo Board...
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Developing at Tigers Weekly is the fan photo
section. We are asking all baseball fans to send in
their pictures from stadiums across America and to
write about their experiences at the park. Pictures
and memories do not need to be of Comerica Park.
All stadiums are welcome. Please take a look at
http://www.tigersweekly.com/Photos/TWReader.htm
to see all of the pictures our viewers have already
sent in.
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Game Lines of the Week...
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Monday, August 24th 10:10 pm ESPN2
Starters: DET - Verlander 5.2 IP
LAA - Weaver 5.1 IP
R H E (W - L)
Detroit 100 027 000 10 12 0 (66-58)
Los Angeles 000 004 030 7 15 1 (74-49)
W Verlander (14-7)
L Weaver (13-5)
S Rodney (27)
Tuesday, August 25th 10:05 pm
Starters: DET - Washburn 6.0 IP
LAA - Lackey 6.0 IP
R H E (W - L)
Detroit 100 020 200 5 12 0 (67-58)
Los Angeles 030 000 000 3 9 1 (74-50)
W Washburn (9-7)
L Lackey (8-7)
S Rodney (28)
Wednesday, August 26th 3:35 pm
Starters: DET - Jackson 6.1 IP
LAA - Saunders 5.0 IP
R H E (W - L)
Detroit 000 020 000 2 7 0 (67-59)
Los Angeles 201 100 00x 4 8 0 (75-50)
W Saunders (10-7)
L Jackson (10-6)
S Fuentes (36)
Thursday, August 27th
--- NO GAME SCHEDULED ---
Friday, August 28th 7:05 pm
Starters: TB - Garza 5.0 IP
DET - Porcello 5.2 IP
R H E (W - L)
Tampa Bay 000 001 001 2 6 0 (69-58)
Detroit 010 500 00x 6 8 2 (68-59)
W Porcello (11-8)
L Garza (7-9)
S ---
Saturday, August 29th 4:05 pm FOX
Starters: TB - Price 7.1 IP
DET - Robertson 4.0 IP
R H E (W - L)
Tampa Bay 002 000 001 3 6 1 (70-58)
Detroit 000 000 010 1 6 2 (68-60)
W Price (7-6)
L Robertson (1-1)
S Howell (16)
Sunday, August 30th 1:05 pm
Starters: TB - Niemann 7.0 IP
DET - Verlander 8.0 IP
R H E (W - L)
Tampa Bay 000 300 000 3 7 0 (70-59)
Detroit 001 000 03x 4 6 0 (69-60)
W Verlander (15-7)
L Balfour (5-3)
S Rodney (29)
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Reader Write In...
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Well the Tigers stay in contention, but the readers
stay silent. Another no write-in week.
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Toolie Trashtalk...
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Great week for the Tigers, as they win four of six
and take their first road series since June. Minnesota
is hanging around, but have just three games left on
their home-stand and we still lead by 4.5. Plus the
Twins now have three against the White Sox, so I
guess I'll be rooting for a 2-1 Sox series win.
Looking back on 2006, the Tigers led the Twins by 5
and the White Sox by 4.5 games on this date, but a
playoff berth was much more certain. For those that
don't remember, we lost the division (to Minnesota)
by one game by losing our last four games.
Aubrey Huff still isn't hitting much, so what is the
deal? I'm starting to think that the fact that Huff is
being relegated to starting only against right-handers
is hampering his hitting. When he was dealt to us he
was playing every day and had over 70 RBIs. That
was, at the time, more RBIs than anyone on the
Tigers' roster. He has just one RBI in his time with
Detroit... not a great return on our investment so far.
But what is to be done? Should Huff get MORE
playing time, or should he continue only facing
righties until he starts producing?
Speaking of returns on investments, how's that Jake
Peavy deal working out for the White Sox? Looks
like his Sox debut won't be as soon as possible. He'll
most likely start a game or two against the Tigers at
the end of the season, but that might be too little too
late for Chicago's playoff hopes.
Click Here For Story From ESPN
Curtis Granderson doesn't do much that a
prototypical lead-off hitter does. He doesn't have a
good on-base percentage (105th in MLB), he doesn't
bunt for base-hits, he doesn't work counts, he doesn't
steal a ton of bases (though he has more than anyone
else on the team), and he strikes out a ton. Would
this team be better served letting Curtis hit
somewhere in the 3-6 slots? A possible replacement
at lead-off would be Polanco, but then finding a #2
hitter would be difficult. Plus, though his OBP isn't
great, it's third on the team behind Cabrera and
Ordonez (neither being candidates for the lead-off
spot). It appears that there may not be a much better
choice, though I think that if you put Polanco in that
position and told him to hit like a lead-off hitter he
could do it. Personally I'd like to see Granderson
switch his style at the plate to become more of a
lead-off guy. Think Willie Mays Hayes in Major
League with the push-ups. Call Alex Sanchez and
learn how to drag bunt (as long as it doesn't involve
taking 'roids). I'll trade all of those solo-shots for
more consistent pressure on the opposing pitcher that
comes from working counts and getting on base.
What I would like to see, especially now, is Miguel
Cabrera batting with multiple men on base. If
Granderson reaches the chances of this happening go
way up.
Gerald Laird was the unsung hero in Sunday’s game
as he threw two runners out at second base, which
killed the Rays' chances for big innings. He didn't
have a hit, but he eliminated two Tampa base-runners
making things easier on his pitcher. He doesn't have
the pop in his bat or the hype of Alex Avila, but
Laird is great in the field.
Listening to the game on the radio this afternoon I
learned that Saturday's loss to the Rays was only the
fourth game ever at Comerica in which there were no
extra-base hits.
Another week down and we're still in the lead.
Magic number plummets to 29 as we have one day
remaining in August. The Tigers are 16-12 with one
game to play so they managed to avoid an August
disaster. If they have a similar record in
September/October it will be really tough for either
Minnesota or Chicago to catch them.
I'm out.
TIGERSWEEKLY.COM
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