Whatupdoe let's go 2009 Tigers get Miguel a lemon pączki

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2007/12/21/x87tIJiv.jpg

http://blog.mlive.com/tigers_impact/2008/07/medium_h3-080412-dontrelle-willis-injures-knee.jpg

http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_photos/2006/07/22/dombrowski.jpg

AKA Outside D-Train Don't Throw So Well/2009 Tigers

Fu-Te Ni (倪福德?): possibly pronounced "KAY-see Fah-SUM."

wow at breaking ball at 1:34

Uploaded by user fucqnow

Robertson told his agent, Steve Canter, that he has "never felt this good physically." Willis, working out at the team's spring-training facility in Lakeland, Fla., is even more upbeat. "Dontrelle said this is how he threw when he won 22 games," says his agent, Matt Sosnick. "He said he'd be unhittable right now."

Hmm.

Ha ha ha

did he say something the same last year?

Probably.

180 league average innings would be awesome.

I have an irrational love for Dontrelle and hope he gets the Cy Young and tells all the haters he has nothing but love for them.

I don't think anyone hates him though. We just think he was pitching really really badly. I'd like to see succeed (even though I'm not Tigers fan.) He's got a good story and he seems like a nice kid.

not really familiar with his story. is there a Dickensian aspect to it?

He loves his mom!

My issue with the D-Train was that he was picked over Brandon Webb for ROY for maybe not the most legitimate of reasons.

And then he showed major signs of inconsistency culiminating in his disastrous last few seasons.

I got to see him pitch in person 4-5 times in his first 3 seasons and he got lit up every single time. Maybe that had to do with homecoming and staying out late with his buddies the night before the game but I mean, it wasn't pretty. Small sample size I know whatevs.

This is discussed in depth here:

Dontrelle Willis. . .

I would like to see Willis try pitching with a normal delivery for a season.

he needs to go back to the NL where he can at least give you 15 vorp a year w/his bat.

Willis attempted to modify his delivery last year with not-so-great results. As Barry Larkin was saying the other night, a good part of what made him so effective was all the flying parts and deception -- when he faced Willis years back, the motion was different with each pitch and neither he nor his teammates knew what was going on. That approach would obviously run into trouble with age, loss of confidence, not being in optimum shape. Willis did sorta look like a blob last season and getting hurt was obviously a huge factor.

Rick Knapp, the new pitching coach, seems to have already pinpointed a couple problems with the staff, so hopefully he'll be of more help than Chuck Hernandez.

And hey, you guys, Nate Robertson has discovered pilates. It did wonders for Bobby Higginson.

The Tigers signed this guy:

Bronson Kiheimahanaomauiakeo Sardinha (born April 6, 1983 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has two brothers who also play professional baseball. Dane Sardinha, most recently played for the Detroit Tigers and Duke Sardinha, plays in the Colorado Rockies farm system. Sardinha was named after actor Charles Bronson and currently has the longest middle name in baseball.

SEE VIDEO CLIP
Detroit Tigers Manager Jim Leyland sings an early 1970s R&B hit "Betcha by Golly Wow" into an Echo Chamber during the Tigers’ trip to Motown Museum in Detroit.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=videonetwork&videoID=1010890727

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=C4&Dato=20090123&Kategori=SPORTS02&Lopenr=901230805&Ref=PH&Item=4&MaxW=600&MaxH=450&border=0&Quality=100

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2009/02/tigers_jeremy_bonderman_dontre.html

Bonderman walked out of the weight room at Joker Marchant Stadium on Friday morning, his T-shirt soaked in sweat. He'd been in the house of pain more than one hour, paying the price required in comebacks from dire situations.

His 2008 season was over June 6, the day a blood clot was discovered. The vein carrying blood from his right arm to his heart was plugging. A thrombolysis was required to break up the clot, followed by an angioplasty. Later that month, his first rib was removed to remedy the clot-causing vein pinching and a vein was replaced.

"I wondered if I had pitched my last game in the big leagues and I was scared," said Bonderman, pausing to wipe his brow. "I got a piece of the rib. They wanted me to take it. But after I saw it, I threw it away."

"Uhh make that... one rib to go."

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=C4&Dato=20090213&Kategori=SPORTS02&Lopenr=902130803&Ref=PH&Item=10&MaxW=600&MaxH=450&border=0&Quality=100

"Strikes, huh?"

"Yes, that's my philosophy."

Seventh annual "Bonderman developing change-up" article:

Another more familiar objective remains on Bonderman's task list: developing a third pitch. He has worked on a change-up in the past but never mastered it.

"We'll see if I even throw it," Bonderman said with a smile when the subject was raised. "It might be something new."

A split-fingered fastball perhaps?

"Maybe," he said. "You never know."

Leyland has been steadfast in his belief that Bonderman is capable of developing a reliable change-up.

http://multimedia.detnews.com/pix/sports/2009/tigers/02152009TigersST/2009-0215-jg-TigsST-637s.JPG

Cale Iorg on his decision to sign with the Tigers upon his return from a Mormon mission: “I’m not gonna lie. It was money, 100 percent.”

Party on, Dane.

Party on, Garth.

wait, isn't tomorrow paczki day?

Indeed. Heavy, nasty shit. (I once ate one and that was it for the day.)

http://freep.com/article/20090225/SPORTS02/90225005/1050/Listen+to+Ernie+Harwell+s++The+Voice+of+the+Turtle+

Geez, haven't heard this in years.

Steve Phillips has predicted that Dontrelle Willis of the D-troit Tigers will be the AL Comeback Player of the Year, so, uh, RIP Dontrelle.

http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/librarymonkey27/tigers2/natebendoversm.gif

Dontrelle: 4 G, 8.2 IP, 17 H, 4 K, 7 BB, 2 HBP, 12 ER.

So painful.

Best shape of his career.

trapezoid? rhombus?

Def. some of bottom heavy parallelogram.

Olney:

Willis' struggles led to an interesting discussion among a couple of scouts this spring: How many pitchers have come back from the kind of acute control problems that Willis experienced last year, when he was missing his target by feet, rather than inches?

The scout couldn't come up with a single example of somebody who regressed and then made it all the way back.

A day after getting no-hit, the Tigers fell victim to another spring-training oddity.

Relief pitcher Brandon Lyon on Monday gave up home runs to four consecutive Boston Red Sox batters in the sixth inning of the Tigers' 7-3 loss.

http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2009/03/zumaya-willis-to-dl/

The Tigers announced three more roster moves today. Not surprisingly Joel Zumaya will start the season on the DL as he tries to overcome his shoulder maladies. A little more surprising is that Dontrelle Willis will be joining him. The official reason is “anxiety disorder.”

Clearly the team thinks that Dontrelle’s problem is mental which presumably means they still believe in his pitching ability. He worked with a performance coach during his Lakeland sabbatical last season, but the problems seem to be recurring. The reports are glowing when he pitches in camp or minor league games, but the results aren’t appearing in regular exhibition events.

This seemingly means that Willis can stay on the DL indefinitely. The trick is that there are limits to rehab assignments. So while he can be on the DL to work through these issues, he has limited time to demonstrate a recovery.

This is a very sad story for Willis and I wish him the best.

so dontrelle will basically never pitch in the pros again lest his fragile psyche be damaged by constant heckling.

...from the ump.

http://panic-anxiety-treatment.com/images/anxiety-cta4.jpg

"I'm never depressed at all -- I've always been an amped-up guy," he said. "This is not something where I'm uncontrollable. ... Everybody will tell you in the locker room that I've always been upbeat, regardless of what's going on.

"This is not something where I'm too amped up, I don't know where I'm at, and I'm running sprints up and down the parking lot. They (the doctors) see something in my blood that they don't like. I'm not crazy. My teammates might think I'm crazy. But this is not something like that."

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/89/245063794_5ab866053b.jpg

XD

Rudy Darrow to Braves for Josh Anderson (speed, defense, ability to play left, center, and right). I like it.

BP's Kevin Goldstein quotes a scout on Willis:

"First, he's a lot heavier—his thighs are enormous, and I think that impedes his athleticism on the mound, as he can't contort his body the way he used to. Second, his mechanics are different. They've 'cleaned up' his delivery, but that actually makes him less effective, because it's taken away his deception. He was a freak before, and would never throw the same pitch from the same slot, but now he's just an ordinary three-quarters [delivery] guy.... Third, his mound presence and demeanor are different. He looks content to survive and does not display any confidence out there. He worked behind most hitters and would shake off his catcher—almost as if to say 'it's OK, I got it'—whenever he would fall into trouble."

http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/04/robertson_would_welcome_a_trad.html

Just had a long conversation this morning with Nate Robertson, who made no secret of his desire to be a starting pitcher somewhere else rather than a relief pitcher here.

"I think the cycle of a player's time in certain places, it comes and it goes," Robertson said. "This is my seventh year in the organization, and maybe my time here is nearing its end. And I'm fine with that. I'll tell you what, this is a first-class organization, and I appreciate everything that's been done for me.

I don't go home and say, 'Man, I feel like these guys are really sticking it to me.' But at the same time, I'm 31 years old and I've got to think about my career. I can be very productive as a starting pitcher. That's what I believe. I think I can go out there and be durable, take the ball every fifth day, give you a chance to win as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. There's no doubt in my mind."

The Tigers obviously feel differently. And Jim Leyland's response seemed to make it perfectly clear that he probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I don't want to start on a negative note here," Leyland said. "I think Nate Robertson has an excellent opportunity to be a huge part of our ballclub. You don't always finish how you start. But at the same time, the best way to get yourself in the position that you want to be is prove you that you're supposed to be in that position."

Robertson also made it pretty clear that he was unwilling to accept a Minor League option, even for short-term stint to stretch out as a starter.

"I don't think I can learn anything there," Robertson said. "Honestly, that's my opinion. I don't think you can go down there and learn anything in my position and where I'm at in my career. What am I going to learn? How to get so-and-so out in the three hole for Richmond?"

Nate Robertson was the drummer for Gay Dad had MLB's worst ERA in 2008. In 14.2 innings this spring, he has given up 16 hits, nine walks, and nine earned runs. Maybe he shouldn't be in the starting rotation for TOLEDO.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3405865082_994dd3409c.jpg?v=1238632980

i was sayin on another board that they should switch d-train to the OF and hope for a second wind a la ankiel, and a tigers fan came up with this:

make him a player/manager imo but don't fire leyland either and have those two feud over the clubhouse all season

June 6 - Leyland blows smoke in Dontrelle's face, Dontrelle has a panic attack and is wheeled out of the locker room on a gurney.

July 8 - D-Train name himself the closer, Leyland retaliates by bringing back Todd Jones

August 17 - Todd Jones is found dead on the toilet, d-train calls him a fat redneck, the clubhouse is further divided when Leyland calls Dontrelle a dumb spook. Dontrelle has a panic attack and is found passed out in the dugout after taking too many xanax

September 23 - A game is called in the sixth inning when Leyland and Dontrelle spill out onto the field, brawling in their underwear. Joel Zumaya tries to separate them only to have his arm torn off.

October 6 - Both Leyland and Dontrelle are fired and it's revealed that Dave Dombrowski actually had a massive stroke before the 2008 season and had been replaced since that time by a look alike like in that movie Dave. Mike Ilitch is publicly embarrassed by the ordeal and he sells the team to the Ford Family who immediately name Matt Millen general manager. Detroit riots.

i look forward to september 23rd!

seriously tho, why not switch him to OF? it's obvious he will never be even a decent pitcher again, and he's probably the best hitting pitcher in the game.

How many pitchers have come back from the kind of acute control problems that Willis experienced last year, when he was missing his target by feet, rather than inches?

Roy Halladay?

halladay had good stuff though. willis was a control/delivery pitcher with pretty average stuff.

The Tigers' lineup for tomorrow. Is Leyland begging for a quick exit?

CF Curtis Granderson
2B Placido Polanco
RF Magglio Ordoñez
1B Miguel Cabrera
DH Carlos Guillen
C Gerald Laird
3B Brandon Inge
SS Adam Everett
LF Josh Anderson

Leyland: even dumber than Trey Hillman

Toronto - Bottom of 8th
B Seay relieved E Jackson.
T Snider grounded into fielder's choice to third, L Overbay out at second.
B Lyon relieved B Seay. (Get the LOOGY who has ALWAYS been more effective against RH OUT OF THERE BEFORE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS)
M Scutaro singled to center, T Snider to second.
A Hill homered to left, T Snider and M Scutaro scored.
A Rios grounded out to third.

Toronto - Bottom of 9th
Brandon Lyon (still) pitching for Detroit
V Wells lined out to right.
A Lind walked.
J Bautista ran for A Lind.
S Rolen singled to right center, J Bautista to third.
L Overbay intentionally walked, S Rolen to second.
R Barajas hit sacrifice fly to center, J Bautista scored.

pitching Brandon Lyon def not smart. but what's your beef with the lineup?

Not just pulling Seay for Lyon, but leaving Lyon on the mound the following inning, after giving up the HR! (I wonder who would have pitched the ninth if Lyon had done his job in the eighth.)

Lineup beefs:

1. Starting Josh Anderson (in favor of Guillen in left and either Thames or Larish at DH).

2. Anderson and Granderson as back-to-back LH hitters against a team featuring a bullpen stocked with four lefties.

3. That has to be one of the weakest possible lineups, six through nine, in the AL.

also - having ANDerson next to GRANDerson in the outfield made heckling way too easy.

speaking from experience.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/photo/2004-02/11464880.jpg

Through five games, '08
.111/.238/.278/1 HR/1 RBI/4 K

Through five games, '09
.611/.667/1.222/3 HR/10 RBI/0 K

Rodney: four innings, 36 pitches, no hits, no walks, no BALLS thrown in two of his four appearances, WTF.

no joke!

new pitching coach??????

Rick Knapp (Twins org.) (and contract year), yes.

RBI
Cabrera 12
Santiago 11
Inge 11

^love this.

I don't know what Santiago would have to do to get the majority of playing time over Everett. From 2006-2009, Santiago's OBP is slightly above league average (significant increase as time has gone on, too) and his slugging has also steadily increased during that time. Recently, he has executed two suicide squeezes, hit for power with runners on base, and has been solid defensively (with a couple particularly great plays). Everett has NEVER had league average OBP and I'm already tired of seeing him botch routine plays. (A big chunk of Santiago's playing time thus far has been due to Everett's illness.)

Bringing in Everett to bunt a runner from first to second! Smart and not the least bit obvious!

But Josh Anderson was picked off first on a balk that was not called and Everett struck out.

Oh well.

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_mlb_experts__25/ept_sports_mlb_experts-941159443-1240413690.jpg?ym6nMJBDcoxNuchY

W/ bases empty: 28th
W/ RISP: 2nd
W/ bases loaded: .500
When running from third to home on contact (and craning neck/body to see if ball is fielded cleanly %^&$*###@!!!): 30th (probably)

Fire Jim Leyland:

Josh Anderson
Placido Polanco
Clete Thomas
Miguel Cabrera
Curtis Granderson
Magglio Ordonez
Brandon Inge
Gerald Laird
Ramon Santiago

I see what he did there:

Josh Anderson
Placido Polanco
Clete Thomas
Miguel Cabrera
Curtis Granderson
Magglio Ordonez
Brandon Inge
Gerald Laird
Ramon Santiago

2009 XBH, btw:

Magglio Ordonez: 2
Clete Thomas (called up last night): 2

Dontrelle Willis will return to the Tigers and start Wednesday in Minnesota, manager Jim Leyaland announced today.

*teeth sucking sound*

verlander is dealing today

Sorry your bullpen blew up, Justin.

And the Twins actually deserved to lose last night because it took them 60 pitches (60!) to hit a home run off Brandon Lyon.

<3 u trelle

He didn't strike out anyone last night and gave up a ton of hits, but he did look better than last season -- not lost. Velocity was back up to the mid 90s but he couldn't control the offspeed stuff, so the Twins sat on the fastballs. Getting squeezed a few times by Mr. Touchy Feely plate ump didn't help.

Also love how slumping Laird made three outs the other day on five pitches, sat last night to clear his head, said he'd be taking more pitches in the immediate future, ended up pinch hitting, swung at the first pitch, 5-3, bye.

Leyland is a nutjob.

Robertson was not available to pitch in Wednesday night’s 14-10 Detroit loss to Minnesota in 13 innings. Brandon Lyon threw 60 pitches in the game, the last being a grand slam to Joe Crede, and Leyland decided that infielder Ramon Santiago would have come in to pitch had Lyon retired Crede.

Santiago said he had not pitched in 11 years, but was an occasional closer for an amateur team in the Dominican Republic.

Maybe Leyland should bring in Santiago the next time he thinks of using Lyon.

MC Hammer, aka Stanley Burrell, will throw out a ceremonial first pitch at Friday's Tigers-A's game. He's also taking in pregame batting practice as Curtis Granderson's guest. No, it's not '90s night at Comerica Park. Just figured it was worth a mention.

so granderson has 10 hrs huh

Nice game by Dontrelle.

I WAS THERE HURRAH

KEEP IT UP DONTRELLE

Tiger shortstops through 37 games, 2008 vs 2009:

2008 (Renteria)
3 HR, 18 RBI, .272/.301/.375
$10 million

2009 (Everett, Santiago)
3 HR, 30 RBI, .300/.333/.446
$1.825 million

FOUR GAME LEAD

how the hell does he have 30 rbi

That's Everett plus Santiago.

2009 record when scoring four runs or less (through 40 games): 10-9

2008 record when scoring four runs of less (through 40 games): 0-21

*or*

http://twitter.com/RodAllen12

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/The-Grandstand-Hanging-with-Hammer-at-Comerica-;_ylt=AnOJjKrAUuR9CPEDGsJ2eKwRvLYF?urn=mlb,165296#remaining-content

A bit weird, this one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4210705&name=gammons_peter

DEAR LEYLAND

YOU SHOULDN'T GET SO BENT OUT OF SHAPE ABOUT THE STRANDED RUNNERS

NOT WHEN YOU HAVE THAT BUNTING RUNNERS OVER TO SECOND PRIAPISM

DEAR INGE

NEXT TIME, CONSIDER TURNING THE VERY POSSIBLE INNING ENDING DOUBLE PLAY INSTEAD OF GETTING THE RUNNER BETWEEN THIRD AND HOME

(Luke Scott grand slam related)

reports of dontrelle willis's resurrection greatly exaggerated.

;_; 4 dtrain

TIGERS MANAGER JIM LEYLAND WAS EJECTED IN THE TOP OF THE THIRD INNING BY HOME PLATE UMPIRE JEFF NELSON FOR ARGUING BALLS AND STRIKES.

TIGERS FIRST BASEMAN MIGUEL CABRERA LEFT THE GAME IN THE TOP OF THE THIRD INNING WITH A LEFT HAMSTRING INJURY.

Between this and noticing that Zach Miner is now in the game, maybe I won't watch the recording after work.

So, for Willis today, that's five runs, five earned, NO hits.

yeah he totally lost it w/the fastball

hahahah so the detroit backup catcher has a lower obp than batting avg! had to google to figure out how that is possible.

Stop placing the players with the team's two worst OBPs at the very top of the lineup, please.

Dan Ple Sac vs Scroobius Pip: "This team's lineup, one through nine, is LETHAL."

LOL, no.

J Anderson
R Raburn
C Thomas
M Cabrera
C Granderson
B Inge
G Laird
R Santiago
A Everett

LETHAL!

Struggling THIRD HITTER IN ABOVE LINEUP (who tends to LEAD OFF when not hitting third) to Toledo.

(To work on bunting runners to second when the opposing catcher throws out more than 5% of attempted steals.)

Tonight's number three hitter: Clete Thomas replacement DON KELLY.

http://www.terezowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/leylandcastaway.jpg

Keep bunt sacrificing runners to second base, maverick manager.

And again.

Granderson takes four straight balls well out of the zone.

Polanco bunts the FIRST pitch thrown to him, moves Granderson to second.

Raburn strikes out.

Cabrera IBB.

Ordonez first-pitch ground out.

Polanco went into that at-bat 4-for-4, btw.

Stark

What's scarier to the poor, defenseless hitters of planet Earth -- Justin Verlander's numbers or the look in his eye these days?

The way Verlander has pitched these last six weeks, I'm not sure why the hitters even bother to get in the box. In his last nine starts, this man has a 1.10 ERA and almost twice as many strikeouts (81) as hits allowed (43). And only twice in those nine starts has the team he's faced scored more than one run.

Ready? Here's more: According to Inside Edge, Verlander not only has induced the most swings and misses in the American League this year (182), but he also leads the closest pitcher (Felix Hernandez) by 24. In addition, this man is the only starting pitcher in the big leagues who has hit 100 on the radar gun more than once. (He did it May 30 and then again Wednesday.) And his 122nd and final pitch Wednesday against the White Sox was clocked at 99.6 miles per hour.

"It's almost PlayStation stuff," said Wednesday's losing pitcher, John Danks, "watching him throw the ball exactly where he wants to -- with movement, velocity, the works."

June 12

Tigers manager Jim Leyland put CF Curtis Granderson back in the leadoff spot and said he will remain there for the foreseeable future.

Lineup, June 13

D Kelly LF
R Santiago 2B
J Anderson RF
M Cabrera 1B
C Granderson CF
B Inge 3B
G Laird C
A Everett SS
D Willis P

Devastating 1-3 up there.

Willis was no match for the Pirates offense today.

D Kelly doubled to deep right center.
R Santiago sacrificed to pitcher, D Kelly to third.
J Anderson grounded out to first.
M Cabrera struck out swinging.

Solid first inning strategy w/ Willis on the mound.

http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&stats=fld&lg=all&type=0&season=2009&month=0

#1 UZR hurrah. Last year, the Tigers were -39.

DH position this year: five HR, 18 RBI, .258/.331/.378

Top three slots in the batting order are all sub league average OBP.

This team is built to sweep a division series and get swept (or close to swept) in the league series.

Well, at least we have a pretty good explanation for Carlos Guillen's epic fail this season. As Jon Paul Morosi writes, Guillen's got a shoulder injury that might cost him the rest of this season...

Really, Rob Neyer? 100 nonproductive at-bats from someone playing through assorted ailments is an epic fail? Really?

S Schumaker doubled to deep left center.
C Rasmus flied out to left.
A Pujols intentionally walked.
C Duncan singled to left, S Schumaker to third, A Pujols to second.
R Ankiel struck out swinging.
Y Molina singled to right, S Schumaker and A Pujols scored, C Duncan to third.
C Duncan scored, Y Molina to second on balk by J Verlander.
J Thurston doubled to deep right, Y Molina scored, J Thurston to third on throwing error by right fielder M Ordonez.
A Wainwright flied out to right.

First inning IBBs rule.

R Santiago singled to center.
J Anderson hit for J Verlander.
J Anderson singled to right, R Santiago to second.

Nice! Two on, no outs, and the top of the order is due up!

Oh, wait... THE TOP OF THE ORDER is due up.

D Kelly struck out swinging.
P Polanco fouled out to first.
M Ordonez grounded out to shortstop.

that first inning was really weird - can't believe that he couldn't get molina out after having him down 0-2

Release Robertson, Willis, and Magglio (before the clause activates) already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ D-Train back to DL w/ anxiety disorder ~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Magglio benched "indefinitely" ~~~~~~~~~~~~

LOL

Detroit -- Scott Boras, the agent for benched outfielder Magglio Ordonez, unloaded on the Tigers Friday, accusing them of a "myopic" decision to remove a former batting champion from the lineup "for no compelling reason."

Boras indirectly made his legal case for challenging any decision by the Tigers to release Ordonez and escape responsibility for his 2010 and 2011 options, which would pay him $33 million spanning those seasons if certain numbers of plate appearances are reached.

"Remember who you're calling, because I do my homework," said Boras, who is based in Newport Beach, Calif., and who is acknowledged as the sports agent world's resident Goliath.

i love all this figaro

Jason Verlander looks sharp, but not that sharp

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090622/SPORTS0104/906220351/1129/rss15

Oh yeah?

hey he can't be that sharp: he didn't throw another no hitter...

I should have bolded Jason Verlander

Headline writer not sharp

http://detroit4lyfe.com/images/stories/zoom%20ks%20milton%20on%20104%20mph%20cheese.jpg

Two batters later...

Ball, Strike (foul), Ball, Strike (swinging), M Hoffpauir (who couldn't get around on the fastball) homered to right (on an 84 mph changeup), D Lee scored

alot seems to be getting made of this changeup.

Get away from the fence, old man!

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20090624&Category=SPORTS0104&ArtNo=906240394&Ref=AR&Profile=1129&Q=100&MaxW=290&MaxH=290

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090624/SPORTS0104/906240394/1129/sports0104/Alan-Trammell-makes-a-short-stop-to-remember-Tiger-Stadium

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20090624&Category=SPORTS02&ArtNo=90624089&Ref=AR&MaxW=320&Border=0

^^^ You, sir, are now platooned!

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C3&Date=20090724&Category=SPORTS0104&ArtNo=907240383&Ref=AR&Profile=1129&Q=100&MaxW=290&MaxH=290

At auction's end, two bids hit $6,500 at the same time. Sarah (left) and Catherine Visintainer of Ann Arbor, and LaShawna Carter (right) of Detroit, bid simultaneously. Instead of driving bids higher, Granderson offered to accept both bids and go to dinners with both.

"You take your shirt off, I'll take mine off," Leyland yelled from the middle of the room.

Jackson obliged by removing his shirt and showing off his tattooed back and arms. He then demanded his manager keep his word. Leyland came up to the stage and said he would remove his shirt as long as the picture did not end up on TV or in the newspaper.

With help from Leyland and teammates Edwin Jackson, Ryan Perry and even Gerald Laird, Granderson raised thousands of dollars for his Grand Kids Foundation on Thursday night at his wine tasting event and bachelor auction at the Big Rock Chophouse.

ICE COLD.

Meanwhile, four of the last five games lost 2-1.

All you need to know about this team's offense:

Carl Pavano against the Tigers: 1.93
Carl Pavano against everyone else: 6.16

"'I know Aubrey Huff pretty well and as I rounded first, he doused me with a mouthful of dirt. He kicked dirt all over my face. I was dying laughing,' Inge said. 'But I didn't bust out because I didn't want the pitcher to think it was about him.'"

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3445/3813092287_c40fe79227.jpg

Now w/ Aubrey Huff

Jarrod serving up a pack of tacos to ex-teammates today.

Leyland on flying, from BP:

“I’m not a good flyer. I mean, you always have a few of them. I remember one where the plane was landing, and all of sudden the plane took off again. We had one this year where the light in the cabin came on — the landing gear wasn’t down, so all of a sudden we went up again. I remember one time we went in to land and there was a small plane underneath us. That’s not a good feeling. But that’s the way it is, and I don’t think any of us are crazy about it when you start bouncing around. But that’s life. Sometimes when you have a bad week, you really have a bad week…It scares you a little bit when the guy says, “You’re landing on runway 47,” and the pilot says “OK“, but then gets back on and says, “Wait a minute. 47? You just told that other guy to land on 47.” So he says, “Yeah, you’ve got to be careful.” That‘s not a good feeling. When you get up in the air, who knows. But we have a good time. We play cards — us coaches. If it gets bumpy, we get scared. If it gets real bumpy, we get drunk.”

5-0 since my daughter was born.

Just sayin'.

5-3

Being shut down by the back end of the Royals' rotation plus Farnsworth/Colon/etc = brutal

so 0-3 since you bragged about then being 5-0 since your daughter was born?

Twins not taking advantage, tho

nor the white sox

^ story of their season

Mrs Adam Everett

http://www.mrsamerica.com/delegates/georgia/profile.html

http://cmsimg.detnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=C3&Dato=20090917&Kategori=OPINION03&Lopenr=909170391&Ref=TS&NewTbl=1&Q=65&MaxW=320&MaxH=320&border=0

Now w/ a run diff of -3.

Tigers should be fine if they split these 4 games. Anything less, look out...

These two lineups aren't 'zackly top-to-bottom solid.

Lyon picked a great time to triple his number of '09 WPs.

Nathan tryin' to outLyon him?

brandon inge since the all-star break:

231 AB
19 runs
41 hits
4 doubles
6 HR
21 rbi
18 walks
.177 BA
.259 OBP
.273(!) SLG
.532 OPS

it's pretty amazing that a guy with 27 HRs has a real shot at having a slugging percentage under .400

He's been playing for months with a really bad knee.

27 HRs, 13 2B, 1 3B -- wow.

Aubrey Huff, .198/.267/.323 -- great pick-up.

only Pavano standing in the way tonight! on ESPN.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091001/COL22/910010616/1319/Don-t-worry--Fate-is-on-our-side

Before Wednesday's 7-2 Tigers victory, Mauer had faced a 3-0 count 47 times, according to baseball-reference.com. He had reached base 42 of those 47 times (with a slugging percentage of 1.250).

Wednesday night, the Tigers got him out all three times, including the last at-bat of the night.

M Thames hit by pitch.
B Inge grounded into fielder's choice to second, M Thames out at second.
G Laird flied out to left.
A Everett safe at first on error by third baseman B Harris, B Inge to second.
C Granderson walked, B Inge to third, A Everett to second.
R Santiago fouled out to catcher.

Good day to rest Polanco.

TIGERS MANAGER JIM LEYLAND WAS EJECTED BY HOME PLATE UMPIRE ANGEL HERNANDEZ IN THE BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING FOR ARGUING THAT WARNINGS WERE ISSUED TO EACH TEAM AFTER A PITCH WAS THROWN BEHIND TIGERS BATTER ADAM EVERETT.

TIGERS PITCHER JEREMY BONDERMAN AND CATHCER GERALD LAIRD WERE EJECTED BY HOME PLATE UMPIRE ANGEL HERNANDEZ AFTER BONDERMAN HIT DELMON YOUNG WITH A PITCH.

that last playoff spot is serious

guys.... :-(

RIP Edwin

Neyer asks, why Figaro?

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-6-8/First-guessing-Jim-Leyland.html

And LOOGY #2 has entered the game in the second inning.

LOOGY #2 has faced one hitter and is now out of the game.

andy :-(

i'm calling it even now

burn Verlander tomorrow, potential 163rd game even
he, he

Cabrera pops out to end the 1st
Cabrera grounds out to end the 3rd
Cabrera grounds into double play to end 8th

But...he did not end the 6th when he struck out!

I think I've got some barf in my throat.

Leyland should call Jim Schwartz for advice

Tigers should be fine if they split these 4 games.

lol

Tigers' Cabrera: No comment on cut

hey JC, SHOULD doesn't always work out, doofus.

oooh, that was quite a lolly to Raburn

Miguel Cabrera and Tigers officials declined comment this morning about how he obtained abrasions on his face and whether he was involved in some type of altercation after Friday night’s Tigers game.

Cabrera showed up to Comerica Park on Saturday with visible abrasions on his face. He told FoxSports.com that his dog had done it.

“No comment,” Cabrera said this morning, when asked about the marks on his face. “I’m looking right now for a win today.”

Have you told your teammates what happened?

“No.”

Cabrera then sat by teammate Carlos Guillen’s clubhouse stall, and reporters approached. Guillen stood up.

“What?” Guillen said. “He’s not going to talk, man! Come on!”

Then Cabrera said: “After the game. Right now, I won’t talk before the game. I’ve got to get ready for the game. Please ... please. Thank you.”

Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said: “That’s a personal situation. I won’t get involved — I don’t have any comment on it.”

Was Cabrera arrested?

“I just said what I had to say.”

Have you talked to him about it?

“Those are all personal situations.”

Manager Jim Leyland said: “You have to talk to somebody else about that. I don’t know anything about that.”

Cabrera, the Tigers’ best hitter, has struggled in the final week of the season (both before and after Friday night’s loss to the White Sox). The Tigers have lost three straight games to fall into a first-place tie with the Minnesota Twins on the final day of the season.

Cabrera was in the lineup for today’s game against the White Sox.

Here we go

^^ reverse chuck knoblauch

beckjason
Dombrowski on Cabrera: "We had a conversation of a personal nature. I am aware of what took place."

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/10/05/miguel-cabrera-fought-with-wife-picked-up-by-dombrowski-at-poli/

Miguel Cabrera's facial cuts are a mystery no more. After the Tigers' win last night, police gave a full report on just where the Tigers' slugger got his wounds. He was apparently out late on Friday night/Saturday morning, came home drunk, and got into a fight with his wife, which resulted in a 911 call from his wife at 6 AM Saturday.

It gets worse; police came to Cabrera's house and picked the All-Star up and took him in for questioning, leaving Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski to pick him up from the station at 7:30 AM Saturday morning. Cabrera hasn't talked about the situation publicly, but it's safe to say that the rumors that the Tigers were upset with him are probably true.

The same report also says Cabrera blew at .26 BAC at the police station, which is more than three times the legal limit of .08. So with the Tigers season on the line and their playoff chances shrinking daily, Cabrera was out drinking, got into a fight with his wife, and ending up being picked up by the team GM at the police station.

On the bright side (if there is one), neither Cabrera nor his wife suffered serious injuries and neither wants to press charges. And the Tigers almost certainly benefit here from their one-game playoff against the Twins being moved to Tuesday, because this would make for one heck of a distraction of the game were tonight.

lolcohol

(He was out w/ some White Sox.)

"For an average 240 lb male a .26 is about 21 drinks in 7 hours."

More (ugh):

http://www.freep.com/article/20091005/SPORTS02/91005019/1050/

holy fuck .26!

I've had this mental image of Dombrowski picking up Cabrera in silk pajamas and some kind of hair-holding contraption on his head.

Anyway, this happened:

In the earlier incident, police said they were called to the Townsend’s Rugby Grille at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31, hours after the Tigers dropped a day game to Tampa Bay, 11-7. Cabrera had one hit and left three men on base.

According to the report, Aaron Cohen of Birmingham recognized Cabrera sitting at the bar and said hello. At first the player was pleasant, asking Cohen if he wanted something to eat. Cabrera, who witnesses said was drinking from a large cup, then gestured at the teen sitting with Cohen, saying “What’s up, big boy, you need to work out.” When the boy took offense, Cohen said, he tried to stop the situation from escalating, but Cabrera became belligerent. Cabrera started to “rant and rave,” according to the report, and said, “You don’t know me or where I am from.” He then continued, “Let’s go, right now” and “I’ll fight both of you right now; let’s go outside.”

The report said Cabrera then started swearing and “speaking to himself with his head up in the air,” as if in prayer. He said, “Let’s go outside, I have a Land Rover and I’ll get my ‘click clack,’.” motioning the racking of a gun, according to investigators.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ZMOKLsiuY

http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20091011/NEWS02/910110366

He also made it clear if anyone was going to get arrested in the early morning hours of Oct. 3, it was Rosangel Cabrera, 26, wife of the beleaguered ball player.

“She was the aggressor who started it even though he came home intoxicated and tried to keep the phone from her,” he said. “She proceeded to make the physical altercation first — after which he pushed her. She got scared because he's a big guy ... fear took over on her part because she had hurt him to some extent, and she called 9-1-1.”

While she clearly sounded panicked in the 9-1-1 call released to the public, Patterson said she was quite calm by the time officers arrived at the couple's house. Through an interpreter, it was eventually determined she started the physical altercation by pulling a gold chain from his neck.

“All she wanted was to have him out of the house,” he said. “That said, if we arrested her we had a 4-year-old that we certainly couldn't leave at home with an intoxicated father. We couldn't leave him alone because he was extremely agitated and intoxicated ... so we would have to arrest them both and place the child in protective services.”

shit a shit show to end the season for these guys.

Even-handed analysis of the Guillen/Leyland rift.

http://www.detroittigersweblog.com/2009/10/much-ado-about-carlos-guillen/