Four Letters, Rhymes With "Whinge": The 2008 Detroit Tigers

Well, no one wants to lose their job, even if it's to a much better player.

Top five first lines from posts on Dontrelle Willis' blog:

1. "Man most people go from the north to the south to get warm but not your boy."

2. "man in my life this might be one of the sickest things that have happened to your boy."

3. "man i was never really good in english but i hope u feel this story."

4. "Man after all the playoff games and world series is done as a baseball player u try to find ways to keep busy."

5. "Man, all i can say is if u could meet my family, you could pretty much tell how i am."

http://www.yardbarker.com/users/dontrelle

Well, no one wants to lose their job, even if it's to a much better player.

Agreed, of course, but his use of words like "forced" and "dealt" is pretty rich.

"I can't explain it," said Inge, batting .242 with 12 home runs and 56 RBIs. "I'm getting pitched like I'm Babe Ruth. Everything is on the corner. I haven't seen a ball in the middle of the plate for a week."

"I've looked at film and these pitches they're throwing me, Ted Williams would have a hard time with."

yeah, ted williams today u choad

he comes from the derek bell school of self-denial, i think

dontrelles blog is amazing. i want to recommend him movies.

Comments left by Yardbarker user dontrelle:

6. dontrelle , 16 hours ago | Reply
so what. who cares

7. dontrelle , 16 hours ago | Reply
so what. who cares

3. dontrelle , 11 days ago | Reply
hahahahah man thats a crazy story

2. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
lol. u can tell her after she finds u. bad lady to cross

3. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
just playin

8. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
yes sir life is hard i think we just get caught in r own things alot

12.1. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
damn i grew up of that. my thats going to hurt me. my boys family owns a deli on webster and i like nations burger.

13.1. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
yeah keep on him and he will easy up

16. dontrelle , 24 days ago | Reply
yeah my boy james family owns that spot its the best. No i dont collect cards fam . not even as a kid.

19.1. dontrelle , 24 days ago | Reply
i have one the highest winning pct. in april its the rest of the year im worried about lol. and i dont care about hitting

4.1. dontrelle , December 29, 2007 | Reply
yeah at first i didnt like superbad but now i feel it. good story

8.1. dontrelle , December 29, 2007 | Reply
yeah im a will smith fan so im going to go see it

9.1. dontrelle , December 29, 2007 | Reply
yeah i was feelin that new die hard. very smart movie

11.1. dontrelle , December 29, 2007 | Reply
yeah the warriors r clean . and i got that kat williams and he goes hard. stay up out there the bay is a beast.

12.1. dontrelle , December 29, 2007 | Reply
blade runner damn that old classic

16.1. dontrelle , 29 days ago | Reply
yeah i liked four brothers.

20. tylenoljohnson , 29 days ago | Reply
2003-2004 NBA Champions: Detroit Pistons, i just got it off ebay for like 4 bucks plus shipping, its hot, great entertainment

20.1. dontrelle , 29 days ago | Reply
yeah but thats not a movie

29. John_Fuller , 25 days ago | Reply
Dontrelle,
This is Granderson's rep. Been trying to get ahold of Sosnick about you participating (not playing, since it's so close to Spring) in his charity game with no response for a while. Contact me at grandkidsfoundat✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧ or have Sosnick contact me.

29.1. dontrelle , 25 days ago | Reply
man i would love to where is it at.

Dontrelle, would you like to referee?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3kBoOXB2KE

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=341843

The Gatorade people just used some footage of me giving up a homer, which I guess is not that hard to find, and I didn't have to go anywhere to shoot the spot. I was bummed.

The funny thing is I found out later that I wasn't even the first pitcher Gatorade asked. Justin Verlander was that guy because he's better known than me. But he said no thanks; he didn't want to be the goat. I guess since I am turning 40 this year and have never been in a commercial and Justin is 24 and has already been to the ESPYs and thrown a no-hitter that you could see why he would pass and I would not only say yes but heck yes.

Dontrelle's blog is almost Oden-esque.

i might go opening weekend

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/SPORTS02/802130410

Unlike Sheffield, Zumaya won't be ready for the start of the regular season. The right-hander doesn't even know when he will throw for the first time since the surgery. And he's working on an emotional rebound, as well as a physical one.

Not long after his surgery, Zumaya said, he cried all night. He did so because he realized a lot of people didn't believe he hurt his shoulder the way he said he had: As he helped his family in the San Diego area gather possessions and flee last October's wildfires, a box fell on his pitching shoulder and devastated the AC joint.

He knew Internet posters accused him of careless causes of the injury, such as a dirt-biking accident.

When Zumaya quit crying, he wrote a note to himself. In bold letters, it reads:

"I will prove this world wrong."

The world, he senses, thinks he won't come back from this injury.

"There's a lot of doubt about me right now," Zumaya said Tuesday. "A lot of it. I've read it."

Zumaya has brought his six-word note with him to Florida. He sees it in his bedroom every morning: "I will prove this world wrong." Before he leaves for the ballpark, he flicks the note with a finger on his pitching hand.

"I'm on a mission," he said. "Mark my words: I'll be back, and I'll be able to do what I've been doing."

Zumaya acknowledges that because of the shoulder surgery, he might never again throw 103 m.p.h. His days of owning the majors' fastest fastball, the one measured in triple digits, might have been stolen forever by the shoulder damage.

In his next sentence, his defiance rises, and he says he might hit triple digits again.

I'd be a lot more comfortable if I knew Zumaya was flicking that note with a finger on his catching hand...

http://blog.mlive.com/tigersinsider/2008/02/catching_up_with_inge.html

So Inge worked out as a catcher today, even as he admitted that sitting on the bench "crushes me. It kills me."

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20080215&Category=BLOG18&ArtNo=80215020&Ref=V4

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080215/SPORTS02/80215067

"In one way, I certainly don't want to lose Brandon Inge," Leyland said. "In another way, I hope we lose Brandon Inge and I hope he's traded where he can play third base every day."

=

"In one way, I don't want to lose Brandon Inge because he could be a valuable (if grossly overpaid) utility player -- provided he stops the whiny punk routine. In another way, I hope we lose Brandon Inge because I don't want to deal with this fucking moping bullshit any goddamn motherfucking longer. For fuck's sake, ask someone who is actually fucking dying how they fucking feel -- I'd venture to say they might feel a little fucking worse than this pathetic athletic career .241 hitting chump next to me. At least Neifi was fun to be around."

pathetic athletic...ha!

"Can you explain why (Miguel) Tejada gets six years, (Vladimir) Guerrero gets five years and I get three? He cost me two years of a contract because he was trying to tarnish my name. The whole year in Atlanta, I had to get the players' association to stop him from writing me threatening letters saying, 'Either you let me do your contract or I'll be forced to sue you.' That's a threat and harassment."

--Tigers designated hitter Gary Sheffield, on his former agent Scott Boras.

Yes it is only spring training haha HOWEVER

Rick Porcello's first time facing professionals did not require an outfield. Six up, six down: Eckstein 1-3, Rios 6-3, Wells PO-3, Thomas K, Adams 4-3, Watson 5-3.

The Vegas bookmakers have the Tigers at 4-1 for winning the World Series.

(By comparison, the Red Sox are 3-1, Yankees are 5-1 and the Mets are 6-1).

Normally there is some big city bias in the odds (silly Cubs fans like myself have the Cubs up at 4-1, like last year).

I'm no Tom TangoTiger, but 4-1 seems bizarrely short?

In case you were wondering, Leyland said today that he has no plans to catch Inge with any regularity this spring. He'll start in center field on Wednesday at home against the Phillies when the Tigers have a split-squad game, but as Leyland put it, "I'm not going to force someone to catch who does not want to catch."

=

"Funny player, Brandon Inge. He knocks around a couple college and single-A pitchers in February and he's strutting around here like he's Ted Fucking Williams. They're pitching him like HE'S BRANDON FUCKING INGE, lifetime .241 hitter. Put him behind the plate AND FUCKING BOOM! Suddenly he's his old hitting self, dragging his bat to the dugout after watching the third strike of the third out go right down the heart of the plate. 'Can I go back to third base now? Where'd my wubby third base go? Big meanie make Brandon strike out. No fair.' I coulda smoked a whole carton by the time he made it back to the dugout from the fucking batter's box. In other words, gentlemen, THAT IS IT, FUCK IT, I GIVE UP."

I'm no Tom TangoTiger, but 4-1 seems bizarrely short?

The bullpen is a major question mark. Plus, Willis is coming off a horrible season and going into the AL, Bonderman's '07 second half was horrible (granted, he was pitching in pain, but that says more about his nickel brain), Robertson had an off year, and there is no telling how Rogers will perform (I'm not expecting much). I do think Willis, Bonderman, and Robertson will rebound, but still, there is plenty of room for doubt.

DET - PLACIDO POLANCO (2) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 1ST
NATE ROBERTSON (1) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 2ND
EDGAR RENTERIA (1) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 3RD
IVAN RODRIGUEZ (5) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 3RD

Pudge has 5 Homers in spring training? wau

NATE ROBERTSON homered?

No, he did not.

Todd Jones, always be closing: 3.2 IP, 12 H, 3 BB, 24.55 ERA

Tigers better win the World Series, after trading away Jurrjens...grrr.

Cabrera gets 8/153

Granderson gets HBP, non-displaced fracture in right middle finger, three weeks off.

The Gambler is dealing.

27 pitches through three.

So is Bannister (34).

The Gambler The Thinker is dealing.

(consarn xp)

Anyone check Kenny for Roaster residue on his hand or uni?

Jurjjens and Miller make their new-team debuts tonight.

Jurrjens, that is.

Rusty Kuntz: TRAITOR

los tigres may have lost jair jurrjens, but, yorman bazardo, people...yorman bazardo!

"My job is to stop the bleeding and I think I have done a good job of that for two years now." -- Jason Grilli (2007 home ERA: 7.96; lifetime ERA: 5.18 and climbing)

Today:
Jason Grilli's first pitch: P Konerko doubled to deep center.
Jason Grilli's second pitch: J Dye singled to right, P Konerko to third.
Jason Grilli's third pitch: A Pierzynski homered to right, P Konerko and J Dye scored.

do NOT panic

WILLIS LOSES NO-HITTER IN THE SIXTH (LOL)

Willis' line for the day:

5 IP, 1 H, O K, 7 BB, 4 ER

"Not a bad Tiger debut" -- Brennaman

My lack of knowledge of this game comes through again: how did the Sox make 5 runs with only three hits in today's game vs the Tigers?

Lots and lots of walks, Mark.

Thanks Andy - that means the pitching was really bad, right?

Since I'm asking dumb questions - how often does a team score runs in all 9 innings?

Yes, definitely really bad.

A team scoring in each inning = very, very rare.

Grilli was unavailable yesterday due to "neck stiffness."

Would that be HOMER neck stiffness, perhaps?

surprised Dombrowski didn't get up and say "pardon me for a moment guys, I need to walk down to the rest room and puke in the sink"

Ooh uncomfortable Verlander ERA bulimia reaction shot. I am sorry, I really like those in a "The Office" uncomfortable humor way.

surprised Dombrowski didn't get up and say "pardon me for a moment guys, I need to walk down to the rest room and puke in the sink"

"If you'll excuse me now, gentlemen, I am going to retire to my windowless, all-white relaxation room, hide beneath some fresh satin sheets, and play my good friend Alexander Zonjic's version of 'The Captain of Her Heart' on an endless loop until this talented, experienced, well-managed team of professionals is over .500."

"Meanwhile, Fernando Rodney is probably toast, and we've just called up a relief pitcher who had last seen MLB action with the Montreal Expos. Rocky Biddle wasn't available."

Buster Olney sez PANIC TIME, bullpen sucks

More like NOT PANIC TIME, crap starting pitching exposes bullpen shortcomings that were already a known, and oh by the way 156 (155?) games to go!

<BoringESPNRant>

Seriously, how much more work would it be to look at why the Tigers are struggling, and put things into a proper perspective, instead of just coming up with the idiot-proof 40pt headline and soundbyting shit to death while pounding a fist on an THE END IS NEAR sandwich board? Fuck a Buster.

</BoringESPNRant>

The bullpen would've been a major issue WITH 100% health (i.e., functioning Rodney, Zumaya). Two of several reasons: any bullpen containing both Jason Grilli and Todd Jones is suspect.

CELLAR DWELLER BATTLE TODAY

Oh, haha, "Page 2 Staff":

Well, no need to set aside a vacation day for the world championship riot.

Ooh, a riot joke about Detroit. Always funny.

Take that shit to East Lansing.

Loren (Berkeley): So I know 0-6 isn't a harbinger of doom for the Tigers, but don't you have to lower their projections by 3-4 wins and significantly drop their playoff chances?

Rob Neyer: (1:00 PM ET ) Yup. The line on them before the season was 94-95 wins, which was too high anyway; I had them at 90. Now the line should be 86-87.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1219/onozomglm9.gifhttp://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1219/onozomglm9.gifhttp://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1219/onozomglm9.gif

Maybe the Tigers & Indians can pull off some sort of challenge trade and swap Jones for Borowski. Couldn't hurt!

Casey Fossum, come on down.

Willis: hyperextended knee.

Jeff Weaver is rested and ready...

Oh dear.

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=C4&Dato=20080412&Kategori=SPORTS02&Lopenr=411008&Ref=PH&Item=2&MaxW=600&MaxH=500&border=0&Quality=100

^^^ Textbook scap load

LOL

Who is that All-Lunchpail hopeful?

Denny "31-6 to 7-Eleven" McLain

IS ONE FUCKING RUN ASKING FOR TOO MUCH??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

McLain is a first-ballot no-brainer for the All-Not Just Stealing Your Lunchpail But Your Pension as Well Team:

In the early 1990s, McLain purchased the Peet Packing Company (Farmer Peet's) located in the small town of Chesaning, Michigan. He was convicted of charges of embezzlement, mail fraud, and conspiracy in connection with the theft of $2.5 million from the Peet employees' pension fund. McLain spent six years in prison. The employees received all money owed to them.

I grew up in Saginaw, just down the road apiece from Chesaning. The '68 Tigers were like Gods when I was growing up.

he looks quite a bit like john goodman there

:(

Tigers haven't scored since Friday.

Yay.

lol @ Jonesie coughing up a token taco for the BJs

Galarraga, Rapada, Lopez, Bautista: these dudes have easily been the most (and ONLY) reliable Tiger pitchers thus far. I can understand the many injuries -- Guillen (hamstring), Sheffield (shoulder), Zumaya (arm), Rodney (arm), Polanco (back), Granderson (hand), Cabrera (quad), Robertson (lat) -- and that the pitching has been very shaky, but not THAT.

if i wanted to be a mlb closer i would just grow a shitty fu-manchu and grimace a lot and i bet i would be able to eke out 1 year, $4 million deals for about 7-8 seasons.

You really just need some sort of gimmick:

- awful facial hair
- drunken overweight loutishness (sic)
- weirdo goggles
- exaggerated squint
- laser death stare
- six fingers

tic

i'd also need some kind of entrance song. early-'70s to late-'80s. rock or metal. overplayed on the radio.

in light of the mitchell report if i were a reliver i'd totally choose the oblivians "go pill popper!" as my entrance music.

You could have "The End" by the Doors and put everyone to sleep.

riders on the storm would be better.

The opening of "The Soft Parade"...

Tiger bullpen ERA minus Grilli, Miner: 2.22.

Pudge got 4 hits, raising his BA about 90 pts.

deez was right, Justin Verlander pitching highlights are fun to watch. Nice home run admiration by Maggs, too.

http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/04/cabrera_to_first_base_guillen.html

Cabrera to first base, Guillen to third

That's going to be a full-time shift, manager Jim Leyland announced after the game. Guillen said it wasn't a big surprise. Cabrera said he's cool with it.

This could be sorta semi-catastrophic.

Then again, you could say the same exact thing about the original arrangement.

can someone plot a graph of cabrera's career defense using an apt metric?

Has Cabrera ever played 1st? Isn't moving 2 guys out of position worse than having 2 guys field their current spots in a mediocre fashion? & why not just move The Angry Inge back to 3B, cart Miggy out to LF, and leave CG where he is?

Also: Jacque Jones -- stealth Twin, or just shitty?

Cabrera has been playing occasional 1B this year and has looked better than Guillen, who was having trouble staying out of the baseline. I do not understand why 1B footwork can be difficult for some otherwise athletic and coordinated people.

It's a good thing the Tigers dumped Craig Monroe to the Cubs, only to later acquire the left-handed Craig Monroe as an ex-Cub free agent. And now the Twins have the right-handed Jacque Jones.

Granted, Jacque hit two absolute bombs to the Comerica CF wall last night.

Granted, those were his first two XBH of '08.

And a third tonight.

Kenny Rogers, please consider retirement.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8062000/Flip-flopping-Cabrera's-position-is-problematic?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

This move isn't about Guillen, who was adequate at first and started 96 games at third for the Mariners in 2000 and '03.

WRONG.

He's only 25. And he's already restricted to first base.

HE'LL BE LUCKY TO MAKE IT TO 30.

jeez, lol @ texas

is that actually happening!?

1k back on?

Ken Rosenthal's a replacement level late-era Gammons.

223 pitches thrown by the Rangers.

And with that game, the Tigers went from tenth to second in AL offense.

measured how?

Runs

A garbage stat, I know.

lol

3 games out of first! how the hell did that happen?

Walks!

Clete Thomas!

Lousy baseball played by other teams in the division!

Several relievers performing far beyond expectations!

Playing in spring or spring-like weather! (I don't THINK any of the games in their first four series were played in 60-degree weather. Obviously their opponents were playing in the same stadiums but I don't know if any other teams played in an unbroken streak of cold/coldish games like that.)

Playing the Rangers two nights in a row!

So when're the TIGERS ARE BACK articles coming out? Tomorrow? Early next week? When they hit .500?

If it counts, someone on ESPN this morning said "They may get those 1000 runs yet!"

Move them to the AL West -- 13 more games against Texas (6/7 IN Texas), and there you go!

At least one headline the day after they go over .500: ROAR RESTORED

Any DEFANGED articles yet?

Nu-Mayor Cabrera just skipped out on a mound visit to instead keep talking to Vladimir.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHRISTMAS IN APRIL

OH

NEW YORK -- The Tigers announced today that they have traded Jason Grilli to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for reliever Zachary Simons, a move designed to clear room on the roster for reliever Francisco Cruceta.

Isn't Grilli the worst player in baseball :(

Not lately. In order to get more than a used can of silly string in return, the Tigers waited until Grilli put together a few solid consecutive appearances. And then they dumped him. It took a while.

Those arrow-straight 95-mph fastballs ought to be extra effective at Coors.

Ramon "The Rake" Santiago

.375/.483/.708

Omar Infante RIP

Ramon "El Rastrillo" Santiago, excuse me.

Infante should be playing again after breaking his hand (I think), at least -- at Richmond?

I forget which one of them pint-sized titans popped their first (and 2nd?) ML homer against Pedro (@ old Comerica), but that was a sad day for Slighty Younger Daver, let me tell you.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200206030.shtml

I remember that well! It was Santiago. He hit one off Wakefield later that day and then went deep off Burkett the next game. Until the other day, those two games featured half of his career HRs.

Wow -- I can't believe I was actually posting to ILX when that game happened SIX YEARS AGO.

lol @ Shane Halter

lol @ the Tigers

lol @ the current Tigers.

The problem is that the Tigers have been an all-or-nothing offensive team. They have scored more than one-third of their runs in just four double-digit games, and meanwhile they've had 11 games where they've scored two runs or fewer. They're 14-2 when they score five runs or more, but 0-15 when they don't score five.

http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2008/05/leyland_promises_changes.html

Not a matter of the problem, but problems. 0-15 when not scoring five runs indicates a pitching problem, too.

"I'm going to shake things up a little bit here shortly," Leyland said. "I don't know what I mean by that."

Will it involve the all-important left-handed bat that has produced .173/.256/.267 thus far? Probably not.

And maybe Guillen will DH and Inge will play 3B the next time Sheffield sits?

Maybe Granderson to the third/fourth/fifth slot.

Granderson's last 23 homers have been solo homers.

Goodbye, left-handed Craig Monroe

Call up more 25-year-old relievers with less than five innings of AA ball under their belts, please.

Someone's gotta take over for Grilli!

Call up more slick-fielding outfielders to have them DH on a team with 10 DHs and roughly as many poor fielders.

why does placido pollanco's head look like that?

http://sportsshit.blogspot.com/2007/07/placido-polancos-head-has-own-area-code.html

Let the Gambler pitch the whole game. Fuck it.

Leon Durham needs to be this team's hitting coach.

"It seems like they kind of broke up our team chemistry when they got rid of Sean Casey and good people like that," says Grilli, now with the Colorado Rockies.

Leyland responds:

http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/05/highlights_from_leylands_rant.html

"I find that hard to believe that that has anything to do with somebody not getting a run in. I mean, would I like this to be a little more close-knit? Yes. Do I buy a lot of people when they start talking about that, and some of it comes from players, I think they ought to look at themselves in the mirror. I think it's diversionary tactics, and I really take offense to Jason Grilli's thing about not having Sean Casey. You have to be kidding me. I mean, please. Jason Grilli ought to just worry about Colorado. Jason Grilli's not here any longer because Jason Grilli didn't pitch good under pressure situations and didn't pitch very well in Detroit. You want to tell it like it is? When players want to start talking, I'll start talking. But I'm very reserved about stuff like that. Jason Grilli ought to worry about Colorado, not Detroit.

Nightingale article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/tigers/2008-05-19-paper-tigers_N.htm

Guillen:

"We never said we were going to win 100 games. All we said was that we have a good team with good players. That was the (sports) media and fans doing the talking. You don't win games looking good on paper. You've got to do it on the field. That wasn't fair to us."

Then play like a good team. Stop skipping the ball across the infield, and maybe work on your lateral range, which often looks like it can be measured in this way:

1. Stand beside Carlos Guillen.

2. Push Carlos Guillen over from the side.

3. Measure the distance between the bottom of Carlos Guillen's cleats and wherever his glove lands.

Wow, this is pretty ugly. Leyland:

"If players want to play games in the press, I'll play games in the press. And it won't be very pretty. That's all bullshit. That doesn't have anything to do with a guy hanging a slider or missing a fastball right down the (middle), throwing the ball away. That has nothing to do with it. That's a weak excuse. That's a lame excuse."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zrWhro9DHo

Classic Leyland. So many bleeps.

To reporter, near end: "(When) you write a fuckin' horseshit story, you don't blame (Detroit Free Press writer) John Lowe, do ya?"

Jim Leyland needs to start punishing shitty performances by putting cigarettes out on player's arms and chests while his coaching staff holds them down.

"You know what? It's a no-win situation when you talk about it. I don't like it. I've always said, and you can quote me on this, that to me, a baseball game is like a movie. If it's a good movie, you stay. If it's a bad movie, you leave."

"I don't like it. They want me to run to the mound. I smoke three packs a day. They want me to run on and off the mound."

"You can't fight City Hall. But you know what, then? When the pitcher goes out between innings and throws his eight (warmup) pitches, forget the two minutes and all that when you're waiting for the television (commercial break) and start the game, if you want to know the truth. But obviously they pay the bills, so you can't fight City Hall. TV's going to pay the bills, and I understand that, so I'm not looking for trouble. But if you really talking about it, it's a lot of (garbage). That's what I think. I don't think the fans really give a (care). If the Tigers win today, they don't give a (care) how long they stay here. If the Tigers lose, they're going to leave early or be ticked off when they leave. That's as simple as it is. If we get behind 10-1 in the sixth inning, I imagine this place will clear out a little bit. If we're ahead 10-1, some of them might go."

"If I have Todd Jones coming in out of the bullpen, we're going to have to get a golf cart."

"Don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the commissioner. I like him. He's a friend of mine, and I know he's doing what he thinks is best for the game. But at the same time, I don't have to agree with it. I'm going to throw over to first base. If I think a guy's stealing, I'm going to mess with him. Well, that takes time. Sometimes you'll see the umpire and fans (react), but my job is to try to win the game. I'm not on a time scale. We don't have a clock, like football and basketball. I'm out here to try to win the game. That's as simple as it is. Every once in a while, all managers get a guy up (when) a guy gets in a little trouble real quick and you have to get a guy going, so you might send Pudge out to talk to him. There's no secret about that. Or I might walk out once real slow to give him extra time and come back. That's all part of the strategy of the game, and I think they're taking away from that when they do that. I don't think it's good."

everytime they lose, I imagine the coaching staff teaming together and reenacting that scene from full metal jacket where they hold Gomer Pyle down and everyone takes turns hitting him with a pillow case with a bar of soap in it.

Maybe Leyland should be the one held down.

April 12. Leyland after leaving Verlander in with 100+ pitches, which resulted in six ER charged to Verlander and a 7-0 loss: (paraphrasing) "I wanted him to get the win."

May 28. Leyland on the decision to pull dealing 83-pitch Bonderman in the eighth, which resulted in two relievers throwing as many balls in 1.1 innings as Bonderman had thrown in 7.1, walks to SEAN RODRIGUEZ AND MAICER IZTURIS, blown game: "No brainer. NO brainer."

Advice: get ONE brain.

Also: don't send the guy with hemorrhoids.

some dude asked Jim Leyland about speeding up the game and he was all FUCK THAT SHIT I SMOKE THREE PACKS A DAY NIGGA I AIN'T RUNNING TO AND FROM NO MOUND. And then later he basically admitted that Todd Jones is a fat sack of shit when he said something like they would have to get a golf cart for Todd because he is too fat and lazy to run in from the bullpen. It was all pretty lol.

Guillen to left field to make room for Inge at 3B? It's a possibility, Leyland says

"I really believe Carlos Guillen, when his (current) hemorrhoids problem gets over with, will play third base very well."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080531/SPORTS02/80531011/1050/rss15

MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP

yikes

Two or three days after Leyland said Thames had "earned" the right to play left field every day, and would be the everyday left fielder, Guillen is making his first start in left field (like, what, two or three days after he first practiced playing out there?).

WTF at Guillen's Rickey-style fly swatting.

THE CASEY FOSSUM ERA HAS BEGUN

It cannot get worse once you've lost on an "infield single" (i.e., pitcher jogging to cover first, forgetting what most pitchers learn at the age of 10) to Jack Cust, can it?

22 combined walks
47 LOB

46 of them left by Edgar Renteria (and 20 other runners wiped out by his GIDPs).

yeah actually 26 LOB. i am retarded @ 7am thinking you can just add up the column totals

if there were power rankings for most LOLs tigers wld dominate

It seemed like 47 from the Tigers alone. I realize they did not play 16 innings, but...

CERTAINLY

xpost

Leyland recently expressed concern over MLB's recent measures to speed up games, and Selig said he appreciated what Leyland said.

Fossum's line today:

O IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER.

His ERA is now 135.00.

lol casey fossum era/ERA

Put him in left, have him hit ahead of Cabrera.

Bludclot 'ORPattack

Bonderman out for season

It's official: He went on the 15-day DL today, and he isn't likely coming off of it anytime soon. His exam yesterday revealed a blood clot in his axillary vein, according to the Tigers, due to something called thoracic outlet compression syndrome. A quick search on the web defines this as compression of the vessels and nerves between the neck and shoulder. He underwent an angioplasty this morning.

http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/06/bonderman_likely_out_for_seaso.html

I don't remember Aaron Cook having this, but Will Carroll sez so.

Pitches thrown in first two innings by Verlander: 13

Pitches thrown in one at-bat by Vazquez to M. Cabrera: 14

Length of today's game: 2 hours, 4 minutes.

Ordonez: 258 AB, 10 HR
Cabrera: 252 AB, 10 HR
Thames: 108 AB, 10 HR

Verlander/Lincecum tomorrow night...

Paraphrasing Kruk a few minutes ago, over footage of Cardinals trying to win a baseball game, including Looper accepting pinch hitting role and running (instead of jogging briskly!) to first base on ground ball: "THESE CARDINALS ARE GOING TO STAY IN IT BECAUSE THEY ARE TRYING TO WIN BASEBALL GAMES."

Wrong thread.

Thames' last seven hits have been home runs.

Good to have Rodney back.

NESPN/YESPN's highlights of yesterday's game showed Thames striking out, George the Balldude falling on his face, and "Oh by the way Tigers win 7-2 okbye."

Anyway, this team's ace is Armando Galarraga (7-2, 3.03, 1.07 WHIP, .184 BAA).

Leyland not making sense, pt. 245: Raburn pinch-hits for Thames, who had homered in the previous five games, in the eighth (score was 7-2). No one pinch hits for reliever Dolsi in the ninth (with the score the same). Dolsi observed three pitches for strikes and spent the bottom of the inning on the bench.

Tigers organization not making sense, pt. 123: Denny Bautista DFA'd, Casey Fossum left on team. A few too many walks and maybe not enough strikeouts, but... WTF? Fossum has pitched in five games, has given up runs in three of them, failed to make one out in one of them (4 ER). His ERA is 18.00, but hey, no walks. And he is left-handed.

Fossum has pitched in five six games, has given up runs in three four of them, failed to make one out in one two of them (4 ER, then 2 ER). His ERA is 18.00 24.00, but hey, no walks only one walk. And he is left-handed.

Rodney's ERA remains ∞.

Zumaya has lost a lot of weight.

this line is sweet:

F Rodney (L, 0-1) 0.0 0 2 2 2 0 0 8-0 ######

Rodney's ERA remains ∞.

Check that. It's 135.00.

It took Fossum less than three weeks to get his ERA from that exact number down to 24.00 -- so he must have some encouraging words for Rodney.

2-35 when scoring less than five runs

33-4 when scoring five runs or more

Lohse vs. the Tigers or, as the Detroit Tiger Weblog (who pulled up the numbers) put it, "You know which Tigers like hitting against Lohse? All of them."

Watch them get shut down tonight.

Tigers' Inge loses battle with pillow, placed on DL

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080625/SPORTS02/80625089

Inge said he aggravated the injury moving a pillow for his three-year-old Monday night.

I have a three-year-old with a pillow. Good to get a wake-up call every now and then.

LOOK WHO'S MEDIOCRE NOW

lol i knew after col took the lead they would blow it

congrats tiger nation on winning 40 of your first 80 games

http://www.whitecapsbaseball.com/TICKETS/images/2008_giveaways3.gif

Leyland said Sunday’s 15-inning win at Seattle was one of the most boring games he’s ever seen “I’d rather watch the Perrysburg water tower rust,” said Leyland, referring to his hometown in Ohio. “But it turned out great. I even had a beer after the game and I don’t drink beer.”

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/NEWS01/80709023

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20080709&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=80709023&Ref=AR&MaxW=320&Border=0

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20080709&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=80709023&Ref=V1&MaxW=320&Border=0

Last Week with Miss Tiger Stadium

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/COL01/307090017/1048/SPORTS

Lock him up with Jack White.

Leyland has picked a spectacular time to rest starters and streaking role players: a few nights prior to the All-Star break, when a AAA pitcher is starting.

That worked out OK.

Bullpen?

What bullpen?

Release Sheffield, sign Bonds. Please.

Second half of '07
Sheffield: .203/.324/.299
Sexson: .205/.288/.371

First half of '08
Sheffield: .229/.329/.345
Sexson: .218/.315/.381

Corkedbat (Dallas): Gary Sheffield will or will not revive this season?

Marc Normandin: Jump on the Marcus Thames bandwagon! I think even Leyland is drinking that delicious, power filled Kool Aid. A friend in my fantasy league has an away message he puts up occasionally, something along the lines of "Sheff, it's time to retire. Your bat speed already has."

man, i remember the first half last year sheff was totally lighting up the AL. i guess he just fell apart.

first half of '07:

.303/.410/.560

BACK UP IN YOUR ASS WITH THE RESURRECTION (and an atomic [approaching Marothian] WHIP, not mentioned)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3490998

Maybe it was all three crazy notions that made Joel Sr. snap, pulling the laptop cord out of the wall, grabbing the only computer he owned, stomping out to the patio of his Chula Vista, Calif., home and smashing the offending machine onto the concrete. He kicked it over and over, making sure it was dead. "A hundred pieces," he says.

But six months later, on Aug. 21, the night he came back from his freak finger injury, he downed five Red Bulls, took the mound to roars from the Comerica Park crowd and threw nothing but gas, turning to check his speed just to make sure he still had it.

BANANAS

no more player's coffee.

I wouldn't drink 40 ounces of WATER before pitching.

I wouldn't drink one Red Bull EVER AGAIN (having had one).

i would have 3 jägerbombs.

http://www.sirbacon.org/graphics/docke.gif

He hammered a two-run homer his first time up and would have had another homer if leftfielder Jay Payton hadn't made a leaping grab above the wall. Sheffield's homer, as much as anything, emerged as the difference in the Tigers' 6-5, hang-on win over the Orioles.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/librarymonkey27/tigers/shefftfu.gif

Thank you, pitching to the score.

Thank you, Runge.

Favorite Tiger hitter line of the season thus far:

C Guillen 3B 4 5 3 2

Leyland sez:

It had already been decided that Inge would be the '09 catcher.

"Pudge wanted to play everyday because it is his free agent year."

Farnsworth a perfect fit thus far.

Save opportunities:

Todd Jones: 18 for 21
Everyone else: 2 for 21

You are shitting me.

That said, Joe Borowski is available.

Wait, no, that's wrong.

This is correct:

Todd Jones: 18 for 21
Everyone else: 4 for 19

PAP yes!

I'm sick of Jim Price saying "Are you kidding me?"

Sheffield frustrated with strike zone

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080807&content_id=3271440

"When I go to hit, I don't think about getting a walk," a clearly frustrated Sheffield said. "I don't think about (not) swinging until they throw a strike. I think about swinging when I can get to one. You have to really walk me, because I'm not trying to walk anymore. And that's exactly why I'm hitting .220."

Are you kidding me?

I am assuming that the only brawl (Farnsworth) gets into during this stint with the Tigers will be when the clubhouse erupts in an all out race war and he is targeted by the Latinos. It will be ugly as Gary Sheffield rapes Matt Joyce in the shower while Lloyd McClendon turns on Leyland and shits on his chest after poor Jimmy has a heart attack during the brawl. I also foresee Brandon Inge completely losing his shit and ignoring race as he hunts down Dave Dombrowski and beats him to death using his retard strength. I am assuming Fransworth will be the root cause of it all when Guillen or someone is all WE GAVE UP PUDGE FOR THIS PIECE OF SHIT and then chaos will ensue. The end result of all of this will be Joel Zumaya somehow getting his arm torn off even though he never enters the room.

source

tigers fan on another board i post on

Gary Sheffield indicated in an interview with the Boston Globe that he is not content with his current role in Detroit, telling the paper, “I can be in the outfield and play every day. I don’t want to DH. I don’t feel like a baseball player when I DH.”

LOL

Leyland

"Like I said, I'm shocked, because this caught me totally off-guard. Before his (oblique) injury when we put him on the DL, he played 39 out of 51 games and about seven other games he couldn't go to the post because his shoulder was clicking. So that would've been about (46) out of 51 games he would've been in. Post-DL, he's played 36 out of 43 games, which means he hasn't played seven, which means that you have a couple long games, night games, day games or something and you protect him a little bit. Well, that to me is the farthest thing from a platoon as I've ever heard of in my life, so I'm totally flabbergasted by it.

"I've never considered Gary Sheffield a platoon player in my life. He's never been a platoon player since he's been here, and he was made aware of the fact that when he accepted the trade here, that he was going to be the DH, period. So I don't understand why that, all of a sudden, is a big point. That was decided before the trade was ever made. What's the point? He's not going to be the outfielder here. He's going to be the DH, which is what he was told when he accepted the trade. I tried the outfield thing with him. I think I tried to respond in any way I could to try to get him going, obviously, because we need him. And I'm not mad at him. I'm just saying I'm totally surprised by all this.

"I'm still confused by the article because it talks about a platoon doesn't sit well. Who is talking about a platoon? Gary Sheffield's never platooned here as long as he's been here. Platoon is when you have a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter. One plays against right-handed pitching and one plays against left-handed pitching. That is a platoon. Let me make that perfectly clear.

"I've got medical people telling me it's suicidal to play him in the outfield right now, basically, because he'll probably get hurt again. He might have to dive for a ball. It's hard for him to throw. He's throwing a little better than he was, but I just don't get the drift of this."

Sheffield

"Feels great. I'm capable of playing outfield. If I feel good, I have a right to say I feel good. If I don't, I have a right to say I don't. Whoever takes offense to it, that's their problem.

"If you ever looked at the whole article, it was nothing that I was ticked off about. It was just these are the facts, and that's just the way it is. There's nothing I can do about it. I just have to accept it, that that's the way they're going to do it, and roll with it. I haven't said anything all year, and I'm not going to start now. If they're going to take that as some negative thing, go right ahead. I really don't care anyways.

"Ain't nothing to try to blindside about. It's a fact. I come in. Some days I don't play, some days I play. That's platooning to me. He might think it's different. It's not a big deal. It's just a matter of that's the way I see it."

.219/.321/.371: Sheffield '08
.268/.314/.346: Career numbers of Exavier Prente "Nook" Logan

try waivers!

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3532016

Freddy Garcia has signed with the Tigers. You have to wonder about his passion.

Sheffield on waivers...?

xpost

Annnd Dontrelle promoted to Toledo, apparently.

from a curtis granderson q&a:

Q: I have been watching Tigers' games recently, and I have noticed that Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria have each other's wrist bands on. I was just wondering what the story is behind that.
-- Jake, Owasso, Okla.

I think they switched wrist bands about two months ago, partly because their lockers are right by each others. I don't think there was any big story to it, but they just did it one game and haven't stopped doing it.

so is being disgruntled the new players coffee??

it's not new for Sheffield! (see his intentional? errors as a Brewer infielder)

there's a (not so) fine line between intentionally booting balls and hitting multple homers in a game

yeah, I've noticed since the '70s A's that gruntlement and performance are not nec related.

I'd like to see his career numbers for the two-week spans that have followed each shit-stirring comment.

hmmmm. "tbppmo" (total bases per pre madonna outburst)?

Alex Rodriguez, pre-Madonna .255/.342/.439
Alex Rodriguez, post-Madonna .323/.431/.627

premadonna ^_^

I like how everyone is all "sheffield's an asshole... any chance my team will pick him up?"

oh wow him reunited w/ the Yankees would FEEL SO GOOD

Sheffield: two HRs shy of 'the only thing I care about that I've ever done'

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/SPORTS02/808140433/1048/sports

Two more homers would give him 494 -- one more than Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff.

(snip)

But he has never been within one homer of McGriff, with whom he said he hasn't spoken lately.

"He won't answer my calls," Sheffield said. "When I wasn't close, he was answering. Now that I'm close, he's not answering."

poor fred's probably got all these sheff voicemails over the past several months, "hey now i'm 8 homers away!" etc.

Ramon Santiago, MVRI? 36 games, .333/.461/.472.

Most Valuable Retreaded Infielder?

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20080821/capt.7acebdedc357494b897bb80837a80717.tigers_rangers_baseball_arl103.jpg

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Nate Robertson stands behind the pitchers mound after giving up a solo home run (one of the five HRs he surrendered -- ed.) to Texas Rangers' Milton Bradley in the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008, in Arlington, Texas.

http://beck.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/08/last_tiger_to_give_up_five_hrs.html

Last Tiger to give up five HRs
Just two Tigers have done it since 1956. Jeff Weaver was the more recent, having given up five Red Sox homers on July 24, 1999 at Tiger Stadium. He left after four innings with nine runs allowed on 10 hits. Don Mossi did it on June 23, 1961 at Cleveland, but he lasted seven innings.

http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/SB-Choked-Bat-R.jpg

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

Walk toward the light, Todd Jones.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080827/SPORTS0104/808270467/1129

"I don't foresee him pitching at this point."

Jones called a team meeting before the Tigers went out on the field for batting practice and, with hugs, was saying good-bye to his teammates when the clubhouse doors re-opened to the media.

Doug Jones bids Detroit teammates emotional farewell

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/Doug-Jones-bids-Detroit-teammates-emotional-fare?urn=mlb,104198

Too soon!

We'll miss you Bob.

[kurkjian cacklegasm]Last night I witnessed the Detroit Tigers lead off not one, not two, but THREE INNING with TRIPLES -- all of which were plated by GROUND BALL OUTS. Those three runs were THE ONLY THREE RUNS scored by the Tigers. The last time...[/kurkjian cacklegasm]

"We need to keep the winning attitude and finish strong," Renteria said. "Next year, we are going to go all the way to the World Series. We are going to go for sure."

Willis and Garcia making return starts this week... against the Rangers... in Arlington.

Steve Albini was apparently cracking Farnsworth jokes (on stage in Pontiac) a few minutes prior to the ex-Yankee's latest amazingly brutal (but not unpredictable) screw-up.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland suggested that right-hander Jeremy Bonderman can't do much conditioning right now because he can't yet throw following his surgery.

"He puts on his bib overalls -- no shoes and socks -- got a straw hat, got a case of beer next to him, got the hat slightly over his eyes with a fishing pole in his hand and taking a nap," Leyland said. "That's what he's been doing ... I'm not being funny. That's what he's doing. He's sitting by a pond with a fishing pole and a case of beer and a straw hat and having a good time, and he should. Why shouldn't he? He can't do anything. He'll be fine. ... He'll be raring to go (in spring training)."

Freddy Garcia, I kiss you.

BRAWL!!!

BLOWN LEAD, LOST GAME!!!

RELEASED RAYS RELIEVERS, LLOYD MCCLENDON = KABOOM!

Gary Sheffield vows revenge after brawl with pitcher

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080920/SPORTS02/809200391/1048/SPORTS

"I got the one in I needed to get in," Sheffield said. "And I guarantee you he felt it."

Carmona also hit Sheffield with a pitch April 17. Sheffield said he believes Carmona has hit him a total of three times.

"Three strikes, you out," he said. "And if there's a fourth, it gets more violent. Trust me."

After the pickoff throw, Sheffield said he told Carmona, "Throw the ball to home plate." Then he said Carmona gestured toward him.

"He called me out," Sheffield said. "I answered the call. If you call me out, I come. That's the way it is."

Sheffield believes he was hit by other players and said Asdrubal Cabrera was one of them. Replays showed that Cleveland catcher Victor Martinez swung at Sheffield with his glove.

"I know who they are," Sheffield said. "They're going to have to deal with me."

Of Martinez, Sheffield said, "This guy, I don't know how many years he has, but his act is tired -- all that macho, throwing your equipment off, all this stuff. Trust me: He don't want none of me."

"There's a certain point I get to, it's hard to come back from." Sheffield said. "And when I get there, you're going to deal with it today, tomorrow and until the day I get you."

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1221899428324570.xml&coll=2&thispage=2

Said Sheffield of Martinez: "I don't know how many years he has (in the league), but his act is getting tired. He doesn't want any part me. I'll meet him any time, any place, and I guarantee he won't be there."

"It was Cabrera and that skinny left-hander out of the bullpen. We'll see how things work out from there."

Said Martinez, "If you want Carmona, go get him. He's 240 (pounds)."

Cellar within reach!

"Greinke would've shut a lot of people out tonight," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "When you throw 97-98 with a good hook and a changeup and locate the ball pretty good, he probably would've shut a lot of teams out tonight, no matter what lineup we had in there."

"I didn't have any location of any pitch," Greinke said. "My fastball was good, it just wasn't being located good. I wasn't throwing breaking balls for strikes, really. I threw the curveball for a strike a little bit but that's not one of my top pitches and my slider was pretty bad."

Grienke's had a great year.

This sentiment shd go on the Royals thread, but what the hell.

Duel for the worst AL ERA tonight

KAN: Bannister (8-16, 5.96 ERA)
DET: Robertson (7-10, 6.15 ERA)

If Bannister holds his ground and Robertson pitches 13 innings of ER-less baseball, Kenny Rogers will take the title.

Tigers Fans(everywhere): Fire Leyland?

Keith Law: (2:26 PM ET ) I saw them in July and thought he was mailing it in like he did in Colorado - failing to pinch hit in obvious situations, leaving Verlander out there way too long.

I don't think his moves (like favoring "experience") were any more suspect or numerous than in the past. They seem worse this year because the pitching staff was horrific. Verlander did not do himself any favors by needing 20+ pitches to get out of so many innings.

Anyway, it's great the Tigers didn't feel that more AA and AAA pitchers were "deserving" of call-ups. Throwing a pair of released Rays, Kyle Farnsworth, and that remaining cast of chuckleheads throughout September will no doubt prove beneficial for the organization in the near future.

One mistake that Dombrowski acknowledged was trading pitching prospect Jair Jurrjens to Atlanta for shortstop Edgar Renteria. While the Tigers were trying desperately to find starting pitching, Jurrjens went 13-10 for the Braves with a 3.68 ERA.

At the same time, Renteria lost 62 points off his batting average and turned into a defensive liability, leading to the Tigers buying out his contract at the end of the year.

“We thought at the time that Renteria would be a difference maker for us at shortstop — the player that could put us over the hump,” Dombrowski said. "There’s no question — that was a miscalculation. I wish I had Jurrjens back, but we knew we were giving up a good player.”

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20080930&Category=SPORTS02&ArtNo=80930070&Ref=AR&MaxW=320&Border=0

10/02/2007
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071002&content_id=2245507&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det

The Tigers were interested in signing Leyland to a longer deal, but he told reporters a week ago that he preferred to add just one more year. Though he has said he's interested in managing beyond that, he doesn't want to put himself or the team in a contractual bind should he decide in the coming years that he wants to step away.

09/30/2008
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/SPORTS02/80930095

Leyland, who is already signed through next year, told WJR-AM (760) on “The Mitch Albom Show” that he was “disappointed” to not have a deal for 2010. He discussed his status with team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski prior to the end of the season.

“I have not been extended,” Leyland told Albom, “and I’m not gonna be extended. … There was some sense of an offer that I did not accept.

“I’m not afraid of anything. I want to manage the Tigers. I have every intention of managing the Tigers. I’m disappointed that I did not get an extension, but I understand. — well, maybe I don’t understand, but I can live with that.

Anyone want a left-handed-hitting catcher with a .416 OBP through AA? He'll be 23 next season and could be MLB-ready by September.

might as well start a 2009 thred

Or one for the Rule 5 draft