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It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Here we are, approaching the third weekend of August, and the Tigers are mired in third place, nine-and-a-half games out of first place. And, as I’m always reminding myself, only five games out of last place. This was supposed to be like 1984, 1968 or even 1945. It [...]

Don’t remember him?
The Tigers signed Rafael Urbano (Colina) Lugo as a free agent on April 8, 1990, and became a free agent on Oct. 15 that year.
In between, he appeared in 12 games for Detroit (one start) he posted a 2-0 record and a plump 7.03 ERA.
When you look closer at his stats, it’s astounding [...]

…the Tigers sent John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander.
Discuss.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark is reporting (at 4:45 p.m. ET today) that the Tigers have put grumpy Gary Sheffield on waivers.
Teams aren’t permitted to comment on the waiver process, so it’s possible the timing is coincidental. But there were indications that the Tigers floated Sheffield’s name in trade talks before the July 31 trading deadline. So [...]

August 9 is a popular date on the birthday calendar of one-time Tigers peeps. Today we salute, from oldest to youngest:

Ralph Houk, 89
Jack Tighe, died on Aug. 2002 at 89
Jerry Moses, 62 (born in Yazoo City, Miss., don’t you know.)
Bill Campbell, 60
Kevin Saucier, 52
John Moses, 51
Troy Percival, 39
Dusty Allen, 36

…but I think I caught a glimpse of Mike Hessman during the Opening Ceremonies. Anyone else see him?

The Score: A’s 4 - Tigers 2
The Gist: Same old story.
The Quote: “This was a big relief, I think, for everybody.” — Oakland manager Bob Geren on his team’s first win since I was in my 30s.
The Stat: 47. The number of games left in this season.
Stat #2: 9. The number of runs the [...]

Here’s what we were talking about on The Fungo last August 8:

Free Press Boosts Tigers Coverage…Apparently
Bullpen still a problem
If you can’t stand the heat, turn off the Grilli

I’m not much for the Olympics nor the PGA, so I guess I’ll have to grit my teeth and watch the Tigers and A’s this weekend. In the meantime…

The Tigers have tumbled seven spots ESPN’s Power Rankings this week. Detroit is now #20. Quite honestly, I think the Worldwide Leader is being generous.
In last week’s [...]