We’re not one to hold a grudge — ahem — but after reading this about Giants’ shortstop Edgar Renteria …

… [He] played all last season with a bone spur in his right elbow, about the size of a piece of pea gravel.

– snip –

Renteria hit a career-low .250 with 19 doubles, five home runs and 48 RBIs in 124 games before the Giants turned to hot-hitting Juan Uribe as they fought for a playoff berth down the stretch. It was the fewest homers for Renteria since 1998 and resulted in a season that he called simply “embarrassing.”

… don’t you wonder how he would characterize his 2008 season with the Tigers?

In case he comes up short, here are a few suggestions: slothful, unprofessional, disrespectful, arrogant, dreadful.

Any I missed?

• Happy 71st Birthday, Jackie Moore. Five hits in 53 at bats with the 1965 #Tigers http://bit.ly/9zBI7T #

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• Sinister thought: Perhaps the #Tigers are in the Johnny Damon Mix only to drive up the price for the #WhiteSox Wouldn't that be #delicious #
• Update to this post: http://bit.ly/ddxprm Daniel Schlereth will wear #55 for the #Tigers Carry on. #

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Happy 61st to Julio Ruben (Torres) Morales, the light-hitting, basket-catch-making rightfielder of the 1979 Tigers.

Wearing number 27, he hit a wispy .211 in his only season in Detroit with 14 home runs and 23 doubles — just one fewer than Magglio Ordonez hit last year.

He wasn’t a total loss for the Tigers though. He came to Detroit along with Aurelio Lopez and was traded (with Phil Mankowski) to the Mets for one my all-time favorites, Richie Hebner.

Most of his success came with the Cubs. In seven seasons he batted .275 with 59 homers … for some really bad teams.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Julio!

If you were wondering, here are the uniform numbers for the newest Tigers:

• Phil Coke #40
• Max Scherzer #37
• Jose Valverde #46
• Scott Sizemore #20
• Austin Jackson #14

For whatever reason, Daniel Schlereth hasn’t been tagged yet. But we’ll be sure to break into regular programming when it’s announced. I’m guessing it’s #36.

Update 11:19 a.m. ET: I was wrong; Schlereth will wear #55.

There are about 29 minutes left of Wednesday, so I can still file this collection of Tigers thoughts and make my self-imposed deadline.

• Did you see that Hall of Famer and Detroit Stars centerfielder Norman “Turkey” Stearnes will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Friday? The article in the Nashville Tennessean begins with this anecdote:
  

  Norman “Turkey” Stearnes could work for Walter Briggs. He just couldn’t play for him.

  During the offseasons between leading the Negro League in home runsseven times, the Nashville native worked in a Detroit car factory owned by Briggs, who also owned the major league Detroit Tigers.could work for Walter Briggs. He just couldn’t play for him.

  Stearnes hit .400+ three times and posted a .350 career batting average with the Stars, the Nashville Elite Giants, the Montgomery Grey Sox, and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues.

• I’ve had it with the Johnny Damon saga. Here’s hoping that Dave Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch gave up dealing with Scott Boras for Lent. Assuming they’re Catholic, of course.

• I tweeted about this but it’s worth repeating (at least I think it is): On this date in 1995 Sparky Anderson lit the flame that burned his bridge to Mike Ilitch when he refused to manage replacement players. He was put on an involuntary leave of absence but probably would’ve been fired if someone hadn’t talked Ilitch down from the ledge. Quick quiz: Who managed the faux Tigers in Sparky’s absence? Answer: Tom Runnells.

Whew! I made it.

• Terrific piece by @iancass on Detroit's lack of big-city polish — at least in the eyes of Johnny Damon's wife: http://bit.ly/diW8W5 #Tigers #
• Happy Birthday Roger Craig (80) http://bit.ly/dA3V0o Danny Patterson (39) http://bit.ly/9JTdJi & the late Wally Pipp http://bit.ly/9jG24D #
• On this date in 1995, Sparky Anderson is put on an involuntary leave of absence as he refuses to manage replacement players. #Tigers #
• Thanks to Baseball-Reference.com — @baseball_ref — for that last #Tigers history lesson. http://bit.ly/bqTMaR #
• Her ex-husband George Von Derbeck files req'd bond w/ Mich. court to cover alimony due, regains ownership & sells to mgr George Stallings. #
• On this date in 1900, Mary Hamilton Von Derbeck is to become owner of the #Tigers and Bennett Park in lieu of unpaid alimony. (more) #

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• On this date in 1946 Hank Greenberg signed a $60,000 contract with the #Tigers He'd lead the A.L. in homers (44) and RBI (127) that year. #
• Happy Birthday, Don Kelly (30) http://bit.ly/bZp04G and Ugueth Urbina (36-ish) http://bit.ly/9cb9Lb #Tigers #
• On this date in 2002 the #Tigers signed recently acquired Dmitri Young to a four-year contract. http://bit.ly/cQFd3l #
• Happy 51st Birthday, Alejandro Sanchez http://bit.ly/dwIQCZ #Tigers #

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• Happy 23rd Birthday, Ryan Perry #Tigers http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perryry01.shtml #

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