January 27, 2010
By Mike McClary in Featured, Wednesday Walewanders | 0 comments
Yes, I want an iPad, of course I do.
- I wonder if Dave Dombrowski thinks of Johnny Damon in Detroit and only sees Jacque Jones.
- I couldn’t see the Tigers making room for Jim Thome without eating another big contract — and we know that isn’t happening. Still, it would’ve been fun to see him play at Comerica Park 81 times in a Detroit uniform. But instead we’re left to hope that Carlos Guillen’s power numbers return. Sigh. (If only the Tigers had made a run at Bobby Abreu last offseason…) Oh, and what about Jermaine Dye? He’s still available.
- It bums me out that the Tigers have apparently cut ties with Lou Whitaker (as loose as those ties were). Sweet Lou was always a bit flaky but he was so good for so long — and revered by Tigers fans — the Tigers should not let him vanish. Alas, it looks like it’s a moot point. And one more thing: I still can’t believe he was a one-and-done guy on the Hall of Fame ballot. That, dear reader, is a crime.
- Happy Birthday to Phil Plantier (41), Rusty Meacham (42) and Steve Demeter (75).
Carry on.
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January 25, 2010
By Mike McClary in Featured, Fungoes | 1 comment
Jorge Arangure Jr. writes an interesting piece today on ESPN.com’s La Esquina blog [$]. Here’s the gist of it:
Cabrera needs to repair his reputation, not only in Detroit, but also in his native Venezuela where he remains a polarizing figure. Despite being perhaps the best player from his country, Cabrera is universally beloved — not even close. Even this latest news, as humanizing as it was, may not be enough to sway public opinion yet.
“Some fans were a bit skeptical,” said Venezuelan journalist Efrain Ruiz, who writes for El Univeral. “Miguel has a difficult personality, without a doubt. But he’s always been asked to replace Andres Galarraga as the country’s national idol, and he simply doesn’t have that type of charisma. I really believe that’s weighed on on a lot, the tremendous pressure that exists to replace ‘The Cat.’”
How are you feeling about Cabrera these days: holding a grudge or forgiving and forgetting?
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January 25, 2010
By Mike McClary in Featured, Monday Mankowskis | 4 comments
We survived Stormageddon in Arizona and are delighting in the prospect of Cactus League games in five weeks. In the meantime …
- I was looking at my notebook of random Tigers thoughts and here’s one leftover from the fall. The 2007 Padres lost a Game 163 and began a downward spiral that’s still in motion, more or less. Are the ‘09 Tigers following a similar path? What might the Padres look like if they had beaten the Rockies — and has Matt Holliday yet touched home plate? How would the 2010 Tigers look had they beaten the Twins in Game 163?
My initial thoughts on the subject led me to believe the Tigers’ competitive window was just about shut and locked. Now, I’m not so sure. A month after the Curtis Granderson trade, I’m more confident that the Tigers are on footing that’s much more solid than the Padres of recent years. What do you think?
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January 21, 2010
By Mike McClary in Featured, The Non-Sequiturs | 0 comments
Tigers thoughts while listening to a pounding rain:
- I attended the Tigers Winter Caravan one time, in 1991 when I was living in Kalamazoo and had some connections with the local paper. Back then, only the media was invited. Or so I thought. I walked into a Kalamazoo hotel and saw dozens of fans asking for autographs from the players and Sparky Anderson.
If memory serves me, Cecil Fielder was there. Recently signed Tony Bernazard was too. This I remember because I asked Sparky during the Q&A how he’d work Bernazard into the lineup without Tony Phillips losing at bats. The answer was classic Sparky and basically amounted to: “I have no idea but Tony is Tony and we’ll be all right.” Uh, yeah. (Bernazard was released in April after playing in just six games and hitting .167).
The real story that winter was the recent firing of Ernie Harwell and, lo and behold, new Tigers President Bo Schembechler was on hand to answer questions about it. As you might guess, Bo was not happy with the first round of reporters’ questions being about Ernie and not the team. After that, he said he wouldn’t answer other questions on the topic and though people tried, he wouldn’t bite — other than to bite their head off for even asking.
It was a great experience. If you get an opportunity to attend a Winter Caravan event, do it.
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