It’s been two weeks since the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that not a single player would be enshrined this summer. Not Jack Morris. Not Alan Trammell. Not Kenny Lofton. Not anyone. Leading up to that not-surprising-yet-disappointing announcement by Hall President Jeff Idelson, I listened to the pro-Morris and anti-Morris crowds shout their claims as to why the man either belonged in Cooperstown or would become, at best, the pitching version of Jim Rice: a solid major leaguer with some notable accomplishments but not worthy of a call from the Hall. With one year of eligibility remaining, Morris hovers close to the 75 percent required for election; this year he appeared on 67.7 percent of writers’ ballots. Tram appeared on just 33.6 percent. I…
A few morsels for you on a slow news day: 1. Now that most of the glitzy offseason moves have been completed, attention is turning to the Hall of Fame ballot. For Tigers fans that means lots of anti-Jack Morris articles and a few pro-Alan Trammell pieces. At SI.com, Jay Jaffe makes the case for Tram: Despite his Hall of Fame-caliber numbers, the BBWAA voters have given Trammell little recognition in 11 years on the ballot. His candidacy deserves a closer look while he’s still got at least a puncher’s chance. Jaffe does an excellent job examining Tram’s career and how it stacks up against his American League East contemporaries. 2. Remember Willie Blair? Sure you do. In four seasons with the Tigers, 1997…
Things keep looking up for the Tigers. The ALDS is fast approaching, Wilson Betemit is playing tonight and Ozzie Guillen is leaving the American League. Good times. The Tuesday Rundown The Tigers are in first place, 13 games ahead of the Indians. Today’s Game: Tigers vs. Indians - Max Scherzer (14-9, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP Jeanmar Gomez (5-2, 3.52 ERA) | 7:05 p.m. – FSD/1270 AM and 97.1 FM This season against the Indians, Scherzer is 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA. Lifetime he’s 3-3, 4.79 ERA. Did you know that Scherzer has never thrown a complete game or a shutout in his major-league career? Leading Off: The Tigers crushed the Indians and Ubaldo Jimenez Monday night 14-0. Doug Fister was his usual phenomenal self: eight innings, three hits,…
When Victor Martinez crushed an offering from Tony Sipp on Wednesday for a grand slam, things seemed to change for a Tigers team that is on a remarkable roll. Up to that point, I was thinking (and maybe you were too), that you could see a loss coming in the finale against the Indians. As the script often goes in these situations, it was a getaway game, the Indians were ready to make their last statement of the season and Justin Verlander was due for a bad outing. Nope. This team is rolling. Frankly, I’m tired of all the reminders of 2009 – and the Indians radio announcers beat that drum incessantly during the series. Starting play on Friday against the Twins, the Tigers…
Tomorrow afternoon Roberto Alomar and Pat Gillick will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Tigers fans (or at least this Tigers fan) will be thinking about Detroit players that should be enshrined in Cooperstown. Sour grapes? Of course. I do, however, feel better today after reading Christina Kahr’s list of “Stars of the Forgotten ’80s” which, she writes, is “an excellent lineup of stars from the ‘80s who haven’t made it into the Hall of Fame.” Former Tigers abound in her brilliant – brilliant! – assessment: Catcher: Probably the weakest position, but Lance Parrish’s 324 career homers and 35.7 WAR (28.8 in the ’80s) would suit. Parrish was also one of the best-throwing catchers of his day, gunning down 39 percent on his career,…
