• Placido Polanco, Phillies: .314 avg., 6 HR, 42 RBI, .348 OBP. Currently fifth in the N.L. in hitting, which is just another reason the Tigers (and fans) are regretting his departure.
  

• Omar Infante, Braves: .347 avg., 7 HR, 37 RBI, .837 OPS From Rob Neyer: “At the moment, he doesn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify [for the batting title]. To reach 502, he needs another 169 in the Braves’ 38 remaining games.”

• Andres Torres, Giants: .287 avg., 13 HR, 57 RBI, .869 OPS. Torres is the embodiment of stick-to-itiveness. Nearly a decade after he was touted as a centerpiece of the Tigers new wave of young talent, he’s downright essential to the Giants offense. Good for him.

• Aubrey Huff, Giants: .300 avg., 22 HR, 75 RBI, .922 OPS. Infuriating.

• Curtis Granderson, Yankees: .249 avg., 14 HR, 41 RBI, .761 OPS. I haven’t followed Granderson closely this year but it seems that his best series of the year came agains the Tigers last week. Still, it looks like he’s got a great chance of winning a World Series ring.

• Edwin Jackson, White Sox: 8-10, 4.44 ERA, 1.42 WHIP. Jackson’s back in the A.L. Central after half a season languishing in Arizona — his 149-pitch no-hitter notwithstanding. He was 6-8 with a 5.16 ERA for the Diamondbacks. With the Sox, he’s 1-1 with a 0.96 ERA.

• Brandon Lyon, Astros: 6-5, 3.34 ERA, 8 saves, 19 holds, 1.35 WHIP. Think the Tigers could’ve used Lyon in the bullpen this season? Me too.

• Pudge Rodriguez, Nationals: .270 avg., 2 HR, 35 RBI, .637 OPS. Pudge has gotten lots of praise this year for his mentorship of the Nationals’ young pitchers, including the now-shelved Stephen Strasburg. The question is, can Pudge squeeze one more season out of his aging body. He’ll need more than one year, though, to collect the 201 hits he needs to reach 3,000.

• Fernando Rodney, Angels: 4-1, 3.83 ERA, 6 saves, 21 holds, 1.45 WHIP. Angels’ closer Brian Fuentes‘ roller coaster, injury-plagued season created an opening for Rodney. He hasn’t exactly seized the opportunity.

• Cameron Maybin, Marlins: .235 avg., 5 HR, 21 RBI, .636 OPS. Sure-thing Maybin appears anything but at this point. He’s spent parts of this season in Triple-A New Orleans (in fact he was again recalled earlier this week). The kid is still just 23, so he’s got time and upside. Given how Miguel Cabrera‘s worked out for the Tigers, Maybin is but a distant memory for Tigers fans.

• Jair Jurrjens, Braves: 5-4, 4.36 ERA, 1.29 WHIP. Imagine Jurrjens in the Tigers’ rotation last season or this season or next season. You already have? Never mind.

• Edgar Renteria, Giants: .278 avg., 2 HR, 21 RBI, .706 OPS. For $10 million, the Giants have in return received just 58 games from Renteria this year. Lucky them.

• Jeff Weaver, Dodgers: 5-1, 5.21 ERA, 4 holds, 1.42 WHIP. Yes, he’s still in the majors and is only 34. Weave is currently on the disabled list.

I’m sure there are others I’ve missed, but these were the biggest names that I could think of. Who did I miss?

Bygones. Here are some Tigers morsels for your consideration:

• Before the 2009 season I had begged and pleaded with the Tigers to sign free-agent reliever Juan Cruz despite his Type-A free-agent status.

  I’d watched him throw bullets for the Diamondbacks over a few seasons and thought he’d be a perfect fit in Detroit. Instead, they signed Brandon Lyon and Cruz signed with the Royals, handing the D-backs a prime draft choice.

  Today the Royals released him.

  [H]e labored through the 2009 season, blowing three straight saves during one stretch on his way to a 5.72 ERA. Cruz wasn’t much better this year, allowing all six inherited runners to score and a .391 batting average against in 5 1-3 innings.

  Just another example of why I write this blog and don’t work in a front office.

• Years ago Bill James posited that managers should use their closer at key moments in the game and not reserving them purely for the ninth inning. Last night in Anaheim, Jim Leyland took the Jamesian approach and inserted Joel Zumaya into the game when Justin Verlander‘s pitch count sailed north of 120.

  Zumaya threw 1.2 one-hit innings, striking out a pair and was all but untouchable. With Zumaya and Ryan Perry in the pen, Leyland can essentially call on three closers during any game. Nice.

• Late last month I went to a Cactus League game between the A’s and Giants and was stunned to see Andres Torres enter the game for San Fran. I was certain he was getting garbage time at bats. Wrong! He was preparing for the big-league season.

  Case in point: He’s starting in center field for the Giants tonight and batting leadoff. In nine games for the Giants he’s hitting a feathery .111, as you might imagine.

  Meanwhile, on the other coast another one-time Tigers prospect of Torres’ era is starting at short for the Braves: Omar Infante.

  No word if Justin Thompson or Raul Casanova are playing in the bigs tonight.

• Here’s a little tidbit for your cocktail party conversation this weekend: Since the start of the 2006 season, the Tigers are batting .298 with 29 doubles, nine triples, 26 home runs and 110 RBI in 16 games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

• With his double last night, Miguel Cabrera has hit one in five consecutive games. The last Tigers player to collect a double in five-or-more consecutive games since Frank Catalanotto from April 25 – May 2, 1999.

Have a great weekend and go Wings.

Tigers’ Spring Training Record: 18-10-2

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Brewers | 8:10 p.m. ET – Miller Park, Milwaukee | On the air: WXYT 1270-AM

Pitching Matchup

Max Scherzer, 1-1, 7.15 vs. Doug Davis, 1-1, 5.40 ERA

Yesterday’s Results

Tigers 4 – Braves 1

The Tigers dinged Jair Jurrjens for a pair of runs on Don Kelly‘s home run and Eddie Bonine pitched four scoreless, one-hit innings to pace the Tigers in the front end of Grapefruit League finale.

Tigers 4 – Astros 2

The only worthwhile tidbit about this matchup of Tigers minor leaguers versus primetime Astros is former Tiger Chris Shelton appearing in the game for Houston. Oh, Brandon Lyon and Tim Byrdak pitched for the Astros.

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Pete Incaviglia, 46
• Hughie Jennings (1869-1928)
• Dick Radatz (1937-2005)

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1990 — Acquired LHP Jerry Don Gleaton from the Royals for RHP Greg Everson
• 1996 — Tigers first baseman Cecil Fielder steals the first base of his 11-year major league career. According to Baseball-Reference.con, his theft of second base steal came in Big Daddy’s 1,097th game and established the longest duration a player had ever gone without a stolen base.
• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Tigers become the first major league team to have four pitchers make their big league debuts during the same game. Rookie starter Jeremy Bonderman, who gave up six runs on nine hits in four innings, is followed by rookies Wilfredo Ledezma, Chris Spurling and Matt Roney in the 8-1 loss to the Twins.
• 2005 — Acquired RHP Matt Ginter from the Mets for LHP Steve Colyer

Tigers’ Spring Training Record: 18-10-2

Today’s Games

Tigers 4 – Braves 1

The Tigers dinged Jair Jurrjens for a pair of runs on Don Kelly‘s home run and Eddie Bonine pitched four scoreless, one-hit innings to pace the Tigers in the front end of Grapefruit League finale.

Tigers 4 – Astros 2

The only worthwhile tidbit about this matchup of Tigers minor leaguers versus primetime Astros is former Tiger Chris Shelton appearing in the game for Houston. Oh, Brandon Lyon and Tim Byrdak pitched for the Astros.

Yesterday’s Results

Tigers 8 – Pirates 5

Justin Verlander got smoked by the Pirates for five runs, three earned, on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings. Johnny Damon had three hits and three RBIs. Scott Sizemore hit his third home run of the spring, a fourth-inning solo shot. Ramon Santiago doubled in a two during his two-hit day.

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Frank Castillo, 41
• Rusty Staub, 66
• Ron Perranoski, 74

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1962 -The Tigers signed University of Detroit basketball star Dave DeBusschere.
• 1981- Acquired INF Mick Kelleher from the Cubs for cash considerations
• 2004 – Acquired LHP Steve Colyer and cash considerations from the Dodgers for OF Cody Ross

Would you boo him?

This is Episode #70, an 8-minute podcast about the Detroit Tigers recorded live from Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.A.

In each daily episode this season we we’ll cover:

• The previous day’s game;
• Look ahead to the next game;
• Look back on Tigers history; and,
• Check in on what the 1984 Tigers were up to.

Download the audio file or grab the RSS feed here.

Improve our iTunes Ranking: If you like the podcast, please leave a comment on our iTunes page!

Comments? Leave a message on the listener line, (602) 903-5174, or leave a comment here!

Talk to you next time…on The Detroit Tigers Podcast.

The Detroit Tigers Podcast is not affiliated in any way with the Detroit Tigers Baseball Club or Major League Baseball.

Sure, he hit a homer to tie it in the ninth, but his error in the eighth got all the bad karma a-swirling.

If Lyon’s 2009 is like his ’08 in Arizona, there will be plenty of opportunities to rip into him.

Tonight, though, I hang on Inge.

• Height: 5′ 11″ | Weight: 220
• 2008 Stats: 0-6, 4.91 ERA, 13 Saves

In a bottom-line business like major league baseball, fans tend to overlook stats such as 49 strikeouts in 40 innings or 13 saves from a late-inning reliever like Fernando Rodney. Six blown saves and an ERA a whisker under five are more glaring and more representative of Detroit’s bullpen woes in 2008. Yet despite that lackluster campaign, the Tigers expect big things from Rodney in ’09.

Though he spent April and May on the DL, the ’08 season wasn’t all bad for the senior-ranking Tiger in the bullpen; he assembled stretches of lights-out appearances, including June and July in which hitters produced a .183 average against him. Over that same timeframe he fanned 37 in 27.1 innings pitched. The key to success for Rodney is a breathtaking changeup that, when near the plate, is difficult for hitters to resist. Of course, a high-90s fastball makes the off-speed pitches that much more tantalizing.

With Todd Jones’ retirement, Brandon Lyon‘s arrival and Joel Zumaya’s (tentative) return, chances are that Rodney will begin 2009 as a setup man. If something goes wrong with Lyon or Zumaya and if Rodney can harness his pitches, develop consistency, and fortify his mental makeup, he could, in the end, be the Tigers’ answer at closer.

For a pitcher with Rodney’s track record, that’s an awful lot of ifs.

Lo and behold, today they have. Here are the numbers you’ll see in your program:

• Laird – 8
• Jackson – 36
• Everett – 4
• Treanor – 20

One number that hasn’t changed is Jeff Larish‘s number 19. In the Arizona Fall League he was wearing number 7. With Pudge Rodriguez gone, I thought Larish was making the shift. Apparently not.

Now I can get back to blogging normalcy.

Updated: I forgot to mention Brandon Lyon‘s number, 37. Looks like Kenny Rogers is retired.

Something we forgot to mention: The Diamondbacks were serious players for Brandon Lyon before Lyon signed with the Tigers, a deal that was finalized on Monday.

Only the Diamondbacks wanted Lyon for their rotation.

General Manager Josh Byrnes said earlier this week that Lyon received “better finances” from the Tigers. Lyon goes to Detroit as the favorite to win the closer’s job.

Lyon’s agent, Barry Meister, said Lyon was interested in the idea of starting, but timing stood in the way of making a deal happen.

“We had gotten pretty much to the end in Detroit,” Meister said, “and we were unable to change gears and do something with Arizona. Sometimes it’s just a timing issue and that was the case here.”

Given what Lynn Henning wrote this morning about the Tigers having seven starting pitchers, perhaps he’ll want to bump that number to eight?

Second tidbit: According to Piecoro, the D-backs may have big plans for former Tigers farmhand, Arizona Rule-5 pickup James Skelton:

General Manager Josh Byrnes said Rule 5 pick James Skelton already has reported to Tucson and is working with coaches Jack Howell, Chip Hale, Lorenzo Bundy and others. He’s hitting, taking ground balls, working in the weight room, etc.

It will be very interesting to see how Skelton looks at positions other than catcher, where he has played almost exclusively in the minor leagues with Detroit. He played a lot of middle infield in high school, and Byrnes wouldn’t rule out the idea of Skelton seeing time in the outfield as well.

“Athletically, he can do it,” Byrnes said.

So — and yes, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves here — could he be in the mix at second base in 2010?

“That’s not the plan,” Byrnes said. “But he has a background there, he’s athletic enough to do it, has a nice bat and with his body type, maybe that’s the spot for him.”

Maybe Skelton will be a reverse-Chris Shelton situation for the Tigers. Given how Big Red’s career evaporated, let’s hope that’s not the case for Skelton.

Finally, if you’re watching the Super Bowl today root for the Cardinals. It would be nice to have a team from my town win the final football game of the year. And I don’t mean the Pro Bowl.

Fact is, he throws harder than Jones — which can’t hurt — but no one is going to confuse him with Joe Nathan.

Last season wasn’t a pleasant one for the D-backs’ closer, a position he lost to Chad Qualls. Well, that’s not entirely true.

Despite four blown saves in 23 chances in the first half, hitters managed a .243 average against him and his ERA was 2.43. (Compare that to Jones’s 4.95 ERA and .297 opponents’ average in the first half.)

In terms of repertoire, it doesn’t extend far past a fastball and curve. In fact, that’s it. But the curveball is something to behold; no roundhouse breaking pitch, Lyon’s is top-to-bottom — or noon-to-six, as they say. Still, in 2008 he threw the fastball 72 percent of the time — 73 percent with two strikes.

As you might expect, Lyons doesn’t heave bullets across the heart of the plate. Instead, he has a Jones-like corners-nibbling approach. His favorite spots — against righties or lefties — are the outside corners. But against lefties his greatest success comes on the inside corner, up and in, and down and in. So, did the Tigers get themselves another Todd Jones?

Perhaps.

But Lyon is 10 years younger than the Tigers’ erstwhile closer and, in the spirit of optimism, he seems to have the durability and closer-ish stuff the bullpen so desperately needs.

(Oh, and Lyon wore number 38 in Arizona and will need a new one in Detroit…unless Jeremy Bonderman wants to give up his number. I’m guessing he ends up with 36.)

• Morris Left Out Again: Our most recent poll question, Does Jack Morris deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?, pulled in 57 responses, 61 percent (35 votes) said yes; 39 percent (22 votes) said nay. Early on, the results were dead even but as the month progressed — and the Hall of Fame voting drew nearer — Morris gained steam among the Fungo Faithful.

  Alas, another year has passed and Jack the Cat will not be inducted in Cooperstown. Yes, his vote total reached 44 percent this year, but it seems that Morris may end up a Veterans’ Committee selection down the road. You know how I feel about that.

• Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Alan Trammell garners a meager 17.4 percent? That’s embarrassing.

  

• On this date in 1996 the Tigers acquired OF Duane Singleton from the Brewers for LHP Henry Santos.

• And here’s one we missed from yesterday: on Jan. 22, 1992, the Tigers traded LHP Paul Gibson to the Mets for OF Mark Carreon and LHP Tony Castillo.

• Happy 58th Birthday to former Tiger

  Charlie Spikes who played in 10 games for the 1978 Tigers (.250, 0 HR, 2 RBI). He was acquired on Dec. 9, 1977, from the Indians for shortstop Tom Veryzer.

  

• So Brandon Lyon looks like the Tigers closer for 2009. We’ll see if he can shake off whatever ailed him last season in Arizona and actually close some games. If he does sign with the Tigers he will be the second Brandon on the team and – how’s this for minutiae? – both Brandons have last names consisting of four letters. Yeah, it’s a slow news week.

Have a great weekend.

Cruz is a Type A free agent and would cost the Tigers (or any team that signs him) two draft picks. Lyon is a Type B free agent, would cost just one. Still, do the Tigers want to part with draft picks, especially two, for this caliber of reliever?