When I was just starting to collect baseball cards, the first thing I always did upon opening a new pack was to flip the card over to see if the player ever was a member of the Tigers. Because my memory latches on to such random things, I clearly remember when I turned over the 1977 Topps Woodie Fryman card and saw that he played for the Tigers from 1972-74. Fryman passed away on Friday in Lexington, Ky., at the age of 70. Fryman won 141 games from 1966-83 with the Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. He pitched primarily in relief late in his career, saving 17 games for Montreal in 1980. Fryman had four career one-hitters…
Here we are one week before Festivus and the Tigers have given fans mere stocking stuffers compared to the gifts White Sox, Nationals, Red Sox and, most recently, Phillies fans received. Then again, only in this offseason could a guy of Victor Martinez’s caliber be considered value-bin material. Now that the big names are off the board, the Tigers are left to browse the remainder table for their missing pieces — unless a trade goes down. In March 2009, my friends John and Steve came to town for some Cactus League action. The first game we attended was at the Indians and Reds shared facility in Goodyear, Ariz. (Though the Reds wouldn’t move to the Phoenix region until this past Spring.) We all agreed…
I just couldn’t see the Tigers making a move for Dan Uggla and hoped, quite frankly, that they wouldn’t. The added power behind Miguel Cabrera certainly would’ve been nice but not in the form of another righthanded bat. I’m willing to wait and see what Dave Dombrowski has up his sleeve. Until then, here are some notable notes from around the Web: If you want one more Sparky Anderson photo gallery, ESPN.com is happy to oblige. Austin Jackson, in the eyes of Ian and many others got robbed on Monday when he finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. His catch during Armando Galarraga’s near-perfect game should’ve cinched for him. The 1934 Detroit Tigers infield tonight was featured in a…
It’s not often Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski gets loose and talks at length about the club’s plans, but on Sunday in Baltimore he did just that, breaking some news and confirming a few long-anticipated decisions: Brandon Inge gets offered an extension. As Ian wrote this summer, Inge is either loved or loathed in Detroit — with little in between. But I think even those of us who are frustrated by his lack of a strategy when he’s at the plate feel better about third base next season and maybe in 2012, too. In our recent Fungo Pulse Check, 79 percent of respondents (207 of 263 votes) preferred bringing back Inge over Jeremy Bonderman. Magglio Ordonez might be back. This isn’t a surprise. The Tigers…
This is the first in a series of Season Recaps in which we’ll look at how the Tigers fared against division opponents in 2010. Since the 2000 season, the Tigers are 40 games under .500 against the White Sox. That’s beyond ugly. That’s hideous. Since Ozzie Guillen arrived in 2004, the Tigers are 19 games under .500. But somehow the Tigers, in this season of uneven play and disappointment, Tigers fans (or, at least this Tigers fan) can rejoice in their winning the season series against the White Sox in 2010, 11 wins and 8 losses. Detroit eked out a 10-8 record against the Sox — up from 9-9 last season — and were able to play the role of spoiler in the series…
