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, no walks, nine strikouts. And, 74 percent of his 109 pitches were strikes.

ALDS Start Time (Maybe): Matt Dery (@deryNBA) posted this on Twitter: “According to reports, Tigers would either host Bos or TB at 5 pm Friday for Game 1 or play at NYY at 8:30 fri night.” If it’s a 5 o’clock game, looks like I’m leaving work early.

The Tigers enter tonight’s game versus Cleveland having won 28 of their last 37 games dating back to Aug. 19, a .757 winning percentage — tops in the majors.

On this date in 1999, the Tigers played their final game at Tiger Stadium — an 8-2 win over the Royals. Homers by Karim Garcia, Luis Polonia and Robert Fick power the Tigers behind Brian Moehler.

We knew Doug Fister was good, but this is ridculous. From Elias Sports Bureau:

Remember at the trading deadline when the biggest-name pitcher moved was Ubaldo Jimenez? On Monday he was outpitched by a player whose trade received considerably less attention, Doug Fister. Fister improved to 8-1 since joining Detroit, making him only the fourth pitcher in the post-WWII Era to have at least eight wins with no more than one loss for a team after pitching for another major-league team earlier that season. The three others: Randy Johnson (10-1 for the 1998 Astros, after starting with the Mariners); Doyle Alexander (9-0 for the 1987 Tigers after starting with the Braves); and Rick Sutcliffe (16-1 for the 1984 Cubs after starting with the Indians.) Fister will end the season with a seven-game winning streak and Justin Verlander has won his last 12 decisions. They’re the first teammates to end a season with each on a winning streak of seven or more games, mainly or exclusively as a starting pitcher, since 1993, when Jason Bere and Wilson Alvarez of the White Sox each won their final seven decisions. The pair preceding Bere and Alvarez was Doyle Alexander (9) and Walt Terrell (8) for the 1987 Tigers.

I was talking to a friend of mine today about possible successors to Ozzie Guillen and we did a quick review of higher-profile bench coaches around the majors. One name he brought up was Kirk Gibson’s bench coach, Alan Trammell. While I fully support Tram getting another shot at managing, I can’t abide by him taking over the White Sox. Oh, and did you see where former Tigers manager Buddy Bell is in the mix for the Sox’ gig? Oy vey.

Happy 67th Birthday to Gary Sutherland. He hit .251 with a .295 on-base percentage with the Tigers from 1974-76 and played primarily at second base.

Checking in on trade pieces: In 31 games with the Mariners since the July 29 trade, Casper Wells is hitting .216 with seven home runs, 15 RBI and a .742 OPS. Meanwhile Charlie Furbush is 3-7 with a 6.62 ERA in 10 starts, and Chance Ruffin is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 appearances.

Why should you keep watching baseball this week?, asks Rob Neyer. One reason he offers is to see if Jose Valverde can keep up his perfect-save routine:

Valverde’s been phenomenal this season, and is only seven saves from tying Tom Gordon’s American League for consecutive saves (over different seasons). And the best part is that Valverde’s doing all this with lower strikeout and higher walk rates than his career norms.

Wanna bet he blows one in October? I don’t know. I predicted Lidge would blow a postseason save after his perfect 2008, but he didn’t and the Phillies won the World Series.

On this date in 1986, Jack Morris shut out the Yankees 1-0 in 10 innings, raising his record to 20-8 and snapped Don Mattingly’s hitting streak at 24 consecutive games.

I’ve had seller’s remorse on Omar Infante for a couple of years now — and especially since Placido Polanco was set free after the ’09 season. Infante just signed a two-year, $8 million extension with the Marlins. He enters tonight’s game batting .279 with seven home runs, 49 RBIs and only eight errors in 146 games. He’d look pretty good playing second for the Tigers these days, no?

Finally, Happy 64th Birthday to Meat Loaf.

Leading Off: The Tigers earned a split against the mosquito-ish Orioles by brute force: homers by Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Don Kelly and Jhonny Peralta. Brad Penny was just … decent enough to earn the win and even his season record at 11-11.

ALDS Maneuverings: The Rangers swept the feedble Mariners and have a one-game lead over the Tigers in the race for the second-best record in the American League. Texas heads to Anaheim to face Dan Haren, Jered Weaver and Ervin Santana. Perhaps it’s time to bury the hatchet with Weaver, however temporarily.

On this date in 1926, in his final day in a Tigers uniform, Ty Cobb watched his replacement in centerfield get six hits in a doubleheader against the Red Sox to become the new batting champion as Heinie Manush edging Babe Ruth .378 to .372.

The Diamondbacks Friday-night clincher came before a less-than-capacity crowd at Chase Field, so it will be interesting to see how the club draws in the NLDS. I’m liking my chances to secure a walk-up ticket whenever the D-backs’ series opens. There’s a nice piece on Kirk Gibson in Sunday’s Arizona Republic – but the really interesting story is this one. When he retired, Gibby coached a youth hockey team in Grosse Pointe and got advice from Steve Yzerman.

“My philosophy on it was you want the puck, but I’d always watch them fight for it, get it and then dump it into the zone and fight for it again,” Gibson said. “It didn’t make much sense to me. I’d like to keep the puck.”

With the season ending on Wednesday, the Tigers won’t have an opportunity to even their record on Thursdays and Saturdays. These will end up being the only two days of the week they didn’t at least finish .500 (Thursdays, 9-10; Saturdays. 12-13).

Finally, on this date in 1969 the album “Abbey Road” by the Beatles was released. Have a great week.

Back in 1985 and ’88, Gibson had better things to do. He politely turned down offers from managers Sparky Anderson and Whitey Herzog to rest, go hunting and spend time with family.

Gibson also wasn’t afraid to fire off a salvo or two, like when he said, “There are players in this game that want to be stars – let them go play.”

Today, he probably wouldn’t say such a thing, although he still refuses to publicly endorse any of his own players as reserves for next week’s game.

Armando Galarraga, who's surrendered a major-league high 13 home runs this season, is 0-4 with a 5.95 ERA in his last five starts with the D-backs.

If nothing else, baseball writers will always have Armando Galarraga‘s near-perfect game to compare and contrast against every starting assignment as long as he’s in the majors.

Case in point: last night’s game story in the Arizona Republic:

Last June 2, in a regrettable, unforgettable moment, he was robbed of a perfect game when first-base umpire Jim Joyce made an incorrect call with two outs in the ninth inning.

Galarraga handled that disappointment with the utmost class and was praised for the dignity he showed in doing so.

How would he respond after Monday night’s performance, when he was rocked once again, this time in the form of an 8-4 loss to the visiting San Diego Padres that dropped the Diamondbacks into last place in the NL West?

Answer: Not very well.

His spot in the starting rotation already a question mark, Galarraga lost his composure and got loud and emotional during a brief, postgame interview.

Asked if he was concerned about losing his spot, he went off.

“No. Why would I worry?” Galarraga said, his voice rising. “Is there something I have to worry about? . . . Why don’t we talk about it at the end of the season? I don’t count five starts.”

(snip)

Galarraga wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything and he became confrontational with one reporter who simply asked the pitcher about his disappointment level.

“I’m disappointed for this start, not for the rest of the season,” Galarraga said, bristling. “What are you talking about? . . . What are you talking about my next start, huh? What are you saying, that I’m going to be worried about my next start? Huh?

“You saying I lost my job?”

Easy, big fella. Keep it classy.

Writer Bob McManaman points out in the piece that even though Galarraga won his first three starts of the season, his ERA was 6.00. All in all, not a great start to 2011 — and likely not a great finish, either.

But back to last night’s start. How would D-backs manager Kirk Gibson summarize it?

“He didn’t pitch very well at all,” Gibson said. “He didn’t set a very good tone for us. Really didn’t have much tonight at all. No location. . . . Just didn’t have a good performance at all.”

Fortunately for Galarraga, the D-backs aren’t brimming with pitching depth so they’re likely to ride it out with him for a while. Which is, as Tigers fans can attest, unfortunate for Gibby and the dozens of D-backs fans.

Thanks for your patience as I still try to get the hang of this blogging while working the 8-to-6 shift.

***

What was the point of Tom Gage‘s column on Monday? So Mike Ilitch came to Lakeland and left without talking to the media — big deal.

Maybe the man didn’t feel well. Maybe he wasn’t in the mood. Maybe the trip to Spring Training was squeezed in an otherwise busy schedule.

Gage seems to be making a lot out of Ilitch’s in-and-out visit — that somehow the long-term contract status of Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland is now more in jeopardy than it is.

I’m not buying it. You?

***

This weekend I got my first live look at the Tigers thanks to MLB Network. I got to watch the 30 Clubs in 30 Days installment — which, mercifully, did not include the unfortunate Hazel Mae — on Friday night and then got the bonus coverage on Sunday of the game against the Nationals.

First, the 30/30 episode. MLB Network does a decent job with these, though it’s hard not to be a tad critical of them when they feature your favorite team.

I thought the interview with Leyland was more than a bit low on insight, but was shocked — stunned, even — to see that Kirk Gibson‘s 1994 season was ranked by the hosts as one of the top single seasons by a Tigers outfielder.

As for the game, watching Justin Verlander carve up the Nats was flat-out fun. Yeah, it was Grapefruit League action but nevertheless I enjoyed seeing Verlander adopt a more serious mindset in an exhibition.

In other words, if he was that locked in for a meaningless game in Viera, I can’t wait to see how he looks on Opening Day in the Bronx.

***

I’ve been two four Cactus League games this spring and as much as I like watching baseball in person, I have to admit there’s a major snooze factor when the games involve two teams I couldn’t care less about.

My first game was Diamondbacks and White Sox at the new Salt River Fields. The most notable parts of the game were Armando Galarraga’s head whipping around as another bullet from Sox hitters buzzed past him.

Fast forward to this weekend when I saw three games: Padres at Angels, Reds at Diamondbacks and Padres at Mariners. Hard to summon much enthusiasm for these clubs (though I was interested in seeing Cameron Maybin play for San Diego, which happened on Sunday.)

Outside of the company of friends, the highlight of the trio of games was getting my photo taken with former big-leaguer and Angels TV announcer Rex Hudler at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

Before we posed for the shot I asked Hud, as all the Angels fans called him, if he’d take a photo with a Tigers fan. He said absolutely, told me how much he loved playing at Tiger Stadium and said it was one of his favorite parks.

I couldn’t resist, of course, asking him if he thought Jack Morris was a Hall of Famer and he said: “Oh yeah. Should’ve been in on the first ballot.”

With Hudler’s vote, that makes three former big leaguers I’ve had the opportunity to ask (Rick Manning and Ken Phelps are the others) who all agree The Cat belongs in Cooperstown.

I will now pause and wait for my man Lee Panas to again tell me why Morris doesn’t belong.

Be kind, Lee. Be kind.

P.S. I saw Peter Gammons at the Padres/Mariners game on Sunday. He was sitting behind home plate with former D-backs GM Josh Byrnes and some other baseball execs, and had with him a notebook, media guides and all his tools of the trade. The man doesn’t slow down.

***

On this date in 1996 the Tigers pulled off a pair of less-than-history-making deals when they first acquired RHP Ramon Fermin and infielder Fausto Cruz from the Athletics for outfielder Phil Plantier. Next, they picked up RHP Richie Lewis, C Raul Casanova and OF Melvin Nieves from the Padres for RHPs Sean Bergman and their 1994 top draft choice Cade Gaspar and outfielder Todd Steverson.

***

Finally, Happy 48th Birthday to Rich Monteleone.

The focus seems to be on how he and his staff, which includes bench coach Alan Trammell, will shape this relatively young team — Melvin Mora notwithstanding — and emphasize the positive.

In his blog today, the Arizona Republic‘s Nick Piecoro writes about how Gibby is falling in line with the organization’s new fan friendly mindset — specifically, autographs. As one whose autograph requests of Gibson as recently as three years ago (actually it was a photo request at Spring Training; I was wearing a Fungo t-shirt for crying out loud) have been spurned, this interested me:

The Diamondbacks’ daily schedule is posted on video boards in and around the clubhouse, and right there, before the day’s work is complete, is a required task for every player: sign autographs.

Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall loves to call his organization the most fan-friendly in baseball, but it isn’t just the front office that’s on board with the autograph policy.

There’s agreement coming from the manager’s office.

“They’ll sign every day,” Gibson said. “When the catchers are done, they’ll sign. That’s something that’s important.”

Gibson admitted to being “terrible” at signing when he was a young player but said Detroit manager Sparky Anderson convinced him of the importance of treating fans well.

“Sometimes, when we’re young, we think we’re the most important thing about the game,” Gibson said. “The reality of it is, when you leave the game, it just keeps right on going.”

Anderson’s point to Gibson: What happens if the fans leave?

“None of us would be around,” Anderson told him.

“It really is important,” Gibson said. “As good as times are right now, I went through five work stoppages. The last one was 1994 and I remember how the game was after that. We don’t want to destroy that. They’re very important. They’re great human beings and support our game of baseball. They deserve to be treated with respect as well.”

I’m heading over to the Dbacks’ new Spring Training site on Monday to watch some workouts. Do you think Gibby or Tram will agree to a photo for one of their fanboys?

What about you? Do you have any experiences with Gibson or any other big leaguer brushing off your autograph requests?

Armando Galarraga

In this city, fans are more likely to know the Suns’ 12th man than the Dbacks’ fifth starter. But columnist Dan Bickley says Galarraga’s reaction to the blown call and the aftermath could make him “the most popular losing pitcher in baseball history.”

Here’s a sampling of Bickley’s column in yesterday’s Arizona Republic:

Though he’s only 23-26 as a starter, Galarraga enjoys a lofty reputation among baseball fans. He is viewed as a professional athlete with a heart, a player who can step out of his world and walk in someone else’s shoes. He credits his parents for teaching him to step back and cool off “when something is going wrong, when something makes you want to scream.”

(snip)

Question is, will we love Galarraga in the coming months? That’s hard to say. He will compete for a spot in the starting rotation, and many baseball observers aren’t convinced he’ll ever morph into an impact starter. Still, if his command is as good as his self-control, he has a fighting chance. And he’s very happy for a fresh start, for the chance to throw a perfect game in the National League.

“I’m very excited. I can’t wait to hit. I really like Arizona. That’s a great stadium for pitching,” Galarraga said.

Of course, he’s dead wrong about Chase Field, which is notoriously friendly to hitters. That’s OK. We’ll forgive him. It’s the least we can do.

I’m still not convinced that Dbacks’ manager Kirk Gibson won’t be infuriated by Galarraga’s lack of aggressiveness. I guess we’ll see.

• Born: July 6, 1954 in Hollywood, Calif.
• Bats: Left Throws: Left
• Height: 6′ 4″ Weight: 200 lb.
• Acquired: Drafted by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 1975 amateur draft.
• Seasons in Detroit: 5 (1976-80)
• Uniform Number: 30
• Stats: .256 avg., 98 HR, 354 RBI, .779 OPS
• Awards: Three-time All Star (1977, ’78 and ’82)

On May 27, 1980, Tigers GM Jim Campbell traded my favorite player, first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens.

The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that he made his mark: .270, 31 homers and 105 RBI — and earned an All Star Game selection.

The 1977 Tigers yearbook noted:

Jason led the Tigers with 31 home runs and 105 RBI — the first Tiger since Norm Cash (32) in 1971 to top 30 homers and the first since Willie Horton (100) in 1966 to attain the century mark in RBI.

At that point, the Tigers had to like their team of the future: Thompson, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish, Steve Kemp, Ron LeFlore, Jack Morris, et al, with a third baseman to be named later.

Thompson had another solid year in ’78, hitting .287 with 26 homers and 96 RBI.

The Beginning of the End in Detroit…Already?!

In 1979 he continued to hit homers and drive in runs — 20 and 79, respectively — but his average dropped 40 points to .246. That was also the year that Sparky Anderson arrived and, so the story goes, Thompson and Sparky didn’t mesh.

In 1980, Thompson got off to a slow start: .214/4/20 in 36 games, and Sparky invoked his My Way or the Highway clause and sent his first baseman to Orange County.

As I’ve said before, Thompson’s replacement, Richie Hebner, was a favorite of mine too. But, who were the Tigers kidding? Hebner over Jason Thompson?

From Anaheim to Pittsburgh to Montreal

Back home in southern California, Thompson thrived. In 102 games he batted .317 with 17 homers and 70 RBI. (Hebner hit .290/12/82.) On the eve of the 1981 season the Angels traded the three-time All Star to the Pirates for Ed Ott and Mickey Mahler.

In his five seasons in Pittsburgh, Thompson hit 93 home runs and averaged 93 RBI (not counting the 42 in the shortened ’81 season).

On April 4, 1986, the Pirates traded him to the Montreal Expos for players to be named later. Thompson played only 30 games for the Expos, hitting .196 with no home runs and just four RBI. On June 30, at the age of 31 and with balky knees, Jason Thompson was out of baseball for good.

The Jason Thompson Curse

If you remove the years that Darrell Evans and Cecil Fielder manned first base, the Tigers have had a revolving door at the position since they traded Jason Thompson. I call it The Curse of Jason Thompson: Hebner, Enos Cabell, Dave Engle, Keith Moreland, Tony Clark, Eric Munson, Carlos Pena, Chris Shelton, Sean Casey and Carlos Guillen. (And now, of course, Miguel Cabrera. Though I’m not convinced he’s long for first base.)

When looking back on the 1984 World Series team, I often think about how that team, or three-quarters of the starting nine, could’ve been homegrown talent — if Thompson were still in Detroit then.

With the exception of Chet Lemon and Larry Herndon, the Tigers could’ve had six of eight starters developed from Lakeland on up. (Or seven of nine if Morris or Dan Petry were on the hill.) Quite a different scenario from the 2008 Tigers when only two full-time, homegrown position players — Curtis Granderson and Matt Joyce — roam the field.

Today Thompson runs “Jason Thompson Baseball” in Auburn Hills, where kids can get hitting and fielding instruction from old #30 himself. He’s also an executive with Wachovia Securities.

If you can’t tell, even 28 years later I’ve still not gotten over the trade involving my favorite childhood player. I quickly hitched my wagon onto Hebner as a way to ease the pain. But that didn’t last long either, come to think of it.

So I threw my allegiance behind Kirk Gibson and five years later, when Gibson signed with the Dodgers, had to deal with the anguish all over again.

Gobs of articles have been written in the past couple of weeks, the majority of which put The Cat squarely in the “great but not Hall-of-Fame great” category.

Sadly, many of them, such as this one by Joe Posnanski, make terrific arguments against Morris’ chances. Even sadder, I’m starting to believe them. As a result I’m resigned to the fact he won’t be elected this year, if ever.

But wait! I have some anecdotes of my own:

In the summer of 2008 I attended the SABR Convention in Cleveland and asked former Indians outfielder Rick Manning if he thought Morris belonged in Cooperstown. He hemmed and hawed and eventually said, “That’s a tough call.” I took it as a “no”.

Then, last spring — thanks to a twist of fate — I had coffee with former major leaguer Ken Phelps and I asked him if he thought Morris belonged in the Hall and he responded without hesitation: “Absolutely.” I told him that many writers disagree and he replied, “Well, they didn’t face him.”

Touche.

I think today I realized why I so badly want to see Morris in the Hall of Fame. It’s because Tigers fans that grew up with the players that formed the core of the 1984 team expected so much from them. Didn’t we honestly think the Tigers would win again and again in the 1980s — not just one other division title in 1987?

For crying out loud, there was Morris, Dan Petry, Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson — the best collection of Tigers players in a generation! And all we got was a single World Series championship?

Granted, I wouldn’t trade the summer of ’84 for anything, I just expected it to be the beginning of something great, not a one-time trip to the baseball summit. Didn’t you?

That’s why I want to see Morris or Trammell in the Hall. They deserve — and I think they’ve earned – a lasting baseball legacy. One that includes more than the magic they displayed in October 1984.

It’s a treat to be able to watch the World Series on Halloween, though the Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria sightings are undoubtedly the “trick” part of the equation.

• In our highest vote-gettin’ poll of the season, Fungo readers were emphatic on what the Tigers’ next offseason move should be: target Nationals’ slugger and free-agent-to-be Adam Dunn.

  Twenty-four percent (148 voters) of the 628 readers casting votes selected Dunn as their top choice. Here are the runners up:

  • Sign Jason Werth (16%, 103 Votes)
  • Sign Victor Martinez (15%, 97 Votes)
  • Trade for a starting pitcher (14%, 88 Votes)
  • Pickup Jhonny Peralta’s option (14%, 88 Votes)
  • Sign Magglio Ordonez (12%, 73 Votes)
  • Other (5%, 31 Votes)

  Thanks to everyone who voted and a special thanks for those that left comments. It was a great discussion. Keep those comments rolling in.

• As we noted earlier this week, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson named Alan Trammell as his bench coach. It didn’t take a genius to see this as a possibility once Gibby was given the job full time.

  On Thursday the Dbacks made it official – along with the hiring of Don Baylor as hitting coach and Charles Nagy as pitching coach – and here’s what new GM Kevin Towers had to say about Tram (courtesy of Nick Piecoro’s blog):

I go back to ‘Tram’ in the late ‘80s. At the end of my playing career, I was a free agent and I had four or five different options to go to different ballclubs and that offseason there was a workout and conditioning program that they always held in San Diego. It was mainly young minor league players and the only big league player was Alan Trammell. He was the first one there, the last one to leave. When it came to running, he led the running every time. When it came to make my choice, I said, If this is what the Detroit Tigers are all about – here’s a guy who has been an All-Star, is one of the premier players in the game. If he puts this type of time and effort into his game in the off-season, if they breed those kind of players, that’s the type of organization I want to be with.”

And Gibby on his new bench coach:

“I probably talk more baseball with Alan Trammell than anybody. I think we share similar beliefs and philosophies. We have the same foundation. We were taught the same way in the Detroit organization with Sparky (Anderson). He’s a very trusted friend of mine, a great baseball man, a great competitor and he has high standards. I wasn’t sure that was going to work out and I think many took it for granted that he would be on my staff, but I know KT can attest that was one of the things I didn’t want to do. I wanted to make sure I hired Alan or anybody on my staff for the right reasons. Interviewed several other guys for that position and in the end felt that Alan was the right pick.”

• On this date in 1984, Willie Hernandez won the American League Cy Young Award, edging fellow reliever Dan Quisenberry of the Royals. Hernandez posted a 9-3 record with 32 saves and a 1.92 ERA. Hernandez becomes only the third reliever — and only the second Tiger — to win the award

Finally, Happy Birthday to the Fonz. Henry Winkler turns 65 today.

• Tomorrow the Diamondbacks will announce that Alan Trammell will be Kirk Gibson’s bench coach in 2011 — the same role Gibson served under Trammell from 2003-05. This was a no-brainer once Tram was told he wouldn’t be considered for the Cubs managerial job. The only thing that delayed it was, among other things, the matter of Gibson having the interim tag removed from his title.

• There’s been a lot chatter about Rangers’ catcher Bengie Molina playing for both the Rangers and Giants this season. He’s one of only five players in major-league history to have played on both World Series teams in the same year.

  Did you know that one of the remaining four did so with the Tigers in 1984? Indeed: ye olde Sid Monge. The lefty reliever appeared in 13 games with the Padres (2-1, 4.80 ERA) and 19 for the Tigers (1-0, 4.25 ERA). SI.com has a story on the last player to do so before Molina.

  Oct. 26 Update: As posted on Keith Olbermann‘s baseball blog, Monge doesn’t fall into this category because he wasn’t on the Tigers’ World Series roster. I knew Monge didn’t make the roster, but I didn’t realize the qualifier for this two-team distinction was to appear in the World Series. Live and learn.

  

• It’s not easy to decide who enrages Tigers fans’ more, Jim Leyland or Brandon Inge. I’ve gone on record as being a Leyland supporter and have surrendered on the topic of Inge. I tend to think re-signing him was the best of the meager options (and after reading Jason Beck‘s post, I don’t feel entirely insane — particularly about Adrian Beltre. I remember him blowing off the Tigers the year he signed with the Mariners.)

  Then comes this from Rich Lederer of Baseball Analysts and I had to re-evaluate. But then I saw this piece from Joe Pawlikowski at Fan Graphs, came full circle and am again okay with Inge’s return. Thanks for hanging with me on that one.

• Time to commemorate a couple of Tigers birthdays: Wilkin Ramirez turns 25 today, and Al Cowens was born on this date in 1951. He passed away in 2002. Here’s a piece on Cowens from the Fungo archives.

• Rob Neyer and I have a running thing about Jack Morris and what I feel is his rightful place in the Hall of Fame. Well, it’s not really a thing because he doesn’t keep trying to convince me that The Cat doesn’t belong. It’s me trying to sway him.

  Bottom line: It ain’t happening. To illustrate the point, here are another few crystals of salt aimed at my wound, courtesy of Rob.

• For what it’s worth, I expect the Rangers to knock the Giants for a loop in the World Series. San Francisco has shown an incredible ability to win despite, well, those players. They are, in my view, the White Sox of the National League and must be defeated — with Aubrey Huff going hitless, of course. Rangers in six.

Finally, on this date in 1986, the Mets won Game 6 of the World Series in the 10th inning when a routine ground ball went through Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs. And I, ashamedly, watched it happen at a Chuck E. Cheese’s.

68-70, 3rd Place; 13 GB

Today’s Game

Tigers vs. White Sox | 7:05 p.m. ET – Comerica Park | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Pitching Matchup

Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.61 ERA) vs. Freddy Garcia (11-5, 4.82 ERA)

Yesterday’s Results

White Sox 5 – Tigers 4 (10 innings)

• W: Chris Sale (1-1)
• L: Jose Valverde (2-4)
• HR: Don Kelly (6)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Tom Matchick, 67

On this Date in Tigers History

• 2007 — Curtis Granderson hits his 20th home run to give him 20 or more doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. The only prior players to do that in major league history were Frank Schulte (1911) and Willie Mays (1957). He will be joined by the Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins in a few days.

• 2002 — The Tigers defeat the Yankees, 2-1, as Eric Munson hits a home run in his first major-league at bat.

• 1999 — Colorado manager Jim Leyland confirms rumors that he will retire at the end of the season.

• 1997 — The major league mark for the most combined strikeouts in a game is tied when 33 players fan during a 15-inning 5-4 Angels victory over the Tigers.

• 1993 — Chad Kreuter homers from both sides of the plate in the Tigers’ 10-6 win over California. He is the second Tigers player — and catcher — this year to perform the feat, joining Mickey Tettleton, who did so on May 7.

• 1984 — Down 4-0 in the eighth, the Tigers score four runs — three on a homer by Kirk Gibson — to tie the Blue Jays in Toronto. In the 10th, Dave Bergman cracks a three-run homer and the Tigers win, 7-4. Willie Hernandez
  (9-2) wins with three innings of shutout relief.

• 1971 — Jim Northrup goes 5 for 5 with two home runs in a 3-2, 11 inning Tigers win over the Senators.

• 1950 — Hoot Evers hits for the cycle, adds another triple, and knocks in six runs in a 13-13, 10-inning tie with Cleveland. The game, ended because of darkness, leaves the Tigers in first place by a few percentage points ahead of the Yankees.

63-64, 3rd Place; 9 GB

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Blue Jays | 7:07 p.m. ET – Rogers Centre | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Pitching Matchup

Max Scherzer (9-9, 3.73 ERA) vs. Ricky Romero (10-7, 3.50 ERA)

Yesterday’s Results

Royals 4 – Tigers 3 (12 innings)

• W: Phil Humber (1-0)
• L: Alfredo Figaro (0-1)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Alex Sanchez, 34

• Chad Kreuter, 46

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1996 — The Tigers acquired two players to be named (RHP Kevin Gallaher and infielder Pedro Santana) from the Astros for RHP Gregg Olson.

• 1984 — In Anaheim, the Tigers use the long ball to beat the Angels, 12-6. Kirk Gibson has two homers and four runs scored, Marty Castillo, hits a homer and scores three times, and Chet Lemon belts his first career grand slam. Tommy John goes just 2-2/3 inning in losing to Milt Wilcox (15-7). Detroit leads the AL East by 12 games.

• 1966 — Earl Wilson, winner of six straight, hits an eighth inning homer to give himself a 5-3 lead over the Yankees. But the Yankees, batting against reliever Hank Aguirre in the ninth, tally one run on a Clete Boyer single, and win it, 6-5, when Mickey Mantle hits a pinch homer over a leaping Al Kaline in rightfield. The win still leaves New York (57-72) in last place.

• 1934 — Schoolboy Rowe wins his 16th consecutive game. The Waco, TX native singles home the winning run in the ninth in a 4-2 victory over the Senators.

• I continue to watch with fascination how Kirk Gibson fares as the Diamondbacks’ interim manager. In this piece from the Arizona Republic, we learn about one of the first calls Gibson received upon getting the job.

• In case you were wondering, coming into this weekend’s series against the Indians, the Tigers’ all-time record against the Tribe is 1,048-1,015-12. Again with those ties…

• Brandon Inge entered Friday night’s game at Cleveland with 838 games played at third base during his Tigers career, four games shy of tying Mike “Pinky” Higgins for fourth place in franchise history with 842 games played at third base. Higgins played for the Tigers for seven seasons from 1939-46, wearing number six. Over that span he batted .280 and was an All Star in 1945.

• And here’s something I didn’t know: Alex Avila has thrown out 12 of the 29 baserunners attempting to steal this season (41.4 percent), tops among all American League catchers. And here we thought Gerald Laird was the rifleman behind the dish.

• In the latest episode of the podcast I bring up Jake Westbrook as a possible target for the Tigers, thinking he could be the Tigers’ version of the Twins getting Carl Pavano last year. Well, I checked out Westbrook’s success against the Twins and White Sox since 2007 and it’s spotty: 1-4, 5.10 ERA against Chicago; 1-1, 3.48 against Minnesota. Still, you’d have to like the makeup of the Tigers’ rotation with him in it, wouldn’t you?

Finally, wish Phyllis Diller a happy 93rd birthday this weekend, won’t you?

Some will focus on the return of Dontrelle Willis and Edwin Jackson. Others will welcome back D-backs’ bench coach and Tigers legend (at least in my mind) Kirk Gibson.

Still others may peer at Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew and imagine him alongside Carlos Guillen in the Tigers infield.

No matter what your perspective this weekend, the Tigers are entering another series that is winnable, if not sweepable. (Hint: The D-backs are 9-25 on the road this season.)

The D-backs enter this three-game series at 26-41 comfortably in last place in the N.L. West, 12.5 games back of the Dodgers and Padres. They were swept in Boston after winning their previous three series against good clubs: the Cardinals, Braves and Rockies.

If you’ve read anything about the D-backs this season you know that their bullpen has been abysmal and they recently replaced closer Chad Qualls (four blown saves and countless other bad outings) with Aaron Heilman.

Despite a minor resurgence — and it’s all relative — the D-backs are largely a lifeless club that’s in the early stages of a dismantling. (If you want to read a good assessment of the club’s situation, read this and this.)

• Tigers’ All-Time Record vs Diamondbacks: 8-13
• All-Time at Home: 4-5
• All-Time at Comerica Park: 4-5
• All-Time at Arizona: 4-8

  Batting Leaders

  • Average: Chris Young – .284
  • Home Runs: Mark Reynolds – 15
  • RBI: Young – 46
  • Runs: Kelly Johnson – 45
  • OPS: Johnson – .894

  Pitching Leaders

  • Wins: Dan Haren – 7
  • Strikeouts: Haren – 101
  • Save: Chadd Qualls – 12
  • WHIP: Ian Kennedy – 1.20

  Who’s Hot (Past 7 Days)

  • Chris Young – .400
  • Stephen Drew – .375
  • Miguel Montero – .353

  Who’s Not (Past 7 Days)

  • Kelly Johnson – .200
  • Mark Reynolds – .208
  • Justin Upton – .222
  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/06/18/series-preview-in-a-nutshell-tigers-vs-diamondbacks/feed/ 1 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/05/27/fungo-flashback-may-27-1980-the-day-the-tigers-traded-jason-thompson/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/05/27/fungo-flashback-may-27-1980-the-day-the-tigers-traded-jason-thompson/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 18:58:09 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=3808 Thirty years ago today the Tigers traded my favorite player, Jason Thompson, to the Angels for Al Cowens. Here’s a piece I wrote two years ago about the deal. Get a load of my thoughts on Miguel Cabrera who had recently been moved to first base. Another gleaming example of why I’m not fit to be a GM.

  ---

  Twenty-eight years ago today, Tigers GM Jim Campbell broke my heart.

  On May 27, 1980, he traded my favorite Tigers player, first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens. (For more on Cowens, check out this post from the archives.)

  The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that he made his mark: .270, 31 homers and 105 RBI — and earned an All Star Game selection.

  The 1977 Tigers yearbook noted:

  Jason led the Tigers with 31 home runs and 105 RBI — the first Tiger since Norm Cash (32) in 1971 to top 30 homers and the first since Willie Horton (100) in 1966 to attain the century mark in RBI.

  At that point, the Tigers had to like their team of the future: Thompson, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish, Steve Kemp, Ron LeFlore, Jack Morris, et al, with a third baseman to be named later.

  Thompson had another solid year in ’78, hitting .287 with 26 homers and 96 RBI.

  The Beginning of the End in Detroit…Already?!

  In 1979 he continued to hit homers and drive in runs — 20 and 79, respectively — but his average dropped 40 points to .246. That was also the year that Sparky Anderson arrived and, so the story goes, Thompson and Sparky didn’t mesh.

  In 1980, Thompson got off to a slow start: .214/4/20 in 36 games, and Sparky invoked his My Way or the Highway clause and sent his first baseman to Orange County.

  As I’ve said before, Thompson’s replacement, Richie Hebner, was a favorite of mine too. But, who were the Tigers kidding? Hebner over Jason Thompson?
  

  From Anaheim to Pittsburgh to Montreal

  Back home in southern California, Thompson thrived. In 102 games he batted .317 with 17 homers and 70 RBI. (Hebner hit .290/12/82.) On the eve of the 1981 season the Angels traded the three-time All Star to the Pirates for Ed Ott and Mickey Mahler.

  In his five seasons in Pittsburgh, Thompson hit 93 home runs and averaged 93 RBI (not counting the 42 in the shortened ’81 season).

  On April 4, 1986, the Pirates traded him to the Montreal Expos for players to be named later. Thompson played only 30 games for the Expos, hitting .196 with no home runs and just four RBI. On June 30, at the age of 31 and with balky knees, Jason Thompson was out of baseball for good.

  The Jason Thompson Curse

  If you remove the years that Darrell Evans and Cecil Fielder manned first base, the Tigers have had a revolving door at the position since they traded Jason Thompson. I call it The Curse of Jason Thompson: Hebner, Enos Cabell, Dave Engle, Keith Moreland, Tony Clark, Eric Munson, Carlos Pena, Chris Shelton, Sean Casey and Carlos Guillen. (And now, of course, Miguel Cabrera. Though I’m not convinced he’s long for first base.)

  When looking back on the 1984 World Series team, I often think about how that team, or three-quarters of the starting nine, could’ve been homegrown talent — if Thompson were still in Detroit then.

  With the exception of Chet Lemon and Larry Herndon, the Tigers could’ve had six of eight starters developed from Lakeland on up. (Or seven of nine if Morris or Dan Petry were on the hill.) Quite a different scenario from the 2008 Tigers when only two full-time, homegrown position players — Curtis Granderson and Matt Joyce — roam the field.

  Today Thompson runs “Jason Thompson Baseball” in Auburn Hills, where kids can get hitting and fielding instruction from old #30 himself. He’s also an executive with Wachovia Securities.

  If you can’t tell, even 28 years later I’ve still not gotten over the trade involving my favorite childhood player. I quickly hitched my wagon onto Hebner as a way to ease the pain. But that didn’t last long either, come to think of it.

  So I threw my allegiance behind Kirk Gibson and five eight years later, when Gibson signed with the Dodgers, had to deal with the anguish all over again.

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/05/27/fungo-flashback-may-27-1980-the-day-the-tigers-traded-jason-thompson/feed/ 2 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/04/07/tigers-today-april-7-2010/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2010/04/07/tigers-today-april-7-2010/#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:02:13 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=3388 5:44 p.m. ET: Updated with Tigers lineup

  

  Tigers’ Record: 1-0; Tied for 1st

  Today’s Game
  

  Tigers @ Royals | 8:10 ET — Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City | On the air: FSD (Joined in Progress at 10 p.m.)/AM 1270

  Pitching Matchup

  Max Scherzer, 0-0 0.00 ERA vs. Luke Hochevar, 0-0 0.00 ERA

  From the Game Notes: Tonight Scherzer is making his second career start at Kauffman Stadium. He earned the win in his previous outing, limiting the Royals to two runs in six innings of work.

  Tonight’s Lineup

  1. Austin Jackson, CF
  2. Johnny Damon, LF
  3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
  4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
  5. Carlos Guillen, DH
  6. Brandon Inge, 3B
  7. Alex Avila, C
  8. Scott Sizemore, 2B
  9. Ramon Santiago, SS

  Yesterday’s Results

  Off day

  Tomorrow’s Game

  Tigers @ Royals | 2:10 p.m. ET — Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City | On the air: FSD/1270 & 97.1

  Pitching Matchup

  Dontrelle Willis, 0-0 0.00 ERA vs. Brian Bannister, 0-0 0.00 ERA

  Tigers History Lesson

  On this Date in Tigers History

  • 1984 – Jack Morris pitches a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox; the Tigers win 4-0. He strikes out eight and walks six in shutting down the Sox at Comiskey Park. Morris becomes the first Tiger since Jim Bunning, in 1958, to toss a no-
    hitter.

  • 1986 – At Tiger Stadium, Boston Red Sox outfielder Dwight Evans becomes the first player to hit the first pitch on Opening Day for a home run. Morris surrenders it but gets the win as Detroit edges Boston, 6-5, behind two home runs by Kirk Gibson. (I was at that game but left in the sixth to be back in time for baseball practice; it was my senior year in high school.)

  • 2004 – Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill 5200 permanently designating Willie Horton‘s birthday, October 18, as “Willie Horton Day” in the state of Michigan.

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