May 13, 2011

Friday Fungoes: The 40-game Mark, Verlander’s No-hit Follow Ups, Magglio’s Demise

Every year someone (usually Tom Gage) rolls out the time-worn Sparky Anderson truism about not judging a team until after it’s played 40 games. I suppose it’s my turn. On Saturday against the Royals the Tigers will play game number 40 and, at worst, will finish that game at an even 20 and 20. So [...]

April 28, 2011

Pondering a Mid-Week Pounding

I’ve never been fond of that old baseball chestnut, attributed to long-time Orioles manager Earl Weaver, “Momentum is tomorrow’s starting pitcher”, but how else can you characterize the atrocities at Comerica Park this week? Fresh off a once-in-a-millennium sweep of the White Sox, the Tigers, well, got smoked by the lowly Mariners thanks to three [...]

April 4, 2011

Tigers Today: April 4, 2011

Tigers’ Record 1-2; 4th place, 1.5 GB Royals Today’s Game Tigers @ Orioles | 3:05 p.m. ET – Baltimore | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM Pitching Matchup Rick Porcello (0-0) vs. Jake Arrieta (0-0) Yesterday’s Results Tigers 10 – Yankees 7 W: Max Scherzer (1-0) L: Phil Hughes (0-1) HR: Miguel Cabrera [...]

December 31, 2010

2010: The Year in Lists

A year ago, we were still stinging from Game 163 and not certain how the Tigers would respond to a crushing end to the 2009 season. Would they regress to 2008′s disappointment or regroup to erase the memory of the ’09 collapse? The answer was: they’d be relevant. And that, ladies in gentlemen, is the [...]

December 16, 2010

No-Brainer: Ordonez Returns

Magglio Ordonez’s reported one-year, $10 million deal to return to the Tigers is surprising in that it’s both shorter and less-expensive than many anticipated. Once the Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford contracts were signed, everyone following the free-agent market expected Ordonez’s asking price to skyrocket. On the other hand, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. [...]

December 6, 2010

Monday Mankowskis: Winter Meetings Edition

One by one, the Tigers’ alleged free-agent targets are signing with other clubs and in the case of Adam Dunn, with the hated White Sox. Now that Jayson Werth has sign a gargantuan deal with the Nationals — the Nationals? — Detroit is left to shoot for the moon (i.e., Carl Crawford) or swing another [...]

October 30, 2010

The Non-Sequiturs: Trick or Treat Edition

Each October, I’m astounded to learn that Halloween is the second-largest retail holiday of the year. I’m not a fan of Halloween, though I do like the occasional, or frequent, Kit Kat. It’s a treat to be able to watch the World Series on Halloween, though the Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria sightings are undoubtedly [...]