This, that and the other after a long blogging layoff:

So where were you two years ago today? You were probably glued to ESPN or the Web reading all you could about the eight-player deal that brought Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit. Time flies. (And just a year ago today Edgar Renteria spared Tigers [...]

ESPN highlights available here…eventually.

The Score: Twins 8 – Tigers 3

The Gist: Wasted opportunities. Sure, the usual ones — stranded runners, untimely hitting — but also new and exciting storylines. Like, four errors by the Twins, a bizarrely mediocre Joe Nathan and…oh, what’s the difference? Nate Robertson pitched well enough to not lose but not much [...]

ESPN highlights available here.

The Score: Tigers 12 – White Sox 5

The Gist: The Tigers swatted 20 hits — four from Miguel Cabrera, and three each from Curtis Granderson and, of course, Placido Polanco — scoring 12 runs after being down 5-0 in the fourth. Cabrera also had a homer and four RBI, giving him 100 [...]

ESPN highlights available here.

The Score: White Sox 2 – Tigers 0

The Gist: Eddie Bonine should still be out for a nice post-game dinner with his teammates after 6.2 innings of two-hit pitching. Instead, he takes the loss in yet another disaster in Chicago.

But come on, didn’t you see this one coming?

Both teams were [...]

*In 2008 we posted a recap after every game. We’ll resurrect them for the stretch run and, if necessary, the postseason.
ESPN highlights available here.

The Score: Tigers 6 – Twins 2

The Gist: The Tigers showed the doubters among us (including yours truly) that they can win when it counts. Fungo Favorite Nate Robertson was outstanding over [...]

Why can’t this Tigers team sustain any momentum? Miguel Cabrera seemingly got the Tigers on the path to victory tonight during the ninth with his opposite-field shot. Instead, the Tigers hacked away at Kerry Wood’s offerings — despite Placido Polanco leading off the inning with a four-pitch walk. Infuriating.

Here’s a nugget from Baseball-Reference.com: On this [...]

Tigers fans are doing what they can to forget 2008, if they haven’t banished it from memory altogether. But seeing as things are looking much better (at the moment) for the 2009 club, let’s savor these moments even more by looking back on Fungo entries from April 21, 2008:

Jim Leyland on ESPN’s PTI “Five Good [...]

The Skinny:

7-5, Tied for 1st Place in A.L. Central with Chicago and Kansas City
Streak: W2
Home Record: 4-1
Road Record: 3-4

Streaks:

Last 10 Games: 7-3
Last 5 Games: 3-2

Who’s Hot from the Past Week:

Josh Anderson: .545 avg., .615 OBP, .818 SLG, 4 RBI, 2 SB
Miguel Cabrera: .455 avg., .478 OBP, .591 SLG, 10 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Gerald Laird: [...]

The Skinny:

4-3, 1st Place in A.L. Central, .5 games ahead of Chicago
Streak: W3
Home Record: 3-0 / Road Record: 1-3

Who’s Hot:

Miguel Cabrera: .520 avg., .586 OBP, .960 SLG, 3 HR, 10 RBI
Placido Polanco: .346, .393 OBP, .462 SLG
Gerald Laird: .318, .400 OBP, .455 SLG
Brandon Inge: .304, .448 OBP, .870 SLG, 4 HR, 7 RBI
Who’s Not:

Carlos Guillen:.182, [...]

Placido Polanco #14

Height: 5′ 10″ | Weight: 195
2008 Stats: .307 – 8 HR – 58 RBI

Like most of his teammates, Placido Polanco struggled at the outset of the 2008 season. The usually fast-starting second baseman – he has a .307 average for April spanning 2006-08 – was expected to pickup the slack at the top [...]