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: I’ve watched a lot of Tigers baseball in my time but I can’t recall a more exciting final out sequence as the one we saw on Sunday to preserve a 8-7 Tigers win. Austin Jackson’s flawless throw to Alex Avila. Rick Porcello seemed hell bent to surrender a seven-run cushion but thankfully the bullpen did enough to blow it entirely … The Tigers head to Tampa Bay for a four-game set … They also are looking for their first winning streak of more than three games since June 7 when they had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Around the Central: The White Sox crushed the Rangers 10-0 at U.S. Cellular Field; the Red Sox downed the Royals, 6-1, and the Yankees blanked the Twins, 3-0.

• The Tigers are #10 in ESPN’s Power Rankings, up from nine last week. They trail the D-backs (who have one more win) and this week’s opponent, the Rays (#7).

• Somehow I missed out on Dave Schoenfield’s reminiscing about Chet Lemon last week:
  

  If you’re too young to remember Chet Lemon, he was a superb ballplayer. He could them run down in center field — in fact, his 512 putouts with the White Sox in 1977 remains the American League record, not bad for a guy who had converted from third base as a rookie the year before. He hit .300 three times, had some power, drew some walks, got hit by 10 to 20 pitches a season. He did a lot to help his teams win.

  What Chet Lemon wasn’t very good at was stealing bases.

• This is a topic that deserves more thought than I have time for today but am I the only one who thinks Miguel Cabrera has a profound lack of hustle on the bases, particularly out of the batter’s box?

• SI‘s Joe Sheehan thinks the stars are aligning in the Tigers favor after sweeping the Indians:
  

  Jackson’s base-runner kill helped Jose Valverde escape a bases-loaded, no-out jam and convert his 37th consecutive save this season. The Tigers have fended off a series of challenges by the Indians, and after a trip to Tampa Bay get seven games against the Twins and Royals to stretch their lead before six more against the White Sox and Indians. That week may represent both teams’ last shot to keep the Tigers from making September a coronation.

• Are the Tigers winning with other clubs’ talent?

• Not a game goes by that I don’t wish the Tigers still had Placido Polanco batting second.

• It doesn’t matter if the Twins send Jim Thome to the Indians before Aug. 31. The Tigers are set to face both clubs six more times this season so, they’re hosed either way.

Finally, Happy 47th Birthday to tennis hall of famer Mats Wilander who, in 1988, won the Australian Open, French Open and U.S. Open.

Leading Off: The Tigers won their seventh-straight one-run game, topping the Orioles 5-4 [highlights here]. Andy Dirks went 4 for 4 and knocked in the winning run and Brad Penny was good enough for his eighth win … The victory marked the seventh straight game the club has won by one run. According to STATS LLC, Detroit’s seven straight wins by one run matches a club record, equaling the mark established by the 1944 club. The 1944 Tigers won seven straight such games July 18-29 … In other news, the Tigers transferred the option of pitcher Lester Oliveros from Triple A Toledo to Double A Erie on Friday.

Around the Central: The Indians beat the Twins 3-2 in Cleveland and the Royals handed the White Sox their seventh-straight home loss, 5-1.

More great work this week by Paul Swaney and his team at StadiumJourney.com. The spotlight turns to Jerry Uht Park, home of the Erie SeaWolves, the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate. Here’s a taste of Joshua Guiher‘s review:

Jerry Uht Park … was originally built in 1995 at a cost of $8.7 million. In 2006, the park underwent a $4 million upgrade that added a nice scoreboard, a very large picnic area and a second level of seating among other things.

All About Al. In his ESPN.com blog [$], Jim Bowden lists the under-the-radar players on each American League club. His pick for the Tigers is Alburquerque.

Alburquerque has been an important part of the first-place Tigers’ bullpen. The hard-throwing right-hander has an impressive 2.29 ERA with 55 strikeouts and just 18 hits against him in 35 1/3 innings pitched. His fastball plays in the 93-96 mph range, and he has a hard, downward, biting slider that misses bats.

The Phighting Phifty-one-year-old Tony Phillips. Choose your own bizarre angle to this story (with video!), I’ll go with the ‘Tony Phillips is still playing?!‘ perspective.

Did you know that Wilson Betemit is hitting .360 since joining the Tigers last month? With as little as he’s played on this road trip, I’d have guessed it was about 200 points less.

Finally, a Happy 49th Birthday to “Mad Men” star John Slattery. And we can’t forget to mention the 82nd birthday of actor Pat Harrington who played Schneider in the unwatchable 1970s sitcom “One Day at a Time.”

When the Tigers traded Scott Sizemore to the A’s over Memorial Day Weekend, it brought an abrupt and mildly startling end to his tenure as Detroit’s second baseman of the future. The Tigers, after all, anointed him as the heir apparent to Placido Polanco almost immediately after they lost Game 163 to the Twins in 2009.

Polanco was eligible for arbitration, which coincided with the Tigers’ momentary spending freeze, and soon he was back with the Phillies doing everything fans in Detroit had come accustomed to: steadiness in the field, reliability at the plate.

But back to Sizemore. The Tigers sent him to the Arizona Fall League – “a graduate school” for top prospects, according to the AFL Media Guide – in 2007 and again in ‘09 in what they undoubtedly expected to be a final tuneup before handing over the keys to second base to him for the foreseeable future.

Within days of the 2009 AFL season, Sizemore’s ankle was broken as he attempted to turn a double play and his fall league experience went kaput. It didn’t stop the Tigers from hoping that he could recover in time for spring training.

Fast forward to May 27 when he was dealt to Oakland for David Purcey (himself an AFL graduate) and the book was closed on Sizemore’s career in Detroit: 65 games, a .223 average, .605 OPS and a mere three home runs. Not legendary stuff and certainly nowhere close to Polanco’s track record.

Sizemore’s flameout got me thinking about the poor results the Tigers have seen from their Arizona Fall League representatives, particularly when contrasted with Central-division rivals.

Over the past five years, the players sent by the Tigers to the AFL (including Sizemore, twice) haven’t lived up their billing. Tigers fans heard breathless projections of guys such as Brent Clevlen, Cameron Maybin and Virgil Vasquez — not to mention Jeff Larish and Cale Iorg — only to see them cut loose or traded or otherwise vanish from baseball. In some cases, Cody Ross and Burke Badenhop for example, Tigers AFL prospects have gone elsewhere and had success.

Expand the view a bit wider and you’ll see that Curtis Granderson, Tony Clark and Frank Catalanotto and current Tigers utilityman Don Kelly spent an autumn in Phoenix. But
outside of Granderson, which Tigers player and AFL alum over the past five seasons has the most big-league experience? Outfielder Casper Wells, who, at the All-Star break, had 97 games with the Tigers.

Next in line is Opening Day second baseman Will Rhymes (73), Sizemore (65) and pitcher Eddie Bonine (62). Where are they today? Rhymes is a Triple-A All Star in Toledo, Sizemore’s near the Bay and Bonine is pitching for the Phillies’ Triple-A club.

From the perspective of a Tigers fan, these under-performing prospects are that much more frustrating when the Indians, White Sox, Royals and Twins accelerate their AFL players from the desert to the big-league club.

How’s this for a collection of who’s who? Chris Getz. Gordon Beckham. Joe Crede. Alex Gordon. Eric Hosmer. Billy Butler. Mitch Maier. Joe Mauer. Grady Sizemore. David Huff.

This examination of the Tigers’ AFL classes doesn’t mean they franchise hasn’t developed important players. Since 2006, Justin Verlander, Brennan Boesch, Alex Avila, Joel Zumaya all came through the Detroit farm system – but they bypassed Arizona on their way up.

For many teams, particularly those in the A.L. Central, the Arizona Fall League has been a key stop on their development fast track. Unfortunately, for the Tigers and their top prospects this graduate school has handed out nothing but failing grades of late.

• The Tigers’ collection of All Stars is the largest since 1985 when the club sent six players to the Metrodome for the game managed by Sparky Anderson. Here’s a look at the largest classes of Tigers All Stars since 1984 and the team’s record that season:

1984 (104-58)
Willie Hernandez
Chet Lemon
Jack Morris
Lance Parrish
Alan Trammell
Lou Whitaker

1985 (84-77)
Willie Hernandez
Jack Morris
Lance Parrish
Dan Petry
Alan Trammell
Lou Whitaker

2007 (88-74)
Carlos Guillen
Magglio Ordonez
Placido Polanco
Ivan Rodriguez
Justin Verlander

2009 (86-77)
Curtis Granderson
Brandon Inge
Edwin Jackson
Justin Verlander

Clearly, the better the Tigers were, the more players they sent to the All-Star Game. For a long time though, the Tigers were a team that had little to offer the American League manager. From 1996 through 2003, Detroit sent a single player to the game. In some cases the pickings were particularly slim (see 2002).

1996 (53-109)
Travis Fryman

1997 (79-83)
Justin Thompson

1998 (65-97)
Damion Easley

1999 (69-92)
Brad Ausmus

2000 (79-83)
Todd Jones

2001 (66-96)
Tony Clark

2002 (55-106)
Robert Fick

2003 (43-119)
Dmitri Young

Ugly, no?

• I still think it’s remarkable that Alex Avila is the starting catcher in tonight’s game. Whoda thunk it, especially after a dreadful Opening Day series against the Yankees when Avila looked about as lost as a player can look. I guess that’s why, as Rod Allen says, you play the games. Jason Beck has a nice piece recapping the Tigers’ All Stars’ respective experiences in Phoenix.

• The water is so far past being under the bridge, but isn’t it still a bit weird to see Curtis Granderson starting in the All-Star Game … as a Yankee?

• Six years ago today in the Home Run Derby at Comerica Park, Bobby Abreu destroyed the records for a single round, the championship round and the grand total for all three rounds of the derby by hitting 41 homers into every part of yard. The Phillies outfielder went deep 24 times in the first round, tacks on six more in the second round and finishes with 11 more in the championship round.

• Looking ahead to the pitching matchups for this weekend’s series against the White Sox:

Friday | 7:05 p.m. FSD/1270 & 97.1
Justin Verlander (12-4, 2.15 ERA) vs. Gavin Floyd (6-9, 4.59 ERA)

Saturday | 4:10 p.m. FOX/1270 & 97.1
Max Scherzer (10-4, 4.69 ERA) vs. Edwin Jackson (5-7, 4.30 ERA)

Sunday | 1:05 p.m. FSD/1270 & 97.1
Brad Penny (6-6, 4.50 ERA) vs. Jake Peavy (4-2, 4.83 ERA)

• Hey, look who’s available: The Dodgers designated Marcus Thames for assignment today.

• Happy Birthday to Mike Schwabe (47) and Mike Munoz (46).

Finally, on this date in 1979 the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game of twi-night doubleheader against the Tigers when more tha5,000 fans refuse to leave the field during Disco Demolition Night. I wrote about it on the 30th anniversary.

Had he not played for the Tigers, I wouldn’t give this much thought, but he did, so I do.

That’s because there’s been no other Tigers player in my lifetime that has left me wanting more than Sheff.

Sure it would’ve been nice to see something, anything from the likes of Edgar Renteria, Juan Gonzalez or Fernando Vina, but Gary Sheffield was a superstar at just about every stop in his career — and he was bringing his act to Detroit. This was a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

But a collision with Placido Polanco in July 2007 essentially ended what was shaping up to be a Sheff-like season: .265, 25 home runs and 75 RBI over 133 games. His OPS that season was a hefty (Shefty?) .819.

Alas, we were robbed of what could’ve been three of the most quote-rich years in club history.

In ’08, he appeared in 114 games and hit just .225 but still smacked 19 homers.

Sheffield finishes his career with 509 home runs, 1,676 RBIs and a .292 career batting average. He is 24th on the all-time home run list and 25th on the career RBIs list.

(snip)

Sheffield will be eligible to be elected to the Hall of Fame after the 2014 season.

“I am sure it will be mentioned and debated but from my standpoint I know who is in the Hall of Fame,” Sheffield told the newspaper. “A lot of them don’t belong in the Hall of Fame. If someone wants to debate me, check the stats.”

If Sheff had three full, healthy seasons in Detroit, the stats would’ve been more impressive than they already are.

As it was, this quote from him after the ’07 injury pretty much sums up his Tigers career:

“I can’t be myself,” Sheffield said. “Guys throwing 88 miles per hour, and I can’t do nothing with it.”

Even though he was always one perceived slight from becoming a team’s bad seed, he
was an exceptional player — even though we only saw glimpses in Detroit.

I think Gary Sheffield’s a Hall of Famer. Do you?

Let’s look back at the Gold Glove winners in franchise history:

1957

Al Kaline OF

1958

Frank Bolling 2B

Al Kaline OF

1959

Al Kaline OF

1961

Al Kaline OF

Frank Lary P

1962

Al Kaline OF

1963

Al Kaline OF

1964

Al Kaline OF

1965

Bill Freehan C

Al Kaline OF

1966

Bill Freehan C

Al Kaline OF

1967

Bill Freehan C

Al Kaline OF

1968

Bill Freehan C

Mickey Stanley OF

1969

Bill Freehan C

Mickey Stanley OF

1970

Mickey Stanley OF

1972

Ed Brinkman SS

1973

Mickey Stanley OF

1976

Aurelio Rodriguez 3B

1980

Alan Trammell SS

1981

Alan Trammell SS

1982

Lou Whitaker 2B

1983

Lance Parrish C

Alan Trammell SS

1984

Lance Parrish C

Lou Whitaker 2B

Alan Trammell SS

1985

Lance Parrish C

Lou Whitaker 2B

1988

Gary Pettis OF

1989

Gary Pettis OF

2004

Ivan Rodriguez C

2006

Ivan Rodriguez C

Kenny Rogers P

2007

Placido Polanco 2B

Ivan Rodriguez C

2009

Placido Polanco 2B

In the meantime, here are some odds and ends from the last week:

• If you’re still coming to grips with the notion of Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta manning the left side of the Tigers’ infield next season, here’s something I noticed that will either make you feel better or worse – and nowhere in between.

  Based on this year’s stats, it appears that Inge and Peralta are practically twins:
  

  2010 Stats	Inge	Peralta
  Games	144	148
  At bats	514	551
  Hits	127	137
  Home Runs	13	15
  RBI	70	81
  Average	.247	.249
  On-base Percentage	.321	.311
  Slugging Percentage	.397	.392
  OPS	.718	.703

  Of Peralta, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski last Sunday said: “We don’t know what we will do with his ($7.25 million) option, but would like him back next year as our shortstop.”

  I’m like many Tigers fans: skeptical, at best, about Peralta as a full-time shortstop. True, he’ll bring more pop to the position than either Danny Worth or Ramon Santiago. But that’s not saying much, is it? As for his defense, the 2010 edition of Baseball Prospectus described Peralta as “increasingly immobile.”

  Gee, if we wanted an immobile shortstop, why not give the job back to Carlos Guillen?

  Discuss.

• Yahoo! Sports‘ Tim Brown last week gave some major love to former Tigers infielder/current Braves sensation Omar Infante.
  

  Years ago, he was run off positions and out of at-bats in Detroit by Ramon Santiago, Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco and Fernando Vina, so he earned back a few swings by playing six different positions, figuring it out, surviving.

  Now 28, hardened by his positional vagabonding and inspired by the public ridicule that accompanied his surprise All-Star selection in July, Infante no longer plays from the bench. In the leadoff spot and back at third base, he has become part of a new core of Braves, that being what was left from a grueling and injurious season. From the Braves’ opening day eight, only two started game 162, a win that clinched the organization’s first playoff appearance in five years.

  All things considered, who would you rather have at shortstop for the Tigers next season: Infante, Worth or Peralta?

• Getting caught up on some recent Fungo Flash Poll results:
  • Do you like the Tigers’ decision to put Phil Coke in the rotation next season? 52 percent (115 votes) said Yes; 48 percent (107) said No.

  • If the Tigers decide to re-sign only one of these players, who should they choose? Inge: 79 percent (214 votes); Bonderman: 21 percent (56 votes)

  • With the Tigers season winding down, what are you looking forward to the most? Top three vote getters: Michigan Football, 25 percent (41 votes); Spring Training, 24 percent (40); Red Wings, 23 percent (38). I’m disappointed that no one — not a single vote! — cast a vote for my alma mater: Any Western Michigan Team Sport (0 percent, 0 Votes). Ouch.

• Some birthdays today: Patrick Leyland, 19; Jeff Larish, 28; and, Dmitri Young, 37. Today’s also the 81st birthday of George Kell‘s brother, Skeeter.

• On this date in 2006, Alexis Gomez and Curtis Granderson each hit home runs as the Tigers beat the A’s 8-5 in Oakland to take a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series.

• And on this date in 1944, the Tigers acquired catcher Bob Swift and infielder Don Heffner from the Athletics for outfielder Rip Radcliff.

Finally, on this date in 1975 “Saturday Night Live” debuted on NBC, which makes me feel old — and bummed out that it’s not nearly as funny as it used to be.

Yankees

• Curtis Granderson
• Marcus Thames

Rays

• Carlos Pena
• Matt Joyce
• Gabe Kapler

Rangers

• Matt Treanor
• Colby Lewis

Giants

• Aubrey Huff
• Edgar Renteria
• Cody Ross
• Andres Torres

Braves

• Kyle Farnsworth
• Jair Jurrjens
• Omar Infante

Phillies

• Placido Polanco
• Chad Durbin

1. Brandon Inge. I owned up to this one on the podcast with Ian earlier this week. At the start of the season I proclaimed that if Inge could just hit .250, I’d be delighted. After a cold start, he’s been hitting around — and over — .250 for most of the season. Starting play tonight Inge is hitting .255. So I need to stop my complaining about his shortcomings.
2. 86 Wins. Was I nuts to think that a Tigers team with two rookies in the Opening Day lineup, Placido Polanco in Philadelphia and questions galore surrounding the back-end of the rotation? Perhaps. But the Tigers weren’t going to be that much worse in 2010 than they were last year right?

   Right?

   Anyway, they need to win 19 of their last 27 games to finish with 86 wins. Looking at the schedule between now and Oct. 6 — even with a few servings of Kansas City, Cleveland and Baltimore — that seems a tough row to hoe.

3. The Twins’ Karma Correction at Target Field. “Just wait,” I said. “Things will all even out when the Twins play outdoors,” I said.

   Pfft.

   Minnesota is 43-23 at home. Only the Yankees, Braves and Rockies have better home records. The Tigers, though, aren’t far behind the Twins this season: 43-25 at home.

   Still, the Twins have proven to me that they used the Metrodome to their advantage. They’re an outstanding club no matter where they play.

   And it hurts to write those words.

There. I feel better now.

• 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?

It’s precisely the move we expected the Tigers to make. That is, a drip not a splash.

Not only is he the Tigers’ new and temporary third baseman until Brandon Inge returns, he’s also the new and temporary shortstop until the Tigers acquire Stephen Drew.

Ahem.

What’s more, you present a writing dilemma for me. Do I add “Jhonny” to my spell check dictionary and run the risk of misspelling someone who’s name is Johnny, or live with the annoying red line under “Jhonny”?

This isn’t exactly like 2006 when the Tigers scrambled to find a replacement at second base for the injured Placido Polanco and made the mystifying trade for Neifi Perez. Peralta will help the Tigers a lot more than Perez, but the bar is set fairly low in that regard.

Even though the Tigers appear on the brink of collapse, they still are 9-1/2 games closer to first place than the Indians are, which means Peralta could be energized and be a big help.

Again, it’s all relative.

Perhaps the way to view this trade is how Baseball Prospectus 2010 sums up Jhonny Peralta:

Peralta has enver been the most consistent player, but given the gross similarities of his 2007-2008 seasons, any bounce back seems likely to be similar in form — good, but just barely that.

On the bright side, the Tigers have made a trade. Let’s savor it; this might be all we get.

Who at the time would’ve guessed that the brittle Guillen could stay healthy for two months and regain his status as a productive member of the Tigers’ lineup?

But let’s be honest: the concern wasn’t Guillen’s offense, it was the defense. How many ground balls would he, could he, get to…without pulling a hamstring? Could he turn the double play with Adam Everett (and now Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth)? The answer to all those appears to be yes.

Let’s see if the numbers bear it out.

In 39 games, Guillen’s committed just four errors and has a .977 fielding percentage — 24 points higher than Sizemore who had six errors in 30 games.

Guillen’s UZR of 5.267 would put him in eighth place overall if he had enough games played to qualify for league-leader status. (Chone Figgins leads the majors with a 6.129 UZR.) His 4.69 range factor would place him in the company of Aaron Hill, Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia for 14th. (Robinson Cano and Chase Utley lead the way with a 5.26 RF.)

The verdict? Guillen has been about average in the field which, all things considered, isn’t horrible. That’s because everyone’s expectations at second base were lowered a notch when Placido Polanco departed for the Phillies. No one expected Sizemore to replicate Polanco’s steadiness, but they didn’t expect him to be as substandard as he was in April and May either. So the defensive bar for Guillen was set low — but not as low as it was for him in left field — and he’s managed to perform above it.

Offensively, he’s getting the job done and creeping closer to .300 — he finished the first half at .289. It would be nice to see his power return (he’s got five homers so far) but chances are that’s just wishful thinking.

Overall, Carlos Guillen seems like a happier player now that he’s back in the infield and not a part-time DH and left fielder. As we always have to say, when healthy he’s a vital piece of Jim Leyland‘s lineup.

So keep those fingers crossed.

Max Scherzer certainly did his part on Friday night by serving up five runs in the first inning which fueled Boston’s 7-2 win.

What happened on Saturday was the stuff that magical seasons can be built on. An overstatement? Maybe. But when Dontrelle Willis plays the role of Scherzer by yielding four runs and seven walks in just 3.1 innings, you could almost expect the Tigers to mail it in. Except they didn’t. Instead, they chipped away at Jon Lester and the Red Sox bullpen and mounted a thrilling comeback behind Brennan Boesch‘s four-hit game — and near cycle.

Another letdown appeared imminent with John Lackey starting for the Sox on Sunday but that wasn’t meant to be either. The Tigers wore down Lackey with nine hits and four walks and Ramon Santiago went deep in the fourth for his first homer of the year.

Meanwhile, Armando Galarraga made a triumphant return to the majors and was superb (despite walking two of the first three hitters): 5.2 IP, three hits, one run, three walks and five strikeouts. And what about Jim Leyland bringing in Jeremy Bonderman for an inning of flawless relief? Whatever works.

For me, the most interesting part of an exciting week were the roster moves made after Saturday night’s game. Scherzer being sent down came as no surprise after he showed on Friday how truly out of sync he is. With Galarraga seemingly ready to resume his big-league career, this makes sense.

Demoting Scott Sizemore jolted me a little. Based on everything we heard since spring training — and that they let Placido Polanco walk — I expected the Tigers to ride it out with Sizemore. Then again, when your keystone combination is hitting a combined .399, you’ve gotta do something.

I’ll say this about Dave Dombrowski, he’s certainly not afraid to bring up the kids. Right now, the Tigers have five rookies on their roster. And good ones. Who knows how long Danny Worth and Casper Wells will stick in Detroit, but it certainly is fun to watch it all play out.

The stunner in all this was the announcement of Carlos Guillen becoming the Tigers’ starting second baseman when he returns from the disabled list. Tell me how this can possibly end well? One wrong twist trying to turn a double play and Guillen could be on the shelf again. Then again, this is a player — a favorite of mine, actually — who landed on the DL running the bases. Add the more demanding defensive requirements of the middle infield and, well, yeah. This can’t end well. (Of course this isn’t saying much, but I’d certainly rather have him at second than in left.)

In his career, Guillen has played a dozen games at second base, all with the Mariners in 1998 and ’99 and he had 56 error-free chances. He’ll have to make quite a few to catch up with Sizemore’s six errors so far this year.

A weekend that started out poorly — and could’ve gotten a lot worse without much effort — certainly turned around in a hurry and featured lots for Tigers fans to chew on as the dreaded White Sox come to town on Monday.

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Royals | 2:10 p.m. ET – Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City | On the air: FSD/1270-AM

Pitching Matchup

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

Yesterday’s Results

Royals 3 – Tigers 2

W: Kyle Farnsworth, 1-0  | L: Jose Valverde, 0-1

HR: Miguel Cabrera (1)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• John Hiller, 67
• Dane Sardinha, 31
• Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell, 83

On this Date in Tigers History

• 1963 – The Tigers claim Denny McLain off waivers from the White Sox.

• 2002 – After opening their season with six straight losses, the Tigers fire manager Phil Garner and general manager Randy Smith. The unfortunate Luis Pujols takes over the reins on an interim basis and sleeps through a record 156 games. Dave Dombrowski added the GM’s duties to his president and CEO title.

• 2008 – Placido Polanco‘s MLB record run of 186 consecutive errorless games and 911 consecutive errorless chances at second base ends. He commits a throwing error that allows Manny Ramirez to score on what would have been a triple otherwise.

• 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 fans a second season of his mediocrity by signing with the Giants.)
• I’ll miss Placido Polanco more than I’ll potentially miss Curtis Granderson but I still don’t want the Tigers to deal him – or Edwin Jackson. (For what it’s worth, I own the bobblehead shown here. Guess I’ll have to store it alongside my Pudge bobblehead.)

• On Dec. 4, 1952 the Tigers traded Virgil Trucks, who tossed two no-hitters during the year, along with P Hal White and outfielder Johnny Groth, to the Browns in exchange for second baseman Owen Friend, outfielder Bob Nieman, and outfielder/ catcher J.W. Porter. How could they trade a pitcher good enough to throw a pair of no-no’s? Easily it turns out. Apart from his no-hitters, Trucks won only three other games that year — against 19 defeats. Somehow he kept his ERA below four (3.97).
• On this date in 1976, Aurelio Rodriguez became the first American League third baseman since 1959 to beat out Brooks Robinson for the Gold Glove Award.
• Yesterday you might have seen him on C-SPAN railing on Fed chief Ben Bernanke, but on this date in 1963 you would’ve seen Jim Bunning pack his bags as the Tigers traded him to the Phillies for catcher Gus Triandos, pitcher Jack Hamilton and outfielder Don Demeter.
• About a year late, MLB Network will be broadcasting from the Winter Meetings next week in Indianapolis. (Why they didn’t launch the network at last year’s meetings is still a mystery. No, go ahead and launch on January 1. Nothing else is on TV that day…) Anyway, here’s a preview of the network’s “Hot Stove at the Winter Meetings” program. And be sure to weigh in on the latest Fungo Pulse Check poll in the sidebar –>
• Here’s a question: When are we going to find out which member of the White Sox was in the bar with Cabrera during that dreadful last weekend of the year?
• Speaking of a year too late, I’m glad that Chip Caray will no longer be allowed to butcher baseball games for TBS. However, if you are a glutton for punishment you can relive Game 163 from the Metrodome by purchasing it for $1.99 on iTunes.

We’ll be back with more on the Winter Meetings next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend.

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 better. Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez overreacted again, issued warnings, ejected Jim Leyland, Jeremy Bonderman and Gerald Laird, watched benches clear. You know, the usual playoff atmosphere.

The Quote: “Really, what is there to say?” — Yours truly.

The Stat: 0 – As in 0 for 5 for Ramon Santiago on the day, suggesting that perhaps Leyland chose the wrong day to give Placido Polanco a breather. Santiago was 0 for 2 with runners in scoring position, including a bases-loaded chance in the fourth when he popped out to the catcher. The catcher.

Magic/Tragic Number: 2 – Still two.

Up Next: White Sox @ Tigers

Edwin Jackson (13-8, 3.36 ERA) vs. Jake Peavy (8-6, 3.75; 2-0 with the Sox)

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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 for the year.

The View: For a while it looked like two pitchers falling into old (and opposing) habits: Freddy Garcia looked like the front-line starter he was from 2001-05 and Nate Robertson, well, looked like more like ’08 Nate: a bullpen mop-up guy. Ultimately, both guys cratered but Nate just left earlier in the game. Thankfully.

*The Quote: from Jim Leyland.

The Quote II: “And I’m going to make it clear. It’s a bunch of [expletive] out there watching football games like a piece of [expletive] with no pride the way they play the [expletive] game, and that’s embarrassing. If you don’t have pride to play this game and you don’t care about it, get another job because I know I’m going to be all over the stinking place when I talk about this.” — Ozzie Guillen, showing all class once again.

The Stat: 5 — The number of double plays turned by the Tigers.

Magic Number: 7

Up Next: Tigers @ White Sox

Edwin Jackson (13-7, 3.25 ERA) vs. Daniel Hudson (0-1. 3.38)

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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 coming off the opposite end of sweeps, but you didn’t think it would be the Tigers that would keep their streak going, did you? This one was setting up as a disappointment from the last out of Thursday night’s game in Cleveland.

Oh, and Placido Polanco had another three-hit game, but none of the other 10 Tigers to bat could solve Jake Peavy.

The Quote: “Turn the page.” — Jim Leyland, either offering sage advice to his club (and fans?) or quoting a classic Bob Seger song. Maybe both.

The Stat: 2 – The number of days remaining before Tigers fans can enjoy six months of White Sox-free living. 0 – The accuracy of the original Stat. Driven by wishful thinking, I’d forgotten about next week’s series against the Sox in Detroit.

Magic Number: 8

Up Next: Tigers @ White Sox

Nate Robertson (2-2, 5.13 ERA) vs. Freddy Garcia (2-3, 4.01)

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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 five innings of work, striking out six.

The Quote: “I guess we’ll have to take two out of three and now go on a long road trip.” – Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire

The Stat: 6 – The number of hits by Placido Polanco on Saturday and Sunday.

The Stat II: 83-113 – The Tigers’ all-time record at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

Up Next: Tigers @ Indians, Tuesday Night

Edwin Jackson (12-7, 3.37) vs LHP Aaron Laffey (7-6, 4.09)