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 (2), Brennan Boesch (1)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Cameron Maybin, 24

On this Date in Tigers History

• 2005 – On Opening Day in Detroit, Dmitri Young hit three home runs to lead the Tigers to an 11-2 win over the Royals. Here’s what the starting lineup looked like that day behind starter Jeremy Bonderman:
  1. Omar Infante, 2b
  2. Carlos Guillen, ss
  3. Pudge Rodriguez, c
  4. Magglio Ordonez, rf
  5. Young, dh
  6. Rondell White, lf
  7. Carlos Pena, 1b
  8. Craig Monroe, cf
  9. Brandon Inge, 3b

I’m still betting on the latter, though the Tigers have fewer minor-league chips to parlay into an impact big-leaguer, and the ones they have — Andy Oliver, Jacob Turner — are the premier prospects. But who wants to see them dealt? Not many, I’m guessing.

Meanwhile …

• Ken Rosenthal says that the Tigers could be a dark-horse team on Cliff Lee. He’s clear that he has no information on which to base this hunch, only Mike Ilitch‘s annual mad-money spending. How great would this be? As long as Lee doesn’t end up with the White Sox …

• I received an email from our man Doug Hill this morning saying that a Detroit sports talk conversation centered on the alleged availability of Curtis Granderson — and whether a return to Detroit might be possible. The hosts speculated that Grandy could return, bat fifth and play left field. I’d have no problem with this, depending on the cost. What do you think?

• The Werth deal has been skewered by just about everyone since it was announced, most recently by The News’ Lynn Henning, and justifiably so. Still, I think the Nationals wanted to make a splash much like the Tigers did in 2005 when they went after Magglio Ordonez. Sometimes a club has to make a bold move to get itself back on the map. For Washington, this was that move.

  I tweeted yesterday that most thought the Tigers seven-year deal with Ordonez was nuts. Despite his injury-shortened 2005, he was tremendous for the Tigers. The Common Man replied:
  

  @DailyFungo Correct me if I’m wrong, but #Tigers got, like, one great year out of Magglio while paying, like $82 mil. I’d say that’s nuts.

  Well, in the six seasons he played in Detroit, Ordonez amassed some pretty solid numbers: .318 average, 102 home runs, 501 RBI and OPS of .874. I’d say that’s hardly nuts. Plus, at the time the Tigers had zero punch in the lineup, with apologies to Rondell White, Dmitri Young and Pudge. They needed a slugger and after a decade of losing, they needed to overpay a bit. I think it worked out tremendously.

• In case you’ve been wondering, Victor Martinez will wear number 41, his number in Cleveland and Boston, which means Oliver will have to go with another. Joaquin Benoit will wear number 53.

• Speaking of Magglio, ESPN.com’s Rumor Central whispers that the Red Sox might have him on their radar but his age might drive them away.

• While it’s only the first day of the Winter Meetings, the Tigers might make a splash today. In their history, December 6 has been a busy transaction day:
  

  1939 – The Tigers acquired infielder Dick Bartell from the Cubs for infielder Billy Rogell.

  1954 – The Tigers acquired RHP Leo Cristante and infielders Ferris Fain and Jack Phillips from the White Sox for LHP Ted Gray, infielder Walt Dropo and outfielder Bob Nieman.

  1958 – The Tigers acquired infielders Eddie Yost and Rocky Bridges and outfielder Neil Chrisley from the Senators for infielders Reno Bertoia and Ron Samford and outfielder Jim Delsing.

  1973 – The Tigers acquired LHP Ray Newman from the Brewers for RHP Mike Strahler.

  1975 – The Tigers acquired LHPs Dave Roberts and Jim Crawford and catcher Milt May from the Astros for RHPs Gene Pentz and Mark Lemongello, catcher Terry Humphrey and outfielder Leon Roberts.

  1989 – The Tigers acquired RHP Matt Kinzer and outfielder Jim Lindeman from the Cardinals for RHP Marcos Betances, catcher Bill Henderson and infielder Pat Austin.

Thanks to the record-number of responses — 1,308! — we received to our recent Fungo Flash Poll: What’s next on the Tigers’ offseason to-do list? The comments were terrific too.
Here’s how the voting came out:

1. Sign Jayson Werth (39%, 512 Votes)
2. Make a trade or two at the Winter Meetings (27%, 359 Votes)
3. Sign a starting pitcher (24%, 309 Votes)
4. Sign Adam Dunn (10%, 128 Votes)

With Werth and Dunn off the market, I still believe the Tigers are due for a big trade.

It should be a fun week. On Thursday, Ian and I will recap the Tigers’ activity on the next episode of the podcast.

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

• 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?

For the life of me, I can’t remember a Tigers player that enraged me the way Brandon Inge does these days.

Yes, long-time readers of the Fungo remember my constant bellyaching about Craig Monroe but that was on a different level entirely. Monroe, I thought, was the most self-centered player on the Tigers; swing for the fences regardless of the situation, play defense when he felt like it.

Inge, I believe, is a team player. No question. He gives his all in the field and … perhaps at the plate. And we all know he played the second half of 2009 with two useless legs and still managed to play tremendous defense.

A total gamer.

But why then do I see him come to the plate and immediately think, depending on the scenario: pop-up, strikeout or double play? Is it the tattoos? His petulant attitude when the Tigers signed Pudge Rodriguez and traded for Miguel Cabrera? The soul patch?

I think it’s all the above.

What pains me about this is my affinity for the Tigers. I don’t enjoy not liking Tigers players. The White Sox? I relish in despising all 25 on the roster. Sure, every Tigers team has featured a player that drove me looney, but this is unprecedented for me. (Well, in the case of the 2010 Tigers there are two maddening players: Inge and Ryan Raburn.)

Inge is hitting .253 coming into play today but get this: he’s hitting .326 in June — .333 with runners in scoring position after hitting just .182 and .174 with RISP in April and May respectively.

So what are we to make of this? Is Inge’s offensive production on the rise or is he setting us up with a rope-a-dope that will send us into a rage when he strands five runners in a game but makes two game-saving catches? (Speaking of D, he’s committed five errors and is on pace to match — if not surpass — last year’s 20. His fielding percentage is .972.)

No matter what fuels this fire I’ll have to live with it. Chances are Brandon Inge will be back at third base for the Tigers next season.

God help me.

The Gist: For the first time in nearly nine years, Brad Thomas took the hill as a starter and did enough to keep the Tigers in the game until the offense took over in a kooky fourth inning. With two outs that inning, Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago scored on a wild pitch when the ball ping-ponged off the brick backstop and rolled toward Gene Lamont along the third-base line.

Winning-pitcher Eddie Bonine (2-0), Joel Zumaya and Jose Valverde combined with Thomas to hold the Rangers scoreless over the final seven innings. Johnny Damon drew three walks — a season’s worth for Pudge Rodriguez.

The Quote: “They’ve been getting us our wins.” — Damon, on the Tigers’ bullpen.

The Stat: 5 – The number of strikeouts by Zumaya on his two innings of work.

Up Next: Tigers @ Rangers | Sunday – 3:05 p.m. ET

Rick Porcello (1-1, 6.46 ERA) vs. former Tigers RHP Colby Lewis (2-0, 3.12 ERA)

On the air: FSD/1270 AM & 97.1 FM

Follow The Daily Fungo on Twitter: @DailyFungo

• I attended the Tigers Winter Caravan one time, in 1991 when I was living in Kalamazoo and had some connections with the local paper. Back then, only the media was invited. Or so I thought. I walked into a Kalamazoo hotel and saw dozens of fans asking for autographs from the players and Sparky Anderson.

  If memory serves me, Cecil Fielder was there. Recently signed Tony Bernazard was too. This I remember because I asked Sparky during the Q&A how he’d work Bernazard into the lineup without Tony Phillips losing at bats. The answer was classic Sparky and basically amounted to: “I have no idea but Tony is Tony and we’ll be all right.” Uh, yeah. (Bernazard was released in April after playing in just six games and hitting .167).

  The real story that winter was the recent firing of Ernie Harwell and, lo and behold, new Tigers President Bo Schembechler was on hand to answer questions about it. As you might guess, Bo was not happy with the first round of reporters’ questions being about Ernie and not the team. After that, he said he wouldn’t answer other questions on the topic and though people tried, he wouldn’t bite — other than to bite their head off for even asking.

  It was a great experience. If you get an opportunity to attend a Winter Caravan event, do it.

• I tweeted about this yesterday, but I think it’s worth repeating: Dave Dombrowski insists that the Tigers have no interest in Johnny Damon. Fine. But he said the same thing about Ivan Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez. Wouldn’t be surprised if Damon arrives in Lakeland in a few weeks.

• Speaking of moves, I don’t understand all the anger around the Jose Valverde signing. While he drove me nuts as the Diamondbacks’ closer a few years ago, that was mainly because of his antics after earning a save. Remember: no one could make sense of the Tigers signing Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers in the winter of 2005-06 but that worked out fine. Expect the same with Valverde.

• On this date in 1993, Tigers Hall of Fame second baseman Charlie Gehringer died at the age of 89, one month after suffering a stroke. During his 19-year career in Detroit, The Mechanical Man posted a .320 batting average with 184 home runs and 1,427 RBI. In 1937, he led the American League with a .371 average.

Finally, Happy Birthday to a pair of former Tigers: Wil Ledezma,29, and Tom Urbani, 42.

• 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.

• Yeah, yeah. Pudge Rodriguez dipped himself in the Fountain of Youth in the offseason and is showing some zest in the World Baseball Classic. Any team that thinks he’ll perform at this level for a full season — at least as a number-one catcher — is fooling their bad selves. It was interesting, though, to see the number of teams (beyond the Marlins) reportedly interested in signing Señor Ivan. Among them, the Astros (where he’d replace, sorta, another former Tigers catcher, Brad Ausmus), the Twins (?!) and the Giants. Apparently the Marlins are waiting for him to come to grips with not being a full-time player in 2009.

  Then again, if Pudge withers at the end of the WBC, he could be looking at a longer wait.

  

• First it was Kerry Wood. Then Carl Pavano. Now it looks like the Indians are among the clubs eyeing Pedro Martinez. Given fifth-starter issues the Tigers are facing (we’re talking about you, Nate and Dontrelle), wouldn’t you think the Tigers would at least place a call? Who knows, maybe they already have. But if by some bizarre twist of fate, Pavano and Martinez are part of a Cleveland post-season rotation, it’s going to make one Tigers-blog-writin’ guy mighty unhappy.

• Last week I attended three Cactus League games (of varying quality) with my pals Steve and John, who flew in from Detroit. The first game (Indians/Brewers) was about as ugly a contest as you can imagine — even by Spring Training standards. Final: Brewers 17 – Indians 7.

  The only notable thing to come out of it was that the Tribe rolls out 90-year-old Bob Feller (pictured) to sign autographs at every home Cactus League game. I didn’t get an autograph nor did I overhear Feller rail on how Jackie Robinson couldn’t/wouldn’t make it in the big leagues, as Feller did back in the day.

  
  The second game, Dodgers versus Mariners at the beauteous new Camelback Ranch facility in Glendale, featured two former Tigers sightings. The first was a silver-haired Jim Slaton, now pitching coach for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, and as you might have read this week in the News, Mariners’ non-roster invitee Chris Shelton. It was nice to see him still in the mix somewhere.

  The final game was no-thrills tilt between the Rockies and Padres in Tucson. Todd Helton homered in his first at bat and that was enough for me. Oh, and a big thumbs-down to Hi Corbett Field for not accepting credit cards for concessions. I had to pay the $2.25 ATM charge instead. Bush league.

Finally, today’s the birthday of bad seed/jackass and former Tiger Robert Fick. He’s 35 today.

1. Forgot to mention that last week I appeared on the Baseball Digest Live program on Blog Talk Radio. You can catch the show here. My segment is at the top of hour two.

2. If MLB or the players’ union or whoever released the 103 other names on the list, would it surprise anyone to see Pudge Rodriguez‘s name on it? Wouldn’t surprise me. Just sayin’.

3. Happy Birthday to two former Tigers of varying distinction: Gary Knotts(32) and Chet Lemon (54).

My first thoughts were that his body language and tone of voice didn’t align with someone who just signed up for four-plus years in The D. Rather, he looked more like a guy who was thinking “After all I’ve accomplished in my career, this is what I get?” Thankfully, his attitude improved modestly over the seasons that followed (somewhat less, of course, near the end of the Alan Trammell Era).

We’ve read all about the Baseball Renaissance that Pudge fueled in 2004, and it’s all true. I was a huge Pudge fan and marveled at the effect he had on the Tigers. (And his performance during the 2005 Home Run Derby at Comerica Park was remarkable.) Despite the good times, I knew Pudge would leave Detroit and it wouldn’t be a entirely pleasant.

Nevertheless, I was stunned when, on July 30, he was traded to the Yankees — the Yankees! — for Kyle Farnsworth. Talk about déjà vu.

At the same time, I was relieved that a decision had been made on the future of Detroit’s catching spot, specifically that it would not be Rodriguez’s in 2009. Still, it seemed asymmetrical that a future Hall of Famer would arrive with much fanfare and depart at the trade deadline in what amounted to a lose-lose trade for both teams.

It’s the end of the year, so that means it’s time for Top 10 Lists galore. So I thought I’d add to the list of lists with my take on the 2008 Detroit Tigers. Actually, this top-10 list — which I will reveal over the final 10 days of 2008 — is for the calendar year ’08 and, as you’ll see some are recent.

So here we go. My Top 10 Tigers stories of 2008. As always, feel free to weigh in.

#10 – Tigers trade for Gerald Laird

There are a lot of candidates for the number-10 spot on this list and few of them are what I’d call positive. So, let’s go with this one: On the eve of the Winter Meetings the Tigers acquired catcher Gerald Laird from the Rangers for minor leaguer pitchers Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo.

Looking ahead to 2009, the bullpen and shortstop situations were troubling to Tigers fans, but help in these areas is more abundant than in the catching spot. In fact, most of the help at short and in the bully will be homegrown. And let’s face it, there was no way Dave Dombrowski was going to make Jim Leyland use an untested Dusty Ryan as his everyday catcher.

In addition to a solid reputation as a catch-and-throw guy, Laird is more than serviceable at the plate. Last year, Laird batted .276 for the Rangers with 24 doubles in 344 at-bats to go with six home runs and 41 RBIs. He hit .299 with a .759 OPS away from Texas.

With Laird secured, the Tigers could turn their attention to shortstop (the recently signed Adam Everett) and the bullpen…though we’re still waiting for that.

Though Pudge Rodriguez has moved on, the Tigers will, for the sixth-straight year, start a former Texas Ranger behind the dish on Opening Day.

Discuss.

Scott Boras got things buzzing this week with his push for Jason Varitek to sign with the Tigers this offseason. Who knows if the Tigers will replace 36-year-old Pudge Rodriguez with the 36-year-old Varitek, but one thing’s for sure: the Tigers have quite a selection of backstops from which to choose.

The problem? The average age of the dozen catchers that filed for free agency on Nov. 1 is 34.9. That’s years.

I’ll admit that Varitek might not be the answer but take a look at the following list and you tell me which of these catchers you’d want as your 2009 starter.

And “None of the Above” is not an acceptable answer.

*2008 salary not available

• Brad Ausmus, 39, Astros | 2008 Salary: $2,000,000

  81 games, .218 avg., 3 home runs, 24 RBI, .303 OBP, .296 SLG, .600 OPS

• Henry Blanco, 37, Cubs | 2008 Salary: $3,175,000

  58 G, .292, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .325 OBP, .392 SLG, .717 OPS

• Toby Hall, 33, White Sox | 2008 Salary: $1,750,000

  41 G, .260, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .304 OBP, .331 SLG, .634 OPS

• Jason LaRue, 34, Cardinals | 2008 Salary: $850,000

  61 G, .213, 4 HR, 21 RBI, .296 OBP, .348 SLG, .643 OPS

• Paul LoDuca, 36, Marlins | 2007 Salary: $6,250,000*

  67 G, .243, 0 HR, 15 RBI, .321 OBP, .295 SLG, .616 OPS

• Adam Melhuse, 36, Rockies | 2008 Salary: $750,000

  15 G, .167, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .219 OBP, .200 SLG, .419 OPS

• Chad Moeller, 33, Yankees | 2006 Salary: $700,000*

  41 G, .231, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .311 OBP, .330 SLG, .640 OPS

• David Ross, 31 | 2008 Salary: $2,525,000

  60 G, .225, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .369 OBP, .352 SLG, .721

• Ivan Rodriguez, 36, Yankees | 2008 Salary: $12,379,883

  115 G, .276, 7 HR, 35 RBI, .319 OBP, .394 SLG, .714 OPS

• Javier Valentin, 33 | 2007 Salary: $1,250,000*

  94 G, .256, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .326 OBP, .411 SLG, .737 OPS

• Jason Varitek, 36, Red Sox | 2008 Salary: $10,442,030

  131 G, .220, 13 HR, 43 RBI, .313 OBP, .359 SLG, .672 OPS

• Vance Wilson, 35, Tigers | 2008 Salary: $950,000

  2006 Stats: 56 G, .283, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .304 OBP, .441 SLG, .745 OPS

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/11/01/free-agent-menu-catchers/feed/ 4 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/28/three-for-thursday-former-tigers-edition/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/28/three-for-thursday-former-tigers-edition/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:36:10 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1308
  • This afternoon I caught the last three innings of the Red Sox-Yankees game from New York. In the bottom of the ninth, with runners on second and third with one out, Pudge Rodriguez pinch hit for shortstop Cody Ransom. Sure out, right? Oh, ye of little faith! Pudge drew a walk. Sure his walk numbers are up this year, but in countless similar situations with the Tigers we saw him swing at that low-and-outside pitch. Jason Giambi came up next and singled in the winning run for the Yanks. Does the Pudge Era, which ended less than a month ago, seem like a distant memory to you too?

  • Carlos Pena continues to dazzle with the Tampa Bay Rays. How did this happen? Seriously. Didn’t the Tigers give him a pressure-free environment (2002-05) in which to thrive? It may have been pressure-free but apparently it wasn’t simple enough.
    

    Rather than letting your mind get cluttered by internal pressure, just focus on the most basic element of hitting, which is to see the ball, and this is what Pena has been doing — what all the Rays have been doing.

    Rays hitting coach Steve Henderson must be a miracle worker if he can get this level of performance out of the once enigmatic Pena

  • Have you seen the Tigers’ schedule for September? Oh, dear lord. Angels, Twins, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Royals and Rays. They also have the A’s at Comerica Park for three but that’s not as intimidating as the others. Then again, given how bad Detroit’s playing these days, the A’s could cause trouble. But it’s all relative, isn’t it?

  Finally, I received a complimentary issue of the newly refreshed yet not-exciting Sporting News yesterday. Can someone explain to my why Tank Johnson is wearing a Tigers hat during Cowboys Training Camp? According to always-reliable Wikipedia, he has no obvious ties to Detroit.

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/28/three-for-thursday-former-tigers-edition/feed/ 0 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/01/pudge-asked-for-the-trade/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/01/pudge-asked-for-the-trade/#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:28:59 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1202 Now this makes sense (from Bill Madden’s column in The New York Daily News):
  

  How could [Yankees' GM Brian Cashman] know the Detroit Tigers’ perennial All-Star and Gold Glove catcher had become disconcerted over the decision of his manager, Jim Leyland, to give an increased percentage of the catching role to Brandon Inge? It seems nobody had an inkling of this until Rodriguez, who is a free agent after the season, asked for a meeting with Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski at the team hotel in Cleveland, at which he was the one who suggested a trade to the Yankees.

  “They need a catcher and I want to catch every day,” Rodriguez reportedly told Dombrowski. “Why don’t you see if you can work something out?”

  And here’s a zinger:

  From Cashman’s standpoint, the Yankees had already been asking a lot of Jose Molina, a career backup, and there was also private concern that he might eventually break down. With Rodriguez coming in, those fears have been alleviated, but it remains to be seen how the Yankee pitchers, all of whom apparently love working with Molina, will interact with Rodriguez. Despite Rodriguez’s Hall-of-Fame credentials, his reputation is that he catches for himself.

  Not surprisingly, we find out that Scott Boras was just being Scott Boras:
  

  When Dombrowski got to the ballpark in Cleveland, he called Rodriguez into Leyland’s office at which time they made a courtesy call to Rodriguez’s agent Scott Boras, who, predictably, immediately started making demands for compensation to his client in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause. At that point, Rodriguez reportedly got on the phone and told Boras to butt out; that this was his wish and that everything had already been signed off on.

  And that about wraps up that story. For now.

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/08/01/pudge-asked-for-the-trade/feed/ 3 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/buster-olney-on-the-pudge-trade/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/buster-olney-on-the-pudge-trade/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:19:22 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1188
  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/buster-olney-on-the-pudge-trade/feed/ 0 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/pudge-follow-up/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/pudge-follow-up/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:21:41 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1180 Watching ESPN’s report about the Pudge trade to the Yankees. Peter Gammons says:
  • The Tigers-Pudge relationship “had run its course.”
  • Jim Leyland told him that the Tigers can’t run Zumaya and Rodney out there every night and the team needed bullpen depth.
  • The Tigers believe Brandon Inge is ready to take over behind the plate.
  • “On that stage in New York” Pudge will be inspired to play great.

  When you think about it, the fact that Pudge has remained in Detroit this long is astounding. So unhappy was he during the Alan Trammell Era (especially 2005), most wouldn’t have been shocked at a trade back then.

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/pudge-follow-up/feed/ 0 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/trading-pudge-a-no-brainer/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/trading-pudge-a-no-brainer/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:36:36 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1173 At the trade deadline in 1996, the Tigers sent Cecil Fielder, the only tradeable commodity at the time, to the Yankees for Ruben Sierra and RHP Matt Drews.

  That trade was a no-brainer. The Tigers weren’t going anywhere in ’96 — little did we know it would be another 10 years before they’d post a winning record — and the Tigers had a young Tony Clark set to take over at first base.

  But today’s trade of Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees for former Tiger Kyle Farnsworth raises a much more pressing concern: Who’s going to catch? The easy answer, Brandon Inge. But that’s tonight.

  What about next week when Inge needs a night off? Dane Sardinha. Okay. What about next year? Inge? All year?

  It could be that simple. And I think it is. The Tigers could be rewarding Inge with the full-time catcher’s role four years after Pudge arrived from Florida and took Inge’s job.

  The Tigers know that Inge is still smarting from his third-base job being taken by Miguel Cabrera in the offseason and then Carlos Guillen in May. I don’t think they can afford to yank his chain again.

  So Brandon Inge is the Tigers catcher.

  And between now and Spring Training, Dave Dombrowski will be looking high and low for a seasoned backup as well as a long-term solution.

  Of course, Dombrowski may have another trade in the works, perhaps one including Guillen in a trade for a catcher. Then, Inge moves back to third. But I doubt it.

  As for Farnsworth, he gives Jim Leyland another cannon in the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings. All in all, I think it’s an even swap. Like Pudge, Farnsworth isn’t likely to return to Detroit next year, but who knows?

  My heart says it’s tough to see Pudge go. It’s almost a cliche now, but it also happens to be true: His signing with the Tigers in 2004 gave this team instant credibility and served as the foundation for a pennant winner. No minor accomplishment.

  My head says, this one, just like Big Daddy to the Yankees in ’96, is a no-brainer.

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/30/trading-pudge-a-no-brainer/feed/ 3 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/18/game-96-six-straight-curveballs/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/18/game-96-six-straight-curveballs/#comments Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:25:17 +0000 Mike McClary http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=1124

  The Score: Orioles 7 – Tigers 4

  The Gist: Armando Galarraga gave up two, two-strike home runs and Bobby Seay refused to throw anything but a breaking ball to Luke Scott and the Tigers fell back to the .500 mark. The Tigers weren’t suffering from a lack of baserunners. In fact, they had bases loaded with one out in the third, among other stranded-runner situations. Speaking of stranded runners, Placido Polanco had five; Magglio Ordonez six. On the plus side, Pudge Rodriguez went 4 for 4 with a two-runner homer. Did we mention Bobby Seay? Oh, Bobby…

  The Quote: “What do I have to do to get called up?!” — What I imagine lefty Clay Rapada says every time Seay has an outing like Friday’s.

  The Stat: 0. The number of walks allowed by Galarraga. Darned impressive for someone on a staff full of generous pitchers.

  Up Next: Tigers @ Orioles

  Nate Robertson (6-9, 5.26) vs. Daniel Cabrera (6-5, 4.33)

  ]]> http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/07/18/game-96-six-straight-curveballs/feed/ 1 http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/05/19/the-doug-report-adjectivially-speaking/ http://www.dailyfungo.com/2008/05/19/the-doug-report-adjectivially-speaking/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 03:51:51 +0000 Doug Hill http://www.dailyfungo.com/?p=959 Sun!

  That was my first thought as my Frontier Airlines jet touched down at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport early Thursday evening. It seems as though for we Michiganians glimpses of the sun outside the months of July, August, and – maybe – early October are random and fleeting.

  Warmth!

  That was my second thought. Despite the best efforts of the aircraft’s cooling system it was quite evident I was no longer in Michigan.

  This fact was made even clearer later that evening when a call home elicited this comment from my soon-to-be 7-year-old son Jake: “Dad, will you please bring back some warm air. Every baseball game I have it’s always cold and wet.” (Included in my luggage home was a one Zip Lock baggie filled with 85-degree Arizona evening warmth!)

  Friendship!

  That was my third thought as I spotted Mike’s red Infiniti easing onto the North Curb outside baggage claim; Mike and I go back to my sophomore year of high school when I was the 13th man on the Lakeview High junior varsity basketball team and Mike – younger brother of Husky great Tom – was a freshman trying to make a name for himself.

  How else – beside friendship – can you explain someone leaving his family near dinner time to drive 45 minutes one way to pick you up at the airport? And then put you up in his guest house for a long weekend.

  Uninspired and inconsistent!

  Is there any other way to categorize the Tigers’ performance of late? The two nights I saw in the desert only served to verify this description. The list of transgressions on Friday was lengthy:

  • Magglio not running hard out of the box on that second-inning double-turned-single-and-throw-out;
  • Cabrera lollygagging (cue Robert Wuhl) after the pop up back of first;
  • The lack of communication between Renteria and Guillen in the seventh;
  • Guillen’s total aim job of a throwing error (also in the seventh); and,
  • Leyland’s decision not to insert Brandon Inge for defensive purposes with a three-run lead and Guillen not due up for three more innings.

  Of course Saturday came along and there was Raburn’s dropped double-play ball; Cabrera running for that very same pop up; Pudge’s savvy dropped pop up bunt in the eighth; and Leyland making the necessary defensive substitutions in the ninth.

  Fellowship!

  Could there be a better place for men to be men than at a baseball game on a warm summer evening? That’s what I thought of as I sat there under the stars and slowly cooling evening air with John, Mike, and Tom.

  Just talking baseball, reminiscing about glory days (cue Bruce), and quoting guy stuff like Fletch, The In-Laws, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Slapshot, Bull Durham, and the like.

  Ridiculous!

  That’s what I thought most of Saturday about the sizeable group of 20-somethings that tried to be Tigers’ fans sitting in front of us. Drink flowed from the moment they arrived and they thought nothing of getting up and changing seats – or leaving – during game play.

  It’s a pet peeve of mine, but I was brought up to respect the game and its fans. That meant you didn’t leave your seat until between innings or pitching changes; the same was true of your return. If you want to socialize and not watch the game, then do everyone a favor and do it on the concourse.

  Trust me when I say no one wants to see you – no matter how much you paid for your new chest or how nattily attired you may be; we all paid decent money to watch the game.

  Lucky!

  As I pen this on an old-fashioned steno pad at 38,000-feet, I realize how lucky I am to have a wife and two children who allow me to do something foolhardy like traveling 2,000 miles across the country to watch a pathetically underachieving baseball team and hand with the fellas for a few days. To them I say thank you!

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