[ The Daily Fungo: Detroit Tigers Baseball ] » Pudge Rodriguez

Non-Sequiturs: Winter Caravan Memories

Mike McClary — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:33:42 +0000

Tigers thoughts while listening to a pounding rain:

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.

Friday Freehans: Trades, Memories and Salt for Your Game 163 Wound

Mike McClary — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:48:53 +0000

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 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 â€“ 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 catcherÂ 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.

An Ides of March Sunday Buffet

Mike McClary — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 18:18:39 +0000

Sometimes there’s so much to talk about that it’s better to throw it all out there in no particular order…

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 SeÃ±or 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.

Three for Thursday

Mike McClary — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:59:13 +0000

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

The Top 10 Tigers Stories of 2008: #8 – The Tigers Trade Pudge

Mike McClary — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:53:39 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez signed with the Tigers as a free agent — only a few months after winning the World Series with the Marlins. I tuned in to ESPNEWS on Feb. 6, 2004, to see if they were going to broadcast Pudge’s introductory press conference from Comerica Park. And they did.

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 dÃ©jÃ 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.

The Top 10 Tigers Stories of 2008

Mike McClary — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:10:12 +0000

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.

Free Agent Menu: Catchers

Mike McClary — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:26:57 +0000

If you haven’t heard, the Tigers need a catcher. With all due respect to Dusty Ryan, I don’t think the Tigers’ Win Now-ish pitching staff can achieve its full potential — not that we’d necessarily know it if we saw it — with a rookie catcher.

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

Three for Thursday: Former Tigers Edition

Mike McClary — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:36:10 +0000

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.

Pudge Asked for the Trade

Mike McClary — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:28:59 +0000

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.

Buster Olney on the Pudge Trade

Mike McClary — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:19:22 +0000

Pudge Follow-up

Mike McClary — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:21:41 +0000

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.

Trading Pudge a No-Brainer

Mike McClary — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:36:36 +0000

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.

Game 96: Six Straight Curveballs

Mike McClary — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:25:17 +0000

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)

The Doug Report: Adjectivially Speaking

Doug Hill — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:51:51 +0000

Sun!

That was my first thought as my Frontier Airlines jet touched down at Phoenixâ€™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 â€“ maybe â€“ early October are random and fleeting.

Warmth!

That was my second thought. Despite the best efforts of the aircraftâ€™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: â€œDad, will you please bring back some warm air. Every baseball game I have itâ€™s always cold and wet.â€ (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 Mikeâ€™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 â€“ younger brother of Husky great Tom â€“ was a freshman trying to make a name for himself.

How else â€“ beside friendship â€“ 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 Tigersâ€™ 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;
Guillenâ€™s total aim job of a throwing error (also in the seventh); and,
Leylandâ€™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 Raburnâ€™s dropped double-play ball; Cabrera running for that very same pop up; Pudgeâ€™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? Thatâ€™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!

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

Itâ€™s a pet peeve of mine, but I was brought up to respect the game and its fans. That meant you didnâ€™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 â€“ 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!

Game 43: Winning Ugly Can Be Beauteous

Mike McClary — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:42:47 +0000

The Gist: Armando Galarraga threw a gem, Matt Joyce went deep and the Tigers eeked out a one-run victory, 3-2 over flame-throwing D’backs rookie Max Scherzer. It wasn’t a lot of offense, but the Tigers got enough and were able to overcome some untimely walks issued from the bullpen. The play of the game, at least from our view from section 112 at Chase Field, was Pudge Rodriguez’s coaxing the D’backs into a double play with the old “let-the-pop-fly-drop.” Orlando Hudson didn’t run on the pop-up and was likely treated to an earful from Arizona bench coach and baserunning instructor Kirk Gibson.

The Quote: “He actually reminds me a little bit of Jim Northrup.” — Jim Leyland on Joyce.

The Stat: 1. Saturday night’s win was the Tigers’ first in 2008 when they scored fewer than five runs.

Game 37: Rogers Rolls, Homers Hibernate, Jones Nearly Ruins It All

Mike McClary — Sat, 10 May 2008 04:04:32 +0000

ESPN highlights available here.

The Gist: Game #37 featured a terrific outing from #37 Kenny Rogers, three hits from Pudge Rodriguez and ridiculous ninth inning from Todd Jones. Luckily, and most importantly, it all added up to a Tigers’ 6-5 win over the Yankees. Rogers gave the Tigers a quality start — 6 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 K — and, in the second inning, picked off the 92nd runner of his career, Wilson Betemit. Ryan Raburn, getting the start in center, went 2 for 2 with a pair of runs scored.

The Quote: “Todd had the [leadoff] guy 0-2, and if he gets him, the game probably ends without any excitement.” — Jim Leyland on the Yankees’ half of the ninth inning.

The Stat: 5. The number of consecutive games the Tigers have played without hitting a home run.

My Two Cents: Watching Kerry Wood smoke the Diamondbacks in the top of the ninth inning this afternoon at Wrigley Field made me long for the return of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney. You know, guys who can hit 95+ on the gun. I’ll admit that railing on Todd Jones seems so 2006, yet I can’t help but wish aloud that Tigers had a flamethrower at the back end of the bullpen.

A Look Back at April

Mike McClary — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:21:29 +0000

Tigers April Record: 13-15

Individual Batting Leaders (minimum 20 games, my totally subjective criteria)

Average: Carlos Guillen, .321
Home Runs: Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, 5
RBI: Cabrera/Ordonez, 19
OBP: Guillen, .414
OPS: Guillen, .938
SLG: Guillen, .524
SB: Guillen, Pudge Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, 3

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Five pitchers tied with two each – Jeremy Bonderman, Armando Galarraga, Aquilino Lopez, Clay Rapada, Kenny Rogers
ERA
- Starter: Galarraga, 1.50
- Reliever: Rapada, 0.00
Saves: Todd Jones, 5
Strikeouts
- Starter: Nate Robertson, 24
- Reliever: Lopez, 14

Team Rankings

Team Batting: .267, fourth in American League (ninth in majors)
Team Pitching: 4.88 ERA, 13th in A.L. (28th in majors)
Team Fielding: .984, seventh in A.L. (tied for 13th in majors)

And now the random stuff: Tigers Day-by-Day Record

Monday: 2-1
Tuesday: 3-1
Wednesday: 4-1
Thursday: 1-3
Friday: 2-2
Saturday: 1-3
Sunday: 0-4

Game 26: Thud

Mike McClary — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:38:48 +0000

The Gist: The anticipation of seeing the Tigers’ complete lineup for the first time all year was squashed and the Detroit Momentum Train was derailed by a stellar pitching performance. This time by the Angels’ Jered Weaver: two runs, four hits and four walks and struck out five over 6.1 innings. The result? A 6-2 thumping of the Tigers in front of another national TV audience. As for the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, well…another dud: six runs, seven hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. Edgar Renteria and Pudge Rodriguez drove in the Tigers’ two runs.

The Quote: “[Fans ask], ‘Why bat him three? Why don’t you bat him eighth?’ If you don’t think a guy’s going to hit, why even bat him at all?” — Jim Leyland on the skidding Gary Sheffield.

The Stat: 3. The number of RBI by Torii Hunter who, despite a new uniform, continues to drub Detroit pitching.

My Two Cents: The Tigers played admirably in the first two games of the series but ran into a buzz saw on Sunday night. That’s too bad because after the tightly played Friday and Saturday games, one might have expected that a weary, homeward-bound team might be whooped after trips to Boston and Detroit. But let’s be real. Mike Scioscia doesn’t allow that to happen.

The Angels return to Detroit for a three-gamer Sept. 2-4. It will be fun to watch what happens between now and then. Come September, we’ll either be watching two teams destined for a post-season matchup, or we won’t.

Up Next: Tuesday – Tigers @ Yankees

Kenny Rogers (1-3, 7.66) vs. Phil Hughes (0-3, 7.85)

Game 18: Not Quite Enough

Mike McClary — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:56:17 +0000

ESPN highlights available here.

The Gist: Jeremy Bonderman gave up just enough runs and the Tigers couldn’t capitalize on the few opportunities they had against Dustin McGowan and lost Saturday afternoon 3-2. In five innings of work, Bonderman allowed five hits, six walks (two intentional) and three runs (two earned). Pudge Rodriguez had a three-for-three day with an RBI, and Carlos Guillen continued his torrid pace: three for four to raise his average to .379 — good for second in the American League behind Baltimore’s Luke Scott (.386).

The Quote: “I’m not going to lie. I didn’t have much.” — Bonderman, after the game.

The Stat: 191. The number of times the Tigers have lost to the Blue Jays since Toronto entered the American League in 1977. The Tigers have won 161 times.

Up Next: Tigers at Blue Jays

Nate Robertson (0-1, 7.02) vs. A.J. Burnett (1-1, 7.27)

Game 13: Everybody Hits, Everybody Hits, Everybody Hits Right Now

Mike McClary — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:45:57 +0000

ESPN highlights available here.

The Gist: The Tigers scratched back twice against the Twins bullpen — and twice ignited by the slumping Gary Sheffield — to win for the first time at Comerica Park in 2008, 11-9. (In a span of three at bats, Sheff went from being greeted with boos to hearing his name chanted. Nice.)

The star of the game, though, was Pudge Rodriguez. He went 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run and scored two runs, including the eventual game-winner.

Jeremy Bonderman continues to frustrate The Fungo with his lack of reliability. After the Tigers inched closer in the bottom of the sixth, he let the Twins extend the lead (with some help from Bobby Seay, of course). Nevertheless, a win is a win.

The Quote: From Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writing about Jim Leyland:

â€œThatâ€™s what I love about my skip, man,â€ Tigers DH Gary Sheffield said before Sundayâ€™s game. â€œHeâ€™ll tell you that you suck. Thatâ€™s what I appreciate him for. I know I suck. We know we suck.”

The Stat: 6. The minimum number of runs given up by Detroit starters over the past three games. Justin Verlander gave up six (all earned) on Saturday, Kenny Rogers yielded seven (all earned) on Sunday, and Bonderman allowed seven (four earned) on Monday night.

I’m Just Sayin’: I’m listening to an audiobook titled “The 4-Hour Workweek.” Along the way, author Timothy Ferriss says that if you want to maximize your time, you’ve got to minimize the stuff you shouldn’t be doing. He calls it “permission to quit” or something: If the book is bad, stop reading. If the movie is bad, walk out. Bad meal? Quit eating. And so on.

Tonight I almost — almost — put that idea into practice in the top of the seventh inning. So frustrated was I about the Twins padding the lead (and the Wings letting theirs slip at the same time), I was ready to watch the end of the CMT Music Awards with my daughter.

Luckily, cooler heads prevailed.

A great win. And for the third time this year, Tigers fans wonder if a two-game winning streak is in the offing.

Up Next: Tuesday at Comerica Park: Nate Robertson (0-1, 7.84 ERA) vs. Scott Baker (2-0, 4.63 ERA)