As much as I want to bash the re-signing of Jhonny Peralta, I’m going to rely on lessons learned from 2005 when the Tigers inexplicably signed Kenny Rogers — Kenny Rogers?! — and Todd Jones — Todd Jones?!. Those signings turned out pretty well, all things considered. Besides, I don’t have the energy to get all riled up; watching that Michigan game wore me out. With the exception of the Detroit papers, most obituaries on Sparky Anderson have been wire copy. The notable exceptions include this one from The New York Times and this one from the closest thing to a hometown paper, The Los Angeles Times. On case you were wondering about how the newspaper in Sparky’s real hometown, his birthplace, Bridgewater, S.D.,…
Interleague play is back! What’s that? You haven’t missed it? As the Pirates come to town let’s do an interleague reset: Since interleague play started in 1997, the Tigers have compiled a 124-108 record, 57-33 in interleague games at Comerica Park. This year they’re 1-2. In a related note, here’s the good news coming into this weekend: The Tigers’ next three series are against teams that are an average of nine games under .500. Then again, their last three series were against teams that are an average of 10 games under so draw whatever conclusions you will.
Who knew that when Jose Lima was called up to the Tigers in 1994 he would become a 20-game winner and a big-league character? Lima, whose best seasons in the majors came as a member of the Astros, died this morning at his home in Los Angeles of an apparent heart attack. He was just 37 years old. The cause of death was ruled a heart attack, according to his wife, Dorca Astacio. “Jose was complaining while sleeping and I just thought he was having a nightmare,” Astacio told ESPNdeportes.com. “I called the paramedics, but they couldn’t help him.” Lima signed with the Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1989 and arrived in Detroit during the 1994 season, appearing in just three games.…
Tigers’ Record: 4-1 Today’s Game Tigers vs. Indians | 1:05 p.m ET – Comerica Park | On the air: FSD PLUS/1270 Pitching Matchup Justin Verlander, 0-0, 7.20 ERA vs. Jake Westbrook, 0-1, 11.25 ERA Yesterday’s Results Tigers 4 – Indians 2 W: Jeremy Bonderman (1-0) L: Mitch Talbot (0-1) SV: Ryan Perry (1) HR: Magglio Ordonez (2)
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.…
