For years I would right up season previews where I would almost automatically pick the team for 4th place. I didn’t know if they were a legitimate 4th place team, but I’d inject a little homerism to avoid last place. And then 2006 happened. The team was good. Real good. Picking them first or second in the division didn’t seem homer-ish, it seemed prudent after their World Series run. And an 87 win finish in 2007 and a blockbuster trade in the subsequent offseason further solidified those predictions. Then 2008 happened. I’m not ready to go back to picking the team in the bottom half even though that is the prevailing wisdom. I have them at 84 wins and a second place finish this year. And here’s why.
I‘m having a hard time even writing about the rumored deal that will send Matt Joyce to Tampa for Edwin Jackson. Joyce might flame out, but Jackson has yet to even burn. Jackson has a fastball that averages in excess of 93 MPH. That’s fast, but he doesn’t seem to fool a lot of people … Continue reading Tigers set to send talented outfielder to Tampa for guy who throws hard→
PREGAME: The Rays were most likely up until the wee hours last night celebrating their AL East championship. I say congrats to those mohawked players. But working in the Tigers favor is that they are probably hung over and don’t give a damn. Dontrelle Willis takes the bump for Detroit and Matt Garza does the … Continue reading Game 160: Rays at Tigers→
Last year Sam Hoff started breaking down the season into 18 games segments, each representing 1/9th of the season, or an “inning.” Here is the 7th inning report. The 8th Inning is over. Each 18 games represent 1 inning of a baseball season. The Tigers record for the first 8 innings in 2008: Starters: Bullpen: … Continue reading The 8th Inning – 2008→
PREGAME: Whenever the Tigers play the Rangers I think of George Kell saying something like “And the Tigers’ll be in Arrrlington on Toooosday night.” It sounds better in my head than it does on the computer though. The match-up is Kenny Rogers, making a return to Texas and Scott Feldman. Feldman doesn’t strike out many, … Continue reading Game 125: Tigers at Rangers→
A hodgepodge of all the stuff that went down this week that just didn’t fit anywhere else: Much ado about a boo A lot of disgruntled fans did a lot of booing this week. Gary Sheffield received his share when culmination about frustration with his production collided with Sheff being Sheff. That was noisy, but … Continue reading Junkballing: Booing, Injuries, Waivers and Minors→
PREGAME: Remember when the Tigers bludgeoned the Royals for a series sweep a few weeks back? Yeah, that was the last time they won a series. They have a chance to turn the feat again this afternoon. It will be Nate Robertson taking the mound for the Tigers. Robertson has been horrific with a 6.11 … Continue reading Game 117: A’s at Tigers→
Last year Sam Hoff started breaking down the season into 18 games segments, each representing 1/9th of the season, or an “inning.” Here is the 6th inning report. This doesn’t include the Tampa series which got the 7th off to an awful start. The 6th Inning is over. Each 18 games represent 1 inning of … Continue reading The 6th Inning -2008→
PREGAME: After a lackluster effort the Tigers can hopefully muster some offense against Matt Ginter. You may remember Ginter as a former Tigers pitcher and an accomplished banjo player. The Indians picked him up and he’s allowed just 3 runs in 2 starts with no walks. Armando Galarraga takes the ball for Detroit. He had … Continue reading Game 106: Tigers at Indians→
PREGAME: Holy craftiness Batman. Kenny Rogers and Paul Byrd. That’s 80 years worth of pitcher doing battle tonight. The Tigers fresh off a 3 game road trip to Comerica Park play a Cleveland Indians team that is showing some signs of life. Since the last time these two teams hooked up, the Indians have been … Continue reading Game 105: Tigers at Indians→
With the original post at 500 comments, let’s roll things to a new post. It’s also where I’ll hit my postgame. The Todd Jones Experience Todd Jones blew it. Todd Jones lost this game. Todd Jones has not been pitching well. The management (Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski) realize this. It’s why Joel Zumaya was … Continue reading Game 102: Postgame and Overflow→
With a week before the non-waiver trade deadline, rumors are flying everywhere. A quick round-up of Tigers items of note so far: It appears that the Tigers had scouts at the Orioles/Blue Jays game when A.J. Burnett started. Whether they were scouting Burnett or lefty reliever George Sherrill is unclear. The Tigers could of course … Continue reading As the Trade Winds Blow→
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