Tigers Weekly 2005 Season

Week 10: 6/7/05 - 6/13/05

Interleague play rolls on for the Tigers and the boys
come home to Comerica licking their wounds.  Coors
Field continued to be a nemesis of the Tigers, as they
dropped two of three to the last-place Rockies.  This
week the Tigers try their luck against the Padres and
a Barry Bonds-less Giant ball club.  The week ahead
looks similar to the week behind as the Padres are
better than average and the Giants have had their
better days.  If there is to be any success the
offense will have to improve.  The DH is back in play,
so we very well could see some better numbers.

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Week of 6/7 - 6/13
 
Record:  2-3  WL-LWL-
 
Undy-Five-Hundy:  We're going in the wrong direction
here!  Still, this is the worst I've felt about a week
in a long time and the team only dropped one more game
undy (4).  That says a lot about what the weeks have
been like in years past.  Things seemed somewhat
abysmal, but one more victory this week and it would
have been a winner.  I guess I'm starting to raise my
expectations, which is a good thing.  
 
Up Next for the Tigers...

6/14 - 6/16  San Diego
6/17 - 6/19  San Francisco
6/20         no game scheduled...
6/21 - 6/23  @ Minnesota
 
AL Central Standings...

CWS  42 21 -
MIN  36 25 5
CLE  31 30 10
DET  28 32 12.5
KCR  21 41 20.5
 
Tigers Division...

CWS  42 21 -
|
PIT  30 31 11
NYY  30 32 11.5
DET  28 32 12.5
MIL  28 35 14
SEA  26 35 15
 
Tigers News and Notes: Big news this week as the
Tigers made a big trade.  Dombrowski shipped Ugueth
Urbina and Ramon Martinez off to the Phillies in
exchange for infielder Placido Polanco.  Polanco had
been splitting time at second base and also filling in
at third, shortstop, and the outfield.  He currently
holds a .318 batting average and hasn't committed an
error all season.  In his debut series with the
Tigers, Polanco went 4-12 with a run, an RBI, and a
stolen base.  He also has a twelve game hitting streak
(two of those he got while pinch hitting).  With the
injury to Guillen and the mediocre play of Omar
Infante, the acquisition of Polanco is welcome.  He
should see most of his action at second base,
replacing Omar Infante who becomes the new utility man
(Martinez's old role).  The situation doesn't change
much for Urbina as he goes from setup man for Troy
Percival to setup man for Billy Wagner.  And you many
notice the trade was a two-for-one, so that opened up
a spot for Fernando Rodney.  Rodney fills the vacant
bullpen spot and we will again get a chance to see his
stuff.  Kyle Farnsworth takes over as the setup man
for Percival.

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Tiger of the Week...
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Speaking of Farnsworth (you can't spell Kyle without K), he happens to be the player of the week! Farnsworth came over from the Cubs with a lot of question marks, but he has only impressed since he's been here. His control has been great as he has 36 Ks as opposed to just nine walks in 27 innings. His ERA is a miniscule 2.33 and opposing hitters are batting just .214 against him. Being a middle reliever, this performance goes a tad unnoticed, as he normally only pitches about one inning a game. His consistency has earned him the setup roll and, along with the return of Fernando Rodney and the performance of Franklyn German, gave Dombrowski the confidence to trade Urbina. From now on we'll be seeing Kyle in pressure situations. That's where he struggled in Chicago, but it looks like he could be past that.

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Tigers Weekly Baseball Game...
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I've gotten a handful of  responses regarding the
proposed Tigers Weekly baseball game.  It looks like
the day of the game (if it happens) would be Saturday,
July 9th.  I've gotten definite yesses from about five
people, but also may have interest from another group
of fellows (5-8 guys) who are looking to get a game
together.  It sounds like we'll have plenty of
equipment (balls, bats, catcher's gear, helmets...) so
that shouldn't be an issue.  If you have some baseball
skill and would like to play, please contact me as
soon as possible and I'll get you more information.  I
really think this would be a great time and I hope we
get enough people to make two full squads.

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Poll Question...
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So the big deal went down this week.  What do you
think?  Did the Tigers make a good deal or could they
have gotten more for Urbina?

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Game Linescores...
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June 7:  Detroit 8 - Los Angeles 4
Starters:  DET: Robertson 5IP - LAD: Thompson 5IP
DET  001 102 400  8 13 0
LAD  100 120 000  4  5 0
W: Spurling   (2-0)
L: D. Sanchez (1-2)
Editor's Note:  "D." does not stand for "Dirty."
 
June 8:  Detroit 1 - Los Angeles 3
Starters:  DET: Johnson 6.2IP - LAD: Weaver 7IP
DET  001 000 000  1 2 0
LAD  020 000 10X  3 9 0 
W: Weaver  (6-5)
L: Johnson (4-5)
S: Gagne   (7)
 
June 9:  no game scheduled...
 
June 10:  Detroit 0 - Colorado 2
Starters:  DET: Maroth 7IP - COL: Wright 7.1IP
DET  000 000 000  0 7 0
COL  000 002 00X  2 7 0
W: Wright  (4-5)
L: Maroth  (4-7)
S: Fuentes (6)
 
June 11:  Detroit 6 - Colorado 4
Starters:  DET: Bonderman 6IP - COL: Jennings 6IP
DET  201 011 010  6 12 0
COL  200 110 000  4  9 1
W: Bonderman (7-4)
L: Jennings  (3-7)
S: Percival  (4)
 
June 12:  Detroit 3 - Colorado 7
Starters:  DET: Robertson 5.1IP - COL: Kim 6IP
DET  011 000 001  3  6 0
COL  100 114 00X  7 11 1
W: Kim       (1-5)
L: Robertson (2-4)
 
June 13:  no game scheduled...

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Readers Write In...
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Paul "Jerome" Kersey
 
Definitely would be interested in the baseball game. 
Long time since I played though...
 
Paul

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Matt "Morris" Weiland
 
Toolie
 
The baseball game sounds like a riot!  Could this be
the rematch the world has longed for? O'Toole vs.
Weiland-the sequel!  I could do it the 9th but not the
16th let me know.  I have a lot of equipment-all the
balls we will ever need, wood and aluminum bats, I'm
pretty sure I have at least two helmets, multiple ball
gloves, and I even have a large water cooler.
I'm down for getting T-shirts made for this event. 
Something like... 
 
                 "We Do It Every Week"
                    Tiger's Weekly
 
....should do the trick.
 
Matt "I always carry at least 40 baseballs, a bat and
three gloves in the car in case a homerun derby is an
option" 
 
Weiland

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Greg "El Sue" Primeau
 
I just wanted to give my thoughts in A-Rod.
 
I am not an A-Rod fan and I hate the Yankees. We all
know the Yanks are having trouble this year, which is
always a good thing. Everyone is making a big deal
about A-Rod and his 50 some RBI and now his 400 HR.
Who really cares if he is the youngest player to do
it? Has he helped that team get any wins NO. The only
time he has a great game is when they blow a team out
like the they did to the Tigers a few weeks back or
last night against the Brew Crew. 
 
I couldn't care any less how many home runs or RBI's
he gets in a blow out. When he starts helping the
Yanks win then people can give him some credit. Until
then just be quiet. 
 
Also to any of you Yankee fans who get his news
letter. Enjoy the team you have now because by mid
August it will all be gone. I think Geroge is on the
verge of having a coranary.
 
Later

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Brian "Clarence Carter" Vessel
 
Hey Matt, 
 
I'd be interested in playing a little baseball.  I'm
pretty sure I can get one batting helmet, one wooden
bat (but it's kind of heavy), and two aluminum. 
 
I used to play outfield fairly well, but now I'd
probably look like Manny Ramirez out there. 
 
Anyway, I hope things are going well.  Today is the
last day of school for me!  Talk to you later. 
 
Brian 

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Toolie's Trashtalk...
 
I absolutely love the acquisition of Placido Polanco. 
This guy has been a good hitter and a solid fielder
his whole career.  While he doesn't seem to fit into
the team concept (he's not from Venezuela) he fits
nicely in the infield.  Second base has been a
troubling spot for the Tigers for a good while, and
this definitely solves that problem.  Say what you
want about not getting enough for Urbina.  I think the
team addressed a need and didn't just get someone like
Fernando Vina.  I'm hoping that Detroit can keep
Polanco around for a good while.  Also, he is on my
fantasy team, so I went from having no Tigers to
having one.  That made me happy.  
 
Jason Johnson pitched a great game Wednesday night in
Los Angeles.  However, Jeff Weaver outdueled J.J. and
the Dodgers won the game 3-1.  The "1" that the Tigers
scored was solely thanks to Jason himself!  Johnson
became the first Tiger pitcher since 1971 to hit a
home-run when he connected with Weaver's first pitch
and sent it over the left-field wall.  His home-run
trot has to be the slowest around.  He took so long I
think that Dickerson and Price paused for station
identification.  The look on Weaver's face was
priceless.  Alas, Weaver had the last laugh as he
saddled Johnson with a loss.  
 
My favorite version of Baseball Tonight comes on
Sunday afternoon at Noon.  The show is an hour long
and usually has Steve Phillips along with som host
(not Ravech).  The fact that it's an hour long in a
huge plus.  They may actually show Tigers highlights! 
This particular show usually acts as a recap of the
week behind and a preview of the week ahead.  I was a
little displeased, however, that Johnson's home run
was left off of the "Touch 'Em All" for the week
montage.  They had some boring home-run from Griffey
and a Maddux home-run.  Did any other American League
pitchers hit a dinger last week?  No love for the D. 
Also, Phillips seems to give good analysis of all
teams.  He was the former GM of the Mets so he has
good knowledge of players and their abilities (even if
he was the fool that made the move for Mo Vaughn...). 
The nightly shows are too short and too centered on
the big-market teams.
 
Whenever I hear someone talk about Diamondback's
manager Bob Melvin I can't help but think of Death
saying "They "Melvin"ed me" in Bill and Ted's Bogus
Journey.  What a last name.  It's right up there with
Aase.
 
Back to ranting about ESPN... why do they nationally
broadcast more than one game from the same series? 
Previously I've seen Cubs vs. Dodgers on a Monday and
also on the following Wednesday, and this week ESPN is
pulling the same shenanagins with the Braves and the
Rangers.  Get some other teams on there!  I wouldn't
mind seeing the Indians or the Blue Jays or the
Brewers every once in a while.  Seriously, there needs
to be a baseball channel.
 
I know that players need days off, but I can't stand
it when I get ready to watch a game and Trammell has a
total B-team in the lineup.  The Tigers didn't have a
chance against the Rockies on Sunday as the bottom of
their lineup was stacked with sub-.200 hitters.  The
bottom four were Thames (.188), Giarratano (.200),
Wilson (.095) and Robertson (.000).  Those averages
were taken after Sunday, and only Giarratano's went up
as he was 1-4 (the only Tiger to get a hit that day). 
This maneuver is bad enough when it's your 7-8-9
hitters, but with the pitcher thrown in there as well,
you've got half a lineup.  The Tigers played Sunday
without Guillen, Rodriguez, or Rondell.  If you
include Ordonez, then that further illustrates how
weakened the team was on that day.  Byung-Hyun Kim was
pitching, but even if you don't like to start righties
against his crazy delivery, I'd rather see the studs
in there.  Perhaps if Rondell played instead of Thames
I would be satisfied.  Giarratano had to play (Guillen
injured) and Pudge got the day off as Sunday was a day
game after a night game.  I just hate the B-team look.
What is there to make me want to invest my time to
watch a game with this combination of players?  
 
Greg, I know what you're saying about A-Rod and his
Dean Palmer heroics.  However, I think A-Rod will be a
part of a championship team some day...especially if
he stays with the Yankees.  He's a darned good hitter
and not a bad shortstop.  I just get sick of the
overexposure.  
 
The Tigers Weekly baseball game will be fantastic! 
Remember to contact me if you're interested.  I'm
thinking we can plan it for mid-afternoon and then get
dinner at some place in Lansing and catch the
Tigers-Devil Rays game at 6PM.
 
I'm out.
 





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