Motor City Sports Blog » Baseball

Tigers finally bench Magglio

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:49:08 +0000

We doubt this will have the same results that Ken Holland’s now-legendary benching of Goalie Chris Osgood this winter: Tiger Manager Jim Leyland has finally laid down the law and benched slugger Magglio Ordonez for poor performance.

Ordonez has only managed two home runs and 22 RBIs this season.

None of the reports of the benching have included comments from Ordonez, though it is rumored that he will use this time to express support for Venezuealan dictator Hugo Chavez.

Tigers bench Magglio Ordonez | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Granderson makes catch of the year, saves Friday’s game

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 06:05:12 +0000

Curtis Granderson’s game-saving catch in Cleveland gives all of us Tigers fans a reason for hope. It’s clear that while there are issues on the team (Mags, Guillen) there is a core group of players that has shown up ready to compete this year. Granderson and Verlander are two that come to mind.

Check out the Tigers Team Report

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:38:01 +0000

Thought I’d share the Yahoo! Sports Team Report on the Tigers today. While I haven’t been covering the Tigers much, they’re certainly outperforming last year’s underperformance.

Yahoo! is fortunately not on the “this is 2006″ bandwagon that’s starting to appear in the local media. Hey, I know we all need a good pick-me-up right now (esp. those who work for Chrysler), but I’m not sure this team is going to be that good. That said, they’re certainly better than last year’s debacle.

Here’s an excerpt (the link is below):

Ryan Perry keeps getting tested.

It’s a series of pass-fail exams for the Tigers’ 2008 first-round draft choice, but so far the good marks outweigh the bad.

Perry was tested Tuesday and failed. He came into a 0-0 game and was the first pitcher in a 10-run New York inning that brought the Yankees an 11-0 win.

Jim Leyland being Jim Leyland, the manager didn’t waste any time in putting his hard-throwing future closer prospect back on the firing line.

Wednesday, Perry was brought into a game the Tigers trailed 8-1. He got two quick outs, then promptly walked the bases loaded.

via Tigers Team Report – MLB – Yahoo Sports.

Mark “The Bird” Fidrych dies in accident at Mass. Farm

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:14:26 +0000

Mark Fidrych, a Massachusetts native who electrified Major League Baseball in 1976, died in an apparent accident on his farm in Northborough, Mass.

There’s coverage about The Bird all over the web today and I won’t go into a recap of that. Check out this 1985 video instead. I think it captures Bird’s unique spirit and energy as well as anything could.

Opening Day brings questions about Tigers pitching to mind

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:02:22 +0000

To be honest, I haven’t given much thought to the Tigers in the past few weeks.

Spring training has never interested me. And with a wealth of basketball and hockey in March, it just seems a little early in the year to be thinking of baseball. Isn’t baseball something we should be paying attention to in July and August?

Regardless, it’s opening day at Comerica Park. The Tigers have managed to start off the season with an underachieving 1-3 record. Jon Paul Morosi of the Free Press asks the question that will likely be on all of our minds soon: Does this team have the pitching talent it takes to win?

Tigers are done, finished, over, kaput

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:45:09 +0000

I know I am not the first to say it, but this year of Tigers Baseball is over. While they tried hard to overcome a worse-than-bad start, the pitching could just never rise to the occasion consistently enough for this team to make a dent in the hole they’d dug in April and May. Even if they win tomorrow’s game against the White Sox, having won 2 games out of six against the leading team in the division does not make for a serious pennant run.

The Tigers are now 8.5 games out of first. I just don’t see any way they can dog out of this hole. At least, not with a pitching staff that’s being held up by Galarraga and no one else.

Pudge traded to Yankees for Farnsworth

admin — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:34:58 +0000

This is just a sign of how desperate the Tigers are for decent pitching. They’ve traded away one of their best, most loyal players — Pudge Rodriguez — for a relief pitcher who likely may not have the skills we need to provide much relief.

I think it is a shame to see Pudge gone and it is an equal shame to see Dave Dombrowski waving the white flag on the 2008 season — a season where the Tigers were expected to reach the World Series.

Here’s a link to Detroit Free Press coverage of the deal.

Tiger Stadium Photos at Flickr

admin — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Anyone who has not had a chance to see the demolition of Tiger Stadium in progress should check out the group pool of photostreams on Flickr. Thanks to all the talented Detroit photographers who are documenting this sad and historical event in the city’s history.

Tigers come from behind again, now two games over .500

admin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:45:52 +0000

The Tigers continue to impress me. There’s something about the way this team has not given up, and the way they don’t give up when games are almost out of reach. Forget all the talk about whether they can dig themselves out of the hole they dug early in the season ad enjoy this ride for what it is. Who knows if the pitching will hold up? Who knows if Chicago will cede first place in the division?

Here is coverage of the game from freep.com.

Tigers back above .500!

admin — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:14:44 +0000

The Tigers posted back-to-back come-from-behind wins to make it above the .500 mark for the first time this season. During the ninth inning of Saturday night’s game, when Todd Jones’ meltdown led to four runs for the Rockies, I was wondering which direction this team was really headed for the season. But to watch our hitters come back in the bottom of the ninth and win it, and then to watch Jones come back the next day and pitch great, weve got to think that something is right with this team.

We’ve now climbed to five games out of first place. This week’s series in Minnesota will be telling.