Tiger Droppings — A Detroit Tigers Blog

Freaking Sweet

2006-10-07T22:08:00.000-04:00

Look out World, here comes Jimmy and his boys!

200

2006-06-19T09:02:00.000-04:00

Gum time = Awesome

2006-06-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

These guys are seriously starting to scare me.

When was the last time you saw a Tigers team have this much fun in the dug out, and before you poo-poo their fun as a mere byproduct of the winning something has to be said about the combination of the fun and the focus.

This might all fall in the lap of Jim Leyland or perhaps it's some cosmic force beyond our comprehension bringing everything together at this moment, but my vote goes with Leyland.

The June 12 13-inning win against the Devil Rays was a perfect example of the Tigers new formula for winning "Focus+Fun= Success".

It was months ago someone on a message board said this Tigers team reminded him or her of the 2004 Boston Red Sox. Of course I thought that was overstating it because Kenny Rogers is no Pedro Martinez, Marcus Thames/Dmitri Young is no David Ortiz and Todd Jones is surely no 2004 Keith Foulke, but maybe there is something to this comparison.

Much like the Red Sox of 2004 the Tigers seem to combine a relentless attack with an uncanny knack for keeping things loose (Nate Robertson=Johnny Damon without the girlish arm). This is perhaps the most overlooked quality of winning baseball teams. Over 162 games, it must be next to impossible to maintain the football attitude of "Winning is the only thing."

This is where seemingly senseless insanity like Gum Time pays off. I'm not actually saying the Tigers are winning because they are putting Big League Chew executives into a new tax bracket, but the reason they seem to be winning so often is in the change of attitude, and this brings up another correlation between the Tigers and '04 Sox.

As Leyland has given the Tigers a complete cerebral makeover, so did Terry Francona with the Sox. For them it was letting go of the Curse and ignoring fictitious ghosts that previous teams had used as an excuse and crutch.

For the Tigers, it's been letting go of the "We've lost before we started mentality." It shows that our hot start (powered by Chris Shelton, who is not too unlike Todd Walker, Bill Mueller or any other seemingly obscure Red Sox who killed the AL in '04) not only served to put the Tigers in first place early, but it also legitimized everything Leyland was saying about forgetting the past and competing, there by cementing our new attitude.

So, whether it's"Gum Time" or "Idiots," the formula remains the same, "Fun+Focus=Success"

Miller Time

2006-06-06T13:35:00.000-04:00

The Tigers took Andrew Miller with their first round pick today.

The 6-6 210 Tarheel has been the ace of the nation's No. 1 team all season and seems to be a nice addition to the growing stable of power arms in the system.

He throws a four-seam and two-seam fastball with a nice slider and is sidearm from the left side like a slightly softer throwing Randy Johnson. It sounds like this might be a Maybin-type steal for the Tigers because Mr. I is willing to pay top dollar in the draft. KC was supposed to take this guy No.1 overall but passed.

There's a nice scouting report on Miller at The Hardball Times .

The draft's a crap shoot, but this sounds more like Verlander and less like Kenny Baugh.

It's On!

2006-06-06T10:05:00.000-04:00

Pudge lets Ozzie Guillen know the Tigers place.

The East coast home stand is over let's get back on the road and hit some dongs.
Tigers open with Roberston, follow with Verlander and Kenny
Bitch Sox go with Garcia, Contreras, Garland

Cheater

2006-06-01T10:29:00.000-04:00

Maroth on DL

2006-05-26T14:55:00.000-04:00

Lefty goes on 15-day with tender elbow
Tigers call up Spurling

New website

2006-05-26T14:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the guys at The Hardball Times, I have come across a new website chock-full of awesomeness. It's called Hit Tracker, and the guy who runs it breaks down how far home runs really travel.

He uses such science mumbo jumbo as numbers, physics and reasonable thought and puts up pretty charts with colors and everything to show the flight path of balls.

You can even sort home runs from the 2006 season to see who hits the big moon shots (Carlos Lee's shot that got 206 feet off the ground) or the piss missles (Miguel Tejada's 48-foot high line drive off Josh Becket that traveled just under 120 mph off his bat).

There are all sorts of cool things to check out including the historic home runs section, which pretty much proves Boston is better then the Yankees because Ted Williams red-seat home run went further than Micky Mantle's facade home run. Anyways, check it out you won't be disappointed.

The best ... around

2006-05-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

Tigers grab seventh sweep of season

Robertson opens Indians at home
Bring them Damn Yankees (on ESPN2)

Isn't it amazing

2006-05-24T09:46:00.000-04:00

Tigers win 11 in 12; six with winning run in the seventh or later.

"Staff of Doom" on pace for 33 shutouts
DY back on DL

Simply the Best

2006-05-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

27-13

Foxsports, Baseball Prospectus and TSN agree Tigers best in baseball.
ESPN, CBSportsline and CNNSI are catching on.

We are all witnesses

2006-05-18T11:50:00.000-04:00

More bad news for Meathook

2006-05-18T09:34:00.000-04:00

Ol' Meathook has run afoul of the law.

In an incident surrounding an alleged act of domestic violence at a Birmingham hotel, Dmitri Young in danger of going to jail for 90 days. Young has agreed to turn himself into police on the misdemeanor charge. While a man laying his hands on a woman is never excusable, let's hope the facts al come out before people rush to judgement against a guy who has seemed to be nothing more than a model player in regards to community interaction.

Needless to say this, heaped with his recurring leg injury and his little brother's squabbles with minor league umpires, this should only help in making his ability to focus on hitting a baseball even harder. We all saw last year how much personal strife can effect a ballplayer with Pudge and his divorce.

Let's hope that Meathook can get through this, and it doesn't put a shadow over an otherwise great start to the season.

Twin shake up

2006-05-16T09:44:00.000-04:00

The Twinkies seem to be a team is disrepair, and it all comes back to the Tiggers.

After their shellacing from the Tigers (33-1) and White Sox (they blew a 7-0 first-inning lead), the Twinkies vaunted reputation for the "Best Staff in Baseball" seems a bit tarnished. So tarnished in fact, that they are now turning to uber-prospect Francisco Liriano to take Carlos Silva's spot in the rotation. Liriano will make his first start May 19 against the Brewers and be on a pitch count as his arm adapts to starting.

This actually should really help the Tigers this week as they welcome the Twins for a three-game stretch May 16-19. Kyle Lohse opens the series then is followed by John Satan and Bad Radke. The Tigers open with Nate Robertson then throw Verlander and Kenny.

The promotion of Liriano puts Silva in the bullpen and gives Gardenhire one less reliable arm to turn to once our boys destroys the starter. Twins fans and management can only pray Radke can make it through more than three innings this time.

Update: The Twins sent Kyle Lohse to AAA Rochester after getting shelled by the Tiges May 16. In the immortal words of Freddie Mercury, "Another one bites the dust." Minnesota recalled righthanded pitcher Boof Bonser to fill Lohse's spot. Batgirl and her clubhouse sources had a pretty funny dialouge prior to John Satan's loss (love that) at the CoPa.

Cleveland rocked!

2006-05-15T09:51:00.000-04:00

Three sweeps down one to go

Mags continues tear, Big Red is back
Twinkies waving white flag?

Our worst fears realized

2006-05-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

Even more disturbing than seeing Todd Jones in the ninth May 6 while Fernando Rodney and his 0.00 ERA sits was what happened against the Twins May 7.

Tigers fans got to see an infield of Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago, Omar Infante, Chris Shelton and Vance Wilson. This is why finding a legit third baseman or utility player should be at the top of Dombrowski's to-do list.

This is especially disturbing given that Placido Polanco's back has finally felt the strain of supporting his Sputnik-like head. We all knew it was only a matter of time until Carlos Guillen's knee gave way to a DL stint, but we had hoped Placido would be a rock and keep the 2003 Connection out of the lineup for too many games.

Luckily this Reunion Tour was over-shadowed by the fact that we rolled them out against Johan Santana, so no one will fault you for looking silly against him. It's when we roll them out to the likes of Mark Redman and Jake Westbrook and make them look like Santana that we'll really start to lose ground.

I am restarting the initiative to bring in Ryan Freel from Cincinnati. With Brandon Phillips filling his old role with the Reds that shouldn't be too hard of a get. Plus, he's cheap, so we can still keep some open payroll for that third baseman.

Todd Jones stole my will to blog

2006-05-08T08:52:00.000-04:00

Just like old times
At least we know Mags can hit Santana
There was something in the air that night
... and it wasn't Fernando!

More than a pretty face

2006-05-01T14:55:00.000-04:00

Since the Tigers are "desperate" for position players and middle infielders in the farm system, why not use the No. 6 pick in this year's draft on Evan Longoria (yes that's really his name)?

Longoria has been playing for Long Beach State,but the most impressive thing about him was his performance in the Cape Cod League where he was a legit triple-crown candidate. He was named the league's MVP, and the most impressive part of his exploits is the Cape's rep for being a pitcher's league where the hitters have to use wood bats.

This type of performance, plus Dombrowski's penchant for players who have played in the Cape League (Kevin Whelan), would make this pick seem feasible. If nothing else please make this move, so we can put to rest the scenarios of Tony Giarrantano being an everyday player.

Sweet home cookin'

2006-05-01T09:40:00.000-04:00

Best April since '84

33-1 Twins annihilation

"It was a disappointing series. They just killed us." - Twins manager Ron Gardenhire

I hate Twinkies

2006-04-28T09:48:00.000-04:00

Twinkies are evil, and I'm not just saying that because I'm diabetic.

Whether we're talking about the supposed delicious snack-food treat or the supposed lovable Midwest baseball franchise, Twinkies are from the devil (just look at Johan Santana's facial hair. Pure evil!).

This is one of the few teams that actually still gets away with playing our national pastime indoors, complete with cheating A/C units and Glad bag walls. Why all the indoor secrets Minnesota? Is it because you are experimenting with genetics to try and bring back Tony Batista's bat speed, or is it because you are dabbling in the illegal Canadian slave trade? Both seem very possible for a team that has employed such despicable characters as Chuck Knoblauch and A.J. Pierzynski (and stole Jack Morris from the Tigers).

Even the snack food they lovingly share the same moniker with is evil. I can't think of anything that has hurt our country more than junk food like the Hostess cakes, which have led to a drastic rise in juvenile diabetes and obesity on our fair shores. I'd much rather have some Michigan cherries or a refreshing Diet Vernors than a Twinkie.

Above is photo from www.twinkieproject.com. They showed plenty of tests that proved how fragile and weak Twinkies really are. This one showed what happens when a Twinkie is exposed to heat. Kind of like Luis Castillo trying to hit Joel Zumaya. They also show how Twinkies fold under pressure much the same way Minnesota hitters have done for the past decade. They also prove that Twinkies have no sentient thought, not a surprise to anyone who has ever heard Ron Gardenhire talk.

For these reasons I say go ahead and contract them Mr. Selig. Rid this world of the evils that are the Twinkies.

Welcome Back!

2006-04-27T09:45:00.000-04:00

Tiges' drop finale' 4-0

Come home 6-3 from the left

Bring on the Twinkies

Monroe, Inge batting .215, .238

Party like it's 1993

2006-04-26T10:57:00.000-04:00

Magg-Pipes $16 million = 3-4, HR, 2R, RBI

5-2 win gives Tigers best April since 1993

(the same year Magglio's hair was last in fashion)

Cy Maroth going for win No. 4

Santan-ized

2006-04-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

Magglio leaves the bases juiced
Monroe, Thames strand several
Where's our lefty OF bat?

Bash Brothers*

2006-04-06T21:10:00.000-04:00

Shelton & Co. pour it on Rangers
Big Red on pace for Bonds annihilation
Oh Yeah Robertson & Tata cruise

*Not chemically enhanced

A brand new replica

2006-04-06T14:20:00.000-04:00

It's amazing to me how un-original people with large amounts of money can be.

Did baseball owners not learn anything from Veterans Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium and Busch Stadium not to mention the Silverdome? Why must every "new" stadium design look the same (thanks a lot Camden Yards).

The Mets released their design for their new ballpark, and it looks just like Comerica Park with the giant scoreboard being in center rather than left field, but it is the same just as the "renovated" Angel Stadium is just like the CoPa with the scoreboard in right instead of left.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was to travel all the way to Anaheim California to see a game during the World Baseball Classic just to find out I was sitting in CoPa West Coast.

Obviously these owners didn't make all of their millions or billions by being unimaginative and copying others, did they? Then why resort to that when you leave your stamp on a city's landscape with what is probably going to become either the most loved or despised building in the zip code.

I like CoPa. I've even forgiven the park for not being Tiger Stadium, but it still hurts when you go to Anaheim, Atlanta or now even New York and see the same park that you get to see after a 15-minute drive downtown. What happened to homefield advantages? What happened to personality, and better yet what happened to originality?

Bengal Bombers

2006-04-06T09:16:00.000-04:00

(Steve Perez/The Detroit News)

Pudge parties like it's 1999
Bondo proves it's still his rotation
Royals are bad

One down, 161 to go

2006-04-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

(ORLIN WAGNER/Associated Press)

Chris Shelton = Hank Greenberg II
Joel-Z fans three over two with Cheese
Forget Mr. Jones his name is Fernando

Tigers ban Nook-lear power

2006-03-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

Nook Logan and Roman Colon are Mudhens

This is actually pretty interesting because you have to think if Trammel was still managing the team both of these players would be with the big club.

Colon to me is the most interesting move. It seems to me that this more than any other move shows Dombrowski has the confidence in Leyland to let him form the roster as he sees fit. Can you imagine Dombrowski letting Tram send down the guy he traded Kyle Farnsworth for? I don't think so.

Logan's move seems to be because he just didn't have it this spring and Leyland wanted the power bat of Marcus Thames on his bench.

What does surprise me is that there have been rumors other clubs (Washington) are interested in Nook. You would think if there is legit interest in him, the Tigers would be apt to keep him, or perhaps by sending him down there is a better chance for him to play his way out of his Spring slump and boost his value. Either way it's something to keep an eye on.

The Big Wheel keeps on turning

2006-03-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

The Tigers website catches up with my all-time favorite Tiger Mr. Lance Parrish.

Parrish is coaching rookie ball for the Dodgers. Since he played for Leyland in Pittsburgh, Parrish has ties to these Tigers beyond his days in the D.

There's a part of the story where Leyland says Parrish will have more patience than any manager ever has, but he also says Lance could take someone's head off if needed. This reminds me of one of my favorite Lance memories ever.

It was when he was coaching and the Tigers got into it with the Royals and there's Lance just throwing around Major Leaguers with little to no effort. Awesome.

The story also features the whereabouts of other former Tigers assistant coaches under Alan Trammel.
The most disturbing revelation was Bruce Fields working as hitting coach for the Indians AAA team. I always thought Fields was a great coach and deserved to be valued a little more by the franchise. Now he's working with the hated Indians.

Me lazy, blogging hard

2006-03-28T13:19:00.000-05:00

Because I don't feel like writing today I'll let someone else do it for me.

There's a really cool article on all of the new managers in MLB by Christina Kahrl at Baseball Prospectus. She makes some interesting points on Leyland and his situation with the Tigers. It's a very cool outsider's view of the Tiggers.

Also check out my new feature called Tiger Stripes. They're on the side under the Leyland quote, and it has a little blurb and a link to some articles featuring the Tigers I have found on line.

Dayne Perry thinks the Tigers are good

2006-03-25T21:52:00.000-05:00

In Dayne Perry's inaugural power rankings of the year at foxsports.com, he has the Tigers ranked No. 10.

I think it's a little high and Perry maybe trying to look extra smart by putting them there, but it's nice to see. Who knows, maybe Perry knows what he's talking about and the Red Sox will win the series and the Tigers will make the playoffs?

Of course, that means the Tigers won the Wild Card and probably played the Red Sox. Just my luck. Oh well, if that's the case, "Fuck Boston. Go tigers. War Restoring '84, War Verlander, Bondo and Zumaya the new AL Triplets and War this site. Rack me, like the AL Central against the Triplets, I'm out. Please don't sue me for the racking and outing Jim Rome.

This Justin, Verlander is No. 5

2006-03-24T13:38:00.000-05:00

Leyland has officially put to bed the issue of who will be our No. 5 starter in naming Justin Verlander as the man.

The move comes one day after Wil Ledezma was sent down to Toledo, and it accompanies the good news that Joel Zumaya will be in Detroit this year to help the bullpen. This leaves Roman Colon and Jason Grilli out of starting jobs, but it also helps fill two of the three holes in the bullpen with strong arms.

That leaves one more bullpen spot available. Conventional thinking is it will go to another lefty such as Bobby Seay or even a trade for Philadelphia reliever Rheal Cormier. We all know Dombrowski has the Phillies in his Roladex from last year's Polanco deal.

Things are shaping up though, and injuries not withstanding, I'm starting to feel confident about this team. Maybe I need to stop reading about the team for a little and see them play. Oh wait, that's not possible unless Fox Sports Detroit deems it worthy programming over poker reruns.

Ryan Freel, a real utilty man

2006-03-23T15:07:00.000-05:00

Since the emergence of Roman Colon, Justin Verlander, Joel Zumaya and Jason Grilli as options to make the club (with only one rotation spot open) it looks like the Tigers bullpen may be shored up (they still only have one lefty reliever).

Since that problem seems to have taken care of itself we can now focus on another issue the Tigers seem to have, a lack of depth up the middle.

We all saw the Tigers season taken hostage by an injury to Carlos Guillen (2004-05), but lets just imagine the train wreck if Guillen and Placido Polanco both went down for an extended period of time.

Actually it shouldn’t be too hard to imagine. You would have Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago and Omar Infante all playing together as regulars. We remember when the last time that was in 2003, and I don’t think any Tigers fans will ever forget the results (the record books won’t let us).

My suggestion to Mr. Dombrowski is to do what good GM’s do, use a strength (pitching/first base) to shore up a weakness (depth/2B/SS). It seems to be a foregone conclusion the Carlos Pena and his immaculate sideburns won’t make the trip north this year.

If that’s so why simply drop someone whose swing is so pretty scouts get chub when he takes BP. Look around the league fro a match. MLBTraderumors.com has already cited the Cincinnati Reds as a possibility for Pena.

One look at the Reds roster and you see they have a surplus of capable middle infield options (Rich Aurilla, Tony Womack and Ryan Freel). We know the Tigers tried to sign Aurilla before trading for Guillen, and Womack ids neither as good as he was in St. Luis or as bad as he was in New York.

The more intriguing option is Freel. He has been mentioned as an uber-utility man like Chone Figgins or Bobby Hill. He’s a guy who can spell all three outfield spots and the middle infield along with third base.

I imagine we might be able to swing Freel for a package that includes Franklyn German, Pena and perhaps some more pitching (Mike Maroth?), if the Reds are stingy.

Its all hearsay, but if Mr. I really wants to get involved in this team maybe he should stop waiting for the players to be competitive before he steps in and make a proactive move rather than a reactive one.

Joel-Z is Big Pimpin'

2006-03-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

The prayers of Joel Zumaya and Tigers fans around the world were answered March 9.

The real Zumaya showed up without a case of the nerves and he had his full compliment of pitches with him. He pitched well enough against the Toronto Blue Jays to lower his ERA from 21.60 to 7.71 and struck out two and allowed just one unearned run. He credited his last shaky outing to nerves and poor location and said that this last performance against Toronto was the real deal.

Reports were he was spotting his fastball (clocked between 94-97) and had a slider, curve and changeup working. A guy who can regularly reach 97 on the gun to have a slider, curve and changeup working brings to mind guys named Pedro M. and Johan S.

If Roman Colon does claim his spot in the rotation it could really help out the bullpen to have a healthy Zumaya and/or Justin Verlander as our righty setup guys to go with the surprisingly efficient Bobby Seay, Wil Ledezma and Jamie Walker as our lefties before getting to Chirs Spurling, Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones. Suddenly a weakness might be a strength (the Minnesota Twins during their run atop the AL Central had Sanatana in the pen).

How's this sound, Bondo for five, then we switch to the above mentioned guys. The Tigers might actually have too much pitching, if they can keep these guys healthy and this spring success translates into the regualr season. I know it's a big if, but just imagine.

In other Spring action: The Tigers young bats took it to the Yankees Hall Of Famers at Legends Field. Chris Shelton took Randy Johnson deep then Marcus Thames took Mariano Rivera deep as the Tigers won, 6-1. Gotta love them Yankees killings.

Tigers bullpen contacts Monster.com

2006-03-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

Someone in the Detroit media has actually stumbled on the reason the Tigers won't be able to compete with the Indians, White Sox and Twins this year, the bullpen.

It is a miracle that the Tigers have closed the gap with their offense and starting pitching to the point where fans notice the bullpen needs help, but it is still a very glaring weakness.

Gage talks about how injuries to Dingman, Percival and Mantei have severely hamstrung Leyland and his ability to put together a bullpen.

Confounding matters even more was Franklyn German's second outing of the spring. He allowed two runs on one hit. The problem was he hit more batters (2) than he allowed hits and added a walk to the total of free passes he issued.

An interesting point was when Gage said, "For instance, (German) was wild, but also managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam with two strike outs. Two outings aren't enough to cost him a shot at making the club, certainly, but they underscore how wide open the bullpen situation continues to be. As Leyland has said more than once, "We're not giving jobs away."

I'm pretty sure German is out of options, so you would think he actually is assured a spot with the big club. It would be very unlike Dave Dombrowski to give up on a guy he traded for (ie. Roman Colon). I'll keep an eye on this and as always I'll keep you posted on all bullpen developments.

Rosie by another name does not write as sweet

2006-03-08T14:07:00.000-05:00

Here’s a nice example of journalism at its best and at its worst.

Both articles are from Foxsports.com. One by baseball guru and “Gammons-in-waiting” Ken Rosenthal, and the other is by Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press, who I’m pretty sure has been to a baseball game.

They both address the WBC, but that’s pretty much where the comparison stops.

Rosenthal writes up a column on his experience at the Dominican/Venezuela opener to the Classic March 7. The game saw plenty of what Bud Selig hoped the tournament would be. It ends with a line that Selig might actually want to buy the rights to as a motto for the event, “The fun is only beginning.”

Rosenthal is talking about all of the flag waving, home run hitting and passion displayed in the game. Granted you won’t see that in Italy vs. the Netherlands, but let’s face it this tourney is about Japan, USA, Venezuela, the Dominican, Puerto Rice and Cuba, which Rosenthal points out when he addresses baseball’s need to recognize the contributions Latin America has made to the game.

Now we get to poor Rosenberg’s column posted just an hour before Rosenthal’s. Granted that was before the Venezuela game and the U.S. game, but still come on.

It actually reads like an editor sprung this column on Rosenberg an hour before deadline, saying something like,” Rosie, we need another cookie-cutter column bashing the World Baseball Classic before we even see any games.”

While this may have been the fact Rosenberg should not be let off of the hook that easily. If he takes the responsibility to have his name attached to a column he should make sure those are his feelings

He says the same things we’ve heard from every critic, and they’re the same things we’ll probably hear from every critic of the classic.

His rants ago as such, “It certainly seems like baseball, but the game has been changed in fundamental ways;” “Sixteen countries are represented in this tournament, and heaven knows how long it took the organizers to come up with 16. Honestly: which country lost out to South Africa? Or to the Netherlands? Was there even a 17th country under consideration? ;” “Classic? That's a bold word to use before anybody has watched the thing, isn't it?”

Those are just his gripes with the title of the event. I’m not going to get into a whole thing on the way a column should be written or argue the semantics of his points (I’ll leave that to the guys at firejoemorgan.com).

I will say this though, next time Michael Rosenberg decides to write a baseball column posted one hour before foxsports.com head baseball writer Ken Rosenthal writes one on the same topic, he might want to make sure he knows what he’s writing about if his headline reads, “WBC is just a silly exhibition,” and Rosenthal’s headline is, “WBC brings fresh fervor to game.”

The WBC’s critics need to realize the tourney isn’t about the USA, it’s about baseball, as Rosenthal points out when he says, “the Dominican-Venezuela game was a vivid reminder of what the game is supposed to be in an era of sober statistical analysis, endless contract talk and growing steroid outrage. Fun.”

P.s. Rosenthal’s column had a dateline of Orlando, Fla., which means he was at a game. Rosenberg’s has no dateline, which means he was probably at his desk in Detroit. I wonder who had a more informed opinion on the subject.

Another one bites the dust

2006-03-08T11:22:00.000-05:00

It used to be the Lions anthem in the 1980's but the Queen hit "Another One Bites the Dust," could prove more applicable to the 2006 Tigers bullpen.

After losing Craig Dingman to season (and possibly career)-ending shoulder surgery, it seems reliever and non-roster invitee Matt Mantei could be headed to the hospital or retirement home with him.

Mantei strained an oblique muscle during the spring game March 7 against the Cleveland Indians. The injury follows a 2005 where he lost the major part of his year to an ankle injury, which came after arm problems plagued him throughout 2004.

Mantei had looked at this spring as a last chance scenario to revitalize his Major League career under former manger Jim Leyland. Reports were his arm looked strong in spring but following the injury he completely lost control walking three batters and almost hitting two of them.

A couple of guys to keep an eye on now that we've seen so many injuries in the bullpen might be Tim Crabtree and Bob Seay.

Price and Dickerson were talking Crabtree up on the radio broadcast of the Indians game. The seven-year MLB vet hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2001 with the Texas Rangers when he posted a 6.56 ERA in 23.1 innings with four saves.

Baseball Reference.com reports that Mr. Crabtree "had retired after the 2003 season and became a police officer at the Dallas/Ft Worth Airport. He re-signed with the Rangers in June 2005 to attempt a comeback. He pitched in the Rangers' minor league system the rest of the season. After the season, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. The deal includes an invitation to Major League spring training. He can also opt out of the deal in the late March if he isn't added to the 25-man roster by then." Crabtree has posted a 9.00 ERA in two spring innings.

Seay, who pitched with the Rockies last year, doesn’t have quite the bio of Crabtree, but he can throw the ball without medical attention, so that makes him a valuable commodity for the Tigers.

Again, the loss of another veteran arm only forces the Tigers to rely on more unproven (or negatively proven) arms for their bullpen. This almost assures Zumaya will be with the Major League club whether he can improve on his 21.60 Spring ERA or not.

Bye Kirby, don't worry about '87.

2006-03-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

Former Toledo Mudhen and member of the Mudhens Hall of Fame Kirby Puckett passed away March 6. Baseball fans lost a great man and player who loved the game and played it right until glaucoma cut his career short. For a nice few words from a Twins fan check out Batgirl's eulogy.

See ya at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in the sky Kirby

Tigers almost choke on meatball

2006-03-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

In weekend news, the Tigers almost lost to friggin' Italy March 4.

Yes the baseball hotbed of Italy powered by such great pitchers as Larry Dinardo and Tony Fiore almost beat the Tigers.

Dinardo and Fiore blanked the Bengals, but failed to put the "plucky never-say-die team" away and allowed the "Major Leaguers" to hang around until some ninth-inning heroics from Chris Shelton put the game away.

What-the-hell business do these guys even have on the field with the Tigers, let alone taking us the whole distance, let alone forcing us to score in the final inning to secure the win. The brightest note from this game was Shelton winning it, but it is strongly tempered with the horrible performance from Franklyn German who gave up four runs in a third of an inning that's a 4:1 run to out ratio for a key arm in our bullpen.

I just can't wait until our bullpen is facing guys like Jim Thome and Paul Konerko or Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore in key situations this season. It should make for plenty of awesome baseball moments ... that result in my sphincter shrinking to the size of a flea's, so without further ado, here's our bullpen complete with spring stats.

Closer = RHP Todd Jones N/A (yet to face MLB competition)
8th = RHP Fernando Rodney W:0, L:0, ERA:0.00, SV:0, IP:1.0, H:2, R:0, ER:0, BB:0, SO:2
7th = RHP Franklyn German N/A (yet to face MLB competition)
6th = RHP Chris Spurling W:0, L:0, ERA:0.00, SV:2, IP:2.0, H:1, R:0, ER:0, BB:0, SO:0
Best of the rest
RHP Matt Mantei N/A (yet to face MLB competition)
LHP Jamie Walker N/A (yet to face MLB competition)
RHP Joel Zumaya W:0, L:0, ERA:21.60, SV:2, IP:1.2, H:2, R:4, ER:4, BB:2, SO:3
RHP Roman Colon W:0, L:0, ERA:4.50, SV:0, IP:2.0, H:2, R:1, ER:1, BB:2, SO:1
RHP Wil Ledezma W:0, L:1, ERA:18.00, SV:0, IP:2.0, H:4,R:5, ER:4, BB:2, SO:1
RHP Jason Grilli W:0, L:0, ERA:9.00, SV:0, IP:2.0, H:4, R:2, ER:2, BB:1, SO:1

Think spring, thank Pudge.

2006-03-03T10:29:00.000-05:00

It sounds like the World Baseball Classic may be working in the Tigers favor.

From this article on the Tigers website by Jason Beck, it seems that Todd Jones and Pudge Rodriguez are trying to get into mid-season form as quickly as possible for the Classic. This combined with Leyland's comments that Magglio is probably playing for Venezuela, and we could see three of the biggest cogs for the Tigers playing well to start the season.

Granted, this could all be neutralized by the playing of other stars in the Classic, but let's hope for a second that because the Tigers have had the habit of falling 20 games off the pace in the first two months of the season that it might help.

I would gladly see the Tigers veterans peak a little too early this year if it meant we could get some meaningful baseball in September. Ideally, the Tigers would be fueled by an early push from guys like Pudge and Jones and then have younger guys like Shelton, Granderson and Zumaya pick up the slack late, but relying on young baseball players in September is never a good idea (part of the reason I believe the Tigers are a year away from seriously contending).

Unfortunately all this spring-time optimism comes with a little dose of reality. Reliever Craig Dingman will most likely have to shut it down for the season and maybe more as he needs bypass surgery in his throwing shoulder. Apparently, the ball in his shoulder joint rotates more than most people, and while it's responsible for his increased velocity it is also tearing apart an artery. He's going to have a surgery to repair it, which has only been done on professional Japanese players. The decision was surgery or quit baseball, so while Dingman is optimistic about his return, it doesn't sound good for this year, and we'll have to see if Mr. Dingman ever comes back. Here's hoping he does and we get to see him again.

What this might do is force the Tigers hand with Zumaya a bit. After losing Percival and Dingman the bullpen could be thinner than even I thought (let's see if Matt Mantei sends Dingman flowers, since this almost assures him a roster spot if he can stay healthy). With prayers for Craig, lets re-evaluate our bullpen sans Percival and now Dingman.

Closer = Todd Jones RHP
8th = Fernando Rodney RHP
7th = Franklyn German RHP
6th = Chris Spurling RHP
The rest of the best = Matt Mantei RHP, Joel Zumaya RHP, Jamie Walker LHP, Roman Colon RHP, Jason Grilli RHP, Will Ledezma LHP

Closed down

2006-02-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

With reports that the Tigers one-time closer and hopeful 2006 starter Troy Percival has thrown his last pitch, you can now cross off the only experienced arm in the bullpen not named Todd Jones. It's official the only guidance our young relievers have are Jones and bullpen coach Lloyd McClendon (best known for his exploits stealing bases and bat boys as Pirates manger). Awesome, add that to our pitching coach Chuck Hernandez from Tampa Bay, and I'm sure all of our young arms are more than fine. Lets just hope they're brought along better than some other arms of the future ie. Seth Greisinger, Justin Thompson, Jeff Weaver and the always popular Matt Anderson. Let's revisit our bullpen minus Percival.

Closer = Todd Jones RHP
8th = Fernando Rodney RHP
7th = Franklyn German RHP
6th = Chris Spurling RHP
The rest of the best = Matt Mantei RHP, Jamie Walker LHP, Roman Colon ( I still believe he starts the year as our No. 5) RHP, Craig Dingman RHP, Jason Grilli RHP, Will Ledezma LHP

Rosie's take on the Skip.

2006-02-24T10:53:00.000-05:00

Someone on the Tigers has figured it out. Managers don't win games, players win games. Luckily for us Jim Leyland seems to be that guy. Hopefully this translates into some stronger veteran performances, but again the Tigers seem to have done nothing concrete to really improve the team this year other than sign a re-tread closer and a 42-year old starter to replace the steady Jason Johnson. A little more direction from Leyland will be nice, and it sounds like the Tigers won't be laughed at too much under a true professional, but let's still temper that excitement with our weekly bullpen update.

Closer: Todd Jones RHP
8th inning: Fernando Rodney RHP
7th inning: Jamie Walker LHP
6th inning: Matt Mantei RHP/Franklyn German RHP
Others: Chris Spurling RHP/Craig Dingman RHP/Troy Percival RHP

Scary.

Different team same tired story

2006-02-17T11:48:00.000-05:00

ESPN's John Clayton has a pretty good story on all of the new coaching hires in the NFL. I know that's football, and this is a baseball blog, but it amazes me how two teams from the same city can seemingly make the same mistakes over and over.

The Lions have brought in coaches for the sake of bringing in coaches. Clayton describes the Lions as, "one of the wackiest groups in the league." That is Clayton being nice. The Lions are the classic example of the inmates running the asylum, or maybe it is that the warden (Mr. Ford) is just as crazy as anyone else in there.

Anywho, they hire Marinelli to be a tough hard-noses face of the franchise after Mooch was seen as too soft for this young team, but then they go against that by hiring Mike Martz, who while accomplished is a big question mark working for a coach who has never been a head coach at any level. Far be it for me to question a man's professionalism, but you have to wonder about a guy who left St. Louis like he did after he continued to clash with his bosses there being able to work under Marinelli. I can foresee a 49-47 loss with Martz blowing up that the defense didn't get the job done. I can only imagine Dre' Bly and Donnie Henderson's (Lions new defensive coordinator, and I like this hire) response.

Again it just seems like more drama for a team that has a dire need for direction and accountability. Didn't the Lions learn anything from the Tigers escapades with Alan Trammel. He failed to guide a team full of veterans like Pudge because he didn't have their respect or the experience to warrant that respect, and he was frigging Alan Trammel.

You should not hire coaches to sell tickets. You let the players sell tickets by winning and that is what the coaches should be hired for, their ability to win, not their name and pedigree.

They're Back!!!

2006-02-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

No 'Nookie,' but a Granderson

2006-02-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

The praise for Tigers centerfielder of the future Curtis Granderson continues to pour in from legitimate sources.

Ken Rosenthal reports that one AL scout sees him as a legitimate everyday player for the Tigers, something our centerfield hasn't seen since the days of Chester Lemon, unless you count good ol' Milt "Fish Sperm" Cuyler.

"One scout thinks the competition between Curtis Granderson and Nook Logan for the Tigers' center-field job will not even be close. "Logan is an extra guy compared to Granderson," the scout says. "Granderson can be a solid, everyday, big-league contributor. Not a star, but a good offensive player you can build around, someone who can hit .280 with 20 homers, 80 RBIs and 20 steals.""

"Logan is better defensively, but the scout says that Granderson will overcome his tentative jumps on balls hit in front and behind him with his effort and work ethic. "He makes himself better," the scout says. "Every time I see him, he does something that he didn't do previously.""

You've got to love Granderson's supposed combination of talent and work ethic, two things sorely lacking from many former Tigers ie. Roger Cedeno.

Maybe these guys aren't so horrible

2006-02-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

In a Feb. 3 piece on Baseball Prospectus, David Haller breaks down the Tigers for the 2006 season. Unlike others (MLB.com), he actually addresses the whole team rather than gloss over our injury problems from a year ago.

Haller cites some reasons why the Tigers are continued also-rans and forgotten about as quickly as Tony Clark's chances of earning an All-Star bid. He does point out that despite being in the AL Central the Tigers might not suck all together. Here's where this article is different. Haller gives us reasons why, imagine a sports writer with an informed opinion.

Prospectus has the PETCOTA stats section, which is pretty sweet, but they have numbers that indicate a pitchers likelihood to breakout, and Bonderman, Maroth and Robertson rank 1, 9, and 10 respectively in this stat. Combine that with the emergence of Curtis Granderson in centerfield, and the Tigers are actually looking for help from someone not signed to last-minute Scott Boras contract.

Mr Haller also points out that the bullpen may not be as worthless as I have written about here. The probable inclusion of Joel Zumaya and whoever doesn't win the No. 5 spot (looks more and more likely I am wrong about the spot being Colon's to lose), combined with 2004's top Cape Cod League reliever Kevin Whelan, who like Troy Percival is a converted catcher, could give us a nice stable of young arms to support or better yet supplant the Gascan Man, Todd Jones.

While the verdict is still out on a bullpen with no meaningful innings pitched to its credit, it's nice to see something positive written about the Tigers that is backed by facts and doesn't come from the Illitch offices.

AL Central = best in baseball; MLB.com = worst in journalism

2006-02-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

Major League Baseball writer (or as like to call him and his ilk a sports journalism Uncle Tom) Jim Moloney previewed the stacked AL Central for MLB.com and as expected stated the obvious.

He predicts the White Sox will win the division. The Indians will push them and the Twins will compete if they can get some hitting to go with their pitching. Once he got that out of the way he went on to remark that the Tigers could be .500 if we get 135 games from Pudge, Meathook, Guillen, Polanco and Magglio. Nice bold statement there, and if I don't shower for three weeks I'll stink.

He did mention that the Tigers might be able to squeeze a few more runs out because of the aggressive managing of Jim Leyland, but he failed to address the real issue facing the Tigers. How can a bullpen led by Todd Jones (not exactly Mr. Consistency) and features Franklyn German, Fernando Rodney and Jamie Walker as its most experienced contributors try to compete in a division where the best top-to-bottom pitching staffs in Major League Baseball reside.

Moloney also continues the trend of anointing Justin Verlander as the Tigers No. 5 starter completely ignoring the fact Dombrowski traded Kyle Farnsworth for Roman Colon last year. We all recognize that when Dombrowski traded for Colon he was in fact mortgaging the 2005 season (by weakening the bullpen and trading its only proven arm). So why bury Colon behind Verlander. I just have to think Dombrowski is smart enough to know it might read bad that the guy he traded away a season for is currently behind someone less than three years removed from college with little to no experience above AA baseball.

All-A$$hole team

2006-01-27T15:23:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of the WBC, I gots to thinkin' who would be the best baseball players to represent our fine nation in international competition.

They would have to hold their own image above all else and be dedicated to nothing more than disappointing their parents at every turn, so without further ado here are my picks for the All-Humiliation team that the U.S. could send to the WBC.

Infield/pitching staff: (outfielders and bench to come)

1B: Rafael Palmiero: No explanation needed if you saw his finger wagging performance on Capitol Hill and his accusations against teammate Miguel Tejada an his B12 shot

2B: Jeff Kent: Simply stated Kent has been run out of San Francisco. If you manage to look like a jerk sitting next to Barry Bonds you definitely deserve a starting spot on this team. Whether it was a motorcycle accident or he was really washing his truck there is no way you can leave Kent off this team.

SS: Nomar Garciaparra-Hamm: Hey Nomar, let's see what we can offer you? You can be the heir apparent to baseball god Ted Williams, never pay for dinner in Boston and help bring the Red Sox their first title in 86 years, or you can be a super utility man for a different team every year. Ask Curt Schilling if you made the right choice.

3B: Alex Rodriguez: The Fraudulent one. All you need to say here is Bronson Arroyo. I'm sure Big Stein loves to pay this guy $25 million a year to hit .100 in October and slap the Red Sox skinny No. 4 starter when he grounds out to first. By the way Jason Varitek says hi.

C: A.J. Pierzynski: Jeff Kent and add a pinch of Ozzie Guillen. Plus the guy kneed his trainer in the balls. Not cool.

SP: Kenny Rogers: Punches reporters while playing for a third-place team no one watches. Imagine what he'd be able to do under the international media spotlight.

SP: Kevin Brown: This guy negotiates a deal with his own private jet, so he can see his kids. Sounds noble enough until you realize he hasn't pitched a fullseason since. Yes injuries are part of the game but not ones you get from punching inanimate objects with your pitching hand.

SP: Randy Johnson: See Kenny Rogers, but this guy is 7-feet tall and an even bigger redneck than the Gambler.

SP: Kris Benson: This guy really hasn't done anything to warrant being on this team other than marry his stripper wife, who didn't bat an eye when telling reporters she would sleep with all of his teammates if he ever cheats on her and she couldn't wait to christen the parking lot at Camden Yards. International baseball needs Anna Benson.

SP: Sidney Ponson: Not technically an American, but since he punched a judge in Aruba (yes he punched a judge), he's been exiled from his former home country wher he was once knighted, so we'll take him. His legal transgressions extend beyond all borders including our own where he has had several run ins with the law over his favorite hobby, drunk driving.

RP: Keith Foulke: Attended the Boston Bruins opening night game rather than be at U.S. Cellular Field as his team was swept out of the American League Division Series. This was after putting himself on the disabled list to end his season. Not before he angered fans in Bosotn by telling them he didn't care what "Johhny from Burger King" thought of him. Nice

RP: Todd Jones: Furthering the image of basbeall players being little more than hicks with sticks, Todd Jones expressed some interesting views concerning homosexuals in major league baseball. "I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, Hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?" Very cosmopolitan, or is that too "gay" sounding Todd?

RP: Jeff Nelson: International ball would give Nelson a whole new crop of bullpen attendants to whoop on. Unfortunately, his stomping partner Karim Garcia would be forced to administer his beatings in Spanish as part of the Mexican national team.

RP: Denny Neagle: There would be only one problem with the drunken sexual harrassment exploits of Denny Neagle. What happens when Neagle and Anna Benson are in the same room wouldn't be kosher for HBO let alone the WBC, so we might have to give Neagle his own locker room and bullpen to warm up in.

RP: John Rocker: The goold ole' 7 train. If Rocker can't manage to get along with New Yorkers how would he handle being threatened by opposing fans who actually have a reason to not speak the language. Actually, on second thought Rocker might be the nicest guy on the team, we better leave him to his second calling as a stock broker. Wait, don't those guys usually work in New York?

WBC adopts High School rules

2006-01-27T10:39:00.000-05:00

The World Baseball Classic has set its pitcher limits and mercy rules, and as a high school sports reporter they are eerily similar to those from preps or beer-league softball games.

The mercy rule ends a game when one team is up by 15 runs after five innings or 10 after seven.

They have also set limits on the number of innings a pitcher can throw and then the number of days off he must have after throwing said innings.

As reported on CBS Sportsline, limits in games from March 3-10 are "... 65 pitches. The amount rises to 80 pitches for the second round, set for March 12-16, and 95 for the semifinals on March 18 and the championship March 20. A 30-pitch outing must be followed by one day off, and a 50-pitch outing must be followed by four days off. No one will be allowed to pitch on three consecutive days."

To compensate for these limits they have also waived the rule that a pitcher must have credit for five innings pitched to be given the win.

This actual has done the seemingly unthinkable and made U.S. manager and ESPN talking head Buck Martinez look intelligent.

Martinez used a large portion of the U.S. A.'s 60 provisional spots on catchers and relief pitchers. This should help in any occasion where the U.S. actually does get into a grudge match and has to win with pitching. We can throw Todd Jones, Brad Lidge, Chad Cordero and Billy Wagner. Then follow it with a fresh Scott Shields, Huston Street, Mike Timlin and Joe Nathan. Simply stated, NASTY.

As far as the catchers go, Martinez used to catch and knows how tough it can be to catch early (squatting in March is no fun no matter who you are). My thoughts are that he'll probably go with two or even three catchers a game for the early rounds, and then go with the hot hand in later rounds.

Nice numbers, Nerdlinger!

2006-01-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

As baseball fans start to get all itchy and cabin-fever crazed while waiting for pitchers and catchers to report, they can sometimes turn to desperate measures for anything baseball. At no point is this more desperate than when we turn to MATH. Truly a four letter word, math is only good for a couple things, making money and evaluating baseball players. The boys at The Hardball Times have all sorts of great articles on how this is done and they even provide graphs with pretty colors to help people like me (sports reporters) understand how these numbers work. Here are some links to graphs for the Tigers free-agent signings and core players. This really tells us all we need to know when wondering why we are always staring up at the Sox, Twins, Indians and possibly Royals.

Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones, Jeremy Bonderman, Mike Maroth, Nate Robertson, Chris Shelton, Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge, Ivan Rodriguez, Craig Monroe, Magglio Ordonez, Dmitri Young

To contrast here are the Twins numbers (notice this was a third-place team in our division last year).

Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Brad Radke, Carlos Silva, Kyle Lohse, Justin Morneau, Luis Castillo, Tony Batista, Shannon Stewart, Joe Mauer, Torii Hunter, Rondell White, Matt LeCroy

You can't really tell too much from the all graphs view, but click the tab for season graphs, and you can see how the individual players rank compared to the league average (the blue line). Once you look at it this way you can easily tell 90 percent of our players are below average in many major stats, and the ones who are above average are quickly plummeting to the doldrums of mediocrity. Welcome to modern-day Detroit baseball. Enjoy Pistons season while it lasts.

Bondermania goes global

2006-01-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Bonderman will be carrying the flag for the good old U.S. of A. at the inaugural World Baseball Classic this March. While he has been named to the initial 42-man roster (along with six catchers and six outfielders, what position did U.S. manager Buck Martinez play?). Bonderman was named along with fellow Tiger and arsonist at-large Todd Jones. There's still a chance they won't make the final 30, but how friggin' sweet is it that Bonderman could be pitching with the Rocket at the WBC.

The entire 42-man list is as follows (notice the absence of Ass Without a Country, A-Fraud):
Starting pitchers
Bonderman, Jeremy, RHP -- Detroit Tigers
Clemens, Roger, RHP -- Free agent (formerly Houston Astros)
Halladay, Roy, RHP -- Toronto Blue Jays
Hudson, Tim, RHP -- Atlanta Braves
Leiter, Al, LHP -- New York Yankees
Peavy, Jake, RHP -- San Diego Padres
Pettitte, Andy, LHP -- Houston Astros
Sabathia, C.C., LHP -- Cleveland Indians
Willis, Dontrelle, LHP -- Florida Marlins

Relief pitchers
Cordero, Chad, RHP -- Washington Nationals
Fuentes, Brian, LHP -- Colorado Rockies
Jones, Todd, RHP -- Detroit Tigers
Lidge, Brad, RHP -- Houston Astros
Nathan, Joe, RHP -- Minnesota Twins
Shields, Scot, RHP -- Los Angeles Angels
Street, Huston, RHP -- Oakland Athletics
Timlin, Mike, RHP -- Boston Red Sox
Wagner, Billy, LHP -- New York Mets
Wheeler, Dan, RHP -- Houston Astros

Catchers
Barrett, Michael -- Chicago Cubs
Lo Duca, Paul -- New York Mets
Mauer, Joe -- Minnesota Twins
Moeller, Chad -- Milwaukee Brewers
Schneider, Brian -- Washington Nationals
Varitek, Jason -- Boston Red Sox

Infielders
Counsell, Craig -- Arizona Diamondbacks
Ensberg, Morgan -- Houston Astros
Hall, Bill -- Milwaukee Brewers
Jeter, Derek -- New York Yankees
Jones, Chipper -- Atlanta Braves
Lee, Derrek -- Chicago Cubs
Rollins, Jimmy -- Philadelphia Phillies
Teixeira, Mark -- Texas Rangers
Utley, Chase -- Philadelphia Phillies
Wright, David -- New York Mets
Young, Michael -- Texas Rangers

Outfielders
Berkman, Lance -- Houston Astros
Bonds, Barry -- San Francisco Giants
Crawford, Carl -- Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Damon, Johnny -- New York Yankees
Griffey Jr., Ken -- Cincinnati Reds
Wells, Vernon -- Toronto Blue Jays

Reliever with shot arm to provide shot in arm

2006-01-11T12:12:00.000-05:00

The Tigers have picked up Matt Mantei to bolster the bullpen. Mantei signed a minor-league deal complete with a spring training invite. By signing with the Tigers, Mantei has gained official journey-man status. He inked a one-year deal with the Red Sox in 2005 and rarely was healthy enough to pitch after he was released from Arizona because of health issues. At the very least and most, this move shows Dombrowski has recognized the bullpen as a big question mark for the 2006 season. With German, Rodney and head arsonist Todd Jones at the core, there are too many unanswered questions at the most important part of the team for the Tigers to compete. Mantei only adds one more, perhaps we should start calling Dombrowski the Riddler.

Not to be all doom and gloom, I have to give the Tigers kudos when deserved. With arbitration approaching, the club locked up Mike Maroth. At two-years $5.25 million, Maroth and Brandon Inge, who signed a one-year $1.35 million deal, will be ineligible for arbitration Jan. 17. Looks like he is more attractive to the Tigers and possible trade partners as a young guy with several years than as a hired gun. Congrats to Mike though for rebounding from a disastrous 20-loss season in 2003 and earning himself a much-deserved contract. Compared to the price the White Sox paid for Garland this is actually a steal for a 28-year-old lefty who has one-hit the New York Yankees and proved to be one of the more resilient arms in the league.

I wish I was arbitration eligible

2006-01-07T13:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice article from the Jan. 2 Detroit News and Lynn Henning about some of the Tigers who are arbitration eligible.

With the arbitration deadline quickly approaching (Jan. 17) it's curious to think whom the Tigers might want to try and re-sign long term before that date. The top suspects would probably be Bondermanand Craig Monroe since both figure rather prominently into the Tigers plans for 2006 and beyond.

Of course the real X-factor here is Carlos Pena. He did a tremendous Tony Clark impression last year playing his ass off for a team that was going nowhere, but was that just to get his way out of Toledo, or has he actually found a way to use that swing that makes scouts giddy like school girls at an N-Sync concert?

Another interesting arbitration candidate is Mike Maroth. With the signing of Kenny Rogers and the way Nate Robertson pitched at times last year, The 20-loss Kid finally might be on his way out of Detroit. I would hate to see him go, but he seems the most likely Tiger, along with Pena, to be traded for a lefty bat or bullpen arm. One has to wonder though what would make Maroth more attractive as trade bait, a one-year arbitration deal for $4 million or a three-year deal at slightly less per.

My advice for what it's worth, (nothing since this blog is free) would be to try and get Bonderman to a three- to four-year deal and Monroe to a two-year deal similar to the pay we were giving Rondell White. That would give the Tigers young roster some much needed stability and actually show the fans and the players that management believes these players can win. After all, if they didn't believe in them why have them here for any other reason than they're young and will play for $400,000.

Tejada the Tiger: Evidence that Dombrowski is alive and awake

2006-01-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

Tom Gage at the Detroit News is reporting Dave Dombrowski has no comment concerning Miguel Tejada.

Gage points out that silence is often acceptance for Dombrowski who was silent on both the Pudge and Magglio deals. As reported by the Boston Herald, it is unclear as to whether the Tigers are interested in obtaining Tejada or merely being a third team in a larger deal. This is intriguing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Dombrowski isn't the type of man to simply drop something like this just to inspire his fan base. Adding further legitimacy to any kind of Tejada/Tiger involvement is in Ken Rosenthal's latest Miggy update on foxsports.com he actually mentions the Tigers. It isn't much, but it was nice to see the D in a national piece. The deal would be tough, but as everyone knows Dombrowski has no problem moving someone like Brandon Inge for a former MVP. We'll see if this continues to develop at all.

On a side note though, isn't it nice to see the Tigers pursuing yet another Latin star? Remember the dark days of Roger Cedeno alleging the Tigers and then manager Phil Garner were anti-Latin. While these allegations may have been nothing more than a disgruntled player on his way out the damage they could have caused would have been momentous, so that is another plus for Mr. I and his right-hand man Big Dave.

White Sox going for kill?

2006-01-05T11:14:00.000-05:00

Has anyone noticed that the White Sox don't seem content to win just one World Series like the other Sox in baseball? If this rumor has merit and the Pale Hose are actually pursuing Miguel Tejada then you can effectively write off any playoff hopes for the Tigers for at least the next five years. How come the Tigers continue to be such a nothing in the grand scheme and general wheelings and dealings of MLB happenings?

Just a reminder

2006-01-05T09:53:00.000-05:00

The Tigers aren't the only Big Cats who crap on Detroit sports fans. After watching Vince Young single-handedly win the National Championship, it was brought to my attention if the Lions had missed their game-winning field goal against the New Orleans Saints, we would have the second pick in the draft and have obtained Mr. Young as our QB. Thanks a lot Lions you and fate have kicked me in the balls again.

p.s. I know this is a Tigers blog, but anyone who knows me knows the only reason it isn't a Lions blog is because that would just be too painful

Why oh why do I even try?

2005-12-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

I know all things are not even. I know the Tigers have stunk for 15 years and no one wants to play here even our catcher who makes $10 million, but upon the Tigers giving Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers $27 million I tried to think of a way that money could be better spent. Obviously, the Tigers wanted to shore up the bullpen and starting pitching, so that was where I looked, and I didn't want to make the team spend anymore money because that might force Mr. I to raise the price of his $5 Hot N' Ready pizzas. Move No. 1, we don't sign Kenny Rogers instead we take his $16 million and sign Paul Byrd for $14.25 million and use some of Jonesy's $11 million to resign J.J. for $4 million. Now we have two veterans to anchor a rotation that includes Bondermania, Mike and Nasty Nate. This allows Verlander to spend one more year in the minors or ease his way in through the bullpen like Minnesota did with Johan Santana. Next we focus on the Tigers main pitfall, the aforementioned bullpen. Since we brought in a Hall-of-Fame manager to manage give him the tools to do so the only way the American League allows, through the bullpen. Bring back Mike Myers and sign Chad Bradford to a 2-year $2.4 million deal and a one-year $1.4 million deal respectively and play matchup havok with opposing hitters. Then sign Bob Wickman for one-year at $5 million as the closer. It works out to $50,000 more than the Tigers originally spent, so I'll pay the extra 50 cents for my 32-ounce beer as long as the Tigers aren't mathematically eliminated by May.

Topps Gold Cup prospect eligible for Hall

2005-12-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

Everyone loved him because everyone had his rookie card. Gregg Jefferies is finally getting his chance at immortality extending beyond having his rookie card being placed in shoeboxes in attics across the nation. I originally wanted to post this story at 2:58 to commemorate Gregg's 1999 OBP with the Tigers, but I just couldn't sit on this news that long. As far as journey men utility hitters and Mets prospects go this guy has to be my All-Time favorite.

Who does Pudge play for?

2005-12-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

Anyone who thinks Pudge is happy in Detroit only needs to check his web site www.pudge.org. Not only is it filled with the loverly teal of the Detroit errrr Florda Marlins, but under his bio it lists him as No. 7 catcher for the Marlins. I know he enjoyed his pit stop in Miami and has gone through a lot in his recent stay with the Tigers, but at least update what team you play for on your own web site.

Good-bye my diabetic friend

2005-12-28T16:32:00.000-05:00

Another member of the Tiger's free-agent class of '03 has parted ways and it is again for AL Central pastures. Jason Johnson, who like me suffers from diabetes (sugar-free what!), has left the Tigers to sign with the Indians. While his replacement the much-booed Kenny Rogers may be touted as better, I'll take the standup guy with the insulin pump over the jerk with a steroid syringe. Johnson was much cheaper, and it remains to be seen if Rogers will really help that much or if he will be another Bob Higginson drain on a young clubhouse and pitching staff. I may have bias against Rogers and for Johnson, but I think the money could have been better spent on Johnson and a reliever like Octavio Dotel or Chad Bradford. Why even try to sign guys like that though? They might help you win rather than make headlines in December and January. Here's hoping Johnson gets his chance to pitch in the postseason and keeps those glucose levels in check.

Poppa Choppa'

2005-12-28T16:13:00.000-05:00

Finally the Rock has come back to the AL Central! Everyone's favorite free-agent signing of the past ten years in Detroit has now signed on to play for the Twinkies. Apparently he saw everyone else having fun hitting our bullpen and couldn't resist a chance for himself even if it met playing in that god-foresaken dome.

In the mix in 2006?

2005-12-28T16:01:00.000-05:00

An interesting accompaniment to the other John Lowe piece posted here. We hear from several divisional rivals at the winter meetings that Detroit has an offense. Well maybe we do, but do you remember where we play 81 games, and that everyone in our division wins with pitching. Granted, beggars can't be choosers, but we still have a bullpen full of Fernando Rodney, Franklyn German and the ultimate gay-bashing arsonist Todd Jones to go with our ace, media darling Kenny Rogers. Needless to say, I do not share Dave Dombrowski's optimism.

p.s. What's the over/under on weeks before Rogers takes a swing at Drew Sharp or Mitch Albom's poolboy Michael Rosenberg?

This explains it all

2005-12-28T15:44:00.000-05:00

John Lowe wrote this in the Detroit Free Press and it pretty much explains everything that this web site stands for. It shows you how the Tigers so-called building for the future is completely fraudulently and flawed and at the same time their over-zealousness to put has-beens on the field with big contracts inhibits any of ths future building and its failings from even being noticed. No wonder this is the only Tigers blog you'll find because if management doesn't care enoguh to run the team well why should any fans care enough to blog about them. I guess I just have no life.

Royals field Major League team

2005-12-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

Picking up Reggie Sanders (Mr. Century 21) may not be a big deal for a lot of people but for the Royals it's a coup. Combine him with Dougie Alphabet-soup and Mark Alphabet-soup at first and second base and the Royals won't be pushovers anymore and the Tigers will have the highest payroll for a last place team since the Lions of 2005. Let's hope that our signings of Magglio, Pudge and the Gambler give us more poduction than KC's pick ups of Sanders, Paul Bako and Joe Mays.

Chi Sox re-sign Garland

2005-12-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

Somehow John Garland became good enough to be a bigger stud than Curt Schilling and Mike Mussina in the postseason last year. Somehow Garland led the American League in shut outs and earned his money, now he gets a $29 millon deal. I'm not anyone to second guess the genius of the week in Major League Baseball, Kenny Williams, but a pitcher who is only three games over .500 for his career might be overpaid at $10 and $12 million a year even if only for three years. But then again we live in a reality where Ozzie Guillen is a good manager. Chalk this up as reason No. 563 why the Tigers won't see more than two weeks out of last place in the AL Central

Remember when baseball was fun

2005-10-07T18:28:00.000-04:00

Remember before baseball was ruled by steroids and assholes. Remember when guys like Yogi Berra and Ted Williams made the players seem real yet amazingly heroic. Remember when these guys made baseball so thouroughly enjoyable funny stories from off the field actually got ink. Well here's a good old story about Sad Diego Padres releiver Trevor Hoffman.

Schilling is tough as Nails yet a big old softie

2005-09-07T10:22:00.000-04:00

Yankee fans and Sox haters can say what they want about Curt Schilling being a glory hog, but you can't question the man's dedication to his country and community Just another great story coming out from the American people following the catastrophe in the South.

God bless these boys

2005-09-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

I'm not going to use this to say the Red Sox are better than the Yankees because they go to Bible service, but this is just a nice story that helps to put you at ease during these times when hurricanes are destroying cities, and we have loved ones over seas. It's just nice to see athletes that have a moral standard instead of the guys that ESPN and other forms of the media continue to shove down our throats. Maybe if we had more stories about guys like this and fewer stories about contracts and steroids there wouldn't be such a resentment for athletes among the fans.

Outrage!

2005-08-23T15:33:00.000-04:00

The NCAA has once again proved the Wu-Tang Clan was right, "C.R.E.A.M., Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Dolla' Dolla' Bill Y'All." The Schmucks in Inidana have decided that because Florida State has a unique relationship with the Seminole tribe of Florida, (apparently that's Hoosier speak for money) they can keep their nickmname. No word on the Central Michigan Chippewas also being removed from that list even though the Chippewa Reservation is damn near on campus, and the tribe is the athletic departments single biggest booster, I just wonder if that constitutes a unique relationship.

No jokes, just scary

2005-08-22T09:48:00.000-04:00

Lawrence Phillips' act has never been funny, and hopefully this ordeal will put him behind bars where he can't harm anyone but himself.

QB still believes he's in Ann Arbor

2005-08-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

Kansas City Chiefs back-up quarterback Todd S. Collins apparently hasn't shaken that annoying fault that befalls most University of Michigan football players, he thinks he's above the law. In an altercation at a Minnesota bar, Collins stood atop a speaker box and refused to get down(no doubt he was defending Michigan's over-hyped preseason ranking). Then the police got involved, and there is nothing that gets Wolverines fired up like police (if Lloyd Carr had told Earnest Shazor that Vince Young was a cop, Michigan would have won the Rose Bowl). Collins was finally subdued under the coaxing of teammate Trent Green and the threat of taser, but this just proves you can take the A-hole out of Ann Arbor, but you can't take the Ann Arbor out of the A-hole.

Another reason to trust doctors

2005-08-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is now reporting that doctors wanted to flunk Brett Favre after his intial physical with the Packers because of a degenerative hip defect. Unfortunately for my Lions, but fortunately for cheese-wearing rednecks everywhere, Wolf told the doctors to shut up and pass him. Favre has played slightly longer than the five-year window "doctors" gave him and went on to set the all-time quarterback toughness record. Just another reason to tell doctors to go suck an egg.

A Bush saves the day again

2005-08-11T11:19:00.000-04:00

Is there nothing the Bush family can't save? Two-term Florida Governor Jeb Bush came out agisnt the NCAA's "abusive and hostile," attack on member institution mascots the other day. This only fuels the image of the NCAA as glad-handing idiots. In fact, the only explanation for this mascot-gate is that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has somehow switched brains with NCAA President Myles Brand. At least with Jeb Bush against the plan it assures the NCAA has the full support of Howard Dean, WhooooHaaaaaa!!!!

The "List of the Doomed"

2005-08-08T10:39:00.000-04:00

In the NCAA's infinite wisdom (ie. greed) it has deemed these 18 school mascots (Alcorn State University Braves, Central Michigan University Chippewas, Catawba College Indians, Florida State University Seminoles, Midwestern State University Indians, University of Utah Utes, Indiana University-Pennsylvania Indians, Carthage College Redmen, Bradley University Braves, Arkansas State University Indians, Chowan College Braves, University of Illinois-Champaign Illini, University of Louisiana-Monroe Indians, McMurry University Indians, Mississippi College Choctaws, Newberry College Indians, University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savages) as "abusive or hostile."

With an intricate knowledge of the Central Michigan Athletic Department and its relations with the Saginaw Ojibwe tribe, it's questionable how much research the NCAA did in their investigation as to what degree of hostilty or abuse was generated by the indivdual teams' mascots and nicknames.

It is upsetting that the NCAA's broad generalization has lumped the Chippewas in with such school as the University of Louisiana-Monroe Indians and Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savages. Hopefully someone at the NCAA will see the damage caused when you blindly group institutions based on one loosely shared characteristic. Especially when the release of the story is timed to take up media attention when President Myles Brand gets a two-year contract extention following the failed BCS system.

Then again Mr. Brand and the executive committee did leave the Haskell Indian Nations University Indians of Lawrence, Kansas off their list.

NCAA plays the PC Police

2005-08-05T11:56:00.000-04:00

Apparently the NCAA has decided that they will readily accept revenue generated by schools like Florida State and my beloved CMU Chippewas, but they don't want to worry about upseting anyone by promoting mascots or nicknames deemed "abusive." Look out Notre Dame, it's only a matter of time until the ACLU and the NCAA turn their eyes on the Fightin' Irish.

Reasons to hate the Yankees

2005-07-14T11:25:00.000-04:00

As if anyone in the universe needs reasons to hate the pompous pimply a-holes from the Bronx, here are two reason in their own words.

1. A-rod declares he will play for the Domincan Republic in March's World Baseball Clasic despite being born and raised in the U.S.

2. Gary Sheffield decides he hasn't incited opposing fans enough by punching them. He decides to fire a pre-emptive shot before coming into Fenway. "We're going to bring our gold, our jewel in there, which is A-Rod. That's our man and we know he's our man. We're going to look out for him when he's in a situation like that. When he's in a hostile environment, we've got to make sure he's comfortable because it helps our team. (And if something like the Varitek incident happens again?) That's why I say it's going to be different. We're going to make sure that Alex is taken care of." -- 7.12 Gary Sheffield to Kevin Kernan, NY Post — courtesy of Boston Dirt Dogs

and "This" is why I love Ben Wallace

2005-06-15T15:40:00.000-04:00

Darvin Ham says it best, "He's a strong man." God bless anyone who hasn't given in to the "Why me?" mentality of modern society. Pistons in six was my prediction before the series, and as long as Ben stays hungry it's a very real possibility.

Dan "The Bastard" LeBatard spouts off, the Detroit Pistons just win.

2005-05-24T10:47:00.000-04:00

In the classic format of you bash my city, and I'll bash your's, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press and Dan LeBatard (at least the French got his name right) of the Miami Herald recently wrote columns critquing the others city and pro basketball teams. I feel for LeBatard. Writing against Albom, who when brodcasting original thoughts is quite gifted, can't be easy, but Danny-boy took it a little too far. He not only bashed the city of Detroit with truly unorignal comments (what we have crime and poverty in Detroit), but he also unfairly characterized the Pistons as defensive hack players and Rasheed Wallace as "one of People magazine's 50 angriest people." Granted Sheed has made mistakes and his public persona has not always been great, but maybe Mr. LeBatard should take some time of the "Sports Reporters," "Around the Horn" or whatever ESPN mouthpiece he is abusing and watch a Pistons game before characterizing them as machete touting ruffians. Fortunately for Pistons fans eveywhere (unfortunately that seems to be mainly Metro Detroit) the boys in Blue and Red put their money (or rings) where their mouths were and won. There were no comments from Detroit players regarding LeBatard's column. All they did was beat the favored Heat by nine, led by Rasheed Wallace's 20 points and no technicals. Can't say the same for Miami's Udonis Haslem, who got T'd up, and Dwayne Wade, who was so frustrated by actual defense, he threw a hissy fit.

2005 NFL Mock Draft

2005-01-06T12:03:00.000-05:00

1. San Francisco 49ers Aaron Rodgers QB/Cal Rodgers gets his chance to follow in his idol's (Joe Montana) footsteps after his workouts "blow away" the 49er brass, that and he might cost less than Leinhart at the No.1 slot.

2 Miami Dolphins Matt Leinhart QB/USC The Dolphins opt for a QB after signing free-agent Shaun Alexander to fill the running back slot. Alexander then turns A.J Feely into 2005's Drew Brees

3 Cleveland Browns Mike Williams WR/USC The Browns opt for a playmaker at receiver to go with Lee Suggs and Kellen Winslow Jr. Now they need someone to get them the ball.

4 Chicago Bears Cedric Benson RB/Texas Thomas Jones looked good early but sputtered, and the A-Train rarely leaves the depot. Lovie Smith loves the idea of a bruising runner to compliment his defense.

5 Tampa Bay Bucs Cadillac Williams RB/Auburn Jon Gruden opts for the runner to try and re-establish his status as an offensive genius. Michael Pittman is not a long-term answer at back.

6 Tennessee Titans Alex Barron OT/ Florida State Too many injuries at QB and RB and an aging and expensive line make this pick a no-brainer. Could be the steal of the draft.

7 Oakland Raiders Derrick Johnson LB/Texas Gives the Raiders defense the type of intensity and fervor all too common in the stands in Oakland and recently all too uncommon on the field at the Coliseum.

8 Dallas Cowboys Braylon Edwards WR/Michigan Gives the Cowboy corp. of receivers much needed youth.

9 Washington Redskins Matthias Kiwanuka DE/BC Joe Gibbs loves the idea of adding this guy to Greg Williams' defense. This could be a special player for years combined with Lavar Arrington to really scare opposing defenders.

10 Detroit Lions Erasmus James DE/Wisconsin Again, my beloved Lions miss out the player they really want by one pick. Erasmus James provides a decent pass rush and one of the truly great names in pro sports.

11 Arizona Cardinals Antrel Rolle CB/Miami (FL) Dennis Green wants to go offense, maybe Alex Smith at QB, but the addition of a top corner makes the Cardinals contenders in the weak NFC West.

12* San Diego Chargers DBrickashaw Ferguson OT/Virginia A steal at No. 12 and will see more time next year than Phillip Rivers. The Eli trade continues to pay off.

13 Carolina Panthers Ahmad Brooks LB/Virginia One thing the Panthers learned in 2004, you need depth.

14 Kansas City Chiefs Marlin Jackson/CB Michigan Maybe the Chiefs will play defense next year, but probably not Dick Vermiel plans to convert Jackson to wideout.

15 Houston Texans Jamaal Brimmer SS/UNLV A play maker at defense will help the Texans as they turn the corner in 2005.

16 New Orleans Saints Rodrique Wright DT/Texas Gives the Saints' anemic rush defense teeth.

17 St. Louis Rams Corey Webster CB/LSU See Chiefs pick at No. 14

18 Cincinnati Bengals Heath Miller TE/Virginia More weapons on offense for Carson Palmer should help Bengals in stacked division.

19 Minnesota Vikings Anttaj Hawthorne DT/Wisconsin Should give the Vikings an edge and attitude on defense to go with young linebackers

20 Seattle Seahawks Thomas Davis S/Georgia Seahawks have needs everywhere after free agents abandon ship in 2005 offseason.

21* Dallas Cowboys Justin Miller CB/Clemson Should be a nice compliment to Terrence Newman for years.

22 Jacksonville Jaguars Jonathan Scott OT/Texas A young tackle to protect a young quarterback, a match made in heaven.

23 Baltimore Ravens David Pollack DE/Georgia The Ravens just can't pass up a guy like to Pollack to wreak havoc with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.

24 Green Bay Packers Mark Clayton WR/Oklahoma Clayton will be dangerous across from Javon Walker and with a guy named Brett Favre throwing him the ball.

25 New York Jets Channing Crowder LB/Florida Crowder goes to New York to play along side Jon Vilma maybe now they can beat the Pats.

26 Denver Broncos Shaun Cody DT/USC Mike Shannahan steals again. Cody can help the Broncos defense from tackle or end.

27 Atlanta Falcons Elton Brown, OG Virginia This pick might extend Michael Vicks career a few quarters.

28 Indianapolis Colts Marcus Spears DE/LSU Defense, Defense, Defense.

29 San Diego Chargers Kevin Burnett LB/Tenn. Remember when the Chargers were scary good on defense. They're back.

30 Philadelphia Eagles Ronnie Brown RB/Auburn Brian Westbrook you just became Duce Staley enjoy your stay with the Eagles and the ensuing karma.

31 New England Patriots Matt Roth DE/Iowa If there is a great player on the board Bill Bellichek will make use of him.

32 Pittsburgh Steelers Jammal Brown OT/OU See Pats pick at No. 31.

Hey NCAA, why?

2005-01-06T10:47:00.000-05:00

Attempting to understand college football’s postseason is like trying to break the Da Vinci Code, understand complex metaphysics and balance your checkbook at the same time.
But it doesn’t take a religious historian, a physicist or a personal accountant to understand where the blame for this mess should start and stop — it’s with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
This is the institution responsible for administering championships and providing rules and regulations for all collegiate sports, but somehow they fail to offer a championship for the nation’s favorite sport, football.
Take it right from the NCAA’s Web site, ncaa.org: “The NCAA administers 88 championships in 23 sports for its member institutions.”
Eighty-eight championships for 23 sports, yet there is no foreseeable future where football will be the 89th championship?
Sure, another season is now in the books, with USC having recently won the Bowl Championship Series national title, but there’s still no NCAA Division I-A national champion.
Rather than give football the attention its fans, players and coaches deserve, the NCAA allows the sport that makes it so much money to be run by the BCS and treats it as little more than a “club” sport, as defined by the organization itself.
“There are several sports for which the NCAA does not conduct championships or establish rules and regulations; these are traditionally called "club" sports,” the Web site says.
Granted, the NCAA does administer rules and governs the sport, but what good are these rules if there is no championship given to back them up?
Why should a team have to give up a national title — as has been suggested with Ohio State — for breaking an organization’s rules, when that organization had nothing to do with awarding the title to start with?
This brings up another simple question for the NCAA.
Why not offer a title?
For its “answer,” we can again look to the NCAA Web site: “As of this date, legislation to establish a I-A championship has not been considered by the membership.”
Is this the same membership that includes Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and Kansas coach Mark Mangino?
Tuberville’s Tigers are the latest version of an undefeated team with nothing to show for its efforts. Mangino was so frustrated with the current system, he called into question the integrity of Big XII officials following his team’s game against Texas.
Why keep a system that perpetuates this environment?
I guess the NCAA likes to pass the buck.
Under the “frequently asked questions” section of ncaa.org, regarding Division I-A postseason football, the NCAA dances around the issue.
It asks that further inquiries be forwarded to the conferences and bowl committees who are members of the BCS.
The entity with rules governing everything from recruiting to the number of T-shirts coaches can give out at clinics chooses to ignore the very reason these coaches would break any of its rules in the first place, the chance to win it all.
This brings up the same old question for the NCAA.
Why?

ESPN licks

2004-12-29T01:30:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else sick and tired of ESPN telling them what to think? As I watch my beloved Irish suffer through the Insight Bowl against Oregon State, I wonder if there aren't some alterior motives behind ESPN's less than stellar coverage of the Irish. Is it because Notre Dame has the gall to not have their games broadcast on the sports broadcasting monopoly that is ESPN. So Notre Dame decides to take part in a free market economy and not join a conference and the collegiate athletic monopoly that is CBS and ABC. Is that any reason to have a noticeable bias when brodcasting the Irish? This may sound like sour grapes after Nore Dame loses to Oregon State again, but this is only the catlayst for what is a legitimate problem with ESPN. They have a strangle hold on all things sports. In what other business is this allowed? Why should ESPN have the luxury of not being second guessed. Because I am curently at such a loss for words I will leave the finer points of this discussion for another day, but I ask you the public to please respond with your input. Is ESPN an evil unchecked media giant or a worthless entertainemnt imp that is to be ignored?

Getting started

2004-12-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

Just trying to get started at this thing so give me a sec, and we'll have some stuff up real soon.