Bruce Almighty

The standard move for teams in contention is trading for veteran help at the all-star break. The standard move for teams that are not in contention or are in fringe contention is to call up the highly touted prospect form the minors. The young guy call up is much much better. I love this. It is way more exciting than teams picking up a lefty setup man or another bat off the bench. Typically, the call up is someone who fans of the team have heard about for years, the next can't-miss-change-your-franchise player. And these players typically come out like Gangbusters and the fans suddenly are reminded of Ted Williams, Roger Clemens, etc. Now for every Albert Pujols there is a Fransisco Liriano. For every Hanley Ramirez there is a Phillip Hughes (now Hughes and Liriano are both young and injured - so there is still time but the fizzle is pretty loud at this point). No matter the eventual outcome these players bring hope. I have seen this with Verlander and Zumaya, Jeff Francoeur, Liriano, Hughes, etc. etc.

And I am glad to see 2008 is no exception. I would like to welcome Jay Bruce to the club of the "Called up for a week already touted for the Hall of Fame". Jay is the highly touted Reds outfielder and he came out 3-3 in his debut with a 2B. Time will tell whether Mr. Bruce is the next Griffey or the next Russell Branyan, but for now hope springs eternal.

Give me Vaughn! You mean rick Vaughn?

Cubs 2 Dodgers 1 10 innings

Last night Takashi Saito did his best Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn impersonation. "Ball 4, Ball 8, Ball 12, and Vaughn has walked the bases loaded. How can hitters lay off pitches that close?". Saito entered the game in the 9th inning with a 1-0 lead. Lowe and Zambrano had brought a pitchers duel this far and Joe Torre turned to his closer to preserve the 1-0 lead. Unfortunately for Torre, he no longer signals for Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning. He has Saito. In his defense, Saito has been a solid closer since coming over from Japan, 71 saves in just over 2 years. However, once he threw his first pitch in the 9th I knew he was going to blow this game. There are times when a pitcher enters a game and you just know there is no way this guy is closing out this game. Saito walked 2, gave up 1 hit, missed first base covering on a ground ball to James Loney, and threw 37 pitches during the blown save. It was painful to watch, but I couldn't look away, I had to see how he was going to blow the game. I am not sure what it was about the situation that made me realize he wasn't closing this game, but I was certain of it. I am not alone with this skill. Two years ago the Tigers were facing the Yankees on ESPN. Rivera was not available to preserve a 2-run lead so Torre turned to Kyle Farnsworth (that may have been a low point in his NY tenure). Before the inning started a I received a phone call from a good friend - all he said was "There is no *&$$#!!!-ing way Farnsworth closes this game." (edited for  children) Sure enough the Tigers score 3 in the ninth to win. I received a text from the same friend: "Its not so much me, as it is Farnsworth". Truer word have never been texted.

Advice to Joe Torre or any other manager: If your closer has a look like there is no this is going to end well. Pull him, get anyone else, because you are not winning this game with this pitcher.

There is no I in team, but there is one in Tigers

As a life long fan I am dealing with an age old question of etiquette. When talking about your favorite team, which set of pronouns do you use? There are two choices:  first person and third person. If you want to use third person, that is your prerogative and I respect your decision. However, I believe in the right to use first person  (given you meet the below criteria). Through reading other blogs, listening to podcast, etc. I have seen a lot of negative sentiment towards using first person pronouns when talking about your favorite sports team. The conversation usually goes something like this:

"The Tigers look terrible are you concerned?"

"Its been a bad start but once we get back Zumaya and Rodney things will pick up."

"We? Are you on the team?"

"Yes, I am on the Tigers, that is why I go to school full-time and write a blog about baseball. Jackass."

Things typically escalate from here and my wife again has to bail me out of jail. Why do I take such offense to people questioning my pronoun usage? Because I have lived and died with the Tigers since I was 5 years old, which is not only longer than any Tiger has been with the organization, but is as long as Tiger outfielder Matt Joyce has been alive. I think I have earned the right as a fan to speak of the team in terms of 'we'. When the Tigers beat the A's in the ALCS in 2006 I have dozens of phone calls and text messages of congratulations - people know I am part of the team - albeit not in the traditional sense.

If you too want to be part of a team, any team, you must meet the following criteria:

1. There can only be one personally possessive team per sport - no "we" referring to the American League East.

2. You have to either a. Have put in 5+ years as a fan or b. put in 2+ years as a fan during losing seasons. You are not automatically granted personal pronoun status, this must be earned.

3. You must truly live and die with this team. If you are from Baltimore, grew up an O's fan, but now have no idea who Daniel Cabrera is - you have lost the right to be a part of the team. Being part of the team requires dedication at all times (not just during the playoff run).

I leave you on Wednesday hoping we can salvage a game against the Angels. The pitching has been great in the series, we are just waiting for the offense to show up.

And for the Royals no runs, on no hits......

Apparently John Lester does not like to be shown up. Last fall fellow highly touted rookie Red Sox hurler Clay Bucholz shocked the baseball world by throwing a no-hitter. Last night Lester became the latest Red Sox rookie pitcher to go the distance without giving up a hit. I was able to see the 9th inning last night - ESPN kindly patched over from the Cubs and Astros. And while I was watching this I realized something - there is really nothing like a no hitter. The no-hitter is like the perfect song (in my opinion Lightning Crashes by live) slowly building to an ultimate crescendo. There are certainly other great songs and other great acts in baseball, but the slowly building rock anthem really belongs to the no-hitter. The game begins, just as the song, by slowly building a strong foundation through the first few innings ("A new mother cries.....") and suddenly the announcers are mentioning - "one time through the order and Lester hasn't given up a hit". Now things are about to get serious. There is a moment in every no-hitter when it moves from being a well pitched outing to HOLY CRAP THIS MIGHT HAPPEN!!! I think its somewhere during the 6th inning. If you survive the 6th you are two-thirds of the way there, you only have to see each batter one more time, the stadium starts to buzz, and ESPN now mentions "John Lester has a no-hitter through 6" on the bottom line ("Pale blue colored eyes!"). When the pitchers enters the dugout after the 6th he beings living on an island. No one wants to talk to him, no one wants to mention anything, no one wants to be that guy. (amazing guitar interlude) Most no-hitters I can remember have a defining defensive play,and Lester's was no exception. Ellsbury made a rediculous diving catch in the 4th inning preserving the no-no ("I can feel it!!"). And then there is the 9th inning. I have never been in a stadium where a pitcher took a no-hitter into the 9th, but I can imagine the ovation as he walks to the mound, history a mere 3 outs away ("Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind!"). Once the third out is secured the moment peaks, it has been building for 27 outs, and now it lets loose. The pitcher is mobbed on the mound as everyone wants to remember that moment, their part of history ("I can feel it......"). If you are ever casually watching a baseball game, make sure you don't turn it off until both teams have their first hit. You don't want to miss that chance to hear the song from the beginning - the ending is great, but its that much better if you know where it started.

Rock Bottom?

Ok - the major-league-team-formally-known-as-the-Tigers are now an abysmal 10 games under .500. I have the following promise. No more complaining about the Motor City Kitties on the blog. I am not giving up on the Tigers, but I don't want this to turn into a forum for me to belly-ache. I will work on highlighting other amazing, not so amazing, and hilarious things around the league.


The best moment from last week:

Manny being an entertaining idiot. If you haven't seen this , its simply fantastic. Watch Manny catch a fly ball, jump up the wall, high five a sox fan in Baltimore, and then double up a runner at first. Amazing.

You will notice I did not write Manny being Manny. This is horrendous and needs to stop. Certain catch phrases get used way too much and are undeserved. Second on my list "The Boston Three Party" - unless you are including Rajon Rondo - Ray Allen is not a big three, he is Kyle Korver with a better past, but since he has a great nickname -everyone pays attention.

Maybe I need a nickname.....

Why don't all-star teams work?

We are just over 1/4 of the way into the baseball season and today I plan to address the following question: Why don't all-star teams work?

We have seen this over and over again in sports - the 06' Yankees of "Murderer's Row and Cano'" (seriously - the dude his .342 with 78 RBIs and had to be the little cute tag line on the 06' Yanks). The lineup resembled those we see in the mid-summer classic - and yet they were undone by the young and hungry Tigers (in the greatest baseball series I have ever seen).

This phenomenon is not baseball specific. See the 03'-04' Lakers, and I am still not a believer in the 07'- 08' Celtics (seriously - only one win for the Hawks in Boston......anyways).

So there I was in the off-season watching the Tigers slowly replace their gritty, young players with veterans with all-star credentials.

In were
Jaque Jones
Edgar Renteria
Miguel Cabrera
Dontrelle Willis

Out or to the bench were
Jair Jurrgens
Brandon Inge
Andrew Miller
Cameron Maybin
Mike Rabelo

The difference between what came in and what went out - in - had all the credentials, and out had all the potential.

Now I am not advocating for a lineup off all young hungry guys - this usually doesn't work either (every now and then you get the 07' Rockies, but usually its more like the 07' Brewers).

To my point: I think the Tigers are doing so poorly this year because - they have too many well established stars. Stay with me now...this should eventually make sense. The staff - veterans. The lineup - veterans. So while the entire team is made up of proven major league talent - I don't think any of them live and die with wins and losses anymore. I am sure Mags and Guillen can eat just fine after 5 losses in row (as they should - they have been around forever and realize this is a 162 game season). However, too many guys with that attitude is how an all star team is suddenly 10 games under .500. Its weird to think, but I believe if the Tigers season is going to be turned around it will be due to Matt Joyce and Armando Gallaraga. These are the two rookies who are filling in for D-Train and JJ. These are the guys who can't sleep after a loss, who take every big at bat during the regular season as due or die. I love these guys. They are hungry, they are young, and they might just jump start the Tigers to making some noise this season.

So for whatever team you root for. Cheer for your all-stars, your first ballot HOFers, and your journeymen. However, make sure you cheer for the 23 year old rookie who is wide eyed and just young and ignorant enough to jump start a team back to .500. Anyways - these young guys have given me hope (and I would have thought that would have been Miguel Cabrera)..

Rain delay......

My apologies if anyone is actually reading this blog consistently. I have recently bought a house and the Hawks are in the middle of an amazing playoff run (game 7 vs the Celtics tomorrow!). This will be my last chance to post for a week, but once we are moved next week I plan to post as often as possible. Since I haven't posted in quite some time I thought I would give you the highlights and thoughts around the league from the past 2 weeks (in no particular order).

1. Micah Owings 

  - My "man crush" on Micah dates back to August 18, 2007 (the "man crush" will no doubt be a topic of a future post). I went to Turner Field to see a D'Backs vs Braves game and Owings was pitching. Owings threw well, however it was his 4-5 2HRs 6RBI line that won my heart. We actually stayed into the 8th inning of a blowout loss in 95 degree heat to see Owings bat one more time (since he was a triple away from the cycle - sadly he lined out to first).

   - Flash forward to this week. D'Backs down by 2 in the 7th, and Owings comes in to pinch hit. The Astros change pitchers to get a better matchup against a pitcher, and Owings still hits an opposite field jack to tie the game (I swear this should be the ending of some Major League movie). 

2. Curtis Granderson

  - Holy cow did the Tigers miss this guy. Since his return the Tigers have resembled an actual major league baseball team. Granderson is getting on base, making plays in center, and it I would argue, helping to settle down the rest of the lineup. There is a lot to be said for missing your leadoff hitter, especially when your team really doesn't have another typical leadoff hitter. I am still optimistic about the 08' Tigers - since no one in the AL is really running away to hide and the bullpen MASH unit may be ending soon (a healthy Zumaya and Rodney are better than any midseason trade for bullpen help).

3. John Smoltz

 - The one time Tiger farmhand is headed back to the bullpen - but not in the same way Barry Zito is headed to the bullpen. Smoltz is coming off the DL and stepping into the dominant closer role he previously occupied. I am not sure how I feel about this. I know the Braves have blown several games late, and having a dominant closer is a great great asset in a playoff race. However, I worry about their rotation sans Smoltz. Hudson can be great and dominant - however he has been somewhat up and down in the ATL. After Hudson, Jurrgens and Glavine can be solid but the back of the rotation is full of question marks. I am not totally against the move, but I wouldn't be shocked if in August/September the Braves really wish the balding guy with a nasty slider and 3000 career K's was throwing every 5th day.

4. Miguel Tejada

 - He is out to prove that he isn't washed up, he just really hated Baltimore (it aged him considerably). On Friday Miguel not only talked the talk, he walked it as well. Before the game Mr. Steroid-cloud-birth-certificate-forging-former-AL-MVP promised a sick young child that he would hit him a home run. And then in the 6th innning - he delivered. This is beyond phenomenal. This is heroic. For a guy who has been in the press for all the wrong reasons recently - I think this deserves some press. And most importantly we get to relive the Seinfeld when Kramer promised a sick child that Paul O'Neil would hit 2 home runs during a Yankees game (O'Neil hits the first and it looks like an inside-the-park-home run has fulfilled a promise for a sick young boy.....when it is ruled a triple with an error).

Enjoy the week in baseball - Tigers are on ESPN (when the always seem to play bad) as they take the long slow walk to respectability.