response 1 of 77:

Jun 11 15:16 UTC 2000

Okay.. now I can speak with more accuracy...

The Tigers were 6-17 in April.  They are now 23-34, which means they are a
respectable 17-17 since May 1.  They're playing .500 ball

Of course, if they want to get to 0.500 they have to play a little better than
.500 ball.  Specifically, to get to .500 by the end of the season they have
to play .553 ball (ie, win 58 and lose 47).  Personally I think they can do
it.  Sooner or later their hitters are gonna catch up to their own career
averages (collectively).

Pitching, amazingly enough, isn't a real problem.

Their team ERA of 5.02 puts them 7th out of 14 in the league - smack dab in
the middle.  Their current starting pitchers have an combined ERA of 4.39,
which is pretty good in this day and age.  The biggest problem is Hideo Nomo,
it seems.  While he's 5th in the league in Strikeouts (73), he's also allowed
45 walks.  Compare that to Brian Moehler, who is turning out to be one of the
best control pitchers in the leagues - he's allowed only 5 walks in 50
innings.  Of course, most of Nomo's bad statistcs come from a 3 game stretch
of putrescense back in May.  He's not really so bad.  In fact if it weren't
for those three games, I read somewhere that his ERA would only be 2.80

I dunno about you, but I'm staying on board for this ride.  It's, at the very
least, interesting, if not exciting :)

response 3 of 77:

Jun 11 22:07 UTC 2000

Sure did.  BTW, all three games were sellouts this weekend I heard.  They lost
today, 7-3.  It was an ugly start to the game (just after I'm touting how
decent the starting pitchers are!).  Of course, it was Dave Mlicki, the worst
(and most expensive) of our 5 starters.  He allowed 9 hits and 7 runs in 1-1/3
innings.  Believe it or not, Tiger relievers went the remaining 7-2/3 and
allowed only a couple more hits and no walks.  Pat Hentgen had a no-hitter
going into the 7th but then the Tigers eeked out 4 hits and 3 runs.  They
threated in the 8th and 9th but didn't manage to score anymore.

Overall, I'd say the game was a positive, given the fact that the relievers
could've let it get really embarassing, but managed to actually look
impressive once Mlicki was out of the game.

response 5 of 77:

Jun 12 13:40 UTC 2000

I was at the game on Saturday, technically anyway.  I was in the 
stadium, but I was with my 4 year old, and there is a carousel and a 
ferris wheel in the park.  <grumble>  Still, no one in their right mind 
expects a 4 year old to sit still and enjoy a baseball game.

Moehler pitched a very good game.  The Tigers won 10-1, hitting 3 home 
runs.

It was an interesting trip in some ways.  I parked on a side street 4 
blocks from the park.  A guy walked up to me and asked for $5.  "I live 
in the apartment building there."  "I'll make sure nothing happens to 
your car."  Heh.  Nothing happened to my car.  It is pretty amazing to 
get free parking 20 minutes before the start of the game when there are 
39,000 people in the park.

The carousel doesn't have horses, it has tigers.  It costs $2, and I 
had to pay, too, to stand next to my son.  We stood in line for maybe 15 
minutes.  There aren't even TVs you can see; you are totally cut off 
from the game.  This was not well planned.  The boy liked the ride, 
anyway.

The ferris wheel seats are shaped like baseballs.  We didn't ride on the 
ferris wheel, but maybe next time.

Comerica Park is a nice ball park.  The seats are not cramped.  There 
are enough bathrooms and concession stands you don't stand in line for 
the whole game, even when it's busy.  It doesn't have the character of 
Tiger Stadium, but there are no obstructed view seats, and there are 
lots of amenities.  Give it a look.  I'll be back there next weekend, 
this time with either my 9 year old or my wife, so I expect to enjoy 
more of the game.

response 7 of 77:

Jun 12 21:46 UTC 2000

I think they're hoping that by playing Encarnacion every day he'll get better.
That doesn't really seem to be happening.  He may be relegated to a pinch
hitting role later or get thrown in with a trade.

response 9 of 77:

Jun 13 23:56 UTC 2000

Karim was still hitting well at AAA.  I guess he's a defensive liability
though, or just not impressive enough to be a 4th outfielder.  Certainly, he's
not what the Tigers needed.

I'd like to see the Tigers get Henson and Pettitte.  But Henson is such a big
question mark.  I mean, if he turns out to be a great quarterback, maybe he
won't place baseball when he's done?

I expect the Tigers will win tonight.

response 11 of 77:

Jun 14 14:22 UTC 2000

The Tigers got 5 runs in two separate innings.  They got their lead *5* 
men on base in 3 innings.  It would be wonderful to see them get this 
kind of hitting more often, obviously.  Rick, Brad Ausmus dinged one as 
well.  He was 4-5 according to the box score on fastball.com.

I watched this game on FSD, and heard the musical sound of a 
knowledgeable baseball man (Kirk Gibson) discussing why it is that 
on-base average is so important; why it isn't just hitting that wins 
games.  Kirk Gibson is an irritant to listen to.  Every sentence he says 
ends on a rising pitch, reminiscent of him telling a child, "Is that 
really what you want to do?"  However, he is unquestionably 
knowledgeable about baseball.  He brings to FSD what Al Kaline has 
brought to broadcast games over the last 25 years.  Setting aside his 
voice, he's quite an improvement over Jim Northrup on the old PASS 
network.  Northrup constantly congratulated himself on his career -- 
which was a very good career, but it ended a long time ago.

Note of interest from last night's game: Toronto catcher Albert Castillo 
spotted a young bird on the field that had fallen from somewhere.  He 
caught it with his catcher's mitt, then picked it up in his hand and 
took it to a fan in the stands.  The Tigers sent a young woman with a 
basket, who took it somewhere, then a bird expert came to the stadium 
and will care for it until it can be released.  Albert Castillo is a 
rough-looking catcher.  It was amusing to see him so tenderly rescue 
this bird.

response 13 of 77:

Jun 14 19:23 UTC 2000

The Tigers have two possibilities if they can trade Juan -- they can get 
"name" players with high salary and low production, or they can get 
prospects.  They'd obviously rather get prospects, as this team is not 
going anywhere this season, and has no wish to spend money at this time. 

The Yankees have had a strong farm system in recent years and have 
traded away a lot of young guys for big names (Clemens, Knoblauch, etc.) 
but might not want to continue making those kinds of trades.  
Nevertheless, they're one of the few teams which traditionally doesn't 
mind signing really big names for really big dollars, and so their name 
belongs in the discussion of who might trade for Gonzalez.

Boston will likely not view Gonzalez as a long-term player, but might be 
willing to rent him for a half-year for their pennant chase.  Juan 
Gonzalez, looking at the Green Monster -- the thought must be appealing 
in Boston.  But will they trade good prospects for him?  They might.  If 
New York gets Sammy Sosa, Boston is going to want to improve their team 
hitting, too, to keep up with the Yankees.

response 15 of 77:

Jun 17 00:23 UTC 2000

Bring on Cleveland...

response 17 of 77:

Jun 17 22:51 UTC 2000

Tigers came from behind today to beat Cleveland 8-6.  They were down 4-0 after
a Cleveland grand slam.  They were down 6-3 after the next inning, but managed
2 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th, and 2 in the 9th.  Homers for Magee, Higginson,
and Gonzalez (the game winner).  Higgy is HOT!  He was 2-4 tonight with 2 RBI
and 3 runs scored.  He's got his batting average up to .280

response 19 of 77:

Jun 18 15:32 UTC 2000

I was at the Saturday game, 8-6.  Very exciting game!

There are as many Cleveland fans at these games as there are Tiger fans, 
so it was very nice to be able to feel superior as we walked out.  They 
might have been winning division championships for the last 7 years, but 
they're still the Indians; one has to remember that.

response 21 of 77:

Jun 19 14:33 UTC 2000

Maybe I understand this 'hold'.  It was for Matt Anderson.  He went in 
with a 3-1 lead, and left the game with a lead.  Danny Patterson, who 
came over in The Trade with Juan Gonzalez, came in and gave up 
Anderson's men on base, and therefore blew the save.  Ultimately he blew 
the game (though Anderson pitched ineffectively to set him up with the 
chance to lose).

Phil Garner was upset the Tigers blew this game, but I'm not.  It was 
the 6th blown save this year, which is least in baseball.  Cleveland is 
still a good-hitting team, even without Manny Ramirez.  The Tigers won 2 
of 3, which is pretty good.  3-3 would be better, but I'll take 2-3.

The Tigers are only 1 game in back of Minnesota, which is in 4th place 
in the Central division.  It would be nice to have them be out of last, 
paltry of a goal as that is for a professional sports team.

response 23 of 77:

Jun 19 17:20 UTC 2000

I agree that a 6th inning appearance is not likely to wind up as a save, 
but statistically, Patterson was in the game to hold the lead, and 
holding the lead for the rest of the game is called a save.  

Sometimes baseball statistics can be screwy, but there is an underlying 
logic.  Rick and I have occasionally discussed what constitutes a "hold" 
during the course of this season.  Maybe a pattern is emerging?