11 posts tagged “tigers”
Yikes -- lately I've been so engulfed in the Blue Jays' great battle to score runs that I've failed to notice what else is going on around baseball. I knew the Tigers had turned it around briefly after their 2-10 start, but noticed just now they've been swept by Kansas City for the second time this season and sit at 16-25, again losers of 10 of their last 12. Luckily for them, as is the case with the Jays thus far, nobody in the American League has really set themselves too far ahead of the pack. Though they're last in the Central, the Tigers are just six games back of first place Cleveland with 121 games to play. Time to count them out? Not by a long shot...
Once again, right after John Gibbons was written off as fired by just about anybody with a pen in arm's reach, the Jays have caught fire, winners of four in a row. The great Joe Inglett was the hero this afternoon, singling home the winning run in the top of the 11th in a 3-2 win over the Twins. Again, the Jays have crept to within a game of the hallowed .500 mark (21-22) and sit three-and-a-half games back from that team from Tampa Bay that refuses to lose. Should the Rays hold off the Yankees this evening (they're up 5-2 in the seventh), New York will drop into sole possession of last place in the East. How great does that sound?
While playing baseball at the park last week, I mentioned that my buddy Jerry was "the Rob Deer" of our circle of friends because of his remarkable tendency to either strikeout or hit a home run. Unfortunately, my remark went over the heads of most of my friends, who apparently weren't devoted followers of the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers in the late-eighties and early-nineties. Nevertheless, I got to thinking of other modern day Rob Deers. Here's a look at some of today's all-or-nothing players:
Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies: Howard has been especially Deer-esque this season, hitting just.171 with 7 home runs and 54 strikeouts in just 39 games. He's on pace to strikeout 224 times this season, which would shatter his own record of 199, set last year (Howard avoided the 200 mark by fanning just once in the last two games of the season). His strikeout average (hits/at-bats) of .386 is tops in the majors this season, ahead of last year's mark of .376 and well over his career mark of .342 (Deer's highest season average was .392 in 1987, and his career mark was .363). To his credit, Howard does have an MVP Award on Deer, and his career batting average is 60 points higher. Oh yeah, he was also the fastest player in league history to hit 100 home runs.
Jack Cust, Oakland Athletics: Cust came out of nowhere last season, slugging 26 home runs in just 395 at-bats for Oakland, also striking out an incredible 164 times in the process (an average of .415). This season, he's struck out 35 times in 99 at-bats (.354). Though his batting average has yet to be in the Deer range in his young career, Cust's strikeout rates make him about as close a player to Deer as you'll find these days.
Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks: Reynolds tied a dubious major league record last season, his first in the bigs, by striking out in nine consecutive plate appearances (the streak only ended when he was hit by a pitch). The third baseman ended up striking out 129 times in 111 games last year (a .352 average) and has already fanned 52 times in 135 at-bats in 2008 (.385, second to Howard). He has, however, exhibited good power thus far in his career, hitting 24 home runs and driving in 89 runs in his first 147 career games. Since he doesn't quite have Howard's power or average, Reynolds has a terrific chance of turning into this generations most distinctive Deer clone.
Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays: Watching Pena strikeout seven times in eight at-bats in Toronto last week was what got me thinking of Deer in the first place. Though he saved his career with a 46-homer, 121-RBI season in Tampa Bay last year, Pena has reverted to his old ways in 2008 -- he's struck out 45 times in 129 at-bats (.349) and hit just .209, down from last season's mark of .282.
Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds: Dunn wins the Lifetime Achievement Award for acting like Deer for years. His 195 strikouts in 2004 stood as the major league record before Howard topped it last season. In his career, Dunn has struck out 1,124 times in 3,466 at-bats (.324). He does, however, have incredible power -- he's hit at least 40 home runs in each of the last four seasons and has 244 in his career, which began in 2001.
Andruw Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers: Okay, Jones has always struck out a lot, but never quite in the Deer (or Howard, Cust, Reynolds or Pena) range. However, he's completely fallen apart in 2008. Jones has struck out 38 times in 112 at-bats this season (.339), the first of the two-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Dodgers this past off-season. Even worse, Jones is hitting just .170 with one home run. I'm no Dodgers fan, but I imagine they must be wondering where this guy gets off.
I hate to do this -- to put a damper on the best day of the baseball season -- but why do Major League Baseball's schedule makers insist on opening the season in cold weather cities? Didn't they learn their lesson with Cleveland's opening week last season? Well, forgive me for being bitter, because while much of the baseball world was enjoying Opening Day, I was at home watching re-runs of Jays Connected: The Season '08 while waiting for the inevitable announcement that today's Jays-Yankees opener was postponed. For the record, I was one of the unfortunate to travel all the way to Detroit for an opening week Jays-Tigers game last April, only for it to be postponed upon my arrival.
Nonetheless, baseball season will go on, as will my life...Game on!
Alright, so I grabbed that headline right off of ESPN.com. I thought it was clever, so I'll give credit where it's due.
Anyway, by now you're aware that Johan Santana is on his way out of Minnesota and not heading to the Red Sox, Yankees or Tigers, perhaps a sign that the baseball gods aren't necessarily out to get the rest of the American League. Instead, arguably the greatest pitcher on the planet is a New York Met. The Mets are reportedly sending prospects Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to Minnesota, and Santana is expected to sign a six-year, $150 million contract extension with New York.
Of the players heading to Minnesota, I've only heard of Gomez, and even he never stood out as a can't-miss prospect. Not sure what the Twins were thinking here -- the Yankees were reportedly dangling Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera and the Red Sox had Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury on the table -- but I'm not about to argue. Another star joining an American League East team not named the Blue Jays, Orioles or Devil Rays would've been enough to damper my excitement about this upcoming season, which is a mere two months away.
The Mets, in the meantime, have to be considered favourites in the National League in '08, even after last season's colossal collapse. In Santana, they get what they sorely lacked last season -- a proven ace (with apologies to John Maine and Oliver Perez, who should shore out a suddenly deep rotation). More than anything, though, I'm just relieved to see the guy out of the American League.
The first major trade at baseball's Winter Meetings went down tonight, and as expected, it involved a Santana. Not Johan, but Miguel. The Marlins sent Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for six players, none of whom matter, because Florida won't be able to afford them anyway if they turn out to be any good. Can we just get rid of this team already? I guess the reality is that teams like the Tigers, Yankees and Red Sox can always count on teams like the Marlins and Twins to trade them stars they can't afford for prospects that one day they also won't be able to afford.
Much of the talk around Toronto tonight is that the Jays are actively pursuing Erik Bedard after all, despite J.P. Ricciardi insisting he was comfortable with the current state of the team. There has also been talk of the Jays going after Jason Bay, and rumors that they're dangling Alex Rios at the Giants for Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain. Also, in this week's developing sign of the apocalypse, the Giants are also reportedly interested in Troy Glaus. Troy Glaus?
With several NBA and NHL teams introducing new looks (the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins, to name a few) for the coming season, I got to thinking about the best uniforms in the four major sports. Here’s what I came up with:
MLB: Though the Yankees’ pinstripes and Dodgers’ blue and white are tough to pass on, I’m partial to Detroit’s Old English home whites. Interesting fact about the uniform, which I wasn’t aware of until Paul Lukas pointed it out in his ESPN column during last year’s World Series: The D logo on the hat is different than the one on the jersey. For more on this, check out the article yourself. Nevertheless, a great look, and in my opinion the finest in baseball and possibly all of sports.
NFL: What’s more intimidating than the Raiders’ black and silver? Alright, to be honest, there hasn’t been anything scary about the teams the Raiders have fielded the past couple years, but at least they’ve looked great. After using black and gold for the first three years of their existence, Al Davis switched the colours to black and silver upon being named head coach and general manager in 1963. Since then, the black and silver have been as constant with the team as Davis himself.
NBA: Though the past 15 years or so have been painful in Boston, the Celtics can rest assured in being the best-dressed team in the NBA. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it—and the Celtics haven’t. From Cousy to Russell to Bird to Pierce, the green and white has been a staple.
NHL: Notice a trend yet? When it comes to uniforms, tradition reigns supreme. What greater tradition is there in the NHL than that of the Montreal Canadiens, 24-time Stanley Cup champions? It’s one thing to win that many Cups, but to do it while looking great is a whole other thing. Like the Celtics’ green and white, the Habs’ blue, white and red has stayed consistent throughout the franchise’s history, and is still the best look in the league today.
A stunning development in tonight's Jays-Giants game in San Francisco---A.J. Burnett leaves with an injury to his pitching arm. The initial diagnosis is a right shoulder strain, almost certainly the result of overuse. Burnett, who has a history of elbow ailments which includes Tommy John Surgery in 2003, threw 127, 118 and 131 pitches in his last three starts, respectively. Allowing Burnett to throw that many pitches in consecutive starts and not expecting him to get hurt is like throwing a glass chandelier against a brick wall and not expecting it to break. Once again, chalk this one up to the group of savvy, motivated personnel that run this team (ahem...John Gibbons and J.P. Ricciardi).
On another baseball note, tonight's game ball goes to Detroit's Justin Verlander, who no-hit the Brewers tonight at Comerica Park, striking out 12 in the process and becoming the first Tiger to accomplish the feat since Jack Morris in 1984.
I stumbled upon these videos about a month ago, and considered giving the great "Kitna2Furrey" some of the recognition that he longs for, but ultimately decided against it. The reason? Frankly, I was scared of what might happen. This guy seems crazy, and not just because he picks the Detroit Lions to win every week. Today, however, I found him as front page news on Deadspin, via The Tao of Stieb. I feel a little safer posting this now as a result. Check out his archives: daily Tiger recaps, Lion predictions from last season, commentaries on political matters, and even a declaration to run for Governor.
Imagine being a little kid and waking up on Christmas morning only to find that Christmas has been cancelled. Well, unfortunately The Crew and I got a taste of how that might feel yesterday. After months of anticipation, we boarded Dennis' van at 7:30 am for the long-awaited trip to Detroit to see the Jays play the Tigers at Comerica Park. Sure, it was cold and windy but the teams played in similar weather the previous day, so you had to figure they'd give it a go on this day too. Upon arriving at Comerica at 11:30 for the 1:00 game, we got the word that we had feared---the game is cancelled. Pissed off, we hopped back in the van, made an accidental detour through the barb-wired slums of downtown Detroit, and began the 3 1/2 hour trek home.
I don't even know how to describe the disappointment. Let me put it this way---Brendan Kooy was near tears, and he's probably the toughest guy I know. Fortunately, cheap beer at the Duty Free Shop helped deaden the blow. The next step in the healing process is the Jays' home opener on Monday night against the Royals, the first of ten games in eleven days at the Rogers Centre, which thankfully for this time of year has a roof.
Note to Joey Dorsey---when using a fighting analogy, don't compare yourself to the guy that got his ass kicked. That's what the Memphis forward did Friday with this memorable quote in anticipation of his Elite Eight matchup with Ohio State's Greg Oden:
"It's going to be David versus Goliath---and he's the little man."
Comparing yourself to Goliath? That's like comparing yourself to Evander Holyfield's ear, with Greg Oden playing Mike Tyson. Dorsey, a junior forward that aveaged 8.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the Tigers, had more to say about Oden, the consensus number one pick in June's NBA Draft after Memphis' Sweet Sixteen win over Texas A&M. He provided these gems in the postgame press conference:
"I'm an underrated big man and he's a lot overrated as a big man."
"I outrebounded him on the season. I'm the number six rebounder in the nation, and I'm trying to move up to number one after this game." (This isn't quite correct---Oden averaged 9.5 per game, placing 16th in the NCAA, while Dorsey's 9.4 per game were good for 18th)
Neverthelss, Dorsey got a chance to back up his claims on Saturday night. The result---Ohio State 92, Memphis 76. Oden scored 17 points and added 9 rebounds in the win. Dorsey? 0 points and 3 rebounds. David 2, Goliath 0.
