Anniversary Blues

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the 1984 World Series championship. There will be a reunion celebration at Comerica Park on September 28. However, it does not appear that it will come close to rivaling last year’s 40^th anniversary party for the 1968 championship. It was wonderful to see so many of the ’68 Tigers players turn out for the fiesta, taking turns getting interviewed in the booth each inning by Rod and Mario. They gave such a great retrospective at the season, the Series, their careers, etc.

Alas, not too many ’84 Tigers are even planning to make the trip here.

Some players have genuine conflicts, such as Alan Trammell (Cubs bench coach), Kirk Gibson (Diamondbacks bench coach), Howard Johnson (Mets batting coach), and Rusty Kuntz (Royals first base coach).

Tom Brookens, who is a minor league manager at Tigers AA affiliate at Erie, should be available, since the Seawolves’ season ends September 8.

Lou Whitaker, in a March 2009 interview with the Tom Gage of the Detroit News, says he probably won't make the trip, instead taping a message to be played on the big screen. Lou, how can you blow off such a glorious opportunity to celebrate the ’84 Series victory before adoring fans?

Guillermo Hernandez' health is very fragile.

Chet Lemon coaches two AAU teams, called Chet Lemon's Juice--how cool is that? Will he be too busy?

I'm hoping that Milt Wilcox will come, since he gets his hair cut in the area.

Aurelio Lopez was tragically killed in an auto accident back in 1992.

Lance Parrish has been fired twice by the Tigers organization, prompting Tom Gage to wonder whether he'll have any bad feelings to stop him from coming.

Darrell Evans manages the Canadian Victoria Seals, a team in the Golden Baseball League. Their season will be over by September 28, but...

A Tigers fan I chatted with at a game says he parties with Dave Rozema all the time, so presumably he'll be interested.

Larry Herndon is the batting coach for our Lakeland Flying Tigers. I'm hoping they'd let him get away for this, since they are affiliated with our organization and all, plus their season will be finished by that time.

Johnny Grubb coaches high school baseball at his own alma mater Meadowbrook High School in Richmond Virginia. That's a spring sport, so September 28 shouldn't pose a major conflict.

Marty Castillo's whereabouts are unknown. Maybe he'll resurface for the reunion with some good stories.

Dan Petry participates in a lot of Tigers stuff, so hopefully he'll be here with bells on.

Jack Morris is a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins. We're playing the Twins on September 28, so he'll be here!

Well, we know one '84 Tiger will be on hand for sure. Rod Allen was on the 1984 Tigers roster, in case you didn't know.

So there you have it, a sad portrait of a reunion to be sure. I sincerely wish for a great celebration of a season engrained in the memories of so many fans.

Kitchen Sink

First of all, I must mention that I am in mourning over the loss of Magglio's locks. Clad all in black, I sit in disbelief that he didn't think to consult me before making such a foolhardy move. What, he listened to his wife you say? Well, uh, okay--I guess. I still neither understand nor approve of these goings on. Very, very disturbing. It would be like me donning some under-armor. Very unwise, very unflattering to see fat rolls bunched up like so much sausage. I know better than to do such a thing. I wear fabrics that float away from the body.

Anyway, back to baseball. Joel Zumaya needs to be force-fed some truisms from Bull Durham. Don't think, meat, just throw the ball. Don't shake off the signs. Just lean in, get the sign from your catcher and pitch, Nuke! When you're facing Micah Hoffpauir and you've been blowing the ball past batters to the tune of 103-104 MPH, you just stick with what's working, not serve up an 85 MPH grapefruit over the heart of the plate. Maddening, absolutely mind-swirling stuff. Could we get some career minor league catcher to come up and beat some sense into Zoom here? Just askin'.

Brandon Inge is bucking for a full-out apology from me. He hits homeruns, visits sick children in the hospital. What doesn't he do? I stand by my word, however. I will not issue said apology until the end of the 2009 season, and I see how his numbers stand up. I will say that he is having a year, for him, quite a year indeed, thus far. The rest I reserve until such a time as the Tigers play no more in 2009. Let's just say I hope that it's into November before I have to humble myself and apologize to Brandon.

Alan Trammell is photographed peering through the fence at the ruins of Tiger Stadium, which is now reduced to rubble. Oh, the agony. It made my chest tighten just looking at it. It is very hard to say goodbye. We'll survive on memories of the old girl. Please share them with your family and friends to keep her alive.

In my excitement over talking with some Brewer fans at last Friday night's game, I forgot about a significant happening at the park that night. Mark Fidrych's widow and daughter threw out the ceremonial first pitch. The jumbotron featured a video montage with some rather heart-rending music. In a sincerely touching moment, both women bent over and smoothed out the mound, just as Mark once did. Fidrych's daughter was in tears, and Jim Leyland caught the pitch, then proceeded to envelop both women in a sympathetic embrace. Geez, is everyone conspiring to make a girl cry or what?

Friday Night Lightning

I had such a great time at the ballpark last night. Aside from the fact that the ball was jumping out of the park off Tiger bats, I had a chance to interview (ok, chat informally with) a couple Milwaukee Brewers fans who were road-tripping. Here's how it happened. The heavy rains came in and stopped the game in the bottom of the fourth with two outs, right after Curtis Granderson hit a home run. Now, some of you may whine about rain delays, getting soggy, fighting crowds on the concourse, spending a lot more cash on overpriced concessions, but not me. I decided to do something very bold. Your intrepid blog reporter went up to two strangers sporting Brewers gear, and asked them if they had come from Milwaukee for the game. Actually, Eric and Joe are from Milwaukee (and Madison), but had just come from the Brewers' sweep in Cleveland. What a series they caught at the Jake (I mean, Progressive Field). The Brewers were down five runs twice in game one of that series and came back to win, with Prince Fielder hitting his first (still can't believe it was his first) major league grand slam. Yeah, it was the Cleveland bullpen, but still.

Anyway, I rather sheepishly asked Eric and Joe whether I could ask them a few questions, admitting I was a blogger. They very graciously agreed, and off the conversation went. We talked at length about Miller Park, the Brewers' season so far, their playoff run last year, renting CC Sabathia, hoping to hang on to Prince Fielder, and J.J. Hardy's offensive woes this year (he's a streaky hitter, and hasn't found his streak this year), to name just a few topics. I asked them to compare Miller and Comerica. Since we were experiencing a deluge, the obvious advantage of a retractable roof came up right away. But I ask you, without a rain delay, how would I ever have scored this exclusive interview? Besides, I really believe that baseball should be played outside. Eric also mentioned that the seating at the CoPa seemed a little far off the field (a common complaint of mine--do not sit in the upper deck). That started me on a nostalgic remembrance of Tiger Stadium's seating, which was right on top of the action. Were Eric and Joe nostalgic for County Stadium? Not so much, but both it and Miller share a coveted feature: on site parking lots, which allow for a very cool tailgate vibe. Imagine the smell of really good bratwurst grilling (some tofu dogs for me), and pregame fan solidarity. Nice.

Eric and Joe both agreed that the rental of Sabathia was totally worth it, even knowing they'd likely never be able to sign him. The Brewers made an offer, but well, you know what happened. I mean, he did basically pick the team up and carry them into the playoffs. Must've been a lot of fun. I remember last year, during one of the playoff games, Corey Hart was not playing all that well offensively, and then he made an error. He looked like a nine-year old little leaguer out there about to burst into tears. I honestly felt badly for him at that moment, despite my disdain for all things Brewer. Joe said Hart suffers from some confidence issues (we also discussed Willis' stints on the DL for an anxiety disorder).

They asked me what was up with Ordóñez, so I did my best to blame it all on Scott Boras (who is also Prince Fielder's agent). No, I promise you, I explained it all with utmost impartiality.

Anyway, Eric and Joe provided excellent conversation and terrific insight into our current interleague opponent. Thank you both for indulging me, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the series (if that's possible to do when losing all three games). For the record, I asked them how they'd been treated by Tigers fans, and they assured me the ribbing they'd taken was all in good fun. Good job Tiger faithful--always be gracious hosts.

The Tigers/Brewers Rivalry

You may be laughing out loud at the notion of a Tigers/Brewers rivalry. But hold that thought a moment. There is such a thing. It exists among persons who are from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Remember that Milwaukee used to be an American League team, and further recall that up until 1993, the Tigers and Brewers were both in the AL East. Now that fact, along with geography, combine to juxtapose the Tigers and Brewers in the minds of baseball fans in Northern Michigan, to the extent that a person cannot be a fan of both. It's important to choose sides, because there is no middle ground.

I grew up despising the Brewers, that dump County Stadium, and loving to hate players like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and most especially Rob Deer. (Imagine my consternation when he briefly wore the Old English D.) I loved my 80s Tigers Kirk Gibson, Tram, Whitaker, Chet Lemon, Darrell Evans, Lance Parish, Tommy Brookens--the whole crew. I still enjoy talking some smack with hometown Brewers fans, even if it is impossible to understand how someone in his/her right mind would choose the Brewers over the Tigers.

So, while you may think of this as just another interleague matchup of no particular significance, I'll be at the game tonight, thinking of those bygone school days. Days filled with arguing the merits of the Tigers over the Brew Crew. Good times, good times.

Hit the Pine

Magglio Ordóñez has been benched "indefinitely." The scuffling has turned to floundering. Although his average at .273 is considerably higher than say, Gerald Laird's Mendoza-ish .214, it's woefully lower than acceptable for someone who's two season removed from a battling title and a .363 average. Also missing is power, gone AWOL in fact. So, he's now riding pine. Not exactly surprising, but I find myself wondering whether there could be a grievance filed with the player's union if the benching lasts too long.

The storied contract option comes into play, and an argument could be made that the Tigers are trying to prevent that option from kicking in. Also, Magglio could contend that he's not playing poorly enough to merit a lengthy benching. I mean .273 isn't anywhere near deplorable levels. Like I said, it's WAY, WAY off Magglio levels, but not approaching Sardinha levels.

I have very mixed feelings on the whole situation. I try to be unbiased, but it's very difficult. I think that my posts on this blog have made it pretty obvious that Magglio is my Tiger. So, I don't see all that clearly when it comes to him. I realize that everything is a big mess as far as his contract is concerned, and that he probably won't be with the Tigers come next season. This fact, combined with his poor performance, gives me many nightmarish feelings. Feelings of loss (of his skills), anger (mainly at Scott Boras), pain (that his career in Detroit could end like this). I could go on, but I'll spare you the remaining details. Suffice it so say that tomorrow night, when I sit in my right field seat, I'll be missing a certain someone who used to stand in front of me.

Zoom or Doom?

He might seem an odd person to pick on at the moment, when so many others have featured epic meltdowns. However, it had seemed to me like he hasn't been as sharp lately. He hasn't created any disasters, but he seems pretty good at getting himself into trouble, and then wriggling out of it.

Here are some numbers from Baseball Reference.

Joel's WHIP is now 1.429--ouch--he's following the Tigers' staff trend of issuing base on balls. Each outing in June has produced at least one walk, with three on June 7. He's also giving up a fair number of hits. In three of his six June outings, he's allowed a run to score.

One thing that does make me very happy is his strand rate--he doesn't inherit a ton of runners, but he's been decent at stranding those he does. Seven times this year, he's inherited runners, and only twice has he allowed any to come around and score--two of eleven to be exact, making his strand rate .819.

Zoom has four holds to his credit this year, one blown save, and one blown save/win.

I can't remember what game it was, but I believe it was his first opportunity to close a game this year, and he got way overamped/nervous/howeveryouwanttoputit. He admitted after the game that he was jittery being in there for the save. A lot of people thought he'd be our closer by now, but after injuries threatened his career and whatnot, we're still on a bit of a remedial track. Hopefully in time he'll be ready to be that guy.

Bam Bam

Well, we've got another nickname for Miguel Cabrera, and he provided this one himself. Today's 1909 retro uniforms featured elbow-length sleeves. Miggy had an apparent distaste for his, and hacked them off every which way. The result was hilarious. The jagged sleeves billowed in the breeze, and looked just like something the Flintstones' little Bam Bam would have worn. Since he's also a slugger, Bam Bam is a perfect fit. I christen you, Miguel Cabrera.