It wasn’t easy, but the Tigers escape Pittsburgh with a series win after Sunday’s 9-8 win pushing their Interleague record to 15-3! Only Boston and Minnesota were better at 16-2 against the Senior Circuit. The Tigers face AL West division-leading Oakland for a three game series starting tonight. Oakland is coming off back-to-back series losses including a sweep against the Arizona Diamondbacks this past weekend. This is the team’s second visit to Oakland this year. In mid-April, they took two of three from the Athletics.
The Detroit Tigers also had two of their own named to this year’s Midsummer Classic. Ivan Rodriguez won the fan vote and will start at catcher for the American League, while Kenny Rogers was selected as a pitcher. It will be Rodriguez’s 13th trip to the festivities, while Rogers makes his 4th visit. Most notably snubbed from the team, in my estimation, was Magglio Ordonez, but it is tough to knock off reserve outfielders Jermaine Dye, Gary Matthews Jr., Alex Rios, Grady Sizemore or Vernon Wells.
Rumblings continue about the team’s search for a bat, specifically a left-handed bat. The team even contacted Larry Walker in hopes of luring him out of retirement, according to Lynn Henning in a Q&A:
Q . What other players fit the Tigers profile?
A . Just because it made perfect sense for both parties, a call was placed last week with Larry Walker, the ex-Cardinals, Rockies and Expos star who would be precisely what the Tigers need down the stretch. He, of course, retired after last season, but he is only 39 and various aches and pains that helped bring about his retirement have all but vanished.
The question was whether a left-handed hitter of his prowess, with the ability to play outfield, first base, etc., might be interested in joining his old manager, Leyland, for a half-season playoff run?
Walker appreciated the inquiry but said he was happy in West Palm Beach, Fla. He also said he was not interested in a Roger Clemens-like “un-retirement,” which is a response to be respected.
It’s a shame he’s not interested, because he has always been one of my favorite players.
Baseball By Paul 