At 7pm CST (8PM EST) tune in to 91.7 FM in Austin or www.kvrx.org to check out my radio show entitled Only Pauls Show, where my friend Paul and I wax poetic on a host of baseball subjects. If you listen, you increase your chances of dating her:
Monday: 06.26.2006
Jessica Alba Loves the Tigers
This is actually pretty old, but the team has been playing at almost a Jessica Alba-like status of excellence and thus I figured I’d post a picture from two years ago when the beautiful actress was in Detroit for a Tigers-Yankees tilt:
The Yankees dumped the Tigers by a 5-1 margin that midsummer evening, but I have a feeling that many fans still went home happy.
Tonight, the offense kept rolling with 14 hits and 10 runs including a five run third inning that ended up being enough in the 10-4 win. Clemens is running into a buzzsaw for his second start of the season coming up against a team with 55 hits and 44 runs in their last six games.
Thursday: 06.22.2006
Two Tigers Named to Futures Roster
The Futures Game, comprised in a US v. World format, is one of the best extras during All-Star Weekend. It’s the league’s showcase of up-and-coming talent on the Sunday afternoon before the midsummer classic. This year, the Tigers landed two invites, one for each team. Cameron Maybin, arguably the team’s brightest prospect, will represent the United States, while Humberto Sanchez will play for the World. Maybin missed some time for the West Michigan Whitecaps, but is back and continues to knock the cover off of the ball. In 130 at-bats, he has a .315/.412/.500 with 16 extra-base hits, 90% steal rate (9-for-10) and a 2.0 K:BB. Sanchez, recently promoted, dominted AA with the Erie Seawolves. In 11 starts, Sanchez (5-3) went 71.7 innings with a 1.76 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 3.2 K:BB. He has actually improved with the call-up to Toledo, tearing up the opposition in three starts. He is 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 3.4 K:BB in 19 innings of work.
Here are the full rosters for both sides:
UNITED STATES:
P — (RH) Nick Adenhart – Cedar Rapids (LAA)
P — (RH) Homer Bailey – Chattanooga (Cin)
P — (LH) Gio Gonzalez – Reading (Phi)
P — (LH) Tom Gorzelanny – Indianapolis (Pit)
P — (RH) Nick Pereira – Fresno (SF)
P — (RH) Jason Hirsh – Round Rock (Hou)
P — (RH) Phil Hughes – Trenton (NYY)
P — (RH) Eric Hurley – Bakersfield (Tex)
P — (RH) Matt Lindstrom – Binghamton (NYM)
P — (RH) Adam Miller – Akron (Cle)
C — Kurt Suzuki – Midland (Oak)
C — Neil Walker – Lynchburg (Pit)
INF — Ryan Braun – Brevard County (Mil)
INF — Stephen Drew – Tucson (Ari)
INF — Josh Fields – Charlotte (CWS)
INF — Alex Gordon – Wichita (KC)
INF — Howie Kendrick – Salt Lake (LAA)
INF — Joe Koshansky – Tulsa (Col)
INF — Eric Patterson – West Tenn (Chi)
INF — Troy Tulowitzki – Tulsa (Col)
OF — Travis Buck – Midland (Oak)
OF — Billy Butler – Wichita (KC)
OF — Cameron Maybin – West Michigan (Det)
OF — Hunter Pence – Corpus Christi (Hou)
OF — Nolan Reimold – Frederick (Bal)
Manager — Gary Carter
Coach — Tim Bogar – Akron (Cle)
Coach — Stan Cliburn – Rochester (Min)
Coach — Stu Cole – Tulsa (Col)
Coach — Jackie Moore – Round Rock (Hou)
Coach — Jayhawk Owens – Chattanooga (Cin)
Pitching Coach — Stan Kyles – Nashville (Mil)
WORLD:
P — (RH) Yovani Gallardo – Brevard County (Mil)
P — (LH) Jaime Garcia – Quad Cities (STL)
P — (RH) Jose Garcia – Carolina (Fla)
P — (RH) Radhames Liz – Frederick (Bal)
P — (RH) Edgar Martinez – Portland (Bos)
P — (RH) Carlos Carrasco – Lakewood (Phi)
P — (LH) Davis Romero – Syracuse (Tor)
P — (RH) Jae Kuk Ryu – Iowa (Chi)
P — (RH) Juan Salas – Durham (TB)
P — (RH) Humberto Sanchez – Toledo (Det)
C — George Kottaras – Mobile (SD)
C — Salomon Manriquez – Harrisburg (Was)
INF — Joaquin Arias – Oklahoma (Tex)
INF — Yung Chi Chen – Inland Empire (Sea)
INF — Luis Cruz – Mobile (SD)
INF — Yunel Escobar – Mississippi (Atl)
INF — Joel Guzman – Las Vegas (LAD)
INF — Ching Lung Hu – Jacksonville (LAD)
INF — Pablo Sandoval – Augusta (SF)
INF — Joey Votto – Chattanooga (Cin)
OF — Wladimir Balentien – San Antonio (Sea)
OF — Anderson Gomes – Kannapolis (CWS)
OF — Carlos Gonzalez – Lancaster (Ari)
OF — Trent Oeltjen – New Britain (Min)
OF — Jose Tabata – Charleston (NYY)
Manager — Ferguson Jenkins
Coach — Dave Clark – Corpus Christi (Hou)
Coach — Todd Claus – Portland (Bos)
Coach — Chip Hale – Tucson (Ari)
Coach — Razor Shines – Charlotte (CWS)
Coach — John Shoemaker – Jacksonville (LAD)
Pitching Coach — Juan Nieves – Charlotte (CWS)
Here is a list past and present Tigers that have appeared in the game:
Nate Cornejo — P (2001)
Franklyn German — P (2002)
Alexis Gomez — OF (2003)*
Omar Infante — IF (2002)
Brandon Inge — C (2000)
Wil Ledezma — P (2004)
Justin Verlander — P (2005)
Joel Zumaya — P (2005)
* – with Kansas City
I’ll be back with a St. Louis preview later today.
Wednesday: 06.21.2006
The MLB.tv Problem
Two excellent columns, the most recent written yesterday, by Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan regarding the joke of MLB blackout rules. For me, living in Texas and being a Tigers fan, I’m ok as I don’t miss too many games, but I simply couldn’t imagine living in Las Vegas where six teams are routinely blacked out.
Ridiculous Blackout Map (too large to embed here).
Instead of penning meaningless open letters to the fans, how about you actually do something about a problem that greatly affects the fans, Mr. Selig???
Tuesday: 06.20.2006
Radio Show Debut: Tonight
The Baseball At Night radio show that I’m a co-host on debuts tonight from 7pm-8pm CST on 91.7 FM in Austin, or www.kvrx.org for those on the web. The number to call in is 512-495-5879.
Monday: 06.19.2006
Brew Crew Preview
vs. 
After demolishing the Rays and Cubs, the Tigers head to Milwaukee for a 3-game set before a day off on Thursday. Coming into the season, the Brewers were kind of like the Tigers of the National League in that they had some legitimate expectations for success and could exceed even those if things broke right. So far, Detroit is having things break quite right, but the Brewers have been up and down. Currently, they are on an upswing winning 7 of their last 10 to claw back to even at 35-35. They can’t seem to get their full compliment of starting pitchers as Ben Sheets just can’t stay healthy. Tomo Ohka has also made just six starts this season. All together, the Brewers have had 10 pitchers made starts. They will make it 11 when Rick Helling goes against Zach Miner tomorrow.
Rotation
Three pitchers have started 15 times including tonight’s starter, Doug Davis. He has struggled this year due in large part to 49 walks and 90 hits allowed in 87 inning (1.60 WHIP). His ERA has been below 5.00 just once since April 18th and currently sits at 5.07. His strikeouts per nine rated has dropped 2.1 this season to 6.4, but he still has the ability to rack them up if the Tigers aren’t patient. Helling is coming off of the 60-day disabled list having pitched just twice this year. The 35-year old had a fine season switching between starting and relieving last year. In 49 innings, he was 3-1 with a 2.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 2.3 K:BB. He has never been very good against Detroit, but this team is much different than any of the previous ones he’s faced. Brewers ace Chris Capuano toes the rubber Wednesday afternoon in a lefty vs. lefty showdown against Nate Robertson. Capuano has really come into his own this season. Though good in 2005, he still had 91 walks (3.7/9) leading to a 1.38 WHIP. In 15 starts this season, he has just 23 walks (2.1/9) and 93 strikeouts (8.3/9). He hasn’t gone fewer than six innings in any start and he has given up more than three runs just once (six on May 31st). Capuano has a devastating pickoff move, but for a team that runs as little as Detroit, that isn’t a great concern.
Bullpen
The bullpen has not been a strength for the Brewers allowing a National League-worst 135 runs. Only Kansas City (170) and Tampa Bay (137) have been worse. With a 1.43 WHIP and 5.00 earned run average, the Tigers need to focus on getting to that pen as soon as possible, especially against Capuano. Closer Derrick Turnbow has already matched his 2005 total of four blown saves this year. He hasn’t given up a run since June 3rd, a span covering seven appearances. Jose Capelllan, Dan Kolb, and Matt Wise are used most frequently, but all have been susceptible to blow ups with a combined earned run average of 4.05.
Lineup
The hitters for Milwaukee have some of the best young talent in all of baseball. Anchored by Carlos Lee, who turns 30 tomorrow, this lineup can go on home run stretches that the Tigers are used to seeing from their lineup. Adding to Lee’s power are Prince Fielder and Bill Hall. Geoff Jenkins has been a 25+ HR hitter in the past, but this year is on pace for just 16. He followed a blazing April with a horrible May and appears to be evening out in June since moving out of third in the lineup. He has managed seven hits in 14 at-bats since the move. Rickie Weeks and Brady Clark are the catalysts at the top both boasting on-base percentages right near .380. Weeks will keep Pudge and Vance Wilson alert with his quality base-stealing ability, but Clark continues his 2005 troubles with two steals in five tries. Last year, he was just 10-for-23 (44%). Corey Koskie has hit .296 over the past week and has always been good against Detroit from his days with Minnesota and Toronto. In 91 games, he has a .300/.384/.498 batting line with 13 home runs and 13 steals. Gabe Gross is their go-to man for power off the bench with three pinch-hit home runs.
Wrap Up
The Tigers have won eight of 10 and have a chance to continue their roll against the Brewers. They are a formidable opponent, especially with Capuano on the mound, but there is a great opportunity to take at least two out of three for the series victory. Only the White Sox have scored more than Detroit’s 44 runs in the last week. Their 10 home runs, all against the Cubs this weekend, is American League’s highest seven-day total. I think a series win is in order and I’d love to see them beat an ace like Capuano on Wednesday.
Sunday: 06.18.2006
Father’s Day
I’d like to take a quick second to wish my dad a Happy Father’s Day. He is easily the best father ever with some of the finest offspring around. Without my dad’s love of baseball, I doubt that I would have developed my passion for the game. I remember going through his older baseball cards on more than one occasion as I strived to build a collection rivaling his. I remember one summer in particular that we collected the 1987 Topps set together. It’s the set with the wood bordering, the prize of the set being on the far right:
, 
, 
My dad showed me his 20+ Darryl Strawberry rookies that contain more worth being sold as bicycle spokes noise makers than they do at a trade show these days, he showed me his 1961 Roger Maris, his Cal Ripken Jr. rookie, and this Eddie Matthews card from 1959 among many others.
My dad also taught me how to own my future opponents at Around the World after beating me hundreds of times in our backyard back in Michigan. It was during those games that I learned that you better call board if you’re going to use the backboard, otherwise you will be denied credit! He, of course, also took me to my first ballgame at Tiger Stadium. Thanks to the wonders of retrosheet.org, I was able to find the boxscore and play-by-play of the first game that I remember attending. At age 5, this wasn’t the first game that I ever went to, just the first one I remember.
For my dad and I, sports are a great landscape upon which our relationship flourishes. Consider that we both more or less hate talking on the phone with people, yet we’ll have regular hourlong conversations about our teams and the goings-on in sports. Living almost 400 miles away means I don’t go home much (or as often as I should my mom would say), and my dad isn’t exactly an email kind of guy so we have to use the phone.
That isn’t to say he’s computer illiterate, not by a longshot, or else he wouldn’t be able to (fiercely) compete in our fantasy baseball league. I remember when I first started getting involved in the league, usually just watching the live draft in our living room until I finally joined as a teenager. Each summer I followed the players of both my mom’s and dad’s teams eagerly awaiting the weekly update my dad would bring home from work after he and his co-workers pulled the numbers from USA Today and plugged them into Lotus 1-2-3. Could you imagine having to wait a week at a time for standings updates?
My first solo draft is still referenced at least five times a year by my parents. Finally free to choose who I wanted, when I wanted I selected Mike MacFarlane in the fifth round. I won’t bore you with full details of the league setup and keepers, let’s just say it was a bit of a reach. I believe the error in judgement occured in 1994 and MacFarlane was on the heels of a 20-HR season at catcher, so I snapped him up. In the strike-shortened season, he hit 14 home runs with 47 runs batted in and a .255 average, in other words not a fifth round pick.
Ok, enough of the nostalgia, I could tell a hundred more stories about memories I have related to my father and sports, but the point is, I love him and he’s a great, great man.
Saturday: 06.17.2006
Selig Writes Us.
In case you missed, here’s Commissioner Bud Selig’s letter to the fans:
An Open Letter to Baseball Fans
From Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig
From Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig
Office of the Commissioner
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Allan H. (Bud) Selig
Commissioner of Baseball
Dear Baseball Fans:
Major League Baseball has had record attendance for two years running and may set another record this year. It’s early, but pennant and wild-card races are competitive throughout our divisions. Baseball is enjoying a golden age of fan support and excitement. Our great game has never been more popular. Yet, despite the good news in Baseball, there are problems. I was disappointed and angered by revelations that a Major League player had acknowledged using human growth hormone (HGH), a performance-enhancing substance banned by Major League Baseball, and had said that others were using HGH as well. Seven-hundred-fifty great athletes play Major League Baseball. The overwhelming majority are hard-working, honorable individuals who play to win the right way. But among the seven-hundred-fifty, there have been and still are those who would cheat the game to gain an advantage. They hurt not only themselves, but they unfairly raise questions about the integrity of their teammates who play by the rules and they violate the trust placed in them by you, the fans. These players who use performing-enhancing substances offend all of us who care for the game and I will not tolerate their actions. These individuals break the rules of baseball. But the use of steroids, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs in this manner is also against the law. The investigative abilities of the F.B.I. are powerful and baseball players are no different than anyone else in our society. If you break the law, you put yourself at risk. I am committed to protecting our game. The Office of Commissioner of Baseball was created nearly 86 years ago to ensure the integrity of America’s pastime. I know my duty is to uphold that great tradition. Last year Major League Baseball and its players agreed to the toughest drug testing and penalty program for steroids in all of professional sports. We are proud of what we have accomplished. We ban and test for amphetamines. And, human growth hormone is banned as well. We have cracked down and will continue to crack down on steroid users, but the use of HGH represents a threat to all sports everywhere. Christiane Ayotte, the head of the Montreal Olympic testing lab, acknowledged this in an interview with “USA Today” last week. She said: “We know growth hormone is a problem. No sport is testing currently for HGH because (the test) is not available. If the test kit was available, it would only be effective for out-of-competition testing.” The writers of the “USA Today” story added that while there is a blood test for HGH, “…because antibodies necessary for the process are in such short supply, virtually no HGH testing is conducted. In addition, the test only detects HGH right after injection so it’s impractical for in-competition testing. As a result, there never has been an HGH positive.” As Commissioner, I won’t be deterred and will do everything I can to try to keep up with or even stay ahead of those who break the law and break our rules. But I suspect there will always be a few players who seek new ways to violate the rules, no matter how many we have and how often we toughen them. I also know that science can provide new ways to combat them and I will rely on our experts to keep on top of the science as it develops. In the meantime, I want you to know that Major League Baseball is taking steps to address the issue. We are committed to funding a study of HGH and how to detect it. The study will be conducted by Dr. Don Catlin, a leading expert in the medical testing field. Also, we are willing to make additional contributions to fund other studies to determine how to detect HGH and are currently reaching out to experts in the field to ascertain what other studies can immediately begin. We invite other foundations, unions, sports and the Congress of the United States to join us in pursuing the detection and deterrence of HGH use. The goal of Baseball is simple. It’s a game that is to be won or lost on the field as a result of the natural talents of the game’s remarkable athletes. I will do everything possible to make sure that this one goal can always be met.
Allan H. (Bud) Selig
Commissioner of Baseball
Link to the USA Today article that Selig referenced.
As for the actual content, it doesn’t stir me one way or the other. I’m not a huge fan of Selig, but I also feel he takes a lot more heat than he deserves. The only thing I glean from this letter is that he wanted to make it publicly known that he is aware of the Jason Grimsely-HGH mess thereby confirming that he doesn’t live under a rock. When I first saw the letter, I was immediately reminded of something I recently read regarding open letters.
Friday: 06.16.2006
Ian Snell is Black.
Are you ever surprised when you finally see a player and your mental image is completely different? There’s nothing wrong with him not being the white guy I pictured, just something that strikes you once you find out. I remember someone once said that they were surprised when they discovered Garret Anderson wasn’t white. More to the point, Snell and Francisco Liriano are engaged in a helluva battle in PNC Park. Liriano battled Jack Wilson in a great at-bat, but eventually Wilson won out and hit a 2-run homer on Liriano’s 10th offering of the at-bat after five straight foul balls. Liriano just struck out the side giving him eight for the night. With one of the best 1-2 combos leading their staff and finally a major league lineup in place, the Twins may end up spending the second half as spoilers just on the cusp contention. Regardless, with Liriano and Johan Santana atop their rotation, they aren’t long for the cellar.
Thursday: 06.15.2006
Miner Declares Major.
And it’s pitching! How did no one use that headline when he was promoted? It seems so easy. At any rate, Zach Miner went seven strong giving the Tigers three of four from the Devil Rays as they get set for interleague play. With their 43rd win, the team matched their 2003 season total! There was some talk over at DTW regarding the big record against inferior teams and middling record against the elite.
While I have been at the forefront of those (whiners?) suggesting the team needs to win against the big boys, I am plenty ok with this trend moving forward. My biggest gripe with the losses to the upper echelon of teams was the way some were lost late. If Tigers can hang at or above .500 against the best of the best and crush the garbage, then they will contend all year. Three of four from Tampa Bay is nice, the only reason I could see being at all upset is that all four were there on our plate.
Here are a few pieces on the Tigers, specifically Justin Verlander:
Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus breaks down Verlander (subscription required).
Steve DiMeglio of USAToday discusses Verlander’s rise prominence this season.
Baseball By Paul 
