Baseball Historians

After the Tigers put him on waivers, the Red Sox claimed hurler Virgil Vasquez.  While never a top five prospect, Vasquez put himself on the map with a strong finish to the 2006 season at Erie.  He got off to a nice start for Toledo in 2007 and then got five appearances at the big [...]

It seems like I’ve had more then my share of off time this year on the blog.  This time it was a double whammy with work picking up and a big vacation down to Disney Land.  I hate advertising the fact that I’m going out of town since it’s not too hard to find me [...]

Jeff Larish is in the spotlight right now as he begins a second stint in the Arizona Fall League.  I’ve always been a fan of Larish (235 career minor league walks versus 329 strikeouts in 1,377 at bats) but he’s always been an odd man out of sorts.  Now they’re saying that if he can [...]

Matt Joyce made the BA Top Twenty International League prospects.  I’m not sure what the criteria is, but I’m surprised Jeff Larish didn’t make the list.  There were some 26 year olds on the list, but it looks like Joyce made it more for what he did at the big league level then anything.  He [...]

This isn’t a huge surprise, but Jim Leyland wasn’t given a contract extension and in 2009, he’ll be managing in the last year of his current deal.  It’s interesting how much a difference a season makes because it wasn’t that long ago that the Tigers were trying to lock up Jim Leyland long term.  Now, [...]

Jason Beck did an end of season column and while there’s nothing really new in here, it’s an interesting run down none the less.  He does a good job of being critical without being mean in the side bar, there’s also some video of some of the Tigers top moments. 
Joe Sheehan posted a few comments [...]

The Tigers made their mark on the playoff race by playing a great first half before getting pummelled in the second half of their final game of the season against the White Sox.  Freddy Garcia looked sharp but when he came out, the wheels fell off the wagon and the end result was a 8-2 [...]

I have to admit, while I never want the baseball season to end, I’d really like this Tigers season to just finish up so we can get on to next year.  It’s been one disappointment after another and while this has to be one of the frustrating seasons ever as a Tigers fan, I’m kind [...]

Thanks to a sweep at the hands of the Indians this weekend, the Tigers now play a three game series against the Royals that could decide who finishes in last place in the AL Central.  There’s no chance at third place, and there’s no chance of a winning.  And there’s no chance that the Tigers [...]

Well, the Tigers almost had a full three game series washed out but the rain left Chicago in time for the Tigers to get at least two games in.  Of course it looks like it would have been better had the series just gone by the wayside but it also leaves an opening for the [...]

Hey, what do you know.  The Tigers took their weekend series in Minneapolis after some tough times in the stadium earlier this year.  Once again, it was behind another nice game by Curtis Granderson.  In his last eleven gaves, he’s gotten at least one hit in nine and at least three hits in four.  Magglio [...]

The Tigers were 1-6 this season before today’s win at against the Twins at the Metrodome but at least for a day, it was like we were back in 2006 with an impressive come from behind win.  Down 4-1, Miguel Cabrera drove in his 112th run of the season in the seventh inning to make [...]

Prior to tonight’s game, the Tigers signed Freddy Garcia to a minor league deal.  He’s going to start out at Lakeland to build up his arm strength and the hope is, he’ll be with the Mud Hens sooner rather then later.
Talk about a guy who fell quicly.  Garcia was a key part of the White [...]

Nate Robertson had his best start in over a month as he got his ERA down below six.  He improved to 7-8 and he gave up just one run on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.  Fernando Rodney got the final four outs, including getting out of the eighth [...]

This game was a lot closer then it looked.  Through six innings, it was a back and forth 3-2 game that saw the Tigers score, and the A’s answer shortly thereafter.  Then the Tigers offense exploded for three runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth to turn it into a blowout.  Miguel [...]

The Tigers had a chance to build on their win last night over the White Sox but they went out with a whimper today.  They jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a huge centerfield shot by Marcus Thames in the second inning but they did little after that.  And when I say little, I [...]

After a less then stellar minor league career prior to 2008, Guillermo Moscoso has taken his game to the next level.  Yes, he’s 24 and he just made his Double A debut today but as Mike Cassidy discusses, his numbers are impressive this season.

Like I touched on last week, the Tigers had done a good job in the month of July by winning their Sunday games to salvage a game in their previous four weekend series.  It almost looked like this would be the case today, but Fernando Rodney had a tenth inning meltdown that cost the Tigers [...]

The Tigers dropped the first game of their three game set with the Rays last night and the loss now puts them seven games back of first place in the loss column and just one game above .500.  Tuesday night, I need to write a piece for the Hardball Times on the Tigers final two [...]

The story of the day is the Tigers trade with the Yankees.  The Tigers sent future Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees for former Tiger reliever Kyle Farnsworth.  When I saw the headline, my initial thought was WTF but then I thought about it and in a lot of ways, this move [...]

The Tigers have won all four Sunday games this month.  The problem is, all four wins have followed at least a two game losing streak (one of the four was a three game losing streak) so all Sunday has been for them is a chance to avoid a sweep.  Still it gives the team a [...]

This probably won’t interest most of you, but my nightly schedule usually keeps me from watching at least the first half of Tiger home games.  My son doesn’t go to bed until around 9 pm, so by the time I get settled in and turn the game, it’s usually pretty much decided.  I was able [...]

The Tigers went a long way towards evening their record against the Royals after they pulled off a three game sweep in Kansas City.  The Tigers outscored KC 33-6 and in no way, shape, or form did the Royals ever have a chance in any of these games.  Yes, Kansas City is still one of the worst [...]

Justin Verlander helped the Tigers salvage a split against the Orioles today.  He gave up an early run in the second inning, but after that he gave up just a pair of hits and he pitched deep into a game where the Tigers needed to give their pen a rest.  He only struck out three, [...]

I know, the All Star Game is no longer the absolute split between the first and second half anymore but I still look at it as a fresh start of sorts.  The Tigers seemed to like the time off and they won a tough contest against the Orioles tonight.  It seemed like every time the Tigers scored [...]

I guess there’s two ways to look things.  If you would have told me the Tigers would be at an even 47-47 record at the All Star break back in March, I would have been extremely disappointed.  Had you asked me in early June, I probably would have been excited. It’s been one of those [...]

Yesterday’s 8-6 win over the Indians was definitely one of the bright spots of the Tigers’ season.  The team clawed back from a 6-0 deficit and they capped off the dramatics with a two run walk off homerun by Miguel Cabrera.  Carlos Guillen showed he can still flash the glove and the Tigers got some [...]

I said this last week but anything less then three out of four would be considered a disappointment this weekend against Seattle.  I guess if your a glass half full kind of guy, the Tigers’ salvaged what could have been a disaster series by winning a 15 inning pitchers duel this afternoon.  Yeah, they only [...]

The biggest problem with digging yourself into a hole in baseball is you usually need a lot of things to go right to get out of it.  The Tigers winning streaks and impressive June are now a thing of the past and after just two straight losses, the Tigers now find themselves seven back of [...]

The Tigers hung on yesterday to finish up a three game sweep over the Rockies.  This puts them at 41-40 at the half way point of the season and it marks the first time they’ve had a winning record all year.  Regardless of what happens tonight, the Tigers have had an impressive month.  Despite a [...]