Today is the 3rd happiest day for Tigers fans in recent memory. Why? Because Jason Grilli is NO LONGER A TIGER (First happiest = going to the world series, thank you Mags. Second Happiest = When Neifi Perez got caught with Steroids).

Our Bullpen just got instantly better through subtraction

By the way, I expect big things from Cruceta, the pitcher taking Grilli's spot on the team. Should fit in really nice in the 7th or 8th inning relief role. Cruceta pitched in three games for Toledo, allowing one run on two hits over seven innings with 15 strikeouts.

By the way, this picture was probably the best thing Jason Grilli did. Although that isn't saying anything to how much he sucked, because these glasses are sweet and you know it.

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Okay seriously, what did Curtis Granderson do while he was injured and couldn't play baseball? Did he just stand in a batters box and get pitches thrown at him to improve his eye? Because he walking all the time, and truly becoming a great (not good, great) lead off hitter. His on base percentage right now is .500!!!! Could you reasonably ask for a lead off hitter to set the table more than half the time? And because of him the Tigers are now second in runs scored in the league. Wow, is any one player more valuable to a team than Curtis Granderson? That question is a great discussion for the comments.

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I really don't have a lot to say about this year's NFL Draft. Its clear by the actions of the Draft that Millen is getting less and less say in this organization and also the Lions are rebuilding.

Why do I say Millen is getting less and less say? Well for one all of these guys are Marinelli guys. They aren't guys who jump off the page with talent and seem to be hard working guys.

Also, look at all of Millen's first round picks other than Ernie Sims. They have all be "can't miss," "super talented," "playmakers." Such "Cant miss' guys like Mike Williams and Charles Rogers Joey Harrington. This year they draft a solid RT and a undersized MLB. Marinelli seems to be taking this organization over, which is probably welcome because anyone is better than Millen. I think if Millen had his way we would have taken Mendenhall. But there was also rumblings that the Lions liked Jonathan Stewart more than Mendenhall, so i guess when he was off the board they took something they needed. Also, i think Mendenhall is very overrated and Kevin Smith will probably be just as good.

I will say one thing, I thought that they would address the secondary, but they did not. Losing Fernando Bryant, and they didn't draft a CB. I would have liked to see Aqib Talib taken, but RT is a huge need.

Secondly. I think its clear the Lions are rebuilding yet again. They won 7 games last year but really were no where close to a playoff team. The Lions have so many needs, especially on Defense. Our D-Line is a piece of crap, and who is going to play strong side outside linebacker? I think our offense is pretty well set, but they still seem far, far away from a 9-10 win team.

Lastly, I really think that the Lions should have used this draft strategy of finding players to fit needs we wouldn't have this problem. We could have taken either Adrian Peterson or Joe Thomas last year and got Talib. OR If we had just done what every Lions fan in the world wanted, and drafted David Harris in the second round we wouldn't have needed to draft Dizon and could have drafted Joe Flacco, Brian Brohm or Chad Henne; all of whom are WAY better than Drew Stanton. Having David Harris would have probably added another win too. 8-8 could have maybe made the playoffs. But we could play this "what the Lions should have done" game all day.

As for my other team, the Chargers. They really didn't have many picks. They made some nice luxury picks to beef up their secondary. I expect really big things from the Chargers this year. Philip Rivers is really turning into a great quarterback, and that was on one leg. I think he gets better with every fan he has a verbal disagreement with. AND, the Chargers actually FINALLY have a go-to receiver in Chris Chambers, plus Jackson really had a nice post season. The Chargers may have gone to the Super Bowl if not for the injuries to Gates, Rivers and Tomlinson. This draft was just a tweak to their already solid roster. Cason is really just a replacement for Drayton Florence.

But, all in all a pretty boring draft. Is anyone excited about Cherilus or Dizon? I'm not. I more just hope Millen drafted at least 5-6 players who actually make the team this year. I hate being a Lions fan...

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Playing Texas could not have come at a better time on the Tigers' schedule than right now.

Yes, it is true that the Tigers have been playing better baseball in just about every area since that horrible start. But, playing Texas accomplished two things in the first two games on this series.

1. Gaining Confidence Offensively and Scoring a lot of Runs.

19 Runs tonight. But, the most interesting stat of the night is that the Tigers are second in the American League in taking walks; the same Tigers that employ Pudge Rodriguez and Brandon Inge. That proves they are seeing the ball very well, and that leads to a lot of hits as well as walks. It is also a sign of the respect this lineup generates. If this trend continues, the Tigers will score a lot of runs and win a lot of games.

Note: Guillen had 5 RBI's tonight; looks like that team MVP prediction is looking very good.

2. Rest Important Starters while Playing a Weaker Team.

The Tigers aren't panicking, and why should they? Texas was posting terrible pitchers against them and has the worst record in the American League. This allows them to win without the services of Polanco and Sheffield.

Just a quick note on the exceptional job by the bullpen tonight. Maybe they all heard that Francisco Cruceta pitched 3 spectacular, hitless innings in Toledo and they are fighting for their jobs; but regardless, they pitched exceptionally. 1.2 Innings from Clay Rapada including getting a groundball double play to get him out of a Kenny-created Jam. (And 2 strike outs the following inning). Also, Lopez and Grilli (I can't believe it either) did fantastic jobs. 2 innings and 3 strike outs from Lopez. Looks like he isn't going anywhere.

I will be sure to post a reaction to the bullpen situation with Galarraga and Cruceta most likely moving into it in the near future. Also, I will be doing a post on whole Guillen - Cabrera - Inge position situation, as well as a reaction to Ken Rosenthal's article about that very same subject. But not tonight, its late!

Go Tigers.

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I have supported this team through thick and thin, but I have only seen them win 1 playoff game in my life...

Draft Day used to be the Lions Super Bowl, now it’s the universal day of Lions fan mockery. Now, we hear more about all the botched WR picks by Matt Millen more than we do about the Jets passing on Dan Marino. You're welcome Jets fans!

Now comes the day where it all changes. I want to become Lions free.

Could you imagine a team where hope of going 10-6 is an actual reality?

Could you imagine rooting for a team that employs a GM that actually addresses team needs (MIDDLE LINEBACKER), instead of making some bone head pick because he just became BFF's with his second round pick (DREW STANTON)?

Could you imagine rooting for a team that not only wins playoff games, but also has actually been to a Super Bowl?

Could you imagine cheering for a team that isn’t owned by senile guy who couldn't even succeed in his own family’s company?

As of right now, the Lions are my favorite NFL team, and the Chargers are my second favorite.

Here is my ultimatum. If the Lions make another bonehead pick and take Rashard Mendenhall, I am just going to flip flop those two teams. I think it would work out perfectly. Most of the Charger's games are at 4, so I could still watch a lot of them. I already own an LT jersey. (Powder blue of course). Plus, when I hear this song, it gets me all excited:




Of course there would be a small place in my heart still for the Lions, but I am sick of stupid picks, bad coaches, and a terrible owner who doesn't give a crap about the fans.

I had a blast rooting for the Chargers in the playoffs last year. I think I will just keep that crazy train rollin'.

Would I be seen as a fair weather fan? Would Charger's fans accept me? Because the more I think about being Lions free, the more I get excited to be a Charger's fan. San Diego Super Chargers, San Diego CHARGERS!!! :)

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Here is a list of the injuries to the Tigers so far:

DL Members
Curtis Granderson - broken finger
Fernando Rodney - Tendinitis
Joel Zumaya - shoulder injury from 4 wheeler accident, i mean, moving boxes.
Jordan Tata - punching a wall
Dontrelle Willis - hyper extended knee from his ridiculous windup.
Vance Wilson - Tommy John Surgery.

People Who probably Should be on the DL
Gary Sheffield - shoulder
Placido Polanco - back
Zach Miner - inability to throw a pitch that isn't a ball or right down the middle

People with nagging injuries
Carlos Guillen - hammy
Miguel Cabrera - quad
Jacque Jones - sore eye-hand coordination... haha.

The only healthy Tigers are the ones who are doing okay. Bonderman is pitching pretty good, and the amazing thing is, he isn't effectively throwing his slider yet. Verlander is pitching okay, i guess he had a slight mechanical problem that was worked out. Renteria is having a nice season. Inge is playing pretty good. Pudge hit .667 in Toronto this weekend (with an 0-4 on Sunday).

My solution? GET HEALTHY NOW. Put Gary on the 15-day DL, and rest Polanco a lot. Let them rest their ailing bodies and get ready for May. Rest Guillen and Miggy more than usual. They are playing decently through the pain, but we want them playing 100%. Granderson is coming back today. So if you move Gary to the DL that leaves spots for Raburn or Clete Thomas. Then you need to rest Polanco a lot. Put Ramon Santiago in at 2nd, or Ryan Raburn. Put Miguel at 1st Base until his quad heals. Also, have Thames play the occasional day at first to keep Miguel fresh. Make Carlos your DH (to keep his legs fresh), Brandon plays third, and Clete Thomas can platoon with Jacque Jones. Also, play Polanco at DH occasionally

Theoretically by the time Gary comes back, your rotation will be back to (1) Verlander, (2) Rogers, (3) Bonderman, (4) Robertson, (5) Willis. DL or designate Miner and put Galarraga in the bullpen (he has earned it). Polanco hopefully is feeling better by then. Worse comes to worse, Guillen could easily become the full time DH. That makes Brandon Happy at 3rd. Miguel plays 1st, and Clete Thomas could stay on the team playing occasionally. Or you could plug Brandon in Left, since he is obviously playing better than Jacque Jones (only you lose a left handed bat).

Basically my point is this team could easily play .600 ball:

1. Granderson
2. Renteria
3. Guillen
4. Maggs
5. Cabrera
6. Pudge
7. Thomas/Thames/Jones
8. Santiago/Raburn
9. Inge

Disagree?

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Okay, I quick have to get these predictions in before the games actually start.

Boston v. Atlanta. It's cute that Atlanta gets to play in the playoffs despite their terrible team and the fact that they had an under .500 record. Boston probably doesn't think its that cute because they are probably looking at them with a killer instinct. Not one game will be close. 4-0 Boston.

Detroit v. Philly. A familiar first round match with new faces. Last time we played Philly in the playoffs they had Iverson and Webber leading the team. Philly has played really well lately. The Pistons also got a lot of rest for their starters and valuable experience for the bench guys. I think both of those things will heavily favor the Pistons. But inevitably Rasheed will take one game off and it will cost them one game. 4-1 Pistons.


Orlando v. Toronto. Well the Pistons were able to beat Toronto with their backups, and Toronto has made a steady slide downward. But Chris Bosh is pretty darn good. Too bad nobody else on that team is very good. Dwight and Turkolu will score at will on Toronto. 4-2 Orlando.


Washington v. Cleveland. Washington finally has Agent Zero back and could cause some problems for the Cleveland Lebrons. But i dont think we will have a very epic series between these two teams like we have in the past. Bron will cruise. 4-1 Cleveland

LA Lakers v. Denver. No defense vs. the best player in the game. Easy pick. Denver doesn't have enough Golden State in them to cause too many problems for LA. 4-1 LA

Utah v. Houston. Shane Battier is going to win defensive player of the year, but the problem is you cant put him on Boozer or Williams. I like Utah here and the McGrady playoff curse will continue. 4-2 Utah

San Antonio v. Phoenix. Might be my favorite series of the playoffs. This series will come down to the health of Manu Ginobli. I really like Amare to dominate here, especially after that B.S. suspension and Shaq setting him up in the middle. 4-3 Suns

NO Hornets v. Dallas. Dallas is not a good team since the Kidd Trade. They might make it interesting considering NO has no playoff experience. However, Kidd is not the best defender and Chris Paul deserves to be the MVP, and I think he will show why with at a double-double every game. 4-2 NO

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After probably the most embarrassing loss of the seasons, the players finally heard it from Jim Leyland.

I am sure everyone remembers in 2006 when the Tigers started 5-0, and then went on a bit of a cold stretch. I can still remember the very short press conference where Jim said ""We played like we had our suitcases packed for Oakland, and it didn't matter if we won or lost," "That's gone on here before, and it's going to stop. That's not going to get it done." The managers fury and passion was music to a Tiger's fans ears because we knew losing wasn't acceptable anymore.

Well, now it is 2008. The Tigers are 2-10 and disappointing everyone.

And finally Leyland lashed out again.

"I finally got (ticked) off," Leyland said. "I'm to the point where I didn't hold it in very good, and I meant what I said. I'm not going to get into what I said. That's nobody's business.

"There was one thing that sticks out to me right now that's going on, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back with me. And that's why I'm (ticked) off.

"It's glaring."

That one thing of course is the quick, weak outs. Swinging early in counts and swinging at bad pitches.

Jim is now so mad that it is actually making the players take some responsibility for their poor performance. Miguel Cabrera came out and straight up said, "I feel embarrassed right now, I'm disappointed with what I'm doing right now on the field. ... I'm swinging at bad pitches. It's bad. I'm playing bad. ... I feel bad. I feel like everybody's behind me, laughing."

They are laughing, Miguel. The rest of the league is laughing at our record, the other team's fans are laughing because they are happy we aren't the threat, and Tigers fans are laughing so they don't cry.

So, what sort of prediction am I going to make? Nothing positive. I don't think one outburst is enough to get this team to wake up. It might take something far more serious. A full team session in Mean Gene's cage.

But I do take some comfort in Jim's final statement. "I accept full responsibility for this team's performance, which has not been good," Leyland said. "But it will be good."

It better be Jim, because this team has no excuses for failure or mediocrity.

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Sorry for the incredibly gay Headline, but how else can i describe it? I'm astatic! Finally, the winless streak is over, and just great play all around.

Big time hitting from the bottom of the order brought back memories of 2006 when Craig Monroe had such a great year hitting in the bottom 3 of the lineup.

And can we hear it for the bullpen? Todd Jones cut off about 3 years of my life, but no runs allowed from the entire bullpen. Bautista, Seay, and Beltran were great. Just keep Jason Grilli off the field and this team has a chance to win.

I know its early, but I think the team MVP this year is gonna be Carlos Guillen. I already predicted that he would have a great year after moving to First Base, but I am taking it a step further. Guillen is Miguel Cabrera's mentor, and I think the teacher will stay teaching this year. But lets hope some of the skill and good hitting can transfer to the student here soon...

Bonderman pitched great. Kept the Red Sox off balance, and the only knock against him would probably be that his pitch count was too high. But hey, this is the world champions. They know how to work a count.

Speaking of working counts, that 4 run 4th was set up by a walk to Cabrera and a 9 pitch walk taken by Guillen. The Tigers made the Red Sox throw over 160 pitches last night. That is a good recipe for victory.

Getting a win last night is big. Get the confidence flowing and tee off against Wakefield, a pitcher the Tigers have had a lot of success against.

Take the series tonight and never look back.

By the way, I love beating the Red Sox.

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Life isn't very fun for me right now. The season I looked forward to so fervently has resulted in a week worth of losses.

Two straight sweeps to division rivals, and hated enemies.

I tried to look for the positives in the first horrible series, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel here. 0-6. No team has ever gone to the World Series going 0-4. Only 2 have ever made the playoffs going 0-5.

What was good? Nothing. Dontrelle had 5 decent innings, but unfortunately for him they play 9 in Major League Baseball. Brandon Inge had a decent game on Saturday, but he was seriously the only one.

Sheffield, Ordonez, and Cabrera are no longer the most feared middle lineup in the AL, they are a joke. Seriously, Miggy could you pop out or hit into any more double plays?

Okay, I want to go on a little bit of a rant her about Base running. There have been multiple base running mistakes that have resulted in double plays. Pudge's big mistake against the Royals, Rentaria not getting back to first in time on Saturday. Santiago's mistake last night. Heck, even Gary couldnt get to third base from first on a slow roller to right field. Winning starts with fundamentals.

So what now? I really don't know. Leyland need to do something big. The bats need to get hot in a big way. The pitching needs to throw near perfect games. The team needs to remember base running fundamentals. Sadly, all of these things seem like a very big hill to climb at this point.

I am just sick of this mentality of thinking that winning is hard. This team is supposed to win 100 games right? Unfortunately, this team can't even win once.

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If you have a blog and want to link my page in exchange for me linking you, hit me up. Ill add you to my list.

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I really want to start this post with a string of profanity, but this blog is very easily findable by employers and parents and the like, so I'll keep it clean and professional.

But, Come on! Swept??? By the Royals?!?!?! UHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Way to start the season off with a bang. 5 total runs in 3 games. Fantastic...

Alright here are my reactions from the opening series.

Pitching

Solid games by Verlander, Bonderman and Kenny. Bonderman got that opening inning out of the way with a 1-2-3 inning with just 8 pitches. True they all got in a little bit of trouble eventually, but the fact is they pitched well enough to win.

Jason Grilli is a gas can. I am amazed everytime he manages to record an out. I really hope he is the first to go when Rodney comes back.

Bautista looked pretty good. He did give up the winning run but it was in his second inning of work. Plus the team really should have picked him up by scoring Thomas in the bottom of the 11th.

Otherwise, the bullpen looked decent. Todd Jones did not allow a run after a rough spring, so that is a good sign. Zach Miner looked very good as well. And Bobby Seay did a great job getting lefties out and looks to be a solid guy for that role. Once Rodney comes back we should be pretty solid.

Hitting.

Where to begin...

Pathetic outings from every single hitter in all three games with perhaps the two exceptions being Edgar Rentaria's 3-4 in game 2 and Carlos Guillen's 3-5 with a HR in game 1. The Team went 21 for 102. That is a team average of .205. Take away those 2 decent performances by Carlos and Edgar and the Team has a batting average of .161. That is completely unacceptable. Especially with as many experienced, professional hitters as this Team has.

20 runners left on base. There was really only 1, non-HR, RBI hit. There were a few scattared hits with a runner on, but only one that resulted in a run and keeping an inning going.

Completely impatient hitting. Kansas City has young pitchers. Young pitchers are likely to make a mistake if you work them a little bit. The Tigers did not do this at all. Bannister went 7 innings, Grienke went 8. That isn't working the pitcher. Not even Gary Sheffield did a very good job of this in the last two days. Sure he got a few walks, but when he was swinging he was missing fastballs or at bad pitches. Not to mention he got a high breaking ball that he missed today and sent a weak fly ball to left field.

Who is Clete Thomas? Did Leyland forget Raburn hit .300+ last year? He played Centerfield last year...? I question that decision.

I know that I shouldn't panic, but this team should NEVER get swept, let alone to the royals. In all reality they shouldn't ever lose series. I also know that Granderson is hurt and has been known to be the spark plug to this offense, but still what just happened in the last 3 games should not have happened.

Im pissed.

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In an effort to not be so bias towards Detroit teams, and with the upcoming White Sox-Tigers series coming up I asked a good friend of mine who happens to be a White Sox fan to give me some predictions of a few hitters and batters and the overall team.

This time, you people can tell him how wrong he is instead of me. So here it is:

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L
1	Mark Buehrle	G	W	L	IP	H	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2		31.00	15.00	8.00	203.00	205.00	22.00	43.00	120.00	3.40	1.20
3
4	Javier Vazquez	G	W	L	IP	H	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
5		32.00	17.00	9.00	212.00	195.00	25.00	45.00	220.00	3.30	1.12
6
7	Bobby Jenks	G	W	L	IP	SV	H	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
8		65.00	5.00	2.00	67.00	42.00	50.00	3.00	15.00	66.00	2.80	1.00
9
10	Nick Swisher	AB	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
11		530	37	105	0.280	0.400	0.530	0.930
12
13	Paul Konerko	AB	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
14		540	35	100	0.290	0.380	0.520	0.900
15
16	Jim Thome	AB	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
17		440	37	90	0.285	0.420	0.575	0.995
18
19	Jermaine Dye	AB	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
20		520	33	95	0.285	0.360	0.530	0.890
21
22	CWS	W	L
23		86	76
24
25	Place in AL Central	Second
26
27	Playoffs	Wildcard
28
29	These predictions may seem optimistic, but I figured that I have to keep hope alive for a good season. It was ridiculous how bad the team played in 2007, probably career lows for several players, under achieving at the least. The Sox will rebound this year and as long as a few cards fall our way and the team stays relatively healthy we should have a shot at the Wildcard.

Seems like a very optimistic prediction, but certainly very possible. The White Sox are not very far removed from 2006 when they won 90 games and their big hitters had very respectable offensive years. You may also think that many of the HR numbers are high, but you have to remember that U.S. Cellular Field (it will always be Comiskey to me) is very small and prone to give up a lot of home runs.

Another note, I do not think 86 wins is good enough to make the wild card in the AL, especially given the dominance of the AL over the NL in interleague play. 86 wins is probably good enough for 3rd in the Central and 2rd or 3th in the Wild Card.

Well there you have it, reactions?

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