Dave Dombrowski has huge brass balls

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is rolling the dice, trying to draw into a royal flush, hitting on 16, and betting the over on the Pistons, by not making any deadline moves to improve the his bullpen.

"It takes brass balls to sell real estate be a MLB GM"

He's gambling with the Tigers hopes of winning the world championship. For the Tigers' sake, Dombrowski best not throw snake eyes, draw a 2 of spades, bust with 22, and have Tim Donaghy betting the under.

It appears that the Tigers are betting totally on the health, and effectiveness, of both Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney to fix a leaky bullpen. Obviously, the Tigers' brass knows much more about the recovery of their 2 stud set-up men.

In not making any moves, the Tigers unquestionably expect Zumdney to return before the stretch run, with fastballs intact, and control in hand. It may be too much to ask of a pair of relievers who haven't pitched all that well since October 2006, and been hurt most of 2007.

Tonight, there's one question that every Tigers fan will be asking. Will Zumdney return to the mound in their mostly dominant 2006 form, or their mostly below average 2007 form?

I'm not saying that the season is over. Their talented everyday lineup, and top-tier starting pitching will keep them in the race. The bullpen has been their Achilles all season. If the injured set up men don't return in prime form, the pen will remain their Achilles.

I'd hate to be in Dombrowski's shoes if the Tigers come up short down the stretch, and miss the playoffs, because the bullpen continues to lose games. God forbid they blow the division because Jason Grilli can't hold a 7th inning lead, Macay McBride walks a left-handed hitter he was specifically brought in to face, pouring gas on an 8th inning rally, or Zach Miner throws away a 9th inning sacrifice bunt, costing Detroit a game.

As if all that could actually happen...

The chance to win a World Series doesn't come along every season. God knows we in Detroit know that first hand. The Tigers can win this season, if the bullpen could just hold their own. I'd hate to think the Tigers front office was afraid to make something happen this year, for the possibility that they will compete in the future. The problem with that thinking is that there's no guarantee that will happen.

Just as there's no crying in baseball, there are also no guarantees in baseball.

Shoring up the pen would not have guaranteed that the Tigers would make the World Series,but it sure as Hell would have shortened the odds. And isn't that what every gambler wants?

Dave Dombrowski, a Tigers nation turns their eyes to you... Do something!

It's 2 hours to the trade deadline, and after scouring the web, having sports talk radio on in the background, and watching "Baseball Tonight" on the tube (Thank GOD Peter Gammons is on BT this afternoon. Gammons balances out the bleating Steve Phillips), and the Tigers have been quiet. Almost too quiet.

The only rumor with any sort of legs at this point is the trade that no Detroit fan wants. That being the Tigers supposedly targeting the no-hit, OK-field Pirates shortstop, Jack Wilson.

My opinion? I think Jim Leyland stopped smoking Marlboro reds, and has moved on to blunts, if he's the driving force to trade for Wilson. You just know that the Marlboro Man would give Wilson too much playing time. For some ungodly reason, he seems to love shortstops who are overrated for their slick fielding, and can't hit Karen Carpenter's weight.

Considering the size of Wilson's contract (7 million per year through 2009), the Pirates should throw in Salomon Torres, a handful of minor leaguers, a fruit basket, and Kent Tekulve (I bet he could still righties out at 60 years old with that funky ass sidearm delivery), for the Tigers doing them the huge favor of taking that contract off their hands.

The only plus to getting Wilson? Saying goodbye to Neifi Perez. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

It's all speculation at this point, so I'm not going to get all that worked up. Yet...

Other than the Wilson rumor, no one has heard a peep. At least the Tigers AL competition haven't done a damn thing either.

More to come...

Johnson's a hold out, Stanton's hurt. Yep, it's Lions season

Lions wunderkind Drew Stanton is out for 4-6 weeks, thanks to a knee injury. Well, his season is shot.

The Killer says this puts the Lions in a huge bind...

The problem is that these next four weeks are the most crucial time for Stanton's early development because this is where he gets a chance to learn and improve. Once the team starts preparing for the regular season, practice reps go to the starters and Stanton goes on the backburner for the rest of the year.

That leaves the backup QB job with a 5th round draft pick who has barely played in 2 seasons, Dan Orlovsky, and the NFL Europa reject, J.T. O'Sullivan. Jon Kitna best strap on his flak jacket extra tight, because if he goes down...Would 0-16 not be out of the question?

Typical Lions. If they didn't have bad luck they'd have no luck at all.

A picture of Drew Stanton standing injured on the sidelines at MSU was not hard to find.
I expect it will to be just as easy to find the same as a Detroit Lion...

Then again, you could say that the Lions brought this "Luck" on themselves by, 1) Trading an experienced backup QB in Josh McCown, and 2) Drafting a QB that was known for having injury issues in college.

Stanton, talented as he might be, could never stay healthy at MSU. Was it smart to think that his proneness to injury would change in the NFL? He has an injury history as long as Millen's face was when he got the news about Stanton's knee.

Stanton tore up his knee in 2003 Alamo Bowl (On punt coverage, of all things. Typical Sparty), separated his shoulder against Michigan (Admittedly, he was dominating the game when he got hurt), essentially ending his 2004 season, and he missed part of several games, and the Penn St. game entirely, due to a variety of injuries in 2006.

So to hear that Stanton is hurt again, should that be a surprise? To anyone? Other that Matt Millen, anyway...

The Lions, once again, are on a roll with their high draft picks. Their number 1, Calvin Johnson, is holding out, and Stanton, their top round 2 pick, is going to miss most of training camp due to knee surgery. Considering that Mike Martz is known to have the most complex offenses in the NFL, this does not bode well.

Then again, no matter what the subject may be, it never bodes well for the Detroit Lions.

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!: Wait till the trade deadline first edition

I know that the Tigers looked absolutely awful on the West Coast this weekend. Last night may have been the most troubling game to watch of the season. Bad starting pitching, bullpen issues, and a stagnant offense all reared their ugly heads in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Obviously, my opinion about the Angels loss may have been skewed due to suffering through the asinine babbling of so-called "Analyst" Dusty Baker on the worldwide leader's airwaves, but it was a very ugly game all the same.

Despite the recent performance of the Tigers, I'm not going to fall in line with the internet fan's Chicken Little mentality. Which means I'm not going to pass judgment on the Tigers, or their playoff hopes, based on a bad couple weeks. All teams have stretches of awful baseball. Factor in that the Tigers have spent nearly the entire month of July on the road, and it was bound to happen.

It cannot be denied that injuries have been much of the cause of their troubles, the latest of which is Kenny Rogers joining Marcus Thames, and the set up men I call Zumdney, on the DL. Combined with the suspension of Neifi Perez, and the bereavement leave of Zach Miner, that's more than 1/5th of the roster currently missing games for one reason or another.

Add in Nate Robertson, Tim Byrdak, and The Gambler all missing a significant amount of time earlier this season, along with Brandon Inge and Placido Polanco playing through injuries, the weekly Gary Sheffield controversy, and the sudden demise of Craig Monroe as an everyday player, well, that's one Hell of a lot to ask any team to overcome.

The Tigers were bound to wear down trying to overcome all the adversity. It's amazing that they are still in 1st place. Which is something to remember, the Tigers are still a 1st place team!

But to say I'm not concerned? I can't truthfully say I'm not.

Which is why I think the next 48 hours are going to be quite telling as to how the Tigers feel about their chances. Thus, I'm waiting till after the trade deadline passes before deciding to lean on TWFE panic button like a cabbie leans on his horn.

You have to think the Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland have seen the recurring problems, realize that the Tigers aren't World Series bound with the roster (Specifically the bullpen) as is currently constituted, and have some sort of contingencies in place. I'm sure they are doing their damnedest to make those plans happen. They also know more about the health of Zumdney, whose injuries are much to do with the current situation.

Rumors abound that Detroit wants a utility infielder (Who can play shortstop well, as Perez may finally be persona non grata), and a solid bullpen arm. The Tigers blogs have been all over the who and why, so I'm not even going to try and guess who the Tigers may, or may not, be targeting. I'm sure the Tigers have their prime targets, though.

I'm not asking for a Teixeira type blockbuster. I'm not expecting Detroit to sell the farm to get a Dotel, Cordero or Gagne. I don't want to piss away the future on guys who aren't true, big time difference makers.

But if the Tigers could find a solid arm or two, relievers who aren't gas cans, which would allow them to jettison some of the usual suspects of bullpen arson (Grilli), I'd feel one Hell of a lot better about the next 2 months.

So I'm going to wait and see. I want to know the status of Zumdney, and we may know more about the dney part of the equation soon. I also want to see what the Tigers do over the next 2 days. Let alone I want to see what the Indians, Twins, Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees do as well.

By Wednesday morning we may have a much better idea as to how the season's final weeks could shake out.

Let's convene after the deadline passes, and we can then determine if it's time for EVERYBODY TO PANIC!!!

The Detroit Tigers bullpen as seen thru the music of The Police

Saturday afternoon, the Tigers bullpen pitched batting practice to the California/Orange County/Anaheim/Los Angeles/Disneyland Angels (Or whatever the Hell their name is for this season). Helping the Angels with BP was nice and all, but there was one problem. It was during the 8th inning...

The 8th inning started with the Tigers and Angels tied 3-3. 6 hits, 1 walk, 2 home runs, 1 stolen base, 7 runs, and 3 Tiger relievers later, the Angels were up 10-3, and for all intents and purposes, the game was over.

After a few uneventful weeks that had fans almost convinced that the Detroit bullpen had turned a corner, they reverted to their self-destructive ways after the All-Star break. Tigers fans have recently suffered through several bad losses, all thanks to the continuous, slow motion train wreck that is the Detroit Tigers bullpen.

These guys may have wrote "King of Pain," but the Tigers bullpen has made the song their own...

All of the bullpen ugliness put me into a funk, so I went to the old "Music soothes the savage beast" gambit. Unlike 6 weeks ago, when I was driven to the 70's prog rock of Pink Floyd, the latest bullpen beat down sent me towards another iconic band, maybe the best of the 80's, the new wave sounds of The Police.

So as I listened to their greatest hits, singing along as badly as Eddie Murphy did in "48 Hours," I couldn't help but pair up Police songs with the Tigers so-called relief pitchers...

Todd Jones: King of Pain - This was as about as much of a no-brainer as it gets, as there isn't a more painful closer to watch in all of baseball. Emergency rooms all over the Detroit area go on high alert whenever Jones enters a game. The following maladies spike locally whenever Jones pitches: Heart attacks, strokes, broken feet from kicking TV's, and, of course, explosive diarrhea.

Chad Durbin: Walking on the Moon - Which is where you'd have to walk to actually find the moonshots Durbin has been giving up.

Macay McBride: It's Alright for You - You may be alright with your terminal wildness, and a general sense of undependability, but the fans? Not so much...

Jason Grilli: O My God - Are the words that come put of every Tigers fan's mouth when they see Grilli summoned from the bullpen. Other words normally associated with the poster boy of the Tigers bullpen are, "He sucks," "Oh shit," "God dammit, " "Just kill me now," and "Why, Leyland, why?"

Jose Capellán: Deathwish - The fans in the outfield stands must have a deathwish, as they are constantly dodging Capellán's high velocity gopher balls.

Bobby Seay: Truth Hits Everybody - Truth may hit everybody, but the truth hits Seay especially hard. In case you didn't know, truth is right handed, and righties belt Seay around at a .306 clip.

Tim Byrdak: Voices Inside My Head - Those voices are saying, "You blow goats!"

Zach Miner: Don't Stand so Close to Me - Because the stench of losing that emanates from you is overwhelming.

Fernando Rodney: Can't Stand Losing You - Or your knee-breaking change up. But if you could find your control, and for that matter, the fastball you lost, that would be nice...

Joel Zumaya: Driven to Tears - The thought of not having Zumaya for the playoff stretch run... Well, it makes me cry.

Jim Leyland: Message in a Bottle - The following is the message the Marlboro Man sent to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski after Saturday's loss...

"I'll send an SOS to the world, I'll send an SOS to the world, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, message in a bottle. Sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS, sending out an SOS..."

Big Al: Demolition Man - I've smashed 5 remotes while watching Todd Jones and company throw away games.

William Clay Ford speaks to the media. TWFE translates

On Thursday, Lions owner William Clay Ford spoke to the media about the upcoming season. If you really read between the lines, you could translate just what the crotchety old octogenarian was actually trying to say.

About the 2007 season: "I'm usually optimistic anyway going in. But I think this year really will be a little bit special."

Translated: How special? As in riding the short bus to school "Special." As in having to wear a helmet when leaving the house "Special." As in the bad ass FoMoCo legend "Hank the Deuce" talking about his "Special" little brother, William Clay.

This is "Hank the Deuce," the legendary Ford brother who successfully ran Ford Motor Company for 35 years , doing so with an iron fist. Henry Ford II is the Ford that should have owned the Lions...

To keep him from meddling in the family car business, Hank's little brother, William Clay Ford, was given the keys to enter the NFL kingdom, and ran the Detroit Lions, rather than Ford Motor, into the ground.

In regard to NFL HOF bound tight end Charlie Sanders: "He's just one of those rare people that you wish you had more of."

Translated: I like Col. Sanders, and his crispy Kentucky fried Chicken. Who is this Charlie? Is he the Tuna?

About Matt Millen: "Faced a learning curve."

Translated: Matty's "Special," just like "Hank the Deuce" thought I was!"

On the former coaches: "Millen didn't mesh with his first two head coaches -- Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci -- but found a partner in Marinelli."

Translated: "Matt will be marrying Marinelli. Marty and Mooch spurned his advances.

On the team's new attitude: "I think before it was based a lot on raw skill and potential, period. And I think now you add character to that and a desire to play football, and they've got to have that or we don't consider them."

Translated: I just said a whole lot of nothing clichés that Marinelli likes to use, you try and make sense of it. I can't.

On losing 13 games: "I had confidence in Millen and Marinelli even as the Lions went 3-13 last season."

Translated: No one else will work for me. I'm stuck with these 2 losers.

On the Millen & Marinelli pairing: "I could see right off that they were compatible, and to me that was very, very important. I know Matt's philosophy. As the year went on, I got to know Rod much better and I could see where they would mesh. You don't want to break up a combination like that."

Translated: They're really cute together. How could I fire them? When they talk football "Philosophy" though, I have to go talk to my portrait of "Hank the Duece." He thought I was "Special," you know.

On the rumors that Millen was going to get the ziggy: "I don't know where those originated. I sure never said anything even approaching that -- or if I did I didn't mean to."

Translated: I wanted to fire Matty? Really? I'm old and senile. I don't remember what I say from minute to minute. You expect me to remember if I threatened to fire Matty last year?

Why no "Vote of confidence" statement for Millen?: "I didn't say, 'You're safe, don't worry about it,' in so many words. But by the same token, I never intimated to him that he wasn't safe. It was business as usual."

Translated: I never fire anyone. Why start now?

On Millen saying he would never quit: "He may have. It wasn't a big issue, because that really wasn't in my plans. He well may have, but I can't remember any occasion or verbatim talk that we had about it. Yeah, I think your premise is correct."

Translated: I told you I can't remember what I said a minute ago. If you told me that Tommy Hudspeth was still coach, I'd believe you. Is he still coach? And why am I inducting Col. Sanders into the hall of fame?

Is the reason Millen is still here is that you like him?: "It's possible. But I think if you like somebody and you believe in the same things that they believe in, I don't know what other yardstick to put against it."

Translated: I think Sting said it best...

If you love somebody
If you love someone
If you love somebody
If you love someone, set them free
Set them free
Set them free
Set them free

Or was it Celine Dion?

There's nothing that you cannot do
I believe I believe I believe in you

The reason there's no magic number, win-wise, for Millen: "We obviously have to show tremendous improvement. I think it'll be plainly visible to all of you whether or not we're making the progress I keep saying we're going to make or hoping we're going to make."

Translated: Hey, 6 wins is 2X more wins than last season. Isn't winning twice as many games good enough for you ink stained wretches, and the revolting fans?

On why he believes Jon Kitna, and his 10 win prediction: "I'm always an optimist before the season starts and you've got high expectations. When the team doesn't live up to it, you're very disappointed.

Translated: I like it when they tell me what I want to hear. I'm too old, feeble, and rich to care if they lose.

Why he doesn't think about past failures: "Thank goodness I can put that behind me and look forward. If I dwelled on the past, I'd shoot myself. Really, I've never felt that way. But if I were a fan, I could understand it."

Translated: I'm aware the fans want me dead, but I don't know how to use a gun, and Jeeves wouldn't pull the trigger.

TWFE nerve center is 95% done...

...which means I expect to have new content up tonight.

Moving my HQ some 150 ft. went fairly smoothly, thanks to the help supplied by the complex management. In other words, nothing was broken! Save for yours truly, that is...

I'm moving more than a little slow, thanks to the move going fast. As usual, I over did things. I know what my physical limitations are supposed to be. Unfortunately, when something needs to get done, I go past them, leaving me sore as fuc...Hell.

Sore I am, but I'll live.

If there was one good thing about going dark internet-wise, blog-wise, sports-wise, and news-wise, was missing out on the latest Tigers bullpen debacle. So I may be damn sore, but at least my blood pressure didn't skyrocket. Small favors, but I'll take it...

I'll be back soon, and, as always, thanks for reading!

TWFE has been silenced! For up to 24 hours, anyway...

As you all know, TWFE HQ is moving. Again... For good reason, to a totally remodeled place, but still,moving is a pain in the ass, back, neck, and most every other body part.

As it turns out, I'll have the help to move the big things today, starting around 1pm. Which means I need to get my ass in gear. Now!

The cable guy is supposed to be by tomorrow. So hopefully, if all goes well, I'll be back, up and running somewhat smoothly, by Friday afternoon. Give or take...

Wish me luck, and that I finish in one healthy piece...

Now that personal news is out of the way, on to the Tigers. Quickly.

I thought the Tigers would beat the White sox last night. I just didn't think that it would involve the Gambler folding, the pen, for the most part (GRILLI! ARRGH!), actually picking up the slack, and take Ryan Raburn channeling his inner Hank Greenberg to do so.

It was a good win. More importantly, a needed win for the on edge fanbase, who were going slightly goofy after the doubleheader that we shall never mention again..

I wake up this morning, and see that the former Tiger, the Yankees loopy Professor Farnsworth is the hot Tigers pitching rumor. I was at first, what is Dave Dombrowski smoking? Some of the good stuff I did in the 70's, obviously...

Now, I'm warming up to it, mostly due to the fact that it sounds like it's just going to mean just taking on Kyle Farnswoth's contract, and not much in the way of a prospect. If the cost of a Lidge, Cordero, Dotel, one of the Texas relievers, or any of the usual suspects is unreasonable, the slightly off kilter Farns is not a bad fall back. Not bad at all.

I'd hope the Tigers would do more that just pick up Farnsworth (If that rumor is true, but the market will dictate what happens from here on out.

Till tomorrow, maybe, Big Al is signing off.

Answering the Detroit Tigers' "Burning questions," volume 3

It's the time on TWFE when we answer Detroit News columnist Lynn Henning's "Burning questions." Let's see how much we agree to disagree...

Q: Why would the Tigers have called up Virgil Vasquez to pitch Tuesday's second game of a doubleheader against the White Sox? Vasquez got rocked in an earlier outing in Minnesota, and they could have plugged in a reliever such as Chad Durbin or Zach Miner to have pitched the nightcap?

Henning: First: Vasquez had pitched deftly at Triple-A Toledo before the Tigers gave him a spot-start against the Twins in May. His problem at the Metrodome (six runs, nine hits in 2 2/3 innings) was that he pitched as if the strike zone was at a hitter's belt buckle. That foible neither existed before the Minnesota start, nor has it been a hang-up since Vasquez returned to the minors.

Coaches, managers, and minor league scouts know if a guy has the stuff to get big leaguers out. Vasquez has been viewed as the pitcher who is most ready for the big leagues, and he was much better this time out. He allowed two runs in five innings and left with the Tigers leading, 7-2.

Big Al: Vasquez was just fine, giving up 2 runs, in 5 innings, against the ChiSox. He deserved better than a no-decision. Last night proved that Vasquez will likely end up in the big leagues, even if it's not with Detroit. You don't write a kid off after 1 bad performance, even if that performance, against the Twins, in Minneapolis, at the Baggiedome, on national TV, (When combined, it's not exactly the easiest of circumstances to step into) was about as bad as it gets.

If anything, showcasing Vasquez may have been to help generate interest with the teams Dave Dombrowski been talking with in regard to his never ending quest to bolster the bullpen. Vasquez, though talented enough to pitch in the bigs, probably doesn't have a future in Detroit. His value is as trade bait.

Q: So why not use an established arm such as Durbin or Miner against the White Sox rather than risk another Vasquez meltdown?

Henning: Because manager Jim Leyland understood he would need to keep his bullpen fresh. Durbin and Miner have become so important to the re-stabilizing of Detroit's bullpen that to have removed them would have been inviting a recurrence of old problems.

Leyland also understands once a reliever has made the adjustment to shorter pitching stints, it's difficult to re-acclimate him to additional innings. The combination can lead to double trouble in stressing a bullpen.

Big Al: Hey, we agree! The Tigers are in midst of playing 5 games in 4 days in Chicago. The odds were good that Jim Leyland was going to need 3-4 innings from his bullpen with Vasquez on the mound. So keeping the bullpen as fresh as possible was a priority. The pen has been stressed enough as it is, so it would have been a huge risk, and not all that smart, to use one of your most important middle to late inning relievers (Durbin and Miner) in a spot start.

Leyland is known as one of the best handlers of pitchers in MLB, I trust him to use the relievers correctly. In his judgment, starting Vasquez was a better option than juggling the bullpen. He was proved right, even though the pen ended up blowing the game.

It's not the Marlboro Man's fault that Macay McBride and Durbin couldn't find the strike zone if you gave them Google maps, a compass and a Sherpa guide.

Q: Are the Tigers any more inclined today to make a trade ahead of next Tuesday's deadline?

Henning: Probably not.

It's not as though they wouldn't seek one more arm for their bullpen, or another hitter or catcher, but the asking price is going to be so steep that it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend heavily on additional players that might or might not help a well-constructed team make the playoffs.

The Tigers have to be careful. They've added significant pitching help to their bullpen and stand to add more in the coming weeks as Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya heal. Trading young talent they will need to compete in coming seasons is a price that should not be paid unless there is a serious need and reasonable guarantee that you'll get better.

Big Al: I hope Henning's wrong. Lord, I hope he's wrong...

First off, let's call Zumaya / Rodney "Zumdney" from here on out, as they are so intertwined together with the Tigers' playoff chances. That said, there's too much at stake to put all the Tigers' 7th and 8th inning eggs in the Zumdney basket. It's all about Dombrowski finding a set-up man in the next 6 days.

Call me a cynic, but I need to Zumdney pitch, and pitch well, for a couple of weeks, before determining that they are fit to work important innings in the stretch run and (Hopefully) playoffs. The problem with that is the deadline is next week, and we'll have no idea how healthy, or effective, Zumdney are till mid-late August.

Why a set-up man, and not a closer? Because it'll be easier to find, and less costly. It's also due to the fact that Todd Jones' value is as a closer. I'd have absolutely no trust in him working the higher leverage 6th through 8th innings. His "Pitching to contact" style of relief is not exactly conducive to putting out rallies. The Tigers need a reliever who can strike batters out, rather than depending almost entirely on his defense.

Dombrowski did pretty well in getting McBride, and Jose Capellan. But they aren't the solution to the bullpen issues. The solution is still out there...

Q: Are the Tigers nervous about Andrew Miller or Nate Robertson following a couple of shaky starts?

Henning: In Miller's case, absolutely not. He looked like a college pitcher Monday, but fans can't appreciate how sharp, and mature, this 22-year-old left-hander is. He handled the meltdown with as much aplomb as you could expect from a young man just 13 months out of his University of North Carolina uniform.

He knew he had been over-throwing his fastball and avoiding his breaking stuff. Lesson learned. It's the kind of lesson the Tigers understood Miller would be absorbing at this extraordinarily early stage of development.

Big Al: As Leyland like to say, "Give me talent." Andrew Miller is extremely talented, and he belongs in the rotation. No if's, and's, or but's.

Did he look out of sorts against the Sox? Sure did, those wild pitches in the 5th were closer to finding the upper deck than the plate were unquestionably ugly. I my opinion, Leyland left Miller in a batter or 2 too long, he was laboring.

But in the long run, Miller is going to win more games for the Tigers than the man he replaced, Mike Maroth. Who, if you haven't noticed, has been getting pounded pitching against the National League junior varsity.

Q: What about Robertson?

Henning: Fans have a tendency to focus on the perceived weak link in a team, which is natural. But remember: Robertson would be an upper-tier starter on a lot of big league teams. The Tigers need for Robertson's fastball to hang in the low 90s with a sharp slider. On most nights, that's going to keep him -- and the Tigers -- in the game. And on most nights, that should be Robertson's capability.

Big Al: Roberston is going nowhere, other than to the mound every 5 days. Put Robertson in the correct perspective, in that he's a 5th starter. The Tigers could do a lot worse than having a legit MLB pitcher, and Robertson is legitimate, in their rotation. Most teams in MLB don't have a 5th starter that is nearly as solid as Robertson.

Don't forget, Leyland trusted Robertson enough to start the 1st games of both the ALDS and ALCS last season. He's also shown stretches of dominance, just as recently as May. As Henning says, Robertson will keep the Tigers in most games. Can you really ask for more than that from your number 5 pitcher?

Q: It's apparent Rodney has recovered from his tendinitis and is close to rejoining the Tigers. Where, realistically, is Zumaya on the comeback schedule?

Henning: If you want to pencil in one man's guess on when Zumaya will make his first appearance since rupturing a tendon in his right middle finger in May, pencil Aug. 25 against the Yankees at Comerica Park.

It would seem doubtful Zumaya will be back much ahead of that date. And it might be closer to Labor Day before he returns. But based on his progress, and on the rapidity with which he has gotten stronger in only the last couple of weeks, one more month seems reasonable in estimating when Zumaya will next throw his one-of-a-kind fastball in a big league game.

Needless to say, a man named Leyland can't wait.

Big Al: As I'm just a lowly blogger with no access, I'm just going to have to take Henning's word that Zumaya will pitch sometime before the end of the regular season. He's not the only MSM'er to say that the Tigers will have Zumaya on the mound, sooner, than later.

But you also have to take the Tigers' word with a big grain of salt. They have no reason to be entirely honest with the MSM, or the rest of baseball, for that matter.

The Tigers need to pick up a relief pitcher. They don't want to be seen as dealing from a position of weakness, and making a trade out of desperation. You do that, you'll overpay. So Dombrowski will play his cards close to his vest, as always, and make the best deal possible.

We may not hear the exact truth about Zumaya's finger till the season's over. No matter what, Zoom's middle digit will be the most watched injury in Detroit since Rasheed Wallace's plantar fasciitis issues during the 2004 NBA playoffs.

Jim Leyland can't wait for Zumaya's return? Needless to say, the Tigers' fanbase can't wait either.

EVERYBODY PANIC: The Tigers only lost a 1/2 game in the standings edition

I have some advice for Tigers fans. Whatever you do, stay away from the message boards for the next 12 hours. Why? Because it's getting ugly on the internets.

If you took a quick look during, and especially after, the Tigers most recent losses, you'd see that the message board folk were on the verge of becoming suicidal. If it wasn't so pitiful, it would have been hilarious.

Now that warning is out of the way, lets put a little perspective on this ugly doubleheader loss.

Losing a doubleheader is not the end of the Tigers season. It'll get you upset, maybe a little mad, but in the big scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal. Cleveland and Minnesota both lost as well. Despite the ugliness of blowing a 6 run lead in the 2nd game, the Tigers only lost 1/2 a game in the standings.

That's .5 game. That's it. A lousy 1/2 game. The Tigers' lead went from 2 games to all of 1.5 games. Nothing to have a conniption fit over, to say the very least. The Tribe is still 1.5 back, the Twins are 8.5. The Tigers are playing just a hair under .600 ball. They are 19 games over .500. The next 2 games the Tigers start The Gambler and Verlander.

I don't think we will witness any sort of Tigers collapse in Chicago.

It's a LONG SEASON people. Things like doubleheader sweeps happen, even to very good teams, which the Tigers are, undeniably. In other words, "Shit happens." Get used to it.

I know the Tigers won't dwell on the losses. Sometimes you get beat, but you shrug it off, and you move on. I bet that's exactly what Jim Leyland said to his team tonight. I suggest fans take the Marlboro Man's advice.

If there is a positive from 2 bad losses to an awful White Sox team, it's that the Tigers have to realize that the bullpen still needs another arm. The bullpen, to put it bluntly, blew goats Tuesday night. It was another message to the Tigers front office that they need to tweak the pen, specifically with a good set-up man. That's in addition to the return of Zumaya and Rodney.

The trade deadline is one week away. Before there's a panicky rush to judgment, why don't we wait and see what Dave Dombrowski has up his sleeve.

So lets lock these losses away, and burn the tape. Then forget about them. There's games left to play against Chicago, the Angels, and A's. There's plenty of opportunity for the Tigers to turn this into a successful road trip.

Even if the fans can't handle a little adversity, the Tigers are more than mentally tough enough to move on from this bump in a very long road. And that's all it was, a bump in the road.

Teams don't suddenly become hapless overnight. The Tigers are good. Damn good. A bad few games doesn't change that fact.

I just wish Tigers fans would realize it...

Have a low IQ? Lack common sense? Pro sports is the career for you!

Turns out that being involved in big time sports doesn't require much in the way of brainpower, IQ, or common sense.

I know this is Marcus Vick, but it's a hysterical pic, and considering the genius moves made by the Vick brothers, it's proof positive that the Vick gene pool is on the shallow side...

Look at that most prominent example of upstanding citizenship, Michael Vick. With the God awful decision making skills Vick has continually shown, combined with the fact that most anyone with even a below average IQ would know enough to NOT risk their long-term, multi-million dollar Atlanta Falcons and endorsement contracts by involving themselves in activities that are frowned upon by federal prosecutors, it begs a question.

How on earth did Vick manage to get into a school of higher learning? In his case, that august institute was Virginia Tech. They must be so proud. Vick comes off as if he'd have scholastic trouble at your local community college. He sure as Hell wouldn't pass Logic 101.

Oh yeah, he's an elite athlete. The education bar is lowered considerably.

Still, you'd think that someone around him would have enough synapses firing to bring up the fact that animal brutality is not an activity that a person with so much at stake should be involved. That in fact, if he had any modicum of sense, Vick should stay far, far, far away from such brutality. Even if much of his entourage felt otherwise.

Think Vick, think! Should I raise pit bulls to fight to the death, while killing off the weak ones, or keep my image and money intact? Killer dogs FTW!

That lack of sense tells me that his low rent entourage / posse / so-called friends aren't any brighter than Vick. If those "Friends" did have the normal amount of brainpower, they'd have keep their meal ticket's hands clean of dog blood.

You know, it's not all that hard to tell from right and wrong. Dog fighting is as wrong as it gets. So what if it happens all over, that it's part of a certain segment of society, that it's not enough to make you distance yourself from your "Friends."

Bullshit. Dog fighting is disgusting. Any sane person would agree.

Deep down, when you look inside yourself, you have to know that the barbaric act of training dogs to fight, then having them do so to the death, let alone betting on the result, is NOT A GOOD THING.

If you do think that this is a natural and acceptable activity, you're either dumb as a rock, or have no soul. I'm not sure which category Vick fits yet. Maybe both.

I know that Vick and his cronies are "Innocent till proven guilty" in a court of law. But where's there's smoke, there's fire. In this case, it's a raging inferno. The feds don't screw around. Vick is in deep with the federal prosecutor for a reason.

The general consensus is that for Vick, prison may be unavoidable. To be honest, that wouldn't exactly break my heart. If the feds would go for a deal, the smart thing for Vick to do would be to plea, ASAP, and hope to avoid serious prison time. But from what we’ve seen of Vick, being smart isn’t one of his strong points.

It’ll be a race to the prosecutor’s office between Vick’s dog fighting cronies to see who can flip on Vick first. Some friends, huh?

Then the other paragon of virtue in sports is disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy. Today, David Stern all but confirmed that Donaghy bet on, and fixed, NBA games. The college educated Donaghy, making well over 6 figures to referee NBA games, somehow got himself in so deep in gambling debt, that the mafia took notice, and took advantage.

When the mob first reached out to him, you'd think that Donaghy could have gone to the FBI then and there. Considering the odds great are that the FBI already knew anyway, considering wiretaps, it would have been the prudent thing to do. It sure as Hell would have been the smart thing to do.

But it bears repeating, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to make it in pro sports.

If Donaghy had done the smart thing, (Other than not gamble to begin with) he would have lost his NBA job, but probably avoided jail time. Losing your NBA job in disgrace is infinitely better than having to endure death threats from the mob, and spend several years in PMITA prison.

It's bad enough he's going to the joint. Donaghy has David Stern pissed! Now that's the true kiss of death...

It makes you wonder though, did Donaghy honestly think he could get away with point fixing? He had to know that as he kept betting, and got deeper in debt, that even if he did manage to win enough to get himself out of debt, the ending was not going to be pretty.

You either have to be an idiot, or self delusional, to think otherwise. I vote idiot.

Once he took that step in cooperating with the mob, that was the end. Much like the government, when you give the mob an inch, they are going to take a yard. Unlike the government, the mob will then take a mile.

Donaghy did the wrong thing, the stupid thing, and ended up fixing games for the mob. Thus ruining his career, his reputation, his entire life. and took NBA down down in the muck with him. Just because he liked to gamble. Because he was too dumb to stop.

You know, I love to gamble. Las Vegas is one of my favorite places in the entire world. I could sit at a blackjack table for hours on end. In my mind, a sports book is a wonderful place to hang out. I'll never deny that betting is fun!

But being on disability, I no longer have that kind of discretionary income. I can't afford the risk. So guess what?

I DON'T GAMBLE ANYMORE.

Donaghy knew he wasn't supposed to gamble. He had so much at risk, more than most people, and yet he gambled anyway. He ended up losing much more than his shirt.

Just like Vick, deep, deep down inside, Donaghy had to know that what he was doing was extremely wrong. Bad wrong. Fuck up your life royally wrong. Stupid wrong.

Thing is, we all know right from wrong.

That's why I don't feel sorry for Donaghy, same for Vick. It's impossible to feel sorry for such stupid people.

Pistons, Tigers, and the Wolverines: Quick thoughts

I wanted to throw my thoughts out on the internets in regard to some local sports news bites that didn't rate a full blown post...

Antonio McDyess signs a 2 year extension: Pretty much a no-brainer for both sides. As the 07-08 Pistons bench will be younger than the average age of Hilary Duff's fanbase, they need the stability, and more importantly, scoring off the bench, that McDyess gives them. He's been one of the best 6th men in the NBA since coming to Detroit.

The Pistons offer McDyess a shot a the NBA Finals, and limited minutes, keeping his held together with tape and prayers knees healthy. Not to mention Pistons strength and conditioning coach / guru / savant / therapist / super genius Arnie Kander, who somehow has a knack for physically reviving, then keeping healthy, seemingly finished players, like McDyess, and Chris Webber.

Antonio McDyess may have bad knees, but the rest of his body has less wear and tear than most 33 year old NBA players, thanks to missing nearly 2 seasons due to those knees. He can still play, and should be an effective low post player effective for the length of the deal.

McDyess will probably retire a Piston, and I have absolutely no problem with that at all.

The Tigers call up Mike Hessman: The Timo Perez era was short lived, all of 3 games, as the Tigers called up Hessman from the Mud Hens, and sent Perez packing. Hessman can play multiple positions (Primarily 1st, but also 3rd), and was having a very nice season at the plate. Considering the Tigers injury issues, the fact that Hessman can play more than 1 position may have been a big reason as to why he was brought up.

That, and the fact that Timo Perez is what he is, a 4A player. I'd rather the Tigers play the younger, and with more upside, Ryan Raburn, in the outfield. As Craig Monroe's long dormant bat may finally be showing signs of coming off of life support, there was no longer a need for Perez.

What's even more interesting is that Hessman was brought up instead of another right hand hitting 1st baseman with prior MLB experience, Chris Shelton. As he's been passed over for call up by both Perez and Hessman, Shelton should realize, despite what the Tigers may say publicly, that he no longer considered "The Tigers 1st baseman of the future." The Tigers' actions speak much louder than words...

The Michigan - Notre Dame series will be taking (At least) a 2 season break, starting in 2011: As much fun as this series has been, I'm fine with the Wolverines taking a step back, and checking out other scheduling options. I'm sure the Golden Domers feel the same. I don't blame U of M for wanting to alternate home and away between the Irish and tOSU. As the Irish wanted to do the same with Michigan and USC, maybe it was time to play other teams.

I'd love to see Michigan play someone from the SEC, ACC, or SEC. I'd be great if the Wolverines could play a Nebraska, Oklahoma, FSU, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia or Miami, to name just a few marquee programs, and give the schedule some much needed variety. It wouldn't hurt out of state recruiting, either.

The Michigan schedule, thanks to the gradual dumbing down taking place over the years, left Notre Dame as the only marquee, out of conference team Michigan plays. The pre Big 10 schedule is past predictable, and has become a stale snoozefest.

The Wolverines schedule is always the following, just shuffle the order. Play one of the directional Michigan MAC teams (Eastern or Western), giving those schools a payday, but offer little competition, another small time team that should bore the Wolverines fans to tears (Appalachian St. -UGH- in 2007) , and Notre Dame.

It's time to shake things up. Remember when Michigan played teams like the U and Foot Locker State in the regular season? It's been so long, I'm having trouble doing so...

It's time for Michigan to generate a new rivalry.

The reach of The Wayne Fontes Experience is spreading...Like a bad virus

Noted Mets fan, and long time friend of TWFE, Dr. Blogstein, of "Dr. Blogstein's Radio Happy Hour," has asked your humble blogger, along with "The Sports Hernia" guys, to appear on the next edition of his "Radio Happy Hour."

Tune in to the Doc and myself, tomorrow, LIVE, 9pm Tuesday night, 7/24, at Blogtalkradio.com. His big guest of the night, other than myself, of course, is Yahoo sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Doctor plans on discussing your typical sports issues of the day. That being animal abuse, mafia betting scandals, and 'roiding up. I'll have to do my best to keep up with Doc's rapier-like wit.

To hear the LIVE show, head over to Dr.Blogstein's host channel, click on "Click to to listen," and fire up your favorite streaming media player. (Make sure it can handle WMA!) The show is also archived, to allow for downloading anytime.

Doc always puts on an entertaining show. Give "Dr. Blogstein's Radio Happy Hour" a listen!

Shoutouts and housekeeping

Mike McClary's latest "The Detroit Tigers Podcast" has been posted, and available for your listening pleasure. (Via download and iTunes) It's titled "The Big Al Roundtable Experience." (Aww, jeez. I'm humbled...)

This dissection of the Tigers features "The Daily Fungo" crew, Mike, Doug, and Josh, Ian from "Bless You Boys," and obviously, going by the title, yours truly. I hope you all enjoy the podcast as much as I had in participating.

As you probably noticed, I'm trying a few different advertising ideas at TWFE. I've integrated some Google Adsense links, and became an Amazon affiliate. I'll try to keep that sort of thing as unobtrusive as possible. But please, feel free to click on a few of the sidebar links, as I need a new PC food rent beer money!

As you can also tell, I'm tinkering with the look and feel of TWFE. Ive been playing with the picture header, messing with the font, and added my Twitter feed, as I'm belatedly jumping onto the Web 2.0 bandwagon. TWFE will continue to be a work in progress...

There may be some interruption in posting later this week, as TWFE HQ is moving. It's moving all of, give or take, a whole 150 ft. As you know, I moved back to my hometown a few months ago. The complex I moved into is undergoing a total remodel, and my place is next in line to be redone.

Given a choice of either temporarily moving next door for 3 weeks, and then moving back, or moving permanently to a another building, into a freshly remodeled apartment, I figured moving once is vastly preferable to moving twice. The march of TWFE HQ to new digs is expected to take place at the end of the week. So starting on Thursday, expect little to no posting, possibly through the weekend.

I'll be back to regular TWFE posting later today. Thanks for reading!

How would sports commissioners handle the referee betting scandal?

David Stern, NBA: "Donaghy? He's dead to me. I will crush him like the bug that he is. I want his head on a pike. By tomorrow. He sleeps with the fishes, capice?"

Bud Selig, MLB: "Who? What? Huh? I have no idea what you are talking about. Everything is fine. Nothing to look at here. I said all is well. ALL IS WELL! And who? Barry Bonds? No-a speak-a da engrish."

Gary Bettman, NHL: "I'd promote Donaghy to 'Head of officials.' Give him a raise, too. Know anyone with a spare TV contract laying around? On a channel that's not in the 300's on your cable?"

Roger Goodell, NFL: "Is Donaghy well known? A famous VIP? We'll let the feds do their job, as it's not my position to be judge, jury, and executioner. You know, in America, you're innocent till proven guilty. He's not? Just a ref? Oh. Well, that's entirely different then. Throw the damn book at him. Fired immediately. Banned for life. No appeal. Case closed."

Bill France, Jr, NASCAR: "Donaghy can still referee, and I'll put him on probation for 6 games. But I'll suspend his crew chief for 10 games, not allowing him near the arena, and fine the entire officiating crew $10,000."

David Baker, Arena Football: "Whatever ESPN tells me to do."

Tim Finchem, PGA: "Whatever Tiger tells me to do."

Ty Votaw, LPGA: "You actually care what I think? Oh, you'd rather talk to Natalie Gulbis instead..."

Michael Slive, SEC: "A ref placed bets? Big f'n deal. Hell, that's nothin! You should see the stuff going on behind the scenes at Alabama and Arkansas right now. They got boosters buying off players, coaches, refs, school presidents, left an' right! If I told ya what Bear did back in the day, now that'd be a God damn scandal!"

Jim Delaney, Big 10: "Whatever the SEC would do, we'd do it bigger, better and faster. They'd only fire him? We'd kill him! Because we're the Big 10, and they aren't. We have our own cable network, you know. The SEC doesn't. I told you we were better."

Myles Brand, NCAA: "I'll have an answer for you in 4-6 years."

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1: "I'm richer than God. I hate the USA. I could give a shit, you damn imperialist empire builders."

TWFE on the good, the bad, and the ugly, in sports media

Why in Bernie Smilovitz gainfully employed in the Detroit? It's unfathomable to think that he's actuallymaking well over 6 figures for the lamest TV sportscast (Term used very loosely) you'll ever see in a major market. He's on WDIV's airwaves for 3 minutes a newscast, yet half of that is spent running some unfunny blooper clip that's a decade or 3 old (Such as Brett Butler getting hit in the nuts by his kid, a kid who's probably in college now), while the other half is spent mugging for the camera or flirting with the anchor chicks.

Smilovitz's painfully uncomfortable to watch "Weekend at Bernies" bit can kiss my blogger ass. Bernie's been coasting for years, while being paid handsomely. At least the "Boom goes the dynamite" kid was making an effort, sad as it may have been. Bernie isn't even trying anymore, and is mailing it in at this point.

Truthfully, Don Shane at WXYZ is loafing along so as well. When you've been on the air as long as those 2, the boredom they have with their bottom rung status on their newscasts can't be hidden. But they continue to cash big paychecks.

The only Detroit station that gives a damn about sports is WJBK, FOX 2. They are the 1 station that actually tries to have a legitimate sports department, Woody Woodruff be damned.

I was speaking with Ian, of "Bless you Boys," another blog that has the slightly gay name, and what seems like 5 others, after recording our guest appearance on "The Detroit Tigers Posdcast" last night. We both agreed on a couple of things in regard to Detroit's big dog in sports talk, the Stoney and Wojo Show...

It was shocking to hear WDFN's Stoney and Wojo over the national airwaves, when they sat in for Jim Rome last Friday. I never really thought that their show would fly outside of the D. To be honest, I was wrong. They were quite good, and defended Detroit against Rome's sheep-like listeners, "The Clones." They were vastly better while covering for Rome than they ever are during their local broadcast.

Why? Because Mike Stone actually had opinions, and Bob Wojnowski scaled back from 11 on the "Dumb ass fat guy shtick" dial, to about a 2. Wojo was much closer to the funny and literate columnist we read in the Detroit News. The "Dumb Wojo" has become a rote, paint-by-the-numbers, radio caricature, and is, in S & W parlance, an old bit. When Stoney shows a little more emotion, and makes a few waves, it's equally as refreshing to hear. I hope S & W learned that they didn't need to be "Fence sitter and Dumb ass" to do entertaining radio.

I have trouble waking up in the mornings, but I think I finally know why. You try and stay awake during WDFN's snoozefest morning show. I turn over, flip on the radio, hear Jamie and Brady babbling on about...Well, I can't say, as they put me right back to sleep. It's as if the Sandman clubbed me over the head with his boring stick. ZZZZZ.

Not that WXYT is much better in the AM. Who told Scott Anderson that his impersonations are any good? Please don't encourage him to do his Jim Leyland. It's lousy. OK, he does do a pretty good Johm Keating, I'll give him that. There's a problem, unfortunately. How many people actually know who John Keating is?

There's 1 thing that frustrates me more than anything as an avid blog reader. That being sites that require me to jump through hoops, in a blatantly obvious attempt to increase their click-thru rate. Deadspin, I'm looking at you. I read their RSS feed, but I never physically visit the site anymore, as it's become a pain in the ass to navigate.

By the way, if you do happen to surf over, stay out of the comments. Deadspin's commenting, once original and funny, has turned into a a Fark-like pissing contest, seeing who can out pop culture reference the other. The signal-to-noise ratio is higher than I was in in the 70's.

This week, a new entry in the sports blog arena hit the web, Epic Carnival. I'll admit that I'm a tad biased, as some of the bloggers involved are friends of TWFE, and have linked to me. But you can't deny that they are off to a good start. They are putting up a ton of daily content, so if you don't care for 1 post, don't worry, another will be up soon.

What I like about EC is that they are posting, for the most part, long-form opinion and humor. There's very little in the way of a Deadspin-like 1 snarky paragraph, and a link. EC bloggers are writing much in the same tone as they would on their own sites, and posting it on the collaborative blog. In other words, they aren't dumbing down their writing, or toning down their irreverence, unlike some the great bloggers that write for the mainstream AOL Fanhouse.

I have nothing against the AOL bloggers at all, as I read the Fanhouse daily. I'd also love to get paid to write. But I do know that I couldn't write with the same attitude at a site like the Fanhouse, unlike what I can get away with at TWFE.

For example, I doubt I'd be allowed to write my "Inside Millen's Brain" posts, portraying Matt Millen to have the mental capacity of a retarded 3 year old on 'ludes. Or call out Bernie Smilovitz, whose TV hackery is a pox that lowers the IQ of the entire Detroit area. New York City ran his hack ass out of town, why in the Hell did they allow him back in Detroit? And who on earth watches, let alone enjoys, Bernie, and his vaudeville level of lowest common denominator humor? But I digress...

They have the same sort of "Write what you really think, good taste be damned" attitude at Epic Carnival. I hope they will able to keep it that way as they get more notice, and traffic.

To close, let me do one shout out...

If you read TWFE, and/or are a Detroit sports fan in general, I'm guessing that you are already listening to the weekly "The Detroit Tigers Podcast." So I seriously doubt my appearance on the show will increase downloads, or iTunes subscriptions. But I had a great deal of fun sitting in with "The Daily Fungo" guys, and I hope I added a little something to what was an already entertaining podcast.

Once again, Lynn Henning asks the "Burning questions," TWFE has even more answers

For the 2nd time in a week, the Detroit News' Tigers writer, Lynn Henning, dips into the "Burning questions" shtick. I felt compelled to answer the questions myself, turning this into a continuing shtick running feature for TWFE. Be prepared to cover the Craig Monroe situation in depth. Again...

Q: What's the story behind Craig Monroe's demise? Will he straighten out, or are the Tigers in a bind?

Henning: Here is one of the more complex cases from a 2007 season that has been anything but simple for the Tigers. Monroe should have been good for 25 home runs and a batting average somewhere in the .250-.275 range. Instead, at age 30, he is batting .220, with nine home runs and a miserable .269 on-base average, with 78 strikeouts in 277 at-bats heading into Wednesday night's game.

No question, he could find his old groove and become a sturdy second-half contributor. But how long can a team wait? The Tigers finally had to deal with reality and replace him in left field with Marcus Thames, at least when pitching matchups call for it.

Big Al: What's the story? Monroe is on the decline, and has been for 3 seasons. I went off on Monroe situation earlier today, and if he wants to remain on the roster, Monroe has to start hitting. Immediately.

I don't think the Tigers will give Monroe much more rope. It spoke volumes that Timo Perez was in the lineup against the Twins this afternoon. Volumes...

Q. So what happens to Monroe?

Henning: The Tigers will be reluctant to give up on him. He still has youth, he has power, and most of the time he plays capably on defense. The Tigers can't be sure that rookie outfielder Ryan Raburn is ready for the big leagues. Nor is 32-year-old Timo Perez, who has done a marvelous job at Triple-A Toledo, necessarily a better bet for this season and beyond, even with his left-hand bat.

Big Al: Monroe rides the pine, unless a favorable matchup against a left handed pitcher comes along. That's what happens. That's all that can happen, as he seems to have fallen out of favor with Jim Leyland.

Raburn and Perez might not be better options, but it appears that the Tigers are going to play them regardless, and find out for sure.

Q: So, they make Monroe a part-time outfielder and right-hand bat off the bench?

Henning: That's the safest route. How it is received by Monroe is another question. He is a proud, sensitive player who thrives on being a contributor. Sitting on the bench won't be an easy adjustment for him.

Big Al: If Monroe doesn't take to becoming a part time bench player, and rocks the clubhouse boat, he won't be a Tiger for much longer.

Dave Dombrowski pretty much gave away another player who had outlived his usefulness as a Tiger, Mike Maroth. I bet someone will be willing to take a chance on Monroe with a PTBNL, thinking that a change of scenery will help his ailing bat. Especially if the Tigers eat some of his contract. It might come down to that, the Tigers eating what's left of his 1 year deal.

Q: Can the Tigers trade him as part of a package for another outfielder -- maybe a left-hand hitter who can also play first base?

Henning: The market for Monroe is going to be exceedingly thin. This is another of those situations where fans assume a player is more valuable than the marketplace has determined him to be.

Big Al: Thin? Thinner than Karen Carpenter. The question is, who would want Monroe? A corner outfielder whose main value is in hitting home runs, but has stopped hitting home runs, has no trade value. Period.

As I said, the Tigers would have to give Monroe away. I'm guessing they'd be lucky to get minor league roster filler. An actual prospect is out of the question.

Q: How will Thames hold up if he plays more regularly? He hit .199 during the second half of the 2006 season.

Henning: He will win some ballgames, even if his batting average slides (.257 heading into Wednesday's game). He has game-breaking power that becomes more of a factor because of Thames' tremendous ratio of home runs to at-bats. He is simply a very good man to have in the lineup, and a hitter other pitchers have to be super-careful against.

Big Al: I could care less about Thames batting average, just his slugging percentage. Over a full season, Thames will hit 35 home runs, if only by accident. So what if he hits .220? A modern day Rob Deer still has value. More value than Craig Monroe, at the very least.

Q: Why doesn't Thames hit for greater average?

Henning: He is a pull-hitter in the extreme. Notice how many foul balls he hits down the third-base line. You can practically count on at least one per at-bat, almost always early in the count. If he hit to all fields in the manner of Magglio Ordonez, he would be an All-Star. But he is more comfortable -- and probably more lethal from a power standpoint -- with his personal pull-hitting style.

Big Al: Again, Thames batting average means absolutely nothing. So what if he's a dead pull hitter, as long as the home runs come, that's fine by me. Thames has a better HR/AB ration than Gary Sheffield. This season Thames goes yard every 14 AB's, compared to Sheff's 15. Not that bad of company to be keeping.

Q: Speaking of Ordonez, will he cool off during the second half?

Henning: Sure. He already has dropped 20 points from his batting average, although that .378 stuff wasn't going to last forever. He still hits the ball hard to all fields. But it would not be surprising to see him dip, maybe significantly, during the second half as fatigue takes its toll.

Big Al: Even though his average has dropped, Ordonez's bat won the 1st 2 games of the Twins series. Pretty much single handedly...

I'd be hard for Maggs not to cool off, as he was scorching hot before the All-Star break. Still, .360 is nothing to sneeze at. That .360 average is coming from your clean up hitter, which is almost unheard of. Lest it not be forgotten, Magglio is still on pace to have marvelous power stats at the end of the season.

To be honest, I'd be perfectly fine with Ordonez's average dropping, if he continues to turn on the ball as well as he did against the Twins. Magglio with a power stroke is more valuable that Magglio as a singles hitter. Which is what Maggs was when his average went into the ozone.

Q: Second-half thoughts on the Tigers' race with Cleveland and the Twins?

Henning: How the Tigers won Tuesday night's game was extraordinary, all because that is precisely the game Minnesota always wins against Detroit in the Metrodome. I thought the called third strike Nate Robertson got on Joe Mauer was the game-winning moment -- the sliver of luck the Twins normally have go their way.

As for Cleveland, how the Indians continue to win comeback games is more than incredible. Percentages and probabilities suggest it can't continue. How the Tigers have remained in first place in the face of those comebacks is even more amazing.

Big Al: The Tigers sweeping the Twins at the Hefty-Baggie-Homer Dome had to be demoralizing. Especially irking to them had to be that the Tigers won 3 1 run games. That was stunning to even the most rabid Tigers fan.

The Twins, at home mind you, which as been a Detroit house of horrors for 2 decades, couldn't beat the Tigers, and their iffy bullpen. Not even with Johan Santana on the mound.

The Twins need to get some offense before the trade deadline. They have to get at least 1 more bat, probably 2, to compete with the Tigers and Tribe.

As for the Indians? With solid starting pitching, a good bullpen, and an offense nearly as good as the Tigers, means they are in the race for the duration. Travis Hafner alone is capable of carrying the Tribe for long stretches. If Hafner and Grady Sizemore both get hot, look out.

But the Tigers winning their series against Cleveland, along with sweeping the BoSox and Twins, 3 of the best teams in baseball, let everyone know that Detroit is the the team to beat if you want to win the AL pennant.

Are Craig Monroe's days as a Tiger numbered?

The newest Tiger, Timo Perez, is the hot topic in Detroit today. I'm sure the first question you'll ask is, "Who in the Hell is Timo Perez?"

Timo was called up to take Marcus Thames place on the 25 man roster, as Thames was placed on the 15 day DL this morning. Damn, make a great catch, but blow up your hamstring in the process. I hated to see Thames go down, as he was putting together a very nice stretch of baseball, and was a threat to go yard every at bat.

Now that Thames is out of the equation for (At least) the next 2 weeks, why bring up Timo Perez? Personally, I thought that it would be Chris Shelton getting the call.

I can see where the Perez call up is coming from, in that he was leading Toledo, and the International League, in hitting. He's definitely having a better season that Shelton. More importantly, it also shows the players in the minor league system that if you perform, you will get rewarded. Despite his being considered a 4A player, a minor league depth guy, Perez has performed well, and deserves a shot.

The next question that arises, was Perez brought up only because Craig Monroe's back is hurting? (He did leave last night's game with back spasms) Or...Is it due to the fact that Monroe is having trouble hitting Nichole Ritchie's weight?

"His Clutchiness" of 2006...

Has become the clueless "C-No" of 2007. We miss "His Clutchiness" at TWFE...

It's interesting to note that Perez was immediately inserted into today's starting lineup, while Monroe remained on the bench. I can now hear the rumblings now that Monroe's roster spot is tenuous, at best.

It's sad to see how far Monroe's stock has fallen in the past 2 months. He's proven he can hit at the major league level. Unfortunately, his overall stats have been sliding for the past 3 seasons, despite keeping the power numbers looking decent. But in 2007, Monroe's numbers have dropped through the floor. .267 / .380 / .647 isn't going to cut it from a corner outfielder. Overall, he's the worst regular LF, numbers wise, in all of baseball.

Another issue is that Craig Monroe is not exactly a young ballplayer. He could be one of those players, once he hits the sweet side of 30, who rapidly declines. Thinking of such, I decided to check out C-Mo's Baseball Reference page.

The 2 most similar players by age?

Age 28: Harry Anderson (Not the judge on "Night Court"), who played with the Phillies and Reds in the early 60's, and was out of baseball at 30.

Age 29: Craig Wilson, who put up Monroe-esque numbers with the Pirates in 2003-04. His stats have dropped steadily since, and after being cut by Atlanta (Despite signing a $2 million free agent contract in the off season), he signed with the ChiSox's Triple A team.

Looking at their stat pages doesn't exactly instill much confidence in the belief that Monroe will pull out of his current tailspin.

I really like C-Mo, as he became the TWFE's man-crush in 2006 with his timely hitting. But much like Mike Maroth, he may be the type of player that the Tigers no longer need. They have other options, who are younger (Ryan Raburn), less expensive (Timo Perez), and more talented (Gary Sheffield). Not to forget that outfield uber-prospect Cameron Maybin is expected to make it to Detroit in a year or 2.

If Craig Monroe wants to remain a Tiger, he needs to find his bat. Soon. As in yesterday. Otherwise, you may be seeing a "Thanks for the memories" post, just like Maroth's.

Sometimes, you just have to pay homage...

It's been a while since I paid homage to the patron saint of this blog, the Lions' coach with the most wins, and losses, let alone by far the most entertaining, in their long, and not so esteemed history, Wayne-o, Mr. "Whaddaya mean, I'm fired?"

That being The Big Buck himself, Wayne Fontes.

The author of "From the Copa,"Rock & Rye, currently residing in exile at his parent's house, while waiting for his nuptials to take place, found this gem of a Wayne Fontes football card the other day while rummaging through his old baseball card collection. I just had to post it here at TWFE.

Wayne Fontes, unleashing his wrath of destruction on his unsuspecting NFC Central division foes...

From looking at his glorious visage, you know what?

You know that man wouldn't take the wind in OT. That man wouldn't run the "Wet toast" offense. That man wouldn't threaten to give bus tickets out of town, and not follow up on the threat. That man wouldn't keep a drunk, naked, fast food eating line coach on his staff.

Wayne wouldn't say, "Abandon ship, whomp, whomp, whomp!" Or "Snap, hold, kick!" Or "I'm a good coach, I don't coach that stuff" Or "Pound the rock." Or God forbid, "The bar is high."

Hell, Wayne set the damn bar!

Wayne wouldn't stick with a lousy QB who couldn't play, let alone allow him to throw 7 picks in 1 game. He'd play all 3 QB's on the roster. In the same damn game!

Wayne wouldn't go 3-13. Wayne would have a 6-10 season, but then go 10-6, win the division, and smoke a massive ass stogie in celebration on Monday Night Football.

Wayne's teams didn't give up on the season, become the butt of Jay Leno's jokes, then celebrate not going 0-16. His teams would start slow, but finish fast, bum rushing the playoffs every other year.

Wayne didn't take himself seriously, unlike General Ross, Marty Moronwheg, Mooch, or Sgt. Marinelli. Not The Big Buck, who always had a target on his back, a target no one could hit...

When Wayne was the man the D, the Lions may not have made the playoffs every season, and lost more than their fair share of games, but you cannot deny that Lions football was one Hell of a lot more fun.

Now it's just painful and pitiful.

Here's to you, Wayne. The Wayne Fontes Experience salutes you!

Lynn Henning asks the "Burning questions," TWFE has the answers

As Detroit News columnist Lynn Henning is wont to do, he asks, and then answers, his own "Burning questions" in regard to the Detroit Tigers. Since it went so well in answering Ian's questions last week, I thought I'd try the same exercise with Henning's Q and A. This may even turn into a running feature, as I'm always game for post ideas. It helps that I don't often agree with Henning, as you will soon find out...

Q: Will the Tigers make any major moves ahead of the trade deadline?

Henning: They propped up their bullpen -- at minimal cost -- with the shrewd trades for Macay McBride and Jose Capellan, which is what they needed to do ahead of Joel Zumaya's and Fernando Rodney's presumed returns to form.

It eliminates the need to invest heavily in an upper-tier reliever or position player.

Big Al: I'm not nearly as sold as Henning that adding Macay McBride and Jose Capellan is the be all, end all, to the Tigers' bullpen issues. I have to wonder if the Tigers are feeling the same way as I. For example, McBride entered last night's game in the bottom of the 8th, and walked the first hitter he faced, Lew Ford, on 4 consecutive pitches. Not exactly what you want to see from a late inning set up man.

It's not the first time he's committed such a big blunder, doing the same with Travis Hafner in the Indians series, when he was brought in expressly to get that 1 out. Capellan has shown the same inconsistencies as well. I like their potential, but I don't have total confidence in either of them.

Q: Aren't the Tigers gambling on Zumaya (finger surgery) and Rodney (shoulder tendinitis), who played catch last week but remain on the disabled list?

Henning: Sure. But you would be gambling as well on a trade for 31-year-old Eric Gagne (who has a trade clause protecting his closer's role) or 35-year-old Akinori Otsuka. And in either case, the asking price would rob the Tigers of some important youth and talent.

Big Al: People conveniently forget that Zumala (W just cracks me up) and Rodney weren't exactly lights out before going on the DL. It's a HUGE gamble hoping that the pair will come back in the 2006 form. They are just as likely to come back in their less effective 2007 form.

And who says the Tigers have to target Gagne or Otsuka? They aren't the only fish in the big league sea. There will be other arms available at the end of the month. We can be sure that Dave Dombrowski has his eye on more than just the Texas relievers.

If the opportunity presents itself, the Tigers have to make a move on a bullpen arm. We are talking about the Tigers getting to, and winning, the World Series. If that means saying goodbye to a good prospect or 2, so be it. There are no guarantees that the prospects will pan out, or that the Tigers will be contenders next season.

Q: What about a power-hitting first baseman such as Mark Teixeira?

Henning: He, too, will be expensive and he becomes a free agent at the end of next season. For what it would cost the Tigers (big-time prospects), the trade makes little sense.

Big Al: I agree that the cost for Teixeria may be prohibitive, and the odds are long that he's targeted by the Tigers...For this season, anyway. But once again, we are talking about prospects who may pan out, as compared to what would be a sure thing in a proven MLB producer, Teixeira. Give me "Proven" any day of the week.

I'm not all that concerned about Teixeira hurting the Tigers in 2007, as in moving to another team in the division. Cleveland doesn't need him, and the Twins can't afford him. But you have to admit that Teixeria would look just dandy playing 1st base in the Olde English D. For the most part, 1st base has been a black hole, production wise, since Cecil Fielder left.

Q: Doesn't that ignore Sean Casey's lack of power? And what about first base in the future?

Henning: Yours truly thought a couple of months ago -- and more recently -- that the Tigers should get serious about Casey's paltry run production. And then Casey got serious at the plate. In his last 62 games (after going 0-for-3 in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Twins), he has batted .338 with 34 RBIs. His defense, likewise, has been superb.

I stand corrected. The Tigers can live happily with Casey.

Big Al: Casey has been as productive as you can get from a slap hitting 1st baseman, without question. I've said in the past that the Tigers can live with Casey for this season. But his type of player (On the sweet side of 30, snail slow, no power, his value is almost totally in his BA) is the sort who could drop off the ledge in terms of production at any time.

As much as I like The Mayor, I don't see him aging well at all. He's a short-term stopgap, and finding a long-term 1st base solution is a priority in the coming off season. (And no, Chris Shelton isn't the long-term solution, either)

Q: Back to the bullpen. How do the Tigers make room for Zumaya and Rodney if they're good to go?

Henning: The waiver wire will be a busy place after the non-waiver trade deadline (after July 31, no deals can be made unless a player has cleared waivers). I would suspect the two guys on the bubble -- today -- are Jason Grilli and Tim Byrdak, at least when Byrdak (elbow tendinitis) returns from the disabled list. That could change by the time Zumaya and Rodney are ready.

Big Al: Wonder of wonders, we sort of agree on this. Grilli is the Tiger who should be worried about his roster spot. He's a marginal major league pitcher, who to be honest, has had an awful 2007 season.

As for the other roster spot, I'd bunch together McBride, Byrdak, and Bobby Seay, as how many LOOGY's do you need? Considering Jim Leyland's penchant for rewarding veterans who have come through for him, and McCay having minor league options left, I'll venture that McCay is on the hot seat.

Q: Doesn't McBride, the left-hander acquired from Atlanta last month, have a minor league option remaining?

Henning: Sure. And right now, the option is to keep him. You can see why he once was a first-round draft pick. And you can see why the Tigers are happy to use him in the back end of a game. He has excellent stuff.

Big Al: McBride admittedly has good stuff, but he's wild enough to be just as likely to pour gas on a rally, than put it out. Having that option is a big roster chip for the Tigers, allowing them much needed flexibility. The next 6 weeks will be a Gong Show an audition period for several relievers, to see who's going to be on the 25 man roster on August 31st.

If McBride, Capellan for that matter, is good enough, he can be sent down, then brought back up before the August 31st cut off deadline for playoff eligibility arrives.

Q: Will the Tigers trade for a catching prospect, or for a first-base successor, ahead of the trade deadline?

Henning: Not likely. Those are acquisitions best pursued during the offseason, when the market is more comprehensive. Know this about catching prospects: They are baseball's most rare commodity. Nearly everyone is looking for a young catcher.

Big Al: Totally agree here, catcher is another spot the Dombrowski will target after the season. I'm no expert on the Tigers' minor league system, but I do know that it's totally barren when it comes to young catcher with even major league backup ability.

Q: What will the Tigers do post-Pudge Rodriguez?

Henning: No one knows. The Tigers certainly will pick up Pudge's 2008 option and, in the interim, hope they come up with an answer for life after Rodriguez. It might not be an ideal adjustment.

Big Al: Pudge is still a very good catcher, he's just no longer all-world. I have a feeling that the post-Pudge era won't begin for 2 or 3 seasons, at the very least. There is the option that will most definitely be picked up this off season, as there is no viable replacement in either their system, or in free agency. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he gets an extension as well. The Tigers will have to ride the Pudge train till it derails.

Despite his decline, Pudge Rodriguez is still in the top 10, possibly top 5, at his position. That's how barren catching is all over MLB.

Q: What happens at first base?

Henning: I never was one to believe the Tigers would move Carlos Guillen to first base. But it depends on his health. If he can hold up and make all the plays at shortstop, he sticks for the greater part of his four additional seasons in Detroit. If not, the Tigers will need to consider another alternative at short, with Guillen possibly moving to first.

Big Al: Talk about riding the fence. Personally, I never understood the clamoring to move Carlos Guillen to 1st base. As a shortstop, his bat is the best in all of baseball. At 1st, his production becomes average, and at best, above average. Guillen is not the best in the field, his occasional lapses can be frustrating, but he's still a top tier shortstop. Odds are he'll continue to be for the life of his contract extension.

Also, even though the Tigers have been spinning their wheels at 1st for over a decade, you cannot deny that it would be easier to find a capable 1st baseman, than a shortstop capable of replacing Guillen. Move Guillen to 1st, and the Tigers become average at 2 positions, rather than elite at short, and average at 1st.

Another possibility is to live with Casey for 1 more season, then move HARD on Teixeria when he becomes a free agent in another year. No matter who ends up at 1st, I'd keep Guillen at short for as long as possible, as that's where he has the most value.