Saturday, February 13, 2010
Um, I'm really back...
I mean it this time. I have some very interesting news. Things are gonna change...I can feel it...
Friday, April 13, 2007
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
The house that DD built (part two)...
As promised, the second part of the BP article explaining how the 2006 Tigers were assembled, is available here.
Tigers Watch
Today is August 8th.
The Tigers are 40 games over .500 (76-36) and have a 10 game lead over the White Sox and a 10 1/2 game lead over the Twins.
So, with 112 games played, let's examine the remaining 50:
Home/Road: 27/23
Toughest stretch: in short, they're in it, but if they can survive August they're in pretty good shape. Look at the rest of the month:
The Tigers are 40 games over .500 (76-36) and have a 10 game lead over the White Sox and a 10 1/2 game lead over the Twins.
So, with 112 games played, let's examine the remaining 50:
Home/Road: 27/23
Toughest stretch: in short, they're in it, but if they can survive August they're in pretty good shape. Look at the rest of the month:
- 8/8-8/9: Twins
- 8/11-8/13: at White Sox
- 8/14-8/16: at Red Sox
- 8/17-8/20: Rangers
- 8/21-8/24: White Sox
- 8/25-8/27: at Indians
- 8/29-8/31: at Yankees
The schedule lightens up in September/October as 17 of their final 28 games are at home. Of those 17 home games, 11 are with Baltimore, Texas, Seattle, and Kansas City (the others: 3 versus the Angels and 3 versus a fading Toronto squad). However, 7 of the final 11 road games are in Minnesota and Chicago (the others: 3 in Kansas City and 1 random game in Baltimore, which is sandwiched between the 3 in Chicago and the 3 in KC).
Dr. Evil
A couple of days ago, my girlfriend mentioned that we had not really seen any celebrities this summer. Well, last night we bumped into Mike Myers. He was at a small bar (Epstein's Bar) on the lower east side. He was sitting outside and looked a lot like he did in "So I Married an Axe Murderer." He seemed nice enough and stopped to play with a woman's dog at the table beside us before taking off. He also seems to have recovered from working with Kanye West on Hurricane Katrina relief.
Gammons still recovering
According to today's Boston Globe:
"ESPN baseball analyst and longtime Globe baseball guru Peter Gammons continues to make considerable progress in his recovery from a brain aneurysm, said a friend of the family who had lunch with Gammons recently. Gammons is at his home on Cape Cod, continuing his rehab on an outpatient basis, but he's up and around, walking, talking, and getting stronger."
"ESPN baseball analyst and longtime Globe baseball guru Peter Gammons continues to make considerable progress in his recovery from a brain aneurysm, said a friend of the family who had lunch with Gammons recently. Gammons is at his home on Cape Cod, continuing his rehab on an outpatient basis, but he's up and around, walking, talking, and getting stronger."
Monday, August 07, 2006
The house that DD built...
Just a phenomenal article by Rany Jazayerli on BP today which analyzes how the 2006 Tigers were put together and explains where their three-year turnaround ranks historically (hint: think "the greatest ever").
Here's a sample:
"To put it another way: after jumping 29 wins between 2003 and 2004, the Tigers are poised for a 32-game jump over last year’s record. Since 1960, only seven other teams had increased their winning percentage by at least .175 from one season to the next, most recently the 1998-99 Diamondbacks. The Tigers are poised to do it twice in three years..."
Also, the article heaps praise on Dave Dombrowski's career and briefly explains what he has accomplished with the Expos, Marlins, and now, the Tigers. If you're not sold on DD yet, it's either personal or you need your head examined. Consider this:
"Only three members of the 2006 Tigers--Mike Maroth, Brandon Inge, and Fernando Rodney--preceded Dombrowski in the organization."
For more, click here, and note that this is part one. Part two will be posted on BP (and here) tomorrow.
Here's a sample:
"To put it another way: after jumping 29 wins between 2003 and 2004, the Tigers are poised for a 32-game jump over last year’s record. Since 1960, only seven other teams had increased their winning percentage by at least .175 from one season to the next, most recently the 1998-99 Diamondbacks. The Tigers are poised to do it twice in three years..."
Also, the article heaps praise on Dave Dombrowski's career and briefly explains what he has accomplished with the Expos, Marlins, and now, the Tigers. If you're not sold on DD yet, it's either personal or you need your head examined. Consider this:
"Only three members of the 2006 Tigers--Mike Maroth, Brandon Inge, and Fernando Rodney--preceded Dombrowski in the organization."
For more, click here, and note that this is part one. Part two will be posted on BP (and here) tomorrow.
Further exploration of "if"
Assuming you read my post below, you understand that I am not willing to admit just yet that the Tigers will play in the post-season. However, that has not stopped me from wondering about playoff scenarios and thinking about a divisional series opponent. This article explains it pretty well. The short answer is that if the Tigers enter the playoffs with the best record in the AL, they would have to play the wild card winner unless the wild card winner is from their own division. So, if the Red Sox or Yankees win the wild card, the Tigers would play one of them. But, if the White Sox or Twins win the wild card, the Tigers would not play them, and instead would face the playoff team with the worst record (likely the winner of the AL West).
When Ernie Harwell speaks....
WE LISTEN! That's the policy here, even if the old fella is just rambling on about great offensive catchers. It's kind of a short (and random) article, but it's more interesting when you consider that he watched and called the games of most of the guys he is talking about.
There has been some talk that if the Tigers make the playoffs (yes, "IF"--I refuse to jinx it and could not live with myself if I did not make every effort to avoid doing so), Ernie will be asked to work a few innings of the local broadcasts. I assume that means radio, but can you imagine? There's no question people would turn down their televisions and listen to the Hall-of-Famer rather than any national broadcast.
I'll see if I can find a link about that from a reputable source and post it later on today.
There has been some talk that if the Tigers make the playoffs (yes, "IF"--I refuse to jinx it and could not live with myself if I did not make every effort to avoid doing so), Ernie will be asked to work a few innings of the local broadcasts. I assume that means radio, but can you imagine? There's no question people would turn down their televisions and listen to the Hall-of-Famer rather than any national broadcast.
I'll see if I can find a link about that from a reputable source and post it later on today.
Monster week for the Mets
Maybe he didn't get much done at the deadline (although he probably didn't need to), but Omar Minaya was busy this week. He took care of the future by locking up Wright and Reyes through their first two years of free agent eligibility (if you include the club option in the final year of each deal).
(Note: This is the same type of agreement Mark Shapiro and the Indians reached with Grady Sizemore earlier this season.)
(Note: This is the same type of agreement Mark Shapiro and the Indians reached with Grady Sizemore earlier this season.)
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Brandon Inge is some sort of freak
I'm not sure if it's more disturbing that the rest of the team treats its starting third baseman like a circus sideshow or that the Free Press uses the term "private parts" in referring to Inge's...well...I don't know what. But, it is the 21st Century and I guess I just had the crazy, optimistic idea that the sports media would have evolved to the point where it had created a tidy, yet not too juvenile term for such things. I feel like they're just one step away from "pee-pee" here and at this point that's mildly disappointing considering the genre--sportswriters--probably needs to refer to genitalia a bit more than the rest of the people who write news stories.
Which Sportscenter do you watch?
Let's dispatch with the formalities and get right to it:
So, I saw the highlights in a bar last night, but I really could not wait to see the Pudge walk-off this morning. This is a running diary (I may borrow regularly from (but always credit) the SG here) on what I encountered when I tuned in to the 10:30 Sportscenter:
Prologue: The Pudge walk-off is flashed among various pre-show highlights. At this point, I'm confident I'll get what I'm waiting for in the first 3-5 minutes of the show and definitely before the first commercial.
1. Yankees loss to O's: a 5-0 loss (which I watched) and to say the game lacked excitement would be an understatement. I'm a little confused but not surprised. The Yanks are pretty good, oh, and they're popular in some backwards parts of the country.
2. Red Sox loss to D-Rays (8-5)
3. AL Wild Card standings
4. Tiger Woods highlights from the Buick
COMMERCIAL
5. Busch Series stock car racing highlights
6. NFL Hall of Fame Inductions
COMMERCIAL (I'm disappointed, but still hopeful...nothing can dash my good mood after last night's win...not even you, "center of the world of sports highlights and information!")
7. Promo for Phils/Mets tonight
8. Spanning the Hill by Colin Cowherd: a segment that you really cannot believe is happening at this point in the show. It focuses on: the Mets (topic: how running away with the lead and "not doing much at the deadline" may hurt their team in the playoffs), the Dodgers (topic: trade deadline acquisitions and the fact they've now won 8 straight--good job at reaching .500 guys), Oklahoma football (topic: QB dismissed from team), and the Patriots (topic: lack of depth on defense). It was an utterly uninformative and untimely segment full of random "popular" topics that really had no relation to each other whatsoever, but we did learn...well...lots of things we already know.
COMMERCIAL (note: at this point I'm utterly shocked that I'm still doing this...we're 25 minutes into the show)
9. X Games 12 promo (self-serving but not surprising)
10. Sportscenter home video segment: Have you guys seen this yet? It's where they show you some random dude making a good play. What's the difference between this and other top play type highlights? Well, usually the play isn't as good as you'd see in professional sports AND it involves some random dude that you DO NOT CARE ABOUT. This week's episode: Some kid made a double play in a high school baseball game. It was an over-the-shoulder catch by a second basemen who jumped up and made a throw which doubled off a runner at second. It was all very average and underwhelming, but this is where it gets fun. They actually get the kid on the phone for an interview with the always serious Fred Hickman. The play is then compared to Jeter's play in the AL playoffs where he threw behind his back to get an out at the plate (see: Gatorade commercial). This makes sense because...well...actually it makes no sense whatsoever.
COMMERCIAL!
11. Brickyard 400 promo and check on track conditions (hot, dry asphalt apparently)
12. Tony Stewart racing in a local late model event last night: He got 3rd place and the anchor says it's like Tom Brady playing flag-football the night before the Super Bowl...yeah, just like it.
13. Puff piece on Tony Stewart's life as a race car driver which ended with the phrase "embracing the glory."
14. National League wild-card race feature (10 teams competing for 1 spot)
15. SC Express (WHOOT! WHOOT! ALL ABOARD! God, I really want a seat on this one!) Highlights: Reds vs. Braves, Dodgers vs. Marlins, Astros vs. D-Backs, Rockies vs. Giants, Phillies vs. Mets, Brewers vs. Cards.
16. Tease for Tigers highlights (encouraging sign...you've got me hooked Sportscenter)
COMMERCIAL (it's now 11:10)
17. Promo for the Team USA game this week.
18. Lisa Salters: Inside Team USA (what are Coach K and the boys up to??? oh, really? practicing? Hmmm...what's that like? What's the history of USA Basketball? OH REALLY? Didn't know that! Thanks!)
ALERT: Bottom Line tells me "Coming up: why the Tigers can't wait to get to Tribe's closer!" WHY??? WHY CAN'T THEY WAIT???????
Note: The Salters' piece already aired this week. I've seen it before. Yet, I haven't seen the Pudge homer with sound yet.
Pre-commercial tease: Steve Phillips is going to name an NL MVP after the break. I wonder if Pujols will be in studio to receive the award...can't wait. It's real, right? Oh, Steve Phillips doesn't have the sole vote? The award isn't awarded until when? November you say? Damn.
COMMERCIAL
19. Linda Cohn not-live from X Games 12. Nothing says X Games and sick, rad, killer, big air, or counter-culture like "the Cohner." She just said "ramped up and I mean literally!" Good one, LC.
20. NFL: Ravens vs. Redskins, scrimmage. If a preseason game is a practice game, that means this is a practice-practice game. Also some intrasquad scrimmage highlights here from various teams (that means these are practice-practice-practice games--think about it).
21. By the Numbers segment: we learn about which Phillies have won Gold Gloves (the most? Mike Schmidt). My questions: Why did we want to know? Who wanted to know? How does this relate to the fake football highlights I just watched?
22. 11:28...58 minutes in...Tigers vs Indians.
Epilogue: Steve Phillips just called the Reds' closer "Eddie GuardaRdo." Fortunately I blocked out his MVP pick.
So, I saw the highlights in a bar last night, but I really could not wait to see the Pudge walk-off this morning. This is a running diary (I may borrow regularly from (but always credit) the SG here) on what I encountered when I tuned in to the 10:30 Sportscenter:
Prologue: The Pudge walk-off is flashed among various pre-show highlights. At this point, I'm confident I'll get what I'm waiting for in the first 3-5 minutes of the show and definitely before the first commercial.
1. Yankees loss to O's: a 5-0 loss (which I watched) and to say the game lacked excitement would be an understatement. I'm a little confused but not surprised. The Yanks are pretty good, oh, and they're popular in some backwards parts of the country.
2. Red Sox loss to D-Rays (8-5)
3. AL Wild Card standings
4. Tiger Woods highlights from the Buick
COMMERCIAL
5. Busch Series stock car racing highlights
6. NFL Hall of Fame Inductions
COMMERCIAL (I'm disappointed, but still hopeful...nothing can dash my good mood after last night's win...not even you, "center of the world of sports highlights and information!")
7. Promo for Phils/Mets tonight
8. Spanning the Hill by Colin Cowherd: a segment that you really cannot believe is happening at this point in the show. It focuses on: the Mets (topic: how running away with the lead and "not doing much at the deadline" may hurt their team in the playoffs), the Dodgers (topic: trade deadline acquisitions and the fact they've now won 8 straight--good job at reaching .500 guys), Oklahoma football (topic: QB dismissed from team), and the Patriots (topic: lack of depth on defense). It was an utterly uninformative and untimely segment full of random "popular" topics that really had no relation to each other whatsoever, but we did learn...well...lots of things we already know.
COMMERCIAL (note: at this point I'm utterly shocked that I'm still doing this...we're 25 minutes into the show)
9. X Games 12 promo (self-serving but not surprising)
10. Sportscenter home video segment: Have you guys seen this yet? It's where they show you some random dude making a good play. What's the difference between this and other top play type highlights? Well, usually the play isn't as good as you'd see in professional sports AND it involves some random dude that you DO NOT CARE ABOUT. This week's episode: Some kid made a double play in a high school baseball game. It was an over-the-shoulder catch by a second basemen who jumped up and made a throw which doubled off a runner at second. It was all very average and underwhelming, but this is where it gets fun. They actually get the kid on the phone for an interview with the always serious Fred Hickman. The play is then compared to Jeter's play in the AL playoffs where he threw behind his back to get an out at the plate (see: Gatorade commercial). This makes sense because...well...actually it makes no sense whatsoever.
COMMERCIAL!
11. Brickyard 400 promo and check on track conditions (hot, dry asphalt apparently)
12. Tony Stewart racing in a local late model event last night: He got 3rd place and the anchor says it's like Tom Brady playing flag-football the night before the Super Bowl...yeah, just like it.
13. Puff piece on Tony Stewart's life as a race car driver which ended with the phrase "embracing the glory."
14. National League wild-card race feature (10 teams competing for 1 spot)
15. SC Express (WHOOT! WHOOT! ALL ABOARD! God, I really want a seat on this one!) Highlights: Reds vs. Braves, Dodgers vs. Marlins, Astros vs. D-Backs, Rockies vs. Giants, Phillies vs. Mets, Brewers vs. Cards.
16. Tease for Tigers highlights (encouraging sign...you've got me hooked Sportscenter)
COMMERCIAL (it's now 11:10)
17. Promo for the Team USA game this week.
18. Lisa Salters: Inside Team USA (what are Coach K and the boys up to??? oh, really? practicing? Hmmm...what's that like? What's the history of USA Basketball? OH REALLY? Didn't know that! Thanks!)
ALERT: Bottom Line tells me "Coming up: why the Tigers can't wait to get to Tribe's closer!" WHY??? WHY CAN'T THEY WAIT???????
Note: The Salters' piece already aired this week. I've seen it before. Yet, I haven't seen the Pudge homer with sound yet.
Pre-commercial tease: Steve Phillips is going to name an NL MVP after the break. I wonder if Pujols will be in studio to receive the award...can't wait. It's real, right? Oh, Steve Phillips doesn't have the sole vote? The award isn't awarded until when? November you say? Damn.
COMMERCIAL
19. Linda Cohn not-live from X Games 12. Nothing says X Games and sick, rad, killer, big air, or counter-culture like "the Cohner." She just said "ramped up and I mean literally!" Good one, LC.
20. NFL: Ravens vs. Redskins, scrimmage. If a preseason game is a practice game, that means this is a practice-practice game. Also some intrasquad scrimmage highlights here from various teams (that means these are practice-practice-practice games--think about it).
21. By the Numbers segment: we learn about which Phillies have won Gold Gloves (the most? Mike Schmidt). My questions: Why did we want to know? Who wanted to know? How does this relate to the fake football highlights I just watched?
22. 11:28...58 minutes in...Tigers vs Indians.
Epilogue: Steve Phillips just called the Reds' closer "Eddie GuardaRdo." Fortunately I blocked out his MVP pick.
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