Tigers clinch

The Detroit Tigers clinched the American League Central Division title on Friday night, defeating the Oakland A's 3-1 in Oakland.
This marks the first time the Tigers have won a division crown since winning the American League East title in 1987. That's 24 years.
On the night the Tigers clinch the division, wouldn't you know it wasn't Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez or Justin Verlander leading the way. Instead it was Ramon Santiago, Wilson Betemit, Don Kelly and Doug Fister leading the charge.
Like most division-winning teams it takes someone different stepping up each and every night to lead a team through the journey.
What put the Tigers over the top? It's simple. It was the trades for Fister, Betemit and Delmon Young. Those three guys, along with the emergence of all-star catcher Alex Avila that helped propel the Tigers to the division crown.
Now, the Tigers can look ahead to the playoffs and hopefully, a World Series. Wouldn't that be something special.
What are your thoughts on this year's Central Division champion Detroit Tigers. I'd love to hear from you.
GO TIGERS!!!

Talking Tigers

Three days after the trade deadline has passed, do you feel better about your Detroit Tigers than you did a week ago?
The Tigers made a few moves a the deadline, acquiring pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley from Seattle, before putting recently acquired David Purcey on waivers in hopes of sending him down to Toledo.
Was this enough?
I guess only time will tell. Personally, I like the moves for both Fister and Pauley, as long as each pitches like they did for Seattle. Fister, who was 3-12 on the year, had the worst run support than any other starting pitcher in the American League this season with the Mariners. I just fear that they Tigers get him a five-run lead and he relaxes on the mound and starts getting bombed. I hope he tougher than than mentally.
Pauley gives us another quality arm in the bullpen, which you can never have too many of. I think it puts more pressure on Benoit to perform like he did last year with Tampa Bay, or risk losing his set-up role for closer Jose Valverde.
What about the offense? How come there were no trades made for another quality bat in the lineup?
This really scares me.
The Tigers for what seems like forever, have been a streaky team offensively for years. They will go in five- or seven-game stretches where they'll average over five runs a game, but will then turn around and struggle offensively for the next six or seven games.
The did pick up third baseman Wilson Betemit in a trade with Kansas City. Compared to Brandon Inge, he looks like the second coming of Ted Williams, hitting just over .250 this season while Inge struggled to hit near the .200 level. However, is he really a major upgrade at one of the key offensive positions -- third base -- in the major leagues. I don't see him driving in 90 runs any time soon.
The Tigers have put us in this position before where we're all excited because we're leading the American League Central in several games in early August, before a September slump leaves all of us irritated and scratching our head.
Hopefully that won't be the case this season. Hopefully they'll continue winning baseball games, win the division and make a run at a world championship.
However, I personally am going to proceed with caution and hope the moves the Tigers made are enough to carry them to the division title.

Welcome back NFL

Did anyone actually believe the NFL would consider holding out and risk losing the entire 2011 season?
I said right from the start that the two sides would shuffle their feet for the first two or three months, but when training camps were supposed to open, they would make a push to get the deal done because there was too much money involved that risked being lost.
That's exactly what happened.
Personally, I like watching pro football, but would much rather watch a high school game or a college game, especially Michigan State. However, when Sunday's come around in the fall and the only thing on television are NFL games, I have to tune in, especially to keep track of my fantasy football league players.
The end of the lockout has resulted in a very exciting week as teams were scrambling around like Fran Tarkenton trying to negotiate contracts with draft choices and working out deals with free agents.
The Lions had their own Christmas wish list, looking for a couple of cornerbacks and linebackers, among other positions.
Detroit made a couple of signings, but didn't have the cap space to become major players with the top free agents. Still optimism is running high as training camp opened on Friday and they hope to ride the positive momentum of their four-game winning streak to end last year into this season.
What are your thoughts on the end of the lockout? And, what do you think of the Lions' free agent moves? Do you think they have made enough moves to make them contenders to win the NFC North?
I'd love to hear from you.

What a summer

Hello bloggers.
What a summer it has been, especially the scorching temperatures we've endured this week. I guess we shouldn't complain after the cold and wet spring we had here in Michigan.
Do you have a bucket list? You know, one of those lists which involves things you want to do and places you want to see before you die.
I have one and it involves checking out all the Major League baseball stadiums. So far our family has hit the ball parks in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Detroit, and a few weeks ago we checked off St. Louis and Cincinnati (My son has been to Tampa, but I haven't so it's still on the list).
Cincinnati had a very nice ball park, but it was far from my favorite. Its location on the Ohio River is very cool and concourse area with lots of history of former players on the walls is very cool. However, it wasn't very cozy. Our seats were in the upper deck along third base and I knew we were pretty high up when it took three escalators and a handshake with God to get to my seat. The upper deck steps were very steep and it seemed like we were so far away from the action on the field.
Conversely, our trip to New Busch Stadium in St. Louis was worth the trip.
I loved that place. It ranks right up there with Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. The history of the statues outside the ball park where anyone can get a picture of without a ticket is terrific. The Gateway Arch is clearly visible from anywhere in the ball park and they even have a design of the arch cut into the outfield grass.
The concourse area around the stadium was very good, with Comerica Park-type walkways that were very wide.
Unlike Comerica Park, St. Louis brought in a key piece of old Busch Stadium, hanging the out-of-town scoreboard in the concourse. The also left it as the way it looked when the final out was made in the Cardinals last game at the stadium. This was a pretty cool feature.
We're already talking about next year's tour, with preliminary talks taking us to New York for the Yankees and Mets, possibly Boston, Baltimore and Washington, and maybe a stop in Toronto.
Have you hit any of these baseball shrines. If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on them.

Kevin

A day to remeber

Greetings bloggers. It's been a while, but I'm back and ready to blog.
Just wanted to share with all of you the opportunity I had on Wednesday afternoon.
I went out and covered the Sterling Heights Chamber of Commerce & Industry luncheon at the American-Polish Century Club.
The reason for the luncheon was to honor two former area high school football players, Nick McDonald, who graduated from Ford II, and Frank Zombo, who graduated from Stevenson. Both are currently members of the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.
I know the Detroit Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups over the last 15 years, and each time they did, there were many parties where the Cup was at for people to take a photo with or drink from it.
Unfortunately, I was never able to have that experience, but would love to do so if the opportunity should present itself someday.
However, on Wednesday, McDonald and Zombo were both wearing their Super Bowl rings and were showing them off to the people attending the luncheon.
I wasn't letting this opportunity get past me.
I asked both players if they would allow me to have a photo taken with them and allow me to put their rings on my hand. They politely agreed and the photo was taken. It's a photo that will forever rest on the wall of my basement (my man cave).
As a reporter for this paper the last 17 years, I've watched hundreds, maybe over a 1000 young athletes come and go, but only a few have reached "The Show."
I remember both Nick and Frank playing at their respective high schools and to see them reap the rewards of their hard work in the NFL is awesome. They're both very good players, but more importantly, they're better human beings.
Nick and Frank, if you read this, thanks for taking the time to make this reporter's dream come true. It's a day that I will always reflect upon when I look at that photo on the wall.
Have any of you had this type of moment? If you have, I'd love to hear about it.

Until next time.

Kevin

Zumaya injury

Bloggers -- When Joel Zumaya's elbow gave out in the eighth inning of Monday night's game at Minnesota, I have to admit it was one of the sickest things I've ever seen in a game. It ranks right up there with Joe Theisman's compound fracture on Monday Night Football many years ago.
Ironically, as Zumaya pitched in the seventh inning, I thought to myself how good Zumaya has been pitching this season and how key he is for the Tigers quest for a division title. Ten minutes later the injury takes place and all that hope looks like is all gone for this season.
What Zumaya can do with a baseball is utterly freakish. How many people do you know can throw a fastball 100 mph pitch after pitch after pitch. Eventually something had to give and on Monday night it did -- his elbow.
Will he back? Probably. It won't be soon, though. If he has Tommy John surgery where they can take a ligament or tendon from another part of the body and put it in his elbow, he won't be back until at least 2012.
If he does comeback, the days of 100-plus fastballs may be gone. He has to realize he can be just as effective with a 92-95 mph heater, which would take some pressure off that elbow and his shoulder.
So what do the Tigers do in the meantime. After all, their win on Monday night put the in first place in the American League Central.
In the short term, they've brought up Casey Fien from Toledo. It's his job to lose right now. Is he Zumaya? No. Can he do the job? Maybe. We'll see. However, if he can't get the job done, the Tigers better hope Ryan Perry can straighten out his control problems in a hurry down in Toledo and can get back up to the big club to fill the eighth-inning gap left by Zumaya.
If you remember, the Tigers blew a lot of leads in the seventh and eighth innings last year and it ultimately cost them the division title.
This year, they went out and got themselves a proven closer in Jose Valverde, who has been sensational through the first three months of the season. However, a lot of his chances to save games came off the shirt tails of work done by relievers like Phil Coke and Zumaya in the seventh and eighth innings. That's why it's important for Fien, Coke, Perry, Ni or anyone else in the bullpen to step up and fill the shoes left by Zumaya.
Another idea would be for the Tigers to go out and trade for a reliever. However, to get one would mean parting with a key prospect or two, which is never good, especially for a set-up guy. They may need to test the trade waters for a hitter or a starting pitcher before the deadline comes next month. If that's the case, I would rather see them trade a prospect or two for an every day hitter or a starting pitcher like Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt. That would be appealing to me rather than a set-up guy.
What do you think about the Zumaya situation? What would you do if you were the Tigers? Send me a note and we can discuss this further.

Izzo and stuff

Hey there bloggers.

It's been a long 24 hours as much has happened. Stevenson's girls softball team lost to Troy 5-0 in the quarterfinals at Bishop Foley on Tuesday afternoon, while L'Anse Creuse North defeated Rochester Adams 4-2 in a baseball quarterfinal game. The Crusaders will head to Battle Creek on Friday to play in a state semifinal contest.
As for the Titans, their loss to the Colts put a damper on what turned out to be a great run through the state tournament.
After finishing fourth in the MAC Red Division standings, it's a good bet there weren't too many people who would've gone out on a limb and said the Titans would win a district and regional title. However, that's what Stevenson went out and did.
This team cruised through the district, before knocking of their nemesis, Anchor Bay, 4-3 in the regional semifinal. The Titans followed that effort by jumping out to a 7-0 lead over Lakeview in the finals, before holding on for a 7-6 win and first regional softball title in school history.
The good thing for Stevenson and coach Tony Misuraca is that many of the key players on this team will be back next year. The Titans rode the right arm of freshman pitcher Alyssa Huntley, giving her solid defense throughout the season, but especially in the tournament. The experience she gained in a pressure-packed contest like the quarterfinal game against Troy, will only make her and the rest of the Titans work harder in the off-season with hopes of taking the next step next year, getting to the final four in Battle Creek.

Tuesday was also a memorable or in some case, breathing a sigh of relief day for MSU fans as men's basketball coach Tom Izzo announced he will not leave Michigan State to take a job in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
I can honestly say all along the recruiting process by Cleveland that Izzo wasn't going to go. I'm sure the reported offer of $6 million a year was tough to deny, but he's already making $3 million per season at MSU. I don't know about you, but I think I could get by on $3 million a year.
Plus, do any of you think that Izzo's sideline manner would have worked in the NBA. Izzo likes to rant and rave throughout the game. He likes to get into player's faces when something goes wrong. It works in college because he's dealing with youngsters who are 18-22 years old and don't have the money in their pocket that NBA players have.
In the NBA, each player is a millionaire. Many are multi-millionaires. If Izzo were to pull one of these rich men over and got in their face over a bad play, I'm afraid his words of wisdom would be on deaf ears.
Izzo's a great college coach and that's where he belongs. He's one of the best coaches in college baseketball and he knows how to get the most out of his players. Each year he gets the best recruits in the state and around the country drop everything and come to MSU.
What do you think of Izzo staying? If you're a Michigan fan, did you shed a few tears when the announcement was made because it might be a few more years now before the Wolverine basketball program can keep pace with the Spartans.
I'd love to read your thoughts.

Until next time, have a great day.