GoWings1905

Very fair point. Pryor was terrific in the BCS games. I guess I always felt he didn't live up to the hype partially because he was handcuffed to an extent by Tressel's offense at OSU. Although I think you are exactly right in that he probably would have never lived up to the hype regardless. The first weekend in September can't get here soon enough.

I know you have to find a way to sneak Hudler into every post, but you do realize Hudler got 2.8 million coming off a year where he scored 57 points? Cogliano's career high is 45 and Hudler still had more points than Cogliano last season in by all accounts a very poor season offensively for Hudler. In fact, Cogliano's best season was his rookie year so he's actually regressed in his four years in the league. You have to consider the timing of the contracts. I suppose it is easier to just say 'trade Hudler' though instead.

Well this news went from exciting to a huge bummer real fast. If so, thanks for everything Ozzie. You are easily my favorite goalie ever and we should all be thankful for his loyalty and dedication to the Red Wings organization. I've never seen a more under-appreciated athlete and all he did was win cups and play his heart out for this team. You will be sorely missed Oz.

The Stanley Cup.

In a stunning turn of events, the Tigers have lost their first two games after the break. Let's hope it doesn't get anywhere near six straight like last season, but man is it hard not to start thinking about another second-half meltdown. Carlos is back at least and Inge hasn't played either game against the Sox. Scherzer pitched pretty well, but the Tigers somehow managed not to score a single run on 9 hits. Hopefully they can salvage a game tomorrow. I keep saying it, but the Twins are winning a lot again and they play the Indians and Tigers 8 straight at home starting Monday. They scare the hell out of me as they have been wrecked by injuries and they have a killer instinct the Tigers could only wish to have. Also interested to see who starts on Wednesday for the Tigs. Rumor tonight is they have interest in Derek Lowe. Or do we see the phenom Jacob Turner jump to the bigs in a playoff chase?

I sat behind the net (might have even been exactly the 17th row too) for a playoff game and it was a perfect view even with the mesh. I don't really like sitting extremely low in the lower bowl because I found myself obstructed from the opposite corner of the ice surface. Sitting up higher in the lower bowl was excellent. Just my opinion FWIW. As others have stated, there really aren't bad seats at the Joe. Good luck!

Fair points. Not to overly defend Ryan Raburn here, but he's more out of position than anything at second base. Raburn is actually a pretty adequate outfielder defensively, which is where he probably belongs still. Unfortunately though, Dombrowski felt the need to pull the trigger quickly on a mediocre left-handed reliever forcing Raburn to take over at second. The Tigers have an abundance of outfielders so I understand the shift from that perspective, but it still comes off to me as a desperate move by the Tigers front office, similar to the Rick Knapp dismissal. Back to Inge though, you can't hit .184 in the big leagues and play every day. I will stand by my belief that Inge is still playing because of the loyalty factor and not on merit. He's probably the third best defensive third baseman in his own division so I find myself struggling to believe his defensive skills are enough to warrant a place in the starting lineup every day. Like I said before, Danny Worth is arguably Inge's equivalent on defense, or at worst a slight dropoff based on lack of reps at third.

Completely agree and I would never argue otherwise. I just don't understand the seemingly "free pass" Inge gets from Tigers fans and yet there's outrage over a guy hitting 30 points higher than Inge. Just because Raburn blows and plays every day doesn't make it right for Inge to continue to do the same. Like I mentioned before, Raburn is at least showing signs of swinging the bat better and if Leyland stuck with him through July 10th, we may as well see if he can catch fire like the second-half last year. If he doesn't, then maybe Guillen gets and stays healthy and takes over the position. In order of priority, I think the Tigers need a starting pitcher, 3rd baseman and then 2nd baseman at the deadline. The Tigers had a second baseman and he's hitting .287 for the A's now so I'm pretty much out of patience with a guy like Inge who is among the worst every day players in baseball. His defense isn't THAT good to let him play on a team in the midst of a playoff battle. Chase Headley would be an amazing addition for the Tigers.

I'd rather see Columbus more often too if I was him. It's not like the Wild have attendance woes.

I don't think second base is even the most pressing need on the infield: that would without question be the need to upgrade at third. Everyone likes to harp on Raburn (and I'll admit it's more than justified), but Brandon Inge can hit .184 and his job is safe just because he's a good guy and has been here for a long time? Raburn is tearing the cover off the ball compared to Inge and honestly at least Raburn is showing some signs of coming around where as Inge somehow looks more lost at the plate than ever. Alex Avila isn't getting AB's because teams would rather take their free strikeout from Inge instead. Enough is enough with the loyalty garbage. The Tigers shouldn't have re-signed him to begin with; let's not prolong the mistake by playing one of the worst players in MLB on a daily basis while trying to win the division. I would rather platoon Kelly and Worth at third - Inge's defense is way overrated now anyways so the defensive dropoff would be minimal.

That's not saying a whole lot, but I do agree the Tigers are the best team. I would be lying if I said I was confident the Tigers will pull it off though with their second-half history under Leyland.

First place at the break! Thanks once again to the best pitcher in baseball throwing lights out.

I hate Derek Jeter and the Yankees even more, but congrats is well-deserved on a terrific feat. Gotta respect something that has only been done 28 times in baseball history.

Maybe they are right, but like the Blackhawks fanbase is going to admit anyone that comes to the Red Wings is worth a damn. Rational thoughts aren't exactly their strong point when the Red Wings are involved. Or ever.

I really hope the Tigers can somehow get Chase Headley and an arm for the rotation at the deadline. I expect Dombrowski to be pretty desperate to improve so hopefully he goes all out, just not at the expense of Jacob Turner.

Cabrera could be in a 0-for-60 slump and I would still expect him to come up and get a big hit. He is so clutch it's beyond impressive. Glad Penny got a much-deserved victory finally as well. Penny has been nothing but solid with nothing to show for it lately. I just really hope Max can get it going again tomorrow because the Tigs need him to perform really bad.

Rick Knapp was a scapegoat because DD and old man Leyland know they both are toast unless the Tigers win the division. Knapp made Verlander into a true pitcher. I'm none too pleased with the rest of the rotation either, but this move screams "Hey our team is underachieving for the 5th straight year so let's find someone to put the blame on." This series makes you truly appreciate how incredible Mike Scioscia is as a manager. The Tigers would never be lingering near .500 with him calling the shots. Keep throwing Inge and Raburn out there every day though Jim. Or batting Andy Dirks and Magglio Ordonez third.

The Tigers need pitching help. Badly. Scherzer's win total is so deceiving. I like Max a lot, but he isn't pitching at all like a number two. Penny has been the most consistent starter after JV. The Mets with a bunch of AAA players besides Reyes and Beltran lit the Tigers up and now the Giants anemic offense is doing the same. The Central is so pathetic and the Tigers can't stay in first over a team spending 1/3 of what they do.

Or Babs is just commenting on a hypothetical roster as of right now. The Red Wings are still free to sign a top four d-man.

How sick is it that JV had a "rough" start today and only allowed a single run? 6-0, 0.92 ERA in June. Come on Justin, if you can throw 100 late in a game, you can surely start more than once every five days.

Poor Jimmy is going to earn every penny of it too next season with that defense in front of him again.

Coke is just in the wrong place. Not really his fault, though I agree with your frustration. He's one of the best and most reliable left-handed relievers in the league. The Tigers bullpen is inconsistent at best. It only makes sense to move Coke back there, but Leyland has this obsession with having to have one lefty in the rotation. So move Furbush (who started at Toledo) or Oliver there. Coke is a valuable piece to the team; it's just a matter of the Tigers putting him in the right position to be an asset like he was last season. I like Santiago too, but there's a reason he has never played every day in his career. Still hate the Sizemore deal, but I'll leave it at that. Oh well, nothing like Justin Verlander to make us feel better.

Completely agree. How long does he get to turn it on offensively? That ball he missed at second that allowed two crucial runs to score is a rather routine play for an even average second baseman defensively. If he's not hitting, he certainly can't be giving away runs in the field too. I miss Placido Polanco so much.

Ugh... another Coke start, another piece of evidence he belongs in the bullpen. The Tigers are a roller coaster. Except Raburn. I haven't seen his ride start yet.

Yeah, Porcello has gotten really roughed up three starts in a row now. Honestly, he's the key to the Tigers playoffs chances. You know what you are getting from Verlander and Scherzer at the top. I'm not a huge fan of Coke as a starter and I have no complaints about Penny as he's a very adequate fifth starter. That third guy is so key though because of the inconsistency at the bottom of the rotation. Right now, Porcello scares me. I've always felt the Tigers really hurt his development by bringing him to the big leagues so soon. He was a power pitcher and now he completely pitches to contact. The bullpen has come around and the offense is pretty strong with a few exceptions so you wonder if the Tigers target a starting pitcher at the deadline. Schlereth will probably end up back at Toledo when Brad Thomas gets healthy. Which is saying something because it's Brad frickin Thomas. I'm shocked he won your award though with Ryan Mendoza on the team.