Detroit Lions Game 1 Analysis

I've had a day to think about it, note to the wise always take a little time before rushing to judge a sport's teams performance (especially when they lose) and there was a lot of good and bad to take from the first game.

The Good: Rod Marinelli has the players running hard.

Two blocked field goals. Five sacks. Holding the defending MVP to 51 yards and a fumble lost. There was no question that the defensive effort was there all game long. This was the kind of pure determination to stop an offense that very good defenses display week in and week out, and the Lions proved this week that they have the potential, let me repeat the potential, to be in that category.

The Bad: The offense looks a little confused.

Little things like Jon Kitna not immediately being on the same page as his number one receiver, the Lions throwing three times instead of running when they were in field goal position (Jason Hanson ended up missing a 50+ FG on this drive as a result which turned out to be the difference). Even the running game still looks shaky despite a seemingly healthy Kevin Jones. There is a reason why the Lions lost this game and the defense giving up a last-second field goal was NOT it.

The Good: New players making plays.
At one point in the game Hasselbeck tossed a pass to the fullback Mack Strong who jumped for a first down. Ernie Sims, the rookie first-round pick, promptly put a hard hit on him and upended Strong. Mack still got the first down but the message was clear, Ernie Sims was going to make an impact. And with 7 solo tackles and 3 assists, Sims turned in a very impressive debut.

Another new player who had a nice game was receiver Mike Furrey, who doubled as a defensive back in St. Louis. Furrey caught 5 balls for 55 yards and made a couple of difficult grabs in traffic against a very good Seattle defense. It is guys like this who make me applaud the decision to cut Charles Rogers and bench Mike Williams.

The Bad?: Accurate Hasselbeck.

As much pressure as the Lions got on Hasselbeck, he still ended up completing 25 of his 30 attempts. Of course, he didn't throw any touchdowns and only finished with 210 yards. It may just be a testimant to how good of a quarterback Hasselbeck is, but we can't allow 80+% completion percentages no matter how good our running game is. Our defensive backs are too talented for that.

The Good: No injuries.

Hold your breath Lions fans, no injuries for now...

The Bad: We lost.

In reality, there are no moral victories in the NFL. You either win or you don't. We played our hearts out but the other team was just a little better. If we play just a little worse than the defending NFC champions all season long, however, I think Lions fans will be very happy with the results.

Next up: Chicago - This game should give Lions fans a better idea of where the team is. Judging by their beat down of the Packers, the defense is still there and thriving so Martz better get the offensive group working harder in preparation.

A Tribute to Joe Dumars

As I am sure any Pistons fan knows by now, Joe Dumars was recently inducted in the Hall of Fame. Of course, as he was being inducted along with bigger names such as Charles Barkely and 'Nique, this great accomplishment has often gotten overlooked by the sports community (ahem...ESPN...). But as we all know, that is just the way Joe D likes it.

The best thing that happened to the Pistons is when they chose to draft a 6'3" guard out of McNeese State college with the 18th overall pick. A true Piston at heart, it is easy to see why the Pistons have had so much success whenever he is involved with the team.

Because he played on such a good team, Dumar's individual accolades are often ignored. Most people know that Dumars was a member of two championship teams as well as the architect of another as GM, but many overlook the fact that throughout his playing career he remained loyal to the team that drafted him. If the NBA logo was remade for a Pistons fan, there is no doubt that it would be Dumar's figure in between the red, white and blue.

Forget the 16,000+ points and 4,600+ assists. Forget even the six All-Star appearances and four first-team defense selections. They are just statistics which many pros can repeat with a lengthy career. Beyond the numbers, however, is the impact Joe had on the game.

Joe Dumar's was a team player, top to bottom, who prided himself in playing tough and providing strong defense. Indeed it was the greatest scorer of his era, MJ (duh), who called him the best defender he had ever faced. Dumars was also a great sportsman, and was honored for this by having the Sportsmanship Award named for him. Unlike with hockey's Lady Byng Award, there is no doubt that recieving this award named after a NBA legend, yes a legend, is a great honor for the player who is chosen every season.

But that's not all Joe Dumars did, in fact not even close. Almost right after he retired, Dumars took an active role in the Piston's management and quickly became the general manager. Within a short time span, Dumars restored the pride and winng ways of the Detroit franchise. The Pistons have regularly won 50+ games for the past five seasons and also added one more championship to the rafters in 2004.

To put this accomplishment in perspective, keep in mind that very few former players turn into good general managers. Jerry West is the only big name that comes to mind. Other big superstar players, such as the aforementioned MJ and Joe's teammate Isiah Thomas, have had...well lets just say a "little" less success.

Don't get me wrong, Charles Barkely and Wilkins were both great players and deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but neither has accomplished as much as Joe Dumars has, and will, in the NBA from my perspective. Congratulations Joe, you would have gotten in your first year of eligibility if it were up to me.

Brief Update

OK so I know that this blog hasn't been updated in a while and that has been my fault. The last few weeks I have been busy getting ready to move back into college, did that last week, and starting classes again. Don't worry though, as I am back for good now.

A lot has happened since my last post so let me just quickly say a few things.

Yesterday Dmitri Young got released. This may come as a surprise to casual Detroit sports fans but there has been trouble brewing for some time now. While Sean Casey is a great locker room presence to add, DY is quite the opposite. Which is fine as long as he produces...but he hasn't been doing so the last week or so. Trust me, this is addition by subtraction and the impact on the team in the long-run, meaning through October (hopefully) should be a positive one.

One thing I don't understand at all is why Brent Clevlen hasn't been called back up yet. When he was first sent down I figured it was solely to give the slumping Granderson a little more confidence, but we really could use an offensive spark these days and Brent is the guy who seems to be the answer.

The Tigers have been pretty bad lately all-around. I wouldn't panic just yet but we have a HUGE four game series against the Twins coming up. We need to AT LEAST split these games. The division has been handed to us most of the year, and it would be a shame if we didn't take it.

Finally a little on the Lions. They looked pretty average in the preseason and there isn't much else to say. Hopefully they can do well this year but right now I don't see a better finish than 8-8.

Thats it for now, sorry about the length and quality of this post but rest assured that very soon I will start chugging the good stuff my readers, if we still have any, are used to.

Pistons Season Preview: Part 1

Will there be a big drop-off between Ben and Nazr?

For Piston fans, this off-season has been a nightmare. For the most part, the Piston organization has made news for all the wrong reasons. First, Ben Wallace jumps ship and agrees to a 60 million dollar contract with the Chicago Bulls. Then, seldom used center Dale Davis is arrested and shot with a Taser gun in Miami. Hell, even Fred McLeod left his job as Pistons play-by-play color commentator for the Cleveland Cavaliers, after being affiliated with the Pistons and Detroit Media for nearly 20 years. Is this really the off-season from hell? Or are we all simply overreacting?

Let’s start by analyzing the impact Ben’s departure will have on Detroit. Wallace was a four time Defensive Player of the Year, and the identity of the Pistons, so naturally the defense is going to take a hit. However, this also gives the Pistons an opportunity to become more offensive minded. With Wallace in the game, defenses often played 5-on-4 and left Wallace unguarded. While Nazr is no scoring demon, he is certainly respected enough for defenses’ to stay true to him. But do Nazr’s advantages on offense make up for Ben’s superior defensive abilities?

Mohammed has averaged better than 10ppg twice in his career, and has always been a solid rebounder. When given minutes, Mohammed usually produces. Defensively, Mohammed is no slouch either. He’s a solid low-post defender, and is more than capable of holding his own.

In addition, many believe that Ben Wallace is on the down-swing of his career anyways. His numbers have gone down across the board each of the last few seasons, and his impact has noticeably been declining. It would be a fair assumption to say that Wallace and Mohammed will likely grab a similar number of rebounds per game next season.

But while on paper it may seem like Mohammed should be an adequate replacement for Ben, every Piston fan should know that Ben Wallace’s impact went beyond the stat sheet. There’s times when one can walk away from a game and notice Wallace’s enormous impact, only to find his box score looking bare. On the flip side, when Nazr’s box score looks bare, that usually signifies his impact on that particular game.

Darko would have been the perfect player to bridge the gap after Ben’s departure. Unfortunately, the Pistons organization has been notoriously bad the last few years at developing their young players.

Next Piston Preview: The New Starting 5

Verlander for Cy Young?

As the season's end draws closer and closer, talk begins over which players deserve baseball's top awards at the end of the season. While the big batter's award, MVP, will almost assuredly go to a Yankee or Red Sox player, the coveted pitching award, Cy Young, has a shot of being in the trophy case for a certain Tiger's pitcher.

That is why from now on, this blog will devote one post a week to tracking the Cy Young candidates from the AL and where rookie stud Justin Verlander stands in the race. As of now, here are the top five candidates

Jonathan Papelbon - It is rare for a closer to win the Cy Young, much less a rookie closer, but it seems that most baseball experts consider Papelbon the frontrunner for the award right now. His 0.64 ERA is the best amount pitchers who have thrown for more than 15 innings in the season and his impact on the Red Sox has been unquestionable. 30 saves and only two blown opportunities resulting in a loss has given Boston the consistancy in their bullpen they have needed.

But look beyond his stellar ERA and saves marks and Papelbon is only a closer, meaning he pitches one, or at most two, innings every couple of games. He has pitched less than half the innings of most starting pitchers in contention.

Bottom line is that, IMO, closers usually do not deserve the Cy Young cause quite simply they do not do as much work as starting pitchers do. For a closer to win, he must be on a historical tear (i.e. Eric Gagne) and be matched up against weak pitching in the league as a whole (again Gagne). Papelbon is not, however, on a record save streak and the AL does have many good pitchers. Once the voting begins, the public should realize this as well.

And if you were starting a team, would you rather have Papelbon or Verlander, Liriano, and Weaver? The worth of starting pitching is much greater than relief.

Justin Verlander - This is the guy that I, and hopefully everyone reading this, am rooting for. Justin Verlander has been the best pitcher on one of the best rotations in baseball all season long, and has been doing it at as young of an age as Papelbon. His 14 wins are tied for the league lead and his ERA is 2nd among AL starting pitchers. Justin also has a very good pickoff move, tallying 8 so far this season.

It is also hard to overlook the fact the Tigers have the best record in baseball with Verlander being, arguably, their best player. Usually the team's record does factor into a decision on whether or not a player deserves an award, and like Papelbon Verlander's impact has been clear.

For Verlander to have a chance at winning, however, he must continue to pitch lights out. He needs at least 4-5 more wins, as well as keeping his ERA down, to have a good shot.

Johan Santana - Not much to say here, any season Santana is healthy he is a good choice for Cy Young. While Santana only has 12 wins, his ERA is among the top 5 in the league and he leads all pitchers in strikeouts.

Johan has had a roller coaster of a season so far, and his inconsistency may hurt his chances. Just look at his month-by-month ERA. After a 4.45 ERA in April, Santana pitched a 2.72 and 1.05 clip in May and June seemingly restoring his dominance. But July proved to be difficult for the one-time Cy Young winner, as he hit an above 4.00 ERA once again. In his one start in August, his ERA has jumped even further up, to a solid 6.00.

Because of this, it is safe to say that Santana does not have a lock on the award by any means. If he can pull his ERA in August and September to May and June numbers, and get the Twins into the postseason, he will bolster his chances greatly. Otherwise there is a good chance he will be on the outside looking in just like his team.

Roy Halladay - Halladay is another proven pitcher, like Santana, who is having a great year on a mediocre team. His Blue Jays have little chance to overtake the Yankees or Red Sox, not to mention wild card contenders from other divisions, but there is no arguing that he can get the job done on the mound. With 14 wins and an ERA just over 3, Halladay is a good choice all-around and may get the nod over rookies who haven't earned their stripes in the game yet.

Roy has not been very sharp after the All-Star break, however, as he has only won two starts out of his six tries. His ERA has also gone up to over 4 in these six games. If Halladay can somehow get to 20 wins and the other pitchers falter, he has good chances. Otherwise he may have to settle for just finishing in the top five.

Fransisco Liriano - Liriano was another favorite to win the award but with his recent injury and placement on the DL, it is safe to say that he won't be a major contender by the end of the season. It is doubtful that he will be in the top 5 next week, so lets leave it at that without delving into his great numbers.

Other Candidates - Mike Mussina, Barry Zito and Curt Schilling.

Series Recap: Tigers vs. Indians

We all know the Tigers are having a fabulous season, but only after this weekend did it truly turn into a dream one. Any other year, most teams would have yielded at least two of the three games in this series, but the Tigers fought and stuck true to their motto "play for nine innings" and came out with a sweep. Lets recap the three great games quickly.

Game 1 - Tigers win 7-6

In this game, Jeremy Bonderman went back to his old habits by giving up a couple of early runs. He did settle down for a couple of innings afterwards, but it was not his sharpest effort and it had to be a little concerning considering how he ended his last game against the Twins.

This game looked like it could be a blowout loss, but good teams never give up that easy and slowly but surely the Tigers climbed back into the game. A clutch two-run double by Sean Casey brought us within 2 runs. Then came the eighth inning.

After a sacrifice fly brought the Tigers within one, Craig Monroe walked up, red-hot, with Pudge on the plate. Battling as much as he could, Craig hit a ball just foul of a home-run as he had the game before. Unlike the game before, however, the Indians made the mistake of pitching to him. With two outs, Monroe hit a home-run that gave the Tigers the lead.

The excitement in the dugout was unbelievable. Craig Monroe rounded the bases hollerin' and cheering. He didn't get the walkoff celebration, but he sure did deserve it.

Game 2 - Tigers win 4-3

Much like in game 1, the Indians got a bunch of runs early going up 3-0 in the first. Not a good sign for Kenny Rogers who had been struggling mightily since the break. But Rogers settled down and pitched great balls for the rest of his time on the mound. He also made a Gold Glove worthy play to get Travis Hafner out at first. Rogers lasted seven innings and turned in his first quality start since he got the nod in Pittsburgh.

The Indians pitching in this game, unlike the first, was excellent. Paul Byrd only gave up one earned run and left with the lead.

Then came the ninth inning. Down 3-2 the Tigers got their leadoff man on with a bunt. A strikeout by Granderson brought the clutch Polonco to the plate. He, however, grounded into what looked to be a double play. Hustle lead Polonco to be safe at first and brought up the future Hall of Famer. Pudge saw one pitch and sent it out of the stadium to win the game on the Tiger's final out.

Game 3 - Tigers win 1-0

Unlike the past two games this game did not come down to a final at bat, but it is noteworthy as this was the game where Justin Verlander was taking the day off. His replacement, Ledezma, pitched 5 and 2/3 solid innings and gave it up to the bullpen who finished the game.

With our best, arguably, pitcher out this would have been an easy game to give up. Especially to an angry and frustrated Cleveland offense. But we played solid defense and won the game and swept the series while gaining ground on the White Sox in the division.

All in all, an average or decent team would have lost all of these games and would have been lucky to take one. But the Tigers rose up and showed that they are still the best team in baseball this season. If we continue playing like this for the rest of the year, no one will stop us.

Lion's Training Camp Report

With the preseason, and regular season, looming, the Lions have been hard at work to erase memories of past seasons and correct their flaws. Though their training camp has been closed so far, a couple of Lions players gave insights on working with the new coaching staff in an interview with DSR. To those who weren't fortunate enough to catch the segments, I'll recap what was said and what to make of it.

The longest interview was with new quarterback Jon Kitna. Jon said that he chose to play the Lions because he wanted to play for Marinelli and Martz. He also admitted to studying Martz's Rams on film while on the Bengals. He seemed very excited about playing for Martz, saying that in Cincinatti he always wished he had Mad Mike's playbook. Kitna went on to praise the talent on the Lion's roster and talked a little about the Lion's playoff hopes.

If you are a Lions fan, this interview was exactly what we needed to hear. Kitna is excited to be in Detroit, playing under Marinelli and Martz, and is confident in the team. He even called practicing in 100 degrees plus weather as "great." Jon is a better quarterback then he gets credit for, and he has had four 3000+ yards passing seasons, an upgrade over Joey's usual 2000-2500.

A brief segment was done with backup quarterback Josh McCown. McCown said all the right things, that he believed in Jon and had his back if he needed him. He also said that Kitna got the starting nod due to his years in the league and he expected that.

If you've read past articles by me on the Lions, you know I have a high opinion of Mr. McCown. He isn't going to be the starter on opening weekend, unless an injury to Jon Kitna occurs, but he does have talent. It was clear as day that he was disappointed in not being chosen, but it is good to see he accepts his role on the team.

The next piece was the most interesting for me. Charles Rogers was expected to be a great wide receiver for the Lions, and he hasn't performed as expected. It seems Marinelli is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, however, as he has already named Rogers the starter alongside Roy Williams.

Besides clearing up one of the biggest, possible, training camp position battles for the Lions, Marinelli is helping his cause with the Lions by catering to Charles. Rogers has more talent then any other possibility at the second starter position. He also seems to be working hard in practice and is earning the trust of the coaching staff. He did have attitude problems last season, but Mike Williams makes him look like a saint (not of the New Orlean's variety of course.) It should be made clear that this is his last chance, he can either succeed or go to another team.

Finally, Kenoy Kennedy offered his insight on the team. He went off to compare Mike Shanahan to Rod Marinelli and said that both were very similar. He also said that he came to the Lions to help improve the team, and he expected them to be "more normal" this season.

Kennedy is a good player who had a nice season last year. He should improve under a better coach. When talking about past coaches, he never mentioned Mooch once. It must have been really bad last season in the locker room.

There is an open practice on Saturday for anyone who is interested. Starts at 6:15 at Ford and is the first one of the season.

What's Wrong With Rodney?

In today's victory against the Devil Rays, Fernando Rodney was called upon in the 8th inning to hold the Devil Ray offense with a 3 run lead. Within minutes, he had walked the leadoff batter with four straight balls. After a short mound visit, Rodney got the next two batters out before allowing a double to put two men in scoring position. Then, with the game on the line, he missed a pitch and allowed Navarro to hit a ball to the warning track. A couple feet further and the game would have been tied, wasting a late-inning rally.

Bottom-line Rodney got the job done and the Tigers won, as mentioned before. But he never looked confident and struggled throughout his one inning, causing Leyland to consider using Joel Zumaya (who had just pitched a good deal the night before.) So what's wrong with Rodney?

At the beginning of the season, Todd Jones was injured and Fernando Rodney, who had a good 2005-2006 season, was given a chance to close out games. He excelled in this role and finished April with 4 saves and a 0.00 ERA, giving up only four hits and four walks in ten stellar innings. Jim Leyland was quoted as saying that if there was one player on the roster who deserved an All-Star berth after the first month, it was Rodney (a high compliment considering the start Chris Shelton and other Tigers had.)


Since April, however, Rodney's play has slowly gotten worse as the season has moved on. His May ERA was a still-good 2.08. June and July were different stories, though, as Rodney had ERAs of 5.17 and 9.45 respectively. Note that the numbers for July are inflated as Rodney only got 6.2 innings of time, but in July he got a season-high 15.2.

So what happened? It looks like his confidence in himself, along with Leyland's. has dissipated in a hurry. This may be due to his decreasing role with the team. Since April, he has gone from the closer to the primary setup man to the secondary setup man. As mentioned before, his innings has decreased as well since June despite no injuries.

The problem could also be that more and more teams know what he is going to do. Someone like Zumaya can pitch night after night and rack up strikeouts with a 100 mph fastball, but Rodney relies on deception and batters swinging at his pitches out of the zone. The only problem is that no one is swinging nowadays and he is getting behind in counts.

Another fault he has is that he pays too much attention to runners on base. He seems very worried about a stolen base and constantly diverts his mind to the runner on first instead of the one batting. This, again, results in Rodney falling behind counts.

To give you an idea of how Rodney panics, take a look at his numbers. With the bases empty his ERA is just over 2, which is ideal for a bullpen pitcher. With runners on, however, this ERA jumps to almost 5.5. It gets even worse with runners in scoring position, as he gives up an average of 8 earned runs! Ironically, his ERA in bases loaded situations, when no one can steal anything but home, is 0.00.

My advice to Rodney is that he needs to calm down, throw more first pitch strikes, and forget about the runners who are on. If someone tries to steal a bag, Pudge or Vance will deal with them. Rodney has all the talent and ability in the world to be a great bullpen pitcher, he just needs to believe in himself and get the job done on a more consistent basis.

Tigers Show Off Talent

Its not everyday that I blog about a Tiger's game, but this one deserves it. Coming off of two losses where they had committed 8 combined errors, the Tigers needed a win badly. The Devil Rays are not the best team in the majors, and with Verlander on the mound the "W" seemed likely. Especially since Scott Kazmir dropped out of the game and went to the DL a few days before the series began.

True to his reputation, Verlander did win the game. He only pitched, however, five innings and never got a 1-2-3. He gave up 2 runs in the 1st inning on three consecutive hits and looked like he might have had to leave the game early. But he stuck it out, made the pitches that counted and ended up giving up only 3 runs and lasting long enough for his 14th win. The 14th win is the most in the majors right now, and on any other day this would have been the biggest story to take from the game.

This wasn't just any other day, though as Carlos Guillen turned in his best game of the season. After getting a triple in the 2nd and a home-run in the third, Guillen already had a good performance by the numbers. But a single in his 4th AB brought the chances of a cycle close. In his last chance at the plate, Guillen was able to take a 2-strike pitch into the outfield. His hit looked like it would only be a single, but hustle and determination took Guillen to 2nd, where he barely beat out a throw. And just like that, Carlos hit for the first Tiger's cycle since 2001.

But that's not all. On Monday the Tigers traded for Sean Casey, and today was his big debut. Casey walked up to the plate for his first at-bat with a runner on third and less than two outs. Remember I wrote his BA in this situation as 0.692? Well Casey did not disappoint, as he hit a single for his first Tigers hit and RBI. Casey would also belt a solo home-run in the 5th inning and made a nice defensive play in the 1st while diving for a groundball. Great debut for the "Mayor."

Finally, the young Brent Clevlen got his 2nd start in center field. Though he didn't get his third assist of the season, he did pick up three more hits pushing his major league BA to .625 (5/8). Two of these hits were solo home-runs. That's right, TWO home-runs. Who needs Alfonso Soriano anyways?

It may have been a game against a weak team with bad pitching, but this win should get the Tigers back on track. They had fun and played hard. Now lets go take the next two and the series!

Scouting the Central: Chicago Bulls

For obvious reasons, the Chicago Bulls are a team Piston fans will keep a close eye on this season. The Bulls are coming off an emotional, intensity-filled first round loss to the Miami Heat that they eventually lost in 6 games. One can argue that no team in the playoffs played the World Champion Miami Heat tougher than the gritty Bulls.

The Bulls used this off-season to upgrade their roster, adding tough, hard-working veterans and a pair of first round picks.

Starting with their veteran pick-ups, the Bulls signed 3 defensive-minded front-court players in Ben Wallace, PJ Brown, and Adrian Griffin. These three vets are similar in the sense that they all made names for themselves in the NBA with hard work, intensity, and aggressiveness.

Obviously, the centerpiece of their additions is Ben Wallace, who signed a 4 year 60 million dollar contract with Chicago. While Wallace’s days of snatching 15 rebounds and 3 blocks every night are likely done, Chicago does get a great defender, an intimidating paint presence, and a leader by example.

PJ Brown came to Chicago in exchange for Tyson Chandler. This move was likely done for salary cap flexibility, as New Orleans eats Chandler’s 60 million dollar contract; however, Brown is also a heady veteran who will provide leadership to Chicago’s youthful roster. Brown will likely play the role Antonio Davis did for Chicago a few seasons back.

Adrian Griffin signed with Chicago after playing last season with Dallas. Griffin is a great on-ball defender, and similar to Wallace and Brown, Griffin is tough and aggressive.

All three players fit the persona of fiery head-coach Scott Skiles. The veteran frontcourt trio will certainly help the “Baby Bulls” grow up.

The Bulls also drafted Tyrus Thomas (2nd overall) and Thabo Sefolosha (13th overall) in this year’s draft. In College, Thomas largely got by with his world class athleticism, as he was able to dunk, rebound, and block shots with ease. Thomas was widely considered to be the most talented player in the draft, but his game is still very raw. Sefololsha is a 6’7’’ SG who played last season in the Italian league. SG is Sefolosha’s primary position, but he is very versatile and has the ability to play multiple positions.

Chicago also has an abundance of young, contributing players in Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and Andreas Nocioni. Similar to Detroit’s core, each one of them can go off for 20 points on any given night. Hinrich and Nocioni are likely the leaders of this group, and are coming off great playoff series’ against Miami. Both are high-intensity players that leave everything on the floor. Deng is more of an athletic slasher who seems to be ready for a larger role. And Ben Gordon is a modern-day Microwave—he has the ability to come off the bench, heat-up, and score in bunches.

In David Stern’s new superstar-favored NBA, Chicago lacks a true #1 scoring option which may hinder them, but they certainly have a plethora of players who will average double digits this year. One thing’s for sure—Ben Wallace certainly thinks the Bulls will be contenders.

Dominated!

Dom is back! And I don't mean the meathead from Entourage that no one liked. Dominic Hasek, best know for his six Vezina trophies, signed a one year deal to play goalie for the Red Wings. This is the third time Hasek has signed with Detroit in his career.

With so many Hockeytown stars retiring or switching teams, the face of the Red Wings has changed drastically since the 2005-06 season ended. In order to comply with the new salary cap rules, the Wings have turned their focus to signing cheap and young players who can provide physical play and energy to their bench. Hasek, however, provides fans with a familiar face to root for.

Remember his last stint here? After a brief retirement, Hasek came back to ease the Wing's goalie woes, but fell short due to injuries. But even with the terrible season he had, Red Wings fans still had a reason to cheer for him. Feeling bad about his injury problems, Dom returned half of his salary for the year, stating that he couldn't accept money while injured and not playing. And don't forget, he helped us win a Cup just a few years before that. How can you not cheer for him?

Last season, Hasek was with the Ottawa Senators and was sensational before he got injured. His 2.09 GAA, 5 shutouts and 28 wins made him an early candidate for a seventh Vezina trophy. After his injury at the Olympics, however, he missed the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. Not surprisingly, the Senators finished short of a title run without a reliable goaltender.

Now back with the Wings, Hasek figures to play less regular season games in an effort to keep his body fresh and healthy for the playoffs. He may not be able to start as many games as the Hasek of old, but the skill is still there. He is a confident, talented and experienced goalie that Red Wings fans should know and love. But most of all, he gives the fans something to be excited about once again.

Welcome back Dominator!

Tigers Make A Deal After All

With the stellar play of Dmitri Young following a long hiatus, and the high asking prices of other teams, it seemed unlikely that the Detroit Tigers would undergo any major changes during the trade deadline. Just when it seemed like Dombrowski was happy enough with the team he had, however, he decided to go out and get another batter just in case.

The player the Tigers acquired, as I am sure you already know, is Sean Casey. Casey has been in this league since 1997 and has always known how to handle a bat. His career batting average is .304, and he was batting .296 this season with the Pirates. Most importantly, he bats from the left side. He is also a pretty good defender, with a career 0.995 fielding percentage (about the same as current first basemen, Chris Shelton.) Sean also bats a hefty .330 with runners on base, and .306 with runners in scoring position. While he has hit less home runs and batted in less runs then Shelton, his production should increase by joining a better offense.

To get Casey, the Tigers only had to agree to take on a semi-big contract at 8.5 million dollars and give up one minor league pitcher. The pitcher, Brian Rogers, was no huge loss. Without going too far into specific statistics and abilities, lets just say that Roberts was not a Humberto Sanchez or Jair Jurrgens type of prospect.

With all that in mind, this deal seems like a bang-bang deal. We get a good left-handed bat for nothing. But not so fast. With Casey on the major league roster, Tigers first basemen Chris Shelton was sent to the minors. A fan favorite, Big Red, or Orange Crush for some, was the face of the Tigers through the first month of the season. Since his nine home-runs in April, however, he has slowed down considerably. Simply put, Shelton did not get the job done with his bat more times than not. Recall that in the last blog post, NG posted about how he preferred a pinch hitter in his situation despite the fact that Chris did come up with a RBI. His concern was well justified, as Shelton has a poor batting average of .239 with runners in scoring position this season. His BA with any runners on in general is around .250 as well. Only when there is no one on, does he near the .300 mark Casey is always around.


So, though it is sad to see Shelton go, it may prove to be the right move. As mentioned before, Casey has a reliable bat. A final statistic to look at is batting average with a man on third with less than 2 outs. In any situation, this should end up being a run. Sean Casey is batting an unbelievable .692 in this situation, much better than Shelton's .353.

This move should pay dividends for the Tigers lineup and offense, though it may be unpopular with fans right now.

On a side note, the Tiger's bench has improved considerably over the course of the season. Vance Wilson is a good backup catcher, though it would be nice to see Pudge return soon. Brent Clevlen had an excellent showing yesterday in Minnesota with two hits and a runner gunned down at home. And whether it be Craig Monroe, Dmitri Young, Marcus Thames, or now Sean Casey with the day off, we will have a lethal pinch hitter to bring into late game situations. Omar Infante is a decent pinch runner, but I would love to see Nook Logan return to the major league roster at some point. Logan has the ability to steal bases at will (though he can't do much else). For now, Infante is a good defender and substitute in the infield.

Where's the Coaching?

On Sunday afternoon, the Detroit Tigers were staring at a sweep of the hottest team in baseball, with the best home record in the league, the Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Bonderman was pitching a one-hitter through 7 stellar innings. A 3 run advantage on 11 hits seemed dissapointing, but sufficient. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, a throwing error by Guillen put Morneau on 2nd, and a fielding error by shelton scored Morneau and put Kubel on 2nd with no outs.

Jim Leyland then came to the mound to keep Bondo from getting rattled. It seemed like something just wasnt clicking for the Tigers this inning, because the next batter, Redmond, doubled to deep left, scoring another run to cut the lead to 1. With Jason Grille and Jamie Walker ready in the bullpen, and Bonderman throwing 100 pitches already. It seemed like it was the best time to replace him, but Leylend chose to stay with him. 2 singles later, Bondo loaded the bases. Clearly he is done pitching today. But once again, Leyland chooses to stay with him and once again, pays a price. Bonderman baulked while trying to tell catched Vance Wilson to reshuffle the signals while engaged with the rubber. This brought a runner in and tied the game at 3. Bondo is completely rattled, and he definatly is not thinking straight.

Time to hit the Pen? I dont think so, says Leyland, as Bondermans pitch count nears 110. The next batter Luis Castillo grounds out to short but scores the runner from 3rd and the Twins take their first lead of the series. After a Flyout and an intentional walk, it seemed only fitting to bring in righty Jason Grille to get the last out of the inning with Michael Cuddyer at bat. Wrong again.

With Bondermans pitch count at 114, Leyland leaves him in yet again. Would it pay off this time? Not even close. Cuddyer tripled into right scoring 2. With the game out of hand, Leyland salvages the game and finally replaces Bonderman with Jamie Walker who strikes out his first batter, Morneau, to end the inning.

Going into the bottom of the 9th, the Tigers looked to overcome the 3 run deficit they now faced whil 2 innings earlier they were at a 2 run advantage. After a lead off double by Magglio Ordonez, and Guillen ahead in the count 3-1. the Tigers were showing signs of life. But Guillen would eventually strike out, as would Brandon Inge. With one out left, the hopes of the game lie on the bat of.. Chris Shelton?

There are about 3 guys on the bench that I would rather see at bat in this situation than Chris Shelton. Pudge for one. As long as his thumb wasnt too sore to hold a bat, I was baffled why he didnt pinch hit. Luckily Shelton singled into right, scoring Ordonez. Now desperate to get a runner in scoring position, the normal thing to do would be pinch run a quicker Alexis Gomez for Shelton, and possibly try and steal 2nd. Instead we let the slow legs of Shelton lead the baserunning. As far as I am concerned, pinch running for Shelton in the 9th inning is a no brainer no matter the score.

Vance Wilson was in charge of bring Shelton home. Some pre atbat coaching could have included the advice of waitng for a good pitch. But apparently he got none of that as he swung at the first thing he saw and grounded out to 3rd to end the game. I was in complete dismay at our coaching staff and baffled by managing.

On the bright side, it's the first time this season and hopefully it doesn't happen again.

Trade Deadline Coming Up!

The trade deadline is close, and if the Tigers want to get a deal done the time is now. They are still in the mix for a lot of big names, including Soriano and Miguel Tejada, who is not a player we are likely to land. ESPN reported that the Tigers made a big push to get Carlos Lee, who ended up with the Rangers, as well.

In addition, the Tigers moved up outfielder Brent Clevlen. As there is no rushing need for a backup outfielder, his call up, as well as his upcoming start in center tomorrow afternoon, looks to be a ploy to show other teams what he can do. If we do make a deal, there is a good chance he will be part of the deal.

One thing is for sure, to get any big name we are going to have to give up good prospects and maybe even a player from our starting lineup. Because of that the Tigers have to make sure that they can lock up whoever they get long-term.

The good news for the Tigers is that it doesn't look like we need to add any pop to the lineup these days. Not only has Brandon Inge and Craig Monroe lifted their offensive games, but Dmitri Young's has had a terrific return. Through his first 7 games of the return, he has already become the force Tigers fans are used to with a batting average over .300, 3 HRs and 7 RBIs.

But even with DY's surge, it is apparent that Dombrowski is still looking into trades. Anything could happen. As always, we'll keep you updated if any breaking news happens.

Series Preview: Tigers vs. Twins

Going into the first few weeks after the All-Star break, it seemed unlikely that any series the Tigers played would be more important than the three games against the White Sox. The recent fall of the White Sox has led to another team surging in the AL Central.

The Twins, along with the aforementioned White Sox, are now 8.5 games back. While the lead may seem comfortable, the truth is that it is anything but. Much in the same way it would be a mistake to judge another car's distance from a side mirror, the Twins are "closer than they appear."

With a crucial three-game series coming up against the Minnesota Twins, the Detroit Tigers must once again prove themselves. Minnesota is not a team that the Tigers should be sweating about just yet, but three straight losses could easily change that.

Starting Pitching

Minnesota

The Twins will trot out Fransisco Liriano, Brad Radke, and Johan Santana as their starting pitchers. Liriano is the rookie wonder whose ERA has been under 2.00 all season. Radke has been pitching great since the All-Star break, cutting his ERA in half and going 2-0. Santana is the perennial Cy Young candidate who is always going to be a problem.

In short, runs are going to be hard to get this weekend. The Twins are not the same team that the Tigers swept in dominant fashion in April (remember we outscored them 33-1 in the 3 games.) All the Tiger's batters need to be more patient, because swinging at everything Liriano and Santana throws is going to result in A LOT of strikeouts. The more pitches we can get the starters to throw early, the better chance we have of facing one of the Twin's relievers who is giving up runs left and right.

Detroit

As for the pitchers the Tigers will bring out to the mound. Zach Miner has something to prove after back-to-back terrible outings against Kansas City and Oakland. If he gives up five runs early again, the Tigers have little chance to win.

After Miner is Nate Roberson. Nate is also in a slump despite winning his last game. He has given up an average of 4.5 runs a game in the last four and his ERA since the All-Star break has been around 6.50 runs. He HAS to pitch better.

Finally Bonderman will come out on the final day and try to beat Santana. Bonderman hasn't lost a decision since May 29th, but he will have to have his best stuff to out-duel Johan.

Pitching Edge - Minnesota. Besides Bonderman, all of the guys the Tigers send out have not had good starts after the All-Star break. It is a shame that Verlander isn't available for any of these games.

Batting

Minnesota

You can't win 34 out of 42 games with just good pitching. The Twins have good hitters including Joe Mauer, the young catcher who is tops in the AL at .375. Mauer is always a threat to get on base and will be a struggle for Tiger's pitching every time he comes to the plate.

Justin Morneau is the other big bat to watch out for. His batting average since the All-Star break has been even better than Mauer's, hitting .382. In addition, he has hit 17 HRs in the last two months, nearly doubling his efforts from April and May. Morneau is a young player who is just getting better with time, so watch out for him.

Other than Morneau, the Twins do not have much power. Torii Hunter is hurt and will not play, leaving Michael Cuddyer as the only other Twins player with more than 10 HRs.

What this means is that the Tigers should have an easy time keeping the Twins in striking distance in most games, but that all depends on the pitching.

Detroit

The Tigers have an excellent batting lineup. Any one of their batters can bat in runs and hit dingers. It would be nice to see Pudge set a tone for the series early, however, as his play often depicts the attitude of the team. If he starts getting big hits and making plays, the game's outcome bodes well for the Tigers.

Another player to keep an eye on is Curtis Granderson. With the good pitching the Twins has, it becomes even more important that the leadoff man gets on base as much as possible. Whether it be by walks or hits, Granderson has to find a way.

Finally, Dmitri Young could be the secret weapon the Tigers need to knock the Twin's pitchers out of the game. DY has been very hot as of late, knocking in 2 HRs while hitting over .400 since his return.

Batting Edge - Detroit. The Twins have two of the hottest hitters in baseball on their roster, but don't have enough power in their lineup to take full advantage of the Tiger's mistakes. Simply put, Detroit does.


Bullpens

Minnesota

All the hype around the three starters doesn't even begin to include the Twin's bullpen, which includes Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon, and Dennys Reyes (all of whom also boast sub-2.00 ERAs.) Outside of those three guys, however, the Twins also have a couple bullpen pitchers who are struggling a lot.

If the Twins are forced to play some of their smaller names out of the bullpen, their mistakes will be exposed.

Detroit

The Tigers can bring out Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney on most nights and shut down the opposition. Zumaya, just recently getting in the national spotlight, has been superb as of late and is really maturing. As a result he is getting more relief time. Rodney, however, has been struggling since the All-Star break. He has good pitches, but he just can't seem to get anyone out.

Todd Jones has been steady since the break, giving up no runs and saving four games. He still gives up too many fly-ball outs and hits for my taste, but if he is getting the job done there is no problem. I do count on him saving most of the games he enters at this point.

Besides those three, Jamie Walker has the lowest ERA on the team. He has also seen more time since the All-Star break and will probably get into a game in this series. Hopefully no other bullpen pitcher does.

Bullpen Edge - Even. Both teams have good pitchers at the top and mediocre ones at the bottom.

Overall this series should be close and heated throughout the weekend. I predict the Tigers take 2 out of 3 and extend their division lead to 9.5. They haven't lost a series since the All-Star break and I don't expect them to start now.

Scouting the Central: Indiana Pacers

Off-season moves shake up Pacers roster

Through additions and losses this off-season, the Pacers roster has taken on a new look. Midway through last season, the Pacers traded talented, but quick-tempered forward Ron Artest to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic. It seemed like a pretty good move simply because Artest was suspended indefinitely, and there wasn’t much more the Pacers could have got for him. The trade would also free up time for talented rookie Danny Granger, who somehow slipped to 17 in the NBA draft. However, at the start of free agency, Peja landed a monster contract with the New Orleans Hornets and quickly abandoned ship. So, in essence, all Indiana got for Ron Artest was more playing time for Danny Granger.

Indiana also made a pair of trades this off-season, both with the Dallas Mavericks. One of which was a good deal, the other was a wash. Starting with the good, Indiana traded Austin Croshere to Dallas for Marquis Daniels. Daniels for Croshere was a great deal for many reasons. For starters, Daniels is much younger than Croshere and has the ability to play multiple positions. Daniels is athletic and versatile, while Croshere has been relegated to more of a stand-still shooter at this point in his career.

The other deal was trading solid back-up PG Anthony Johnson to Dallas for Rawle Marshall, Josh Powell, and Darrell Armstrong. While the trade may look good because the Pacers were able to land 3-for-1 in this deal, I fail to see the point. Marshall and Powell will most likely be end-of-the-bench players in Indiana. That leaves Darrell Armstrong as the centerpiece of the deal for Indiana. Johnson is coming off his most productive season, and is more valuable than Armstrong any way you look at it. While Armstrong was seldom used in Dallas last season, he does bring veteran leadership, a trait the Pacers lacked after Reggie Miller retired.

The Pacers also got a pair of talented rookies in high-flyers James White and Shawne Williams. Williams is a project, so don’t look for him to have any impact this season; and White will probably only play limited time, possibly taking up some of the minutes for Freddie Jones.

It also seems very likely that Al Harrington will once again sport a Pacer uni. If Indiana is able to land Harrington, he will have a huge impact on the team, as I see Harrington ready to break out into an everyday 18-20ppg, 8-10 rebound type player.

Look for Danny Granger to have more of an impact this season. Granger and Daniels give Indiana a pair of talented young players to go along with established veteran Stephen Jackson and All-Star Jermaine O’neal.

This season, Indiana has suffered some key losses (Jones, Stojakovic, Croshere) but made a key addition in Daniels (and Al Harrington?) We’ll have to wait and see how these moves translate to the court for Indiana.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 6

With all the major faces of the organization covered, it is time to talk about a few loose ends that may end up providing the Lion's players with an X-Factor. Namely, the special teams, the big players at least, and the brand new coaching staff.

Kicker - Not much to say here. Kickers are the most expendable part of any team, but no team can hope to succeed without a semi-reliable one. Jason Hanson, along with Corey Schlesinger, has been one of the team's few productive players throughout the terrible years. He should be money from most spots on the field and provide the Lions with a good threat for field goals.

Punter - Like kickers, punters are easy to find and replace. Nick Harris, however, is an above-average punter. Last season he was tops in the NFL in punts that landed inside the 20 yard line, inside the 10 yard line, and inside the 5 yard line. He also only punted two touchbacks. Harris is a great weapon to have in games where field position determines the winner. He should give the defense an advantage in this area most of the time.

Hanson and Harris are the only kickers/punters on the Lion's roster so it goes without saying that they have to stay healthy for this position to provide a reliable "X-Factor."

Kick Return - Eddie Drummond is a speedy, smart return man. Remember a few years back when his two touchdowns almost single-handedly beat the Jaguars? He has a great chance to make an impact but it also depends on the blocking he gets. Silly penalties and missed assignments will make his job very hard.

It is hard to expect touchdowns from any return man, but I do think Drummond will get into the endzone once or twice this upcoming season. He is just too good not to.

Coaches - So another couple of bad seasons, another coach. Same old story right?

Except this time I think Millen really found his guy. Rod Marinelli is the tough, defensive-minded coach the Lions needed all along. He will push his players to play and work harder than they have ever before, and the effects should show on the field. He also was the mastermind behind Tampa Bay's defensive line for the last few seasons, leaving me hopeful that he can transform a talented, underperforming group into one of the most feared forces in the NFL.

Marinelli also got Millen to hire Mike Martz. Martz is an offensive genius who won a superbowl as a coordinator for the Rams. Now, back to his same old position after a lackluster career as head coach, Martz should get the Lions talented first round picks to start working better. The Lions might not become the greatest show on turf, but they will score points on a regular basis.

Finally Donnie Henderson was brought in from the Jets. Donnie is a good defensive coordinator and should pick off where he left from the Jets. The Jet's defense was always well prepared and talented, so this seems like a good hire.

Well that is the full roster analysis. Hope you enjoyed it and check back here frequently for more Lions and other Detroit team features.

Detroit Tigers Organization: Recent Roster Moves

Detroit Tigers Organization: Recent Roster Moves



Throughout the past week or two, the Tigers organization as a whole has made several significant roster moves. While none of these moves actually involved trading for a left-handed batter, they are still important, nonetheless.

Promoted:



Let’s start with the most notable move – Dmitri Young was called up from Toledo to Detroit. Young was 14-31 at the plate batting .452, so a promotion almost seemed to be inevitable (especially if the Tigers wanted to be able to use him in the playoffs). As of July 25th, Dmitri has played 5 games since being called up, and he is really starting to materialize again as a major league power presence (in the first two games of the Cleveland series, he hit 5-8 with 2 HRs). Hopefully Dmitri has put his problems behind him and his dominant hitting will be here to stay.

John Ennis of Erie was sent up to Toledo. Ennis was 2-3 with Erie, while also securing 13 saves.

Preston Larrison of Erie was sent up to Toledo. Preston was 4-9 with Erie. Simply put, don’t expect too much out of him in Toledo.

P.J. Finigan was sent up to Erie. Finigan was 9-2 with Lakeland, and in 2 innings with Erie gave up 2 runs. Not bad for a first attempt in AA. He is certainly a player to keep an eye on.



Loren Fraser of West Michigan was sent up to Lakeland. My assumption is that this was to make room for Fragoso at West Michigan.

Jose Fragoso of Oneonta was sent up to West Michigan. Jose appeared in 10 games for Oneonta as a reliever and finished with a record of 3-0.

Demoted:

Chris Maples was assigned from Toledo to Erie. This move took place in order to make a spot for Ramon Santiago on the Mudhens (who was sent down to make room for Dmitri at Detroit).

Juan Francia was assigned from Erie to Lakeland. Juan played with Lakeland last season, but his assignment back there was long overdue in the eyes of many fans.

Other Notable Events:

Toledo’s Steve Green is nowhere to be found. According to The Toledo Blade, he just left the clubhouse in the middle of the game. No one really knows if he is suspended or what the situation is, but management is not commenting.

Wrapping Up:



Needless to say, some of these roster moves were made solely to fill spots from other roster moves. Not all promotions are merit-based, but they are necessary. There are other players who I feel deserve promotions in the meantime, including (but not limited to): Cameron Maybin (this kid is amazing and could move up to Lakeland to work on hitting some new pitches), Mike Hollimon (a much superior infielder to Brent Dlugach who currently plays SS in Lakeland), and perhaps even Kyle Sleeth, who is playing on the GCL squad right now trying to come back from TJ surgery.

As for that left-handed batter the Tigers have been so zealously seeking – who needs another team’s rental when you have your own? Welcome back Dmitri.

Scouting the Central: Milwaukee Bucks

Trade should improve the Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks made news this off-season trading starting point-guard TJ Ford and cash considerations to Toronto for Charlie Villanueva. What kind of effect will this shake-up have on the Bucks roster?

Trading for Villanueva, in my opinion, was a brilliant move for Milwaukee. There are a number of factors which lead me to feel this way. For starters, while TJ Ford is the truest form of a pure point guard the league has today, he has been injury plagued his entire career. Mo Williams was one of the league’s best back-up point guards last year, and is more than capable of being a solid starter. In addition, although Charlie Bell is more of a shooting guard, he will get some time at PG due to Michael Redd logging in most of the minutes at SG.

As for Villanueva, he brings an inside-outside game that should compliment Andrew Bogut very well. This gives Milwaukee a nice, young pair of front-court players. Both Villanueva and Bogut should be able to avoid a sophomore slump because big man Jamaal Maglorie will demand a lot of attention, and provide most of the dirty work. However, there is also a possibility that Maglorie may be moved, which would leave more time for Bogut, Villanueva, and Dan Gadzuric - an athletic, high-energy player, who is good in certain change of pace situations (although for what he’s paid, he should have a much bigger role).

Former #1 pick Joe Smith is a very steady and reliable veteran who should provide some depth up front.

Bobby Simmons is also an integral part of the Bucks roster. Signed as a free-agent last season, Simmons is a threat to score over 20 on any given night. He, along with Michael Redd formed a potent 1-2 scoring tandem last season.

Similar to Cleveland, the Bucks have built a nice core. Williams, Redd, Simmons, Bogut, and Villanueva will be the foundation of a young, athletic, high-scoring team.

Through free-agent acquisitions and trades, Milwaukee will definitely make a splash in the Central division this season.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 5

With a couple of players retiring and/or leaving, the Lion's front seven will feature some new faces. With the right direction and coaching, however, these talented young players should fill in nicely.

Defensive Line - Shaun Rogers is the man on the defensive line and that should come as no surprise to any Lions fan. He is the anchor to our defense and an injury to him would prove devastating. Rogers has no real history of missing games due to injury, however, and this should not be a big concern for Lion's fans.

With Dan Wilkenson moving on, the other defensive tackle position is a little bit of a mystery. All signs point to Shaun Cody, who played limited time last season, getting the nod. Cody is a good, young prospect who should thrive in the NFL given some experience. He will definitely benefit from lining up next to Rogers game after game.

There isn't too much depth at the defensive tackle position, so the Shauns have to make it work.

James Hall, Corey Redding, and Kalimba Edwards round out the solid group of defensive ends who will finish up the defensive line. James Hall is the best of the bunch and the only one who has a starting job lined up. The other end position really could go either way, depending on who Marinelli likes.

Overall the defensive line will probably have some problems at the beginning of the season, but given some time they should start to click and work well together.

Linebackers - With Boss Bailey, Ernie Sims, and Teddy Lehman the Lions feature three young, quick, and hard-hitting linebackers that should cause opposing players to quiver in fear.

Bailey is a good player who has shown flashes of talent, only to be constantly hurt by frequent injury problems. Following a 90 tackle rookie season in 2003, Bailey missed the entire 2004 season and ended last season on the IR again. If he stays healthy, he should have no problem racking up tackles.

With the chances against Bailey playing 16 games, however, the Lions also have other talented linebackers on the team. James "Dirty" Davis should play a nice role off the bench, as should Alex Lewis.

Teddy Lehman is another linebacker who struggled with injury problems last season. In 2004 he had a great rookie season with over a 100 tackles and a couple of forced turnovers. But he only got into five games last season. If he, like Bailey, stays healthy, he will have no problem sending receivers and backs to the ground.

Ernie Sims is the rookie who was selected 10th overall in this year's draft. He has all the talent in the world but scared many suitors away with, guess, his injury problems in college. Hopefully he stays healthy, because his reputation as a bone-crusher has really gotten me excited.

Even more than the defensive backs, the linebackers simply need to stay healthy and on the field. The talent is there, but it is useless when watching the game off the bench.

Tomorrow we will wrap the roster analysis up with a look at special teams and coaching.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 4

Before we start this part of the Lion's roster analysis, which will focus on defensive backs, I wanted to make a correction to a previous post. Before I said Corey Schlesinger had no backup, but after reading recent articles it seems Mike Martz is looking into using Shaun Bryson as a fulltime fullback.

With that said, lets continue our roster analysis with a look at the talented safeties and cornerbacks on the team.

Strong Safety - Kenoy Kennedy is a solid starter here and was one of Millen's better acquisitions last season. He is a hard hitter who loves contact and he ended the season with 75 tackles. He has also proved to be a very durable defensive back, which is very important to a team whose DB corp is annually ravaged by injuries.

Expect Kenoy to have another solid year and end up with 100 or so tackles and a couple of forced turnovers.

Behind Kennedy is Jon McGraw who, no offense to him, we hopefully never have to use.

Free Safety - This position is a bit more interesting, as it looks to be one of the major position battles going into August. While depth charts have Terrence Holt as the starter for now, Daniel Bullocks, our 2nd round pick out of Nebraska, is clearly the future. A good preseason could easily vault him to starting status.

Bullocks has great talent, with both the speed to cover a receiver and the power to lay one out. He would compliment Kennedy much better than Holt would.

But for now it doesn't look like Daniel will get the job handed to him. Watch these two players closely during preseason.

Behind Bullocks and Holt is another free safety, Vernon Fox, who can contribute off the bench.

Cornerbacks - If both Dre' Bly and Fernando Bryant can stay healthy, along with the two safeties, than the Lions will have one of the best defensive back corps in the league. Bly is a playmaker who will make interceptions and big plays season after season. He has been nothing but consistant in the time he has had with the Lions.

The problem is that both Bly and Bryant had injury problems last season. Bly had a wrist injury and missed four games. He also played five more with a cast on which prevented him from making some interceptions he normally would have had. Bryant had a broken collarbone and only played two games. If both cornerbacks can stay off the injured list, the Lions have nothing to worry about at this position.

Behind Bly and Bryant are Stanley Wilson and Keith Smith. Neither has too much experience but Smith may be ready to contribute when needed.

If all goes well, the Lions should look to their four starting defensive backs and see a strength. Injuries are a big concern, however.

The next part of the roster analysis will focus on the defensive line and linebackers. Look for it tomorrow!

Say No To Soriano

In recent weeks many sources have had the Tigers penned as one of many teams vying to add talent before the trade deadline. Most agreed that the team was looking for another bat to add to the lineup with Alfonso Soriano being the biggest name.

Should the Tigers really deal for Soriano? In my opinion, the answer is a clear and resounding "NO!" This is for a couple of different reasons.

1. The Nationals are quite simply asking for too much. Not only do they want our top pitching prospect in Humberto Sanchez, who by many reports has Verlander and Zumaya type stuff, they also want two more minor league players including another promising pitcher in Jair Jurrjens.

The truth is that despite the great pitching the Tigers have gotten so far this season, they are going to need starters in the future. Kenny Rogers is not young by any means and won't be along for too many years after this one, if any. In addition, Mike Maroth's injury this season has shown how much it can pay to have some young arms waiting in the farm. And you never know when a rookie with a blazing fastball will be able to mark his imprint onto a team the way Verlander and Zumaya has this season.

In other words, the more top pitching prospects a team has, the better.

One top pitching prospect for Soriano? Maybe. Two and a top position prospect? No way.

2. Soriano is a free agent at the end of the year and all signs point to him testing out the market. With the amount of talent he has, it would be foolish to think he could be easily resigned in the offseason. Giving up future talent for a couple of weeks of rental is only a good idea if the team is guaranteed a championship by making the move. I simply don't think Soriano would make that much of a difference.

3. Dmitri Young is back and has shown flashes that he can be the left-handed bat we need in the lineup. Best of all, we don't have to give up anything to get him (unless you count losing Ramon Santiago to the minor leagues.)

If Young continues to play like he has in his first two games back, 3/8 with 2 RBIs, there is absolutely no reason to go out and get Soriano.

Don't get me wrong, Alfonso Soriano is a very good player. He hits home runs at a rate that no one on the Tigers will come close to reaching. He steals bases whenever he feels like it. He would definitely add a big bat and threat to our lineup.

But the Tigers don't want to look back on this trade a couple years from now and realize that they gave up the next Joe Nathan/Fransisco Liriano combo for a two-three month rental. If they go out and get Soriano for the National's asking price, I will expect nothing less than a championship title in October.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 3

After the short outburst about Mike Williams, I needed a day to cool off before continuing this topic. Five seasons of being the worst team in the league can do that to a fan. Anyways, here is the next part of the roster analysis, looking at the fullback and offensive linesmen that will have a big role in blocking for Kevin Jones, Brian Calhoun, and everyone else.

Fullback - There really isn't much to say here. Corey Schlesinger has been a very good fullback in this league for quite some time, and one of few solid performers for the Lions over the course of the past few seasons. The only thing to watch for is injuries. In his first nine seasons with Detroit, Schlesinger only missed one total game. Impressive for someone playing a position as physically demanding as his is.

But in the last two seasons Corey has missed eight games for various injury problems. If he is out for a prolonged time this year, it will wreck havoc on the Lion's running game. There really isn't anyone else who can fill in for Corey and do the job he does, so lets hope he can play all sixteen games.

Offensive Line - Remember in 2001 when the Lions selected offensive linesmen back to back in the first two rounds? Those selections look to finally pay off as both Jeff Backus, who was recently resigned to a big six-year deal, and Dominic Raiola are penciled in as starters. Backus has been a mainstay in the Lion's offense since being drafted, playing all eighty games since 2001. He is very solid at the left tackle position.

Raiola has also been a part of the lineup for quite some time now, starting every game for the past four seasons.

Rick Demulling, another player drafted in 2001, will accompany Backus on the left side as a guard. He started five games for the Lions last season after playing his first four years with the Colts. His experience from blocking for Peyton Manning along with a full season with the Lions should translate well on the field.

Of course everyone knows about Damien Woody, a big part of the Patriots line during some of their championship runs. He definitely has the tools needed to be a good right guard for the Lions. Next to Woody is 2004 selection Kelly Butler, who started the entire season for the team last year.

The 2006-07 Detroit Lions offensive line has experience and talent. They should be able to give Kitna, or McCown, time to throw and open lanes for Kevin Jones. Good blocking reflects on coaching, however, and it will be up to Marinelli and crew to guarantee a good effort from the big men in front.

With so many weapons around them and a good offensive coordinator, I think this year's offensive line will have a great deal of success, as will the Lion's offense.

The next part of the analysis will be posted tomorrow and start to cover the other side of the field: defense.

We Deserve Better

Today I was supposed to continue an analysis of all the players on the Lion's 2006-07 roster, but after hearing a recent piece on a certain Lion's wide receiver I feel the need to comment on the situation.

In the 2005 draft, the Detroit Lions made history by choosing their third straight wide receiver. In the last article written about the Lions, I detailed some of the problems this draft choice, Mike Williams, had. Apparently, I was underestimating these troubles.

Mike Williams got fined around a reported $400,000 last season. He made $230,000 in his rookie season. So basically, he was playing for free.

All for being late to meetings and team practices in addition to never really being in shape. He is so overweight that some discussions have been had about changing his position to a tight end. In other words, not only did he not contribute anything on the field, apparently he didn't put an effort to either.

Great draft pick.

Now the former USC star is fighting for a job with the Lions. As our fourth or fifth receiver. He could realistically not be part of the Lion's roster when the season begins.

You know what? Good riddance. I really would prefer he no longer be a member of the Lions organization at this point. For years we have been losers because of this type of attitude. Who wants a player with no brains and no dedication to anything, not even his own personal welfare?

Forget bringing him into the preseason. Just cut him and get it over with. He can take his meaningless touchdown and one-handed catch with him.

Let some other team, if any will have him, deal with his bulky problems. We deserve better.

Scouting the Central: Cleveland Cavaliers

Draft picks, playoff-tested core should improve the Cavs

The Cavs improbable run in the playoffs against Detroit caught the NBA world off guard. Simply put, King James, and the Cavs grew up before our very eyes. Whether the Cavs were playing on extra emotion due to the death of Larry Hughes’ brother or not, Cleveland’s near-upset was no fluke.

With LeBron resigning this off-season, Cleveland seems to have all the pieces needed to contend in the Eastern Conference. A healthy and motivated Larry Hughes should become the 2nd scorer that Cleveland thought they were getting when they signed him last season. Anderson Varejao was on NBA scouts’ radar for years before he was drafted, so Cleveland got quite the steal when he fell to the 2nd round a few seasons ago. Varejao is a very-productive, high-energy player that every bench needs.

Cleveland’s also got great value in their two draft picks in Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson. Brown and James were in the same High School graduating class in 2003, with James and Brown being ranked 1st and 3rd overall respectively, so they are familiar with each other. In fact, Brown put on quite the show for Cleveland fans in the McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest a few years ago, so Cavs fans already have a taste of what Brown can bring to the table. With Flip Murray leaving via free-agency to Detroit, Brown should have adequate minutes as a rookie to leave an impression. Gibson is another player that Cleveland is pretty high on. Prior to the NBA draft, there were rumors circulating around that Cleveland gave Gibson a verbal commit.

Cleveland also has a nice mix of contributing veterans in Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Damon Jones.

While we'll have to wait until the season starts to see if Cleveland has turned the corner, their roster certainly suggests that they have the firepower and chemistry to do so.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 2

For three straight drafts, the Lions selected highly-touted wide receivers as their first-round selection. No team had ever done this before, and frankly I do not believe any team ever will do so again. The front office received a lot of heat for these moves because the Lions passing game never improved, despite spending so much time in the offseason on offensive acquisitions. This second part of the Lion's roster analysis will focus on the wide receivers and tight ends who are expected to perform much better this season.

Wide Receivers - As mentioned before, the Lions have three first-round wide receivers on their roster. Of the three, however, the only one who has performed even close to his potential has been Roy Williams. Charles Rogers suffered through two injury seasons followed by a drug suspension. Mike Williams couldn't convince the coaching staff to get him onto the field and has weight issues. Even Roy has had minor injuries and an attitude problem.

All three of the receivers are very talented and can have an impact. Especially with an offensive genius running the show next season. Their lack of hustle and attitude, however, is not going to fly well with Rod Marinelli. I expect the new Lion's head coach to deal with this issue immediately.

For now, Roy Williams is a solid lock to be the Lion's first option as wideout. The second starting job is up for grabs. It could go to Mike Williams, Charles Rogers, or even Scottie Vines, who had an impressive stretch last season. In fact, the second wide receiver position is probably going to be the hottest position battle this fall, so keep a close eye on those player's performances in the preseason.

Whoever starts, lack of production is no longer acceptable. It is time our investments start paying off with first downs, touchdowns and effort. The Lions could easily have one of the best receiving corp in the league, or one of the worst. For now it is safe to put them in the middle of the pack.

Tight Ends - With all the problems they had with young rookies, the Lions decided last season to get someone proven. Marcus Pollard came in with high expectations, maybe even more so than the wide receivers, because of the role he played on the Colts. Well lo and behold, Marcus Pollard was easily replaced on Indianapolis and proved to be as ineffective as the weapons Detroit previously had.

The truth is that I still expect Pollard to shape up and do well again. Part of his failure does go to the quarterbacks, Harrington and Garcia, and receivers who failed to make plays around him. With that said, if he doesn't have a good season this year he should be gone next.

Behind Pollard is Dan Campbell and Casey Fitzsimmons. Neither is anywhere near the type of receiver he is, though Campbell should contribute to the Lion's blocking schemes better.

For now the tight end job is Pollard's to lose.

The next part on the Lions roster analysis will be up tomorrow. It will cover the offensive line and fullback positions.

Tigers Slide Past White Sox To Take Series

Yesterday the Detroit Tigers won a well-deserved game against the Chicago White Sox behind a great pitching performance and a big home-run. Today it was an effort play that pushed them over the top.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Marcus Thames lunged for second base on a 1-out groundball to third hit by Craig Monroe. Seeing he had no chance of sliding in safe, Thames adjusted his lower body to take White Sox 2nd-baseman Tadahito Iguchi out. By the time Iguchi was able to get up again, Monroe had been safe on first for quite some time.

With the inning still alive, Chris Shelton came to the plate and rewarded Thames for his efforts with a two-out RBI double. The Tigers then led 2-1 and didn't squander the one-run win behind strong relief efforts from Zumaya and, I suppose, Todd Jones. Some notes from today's game and the series in general.

The game today was broadcasted on ESPN. All the announcers seemed taken aback by Joel Zumaya's pitching. Zumaya was superb, pitching two shutout innings that took him through the heart of Chicago's lineup and finishing with three strikeouts. Zumaya also ended up with the win, as Kenny Rogers left the game with a 1-1 no-decision.

Speaking of Kenny, he had a good day pitching as well. He got into a jam in the 4th, allowing one run and leaving the bases loaded with only 1 out. But he pitched through it and didn't give up another run the rest of the game. He didn't get the win but he did deserve it.

Jose Contreras was good, but he learned, like every other pitcher whose faced the Tigers, that our batters aren't going to go away in late innings. He ended up with the loss, despite pitching much better than he has lately.

ESPN announcers pointed out that a lot of the Tiger's superstars, or players who have been around for a while, have been willing to make personal sacrifices for the teams good. Examples of which included Pudge bunting to advance a runner, even though he couldn't get it down, and Jones giving up a save opportunity last night to allow Walker to face Thome.

Monroe was limping after he scored the go-ahead run and was replaced by Gomez. Gomez is a better defender anyways, but this may be something to keep an eye on. Especially with Dmitri tearing up the minor leagues and ready to come back.

The season series is now at 3-6. The Tigers still have 10 games to go against this team, and it would be nice to see them turn that record the other way around for the last ten.

White Sox are now 5.5 games back in the division, but trust me, they aren't going away.

Next Up: The Oakland Athletics in Detroit!

Beyond Ben

When Ben Wallace announced his departure from the Detroit Pistons, I, along with with the rest of Detroit, was stunned and confused. After 6 fantastic seasons, 5 straight postseason apperances, 4 defensive player of the year awards, 2 conference championships, and 1 world championship ring, what more could the hardest working player in the NBA ask for? Being the posterboy of not only a team, but an entire city, this man had it all. The fans. The Fro. The No Fly Zone. He was 'the balls'. Does life get any better? Apparently it does. $12 million better to be exact. That is how much more the Chicago Bulls offered him over 4 years.

Was this the same Ben Wallace that I know? Was this the same guy that wore his game jersey out of American Airlines Arena after being eliminated by the Miami Heat in the conference finals? Was this the same guy that when asked about his up coming free agency he replied, "everyone knows where my heart is". Even after signing with the Bulls, he claimed that money was not an issue. So here is a guy leaving a franchise he loved for reasons other than money. Needless to say, I was speechless. When reality finally set in, we were left with a rock solid roster with a gaping hole that was Ben Wallace. Time to go shopping.

Instinct may have gotten the best of Joe Dumars with his first move. Instinct tells you that if you are wounded, you should stop the bleeding as soon as possible. Enter Nazr Mohammed, the fading center of the San Antonio Spurs. After being the starter during the 04-05 seaons, he split time last year with Rasho Nesterovic, averaging only 6 pts and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes per game. While many people breathed a sigh of relief, I breathed one of despair. While Mohammed may end up being the right choice, I feel that Joe D acted much too quick in aquiring the first, biggest name he could get his hands on to lessen the blow of losing Ben. Now that we have the big name signed, its time to do some value shopping. As earlier reported, we signed former Piston Ronald 'Supa Dupe' Dupree as well as Ronald 'Flip' Murray.

Although the loss of Ben did hurt the Pistons, I feel that it is a blessing in disguise. The rest of the roster now has their shot in the spotlight that they have worked so hard for. Chauncey Billups may have it already with a Finals MVP and regular season MVP talk, but Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton have a chance to become bonified stars. In case you haven't noticed, Tayshaun has quietly become the Pistons' most reliable player. With the quickness to defend any guard, and the length to defend any small forward, he is beyond an asset. Having not missed a game in more than 2 years, a player with such talent and durability are few and far between. After having a breakout postseason in 06, I expect Tayshaun to reach star status in the stat book and to lead the Pistons by example.

If you think replacing Ben on the stat sheet is hard, it will be even harder to replace the intensity he brings; the the roars of the crowd to his every move. This is what is known in the sports world as the 'X-factor'. And Ben had it. He was the catalyst. His fuel made this engine run. Many Piston fans used to call my favorite Alternator the X-Factor - Jon Barry. There are a few faces on the current roster that I can see bringing that type of intesity. I am mainly looking in the direction of Jason Maxiell. As reported in a previous post, he is doing well on the Pistons summer league team. If JMax can get into the regular rotatation next season, look for him to bring the crowd to its feet with high energy and highlight dunks. Another player I am looking to is Carlos Delfino. Even though he is my least favorite Piston (as a matter of fact, I hate him) I know he is capable of being a key role player off the bench. He has good ball handling and an eye for the basket, not to mention his stellar on-ball defense. If Carlos can get into the rotation at the 2 or 3 spot, I'll be looking for him to bring that offensive spark and energy that everyone saw in Jon Barry.

So, is there life after Ben? Absolutely. When the brightest star in the sky goes out, it reveals those that surround it.

Tigers Slam Themselves Past Sox

Just one day ago I was ranting about how the Tiger's skipper needed to chew his team out. It doesn't look like he did that exactly but whatever he did do there was a much better effort today. The final score from the game was 5-2, here are some notes from the game.

Pitcher Jeremy Bonderman was strong all game, giving up only two runs in seven and a third. The two runs given up don't speak to how dominant he was, however. Both runs were solo shots, but the White Sox never got into scoring position. Bonderman also had six strikeouts and only gave up one walk. Its clear already that while he may not be our ace, he is going to have to be our horse down the stretch.

Craig Monroe had a nice day hitting Detroit's first grand slam of the season. It was no "Grand"erson slam, but four runs in the books nonetheless. The big homer came in the sixth inning, along with another RBI from Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers didn't score a run in any other inning, but it just goes to show their mentality of one inning at a time.

Jamie Walker came out of the bullpen in the ninth to face Thome. Interestingly enough he had struck Thome out six times out of the eight times he had faced him. He didn't get a "K" this time, but did get the out.

Todd Jones needed two outs to close the game and promptly let Konerko hit a fly ball to the warning track and Dye hit a single. Can we really win with this guy finishing ball games for us?

Ozzie Guillen seems to think the Tigers would have to pay a hefty price to get Soriano, saying "They would have to give up (Justin) Verlander or (Joel) Zumaya," Guillen said. "I'd rather see Soriano at the plate than Verlander or Zumaya on the mound." From what I've heard, however, the Nationals are asking for three of our better minor league players, not our stud rookies. Either way, if Washington is asking for Verlander or Zumaya we should hang up the phone. There is nothing wrong with our batters right now that makes Soriano a must-have.

There is still one more game left in this series and we shouldn't get too happy about this ONE win just yet. All in all a great win though.

Potential Second Half Pitching Struggles

There is no question that the key to the Tigers first half success has been the surprising dominance of their pitching staff. Going into this week’s series with the White Sox the team has a major league leading ERA of 3.54; which tops the ’05 White Sox staff that dominated the American League. Unfortunately, Tigers fans are so wrapped up in the pitching successes of the first of the season that they are oblivious to the troubles that could lie ahead.

I am as high on these Detroit Tigers as the next fan, but when looking at the starting pitching staff one has to see the potential for a second half slump. How long can a rotation comprised of half mediocrity and half inexperience (Kenny Rogers excluded) keep up its dominance game in and game out? There is no telling if the pitching will hold up with first year Tiger pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and manager Jim Leyland, but if history repeats itself the second half might not be so bright at Comerica.

The ace of the team and American League all-star starter Kenny Rogers has already begun to slip a little bit as his ERA has risen above 4.00. In his last two starts he has only survived 9 2/3 total innings and has given up nine earned runs including four homeruns. While his experience is unmatched on the team and his talent is no doubt still there, don’t expect his 41 year old body to help his second half. Throughout four of the last five seasons Rogers’ ERA has risen after the all-star break, including a jump from 2.54 to 4.72 last season.

Justin Verlander and Zach Miner are simply too young and inexperienced to know what to expect from them down the stretch. Verlander has been arguably the best pitcher for the Tigers thus far and was a very noticeable all-star snub. He leads all Tigers starters and trails only Francisco Liriano and John Lackey in the AL with a 2.83 ERA that, as of late, seems to shrink every time he takes the mound. Leyland already seems to be holding Verlander back so as not to wear down his young arm. He rarely hits 100 mph with his heater anymore, and seems to come out of games earlier than necessary. Miner, too, has been very impressive in his limited opportunities, but he will probably be removed from the starting rotation when Mike Maroth returns from injury. Even if Miner does manage to stay in ‘the show’ there is little chance the young gun will be able to put forth the performances he has been throughout the rest of the season.

Mike Maroth was very impressive at the beginning of the season. Aside from one abysmal start in Kansas City where he gave up six earned runs on six hits in 1/3 of an inning, he seemed to have finally forgotten about the 21-loss season in 2003. However, right when it looked like Mike would put up a career year, he went down with an elbow injury. Nobody knows if Maroth will return to his early season form when he comes back from elbow surgery and comes off of the Disabled List sometime in August.

Now I know that most Tigers fans favor Kenny Rogers or the up-and-coming star, Verlander, but my pitching Tiger has got to be Nate Robertson. Maybe it’s that beard, maybe it’s the glasses, or maybe it’s the enormous wads of Big League Chew he shovels into his mouth to get his team rolling, but I just like him. Unfortunately for Nate, my praise and cheers do not translate into second half success. His ERA after the all-star break is a whopping 5.96 as opposed to his 3.60 before the break and he’s a dreadful 9-19 in the last half. My favorite pitcher is 0-3 in his last 3 starts including a 7-1 loss to those hated White Sox yesterday, which cannot be a good sign for the rest of 2006.

The second half of this season has got to be Jeremy Bonderman’s time to shine. Bondo has the whole package to be a star in this league. The past two years I have thought it was time for Bondo to take over, but his pitching has been average and his team has given him little help. Even though Jeremy has been weaker in the second half (like the rest of his veteran colleagues), he has been on a roll as of late and I see no reason as to why he should stall in the second half. He is coming off of a spectacular June where he went 2-0 in five starts with an ERA of 1.77, and his July seems to be shaping up nicely as well. He has a young arm with pitches capable of dominating teams, and finally does not have the pressure of being the team’s ace with the addition of Rogers. Who knows if this will actually be Bonderman’s break-out season, but if he can’t become a star in these last 69 games than the ball club may run into some troubles.

This Detroit Tigers squad lives and dies with its starting pitching. These pitchers are relied on to go out there and put in six or seven good innings each day. Nobody in Detroit, myself included, wants to see Leyland make the call to the bullpen for Roman Colon, Jason Grilli or Wilfredo Ledezma in the early innings to get us to Zumaya or Rodney. When the starters do survive into the later innings, we will always need a two or three run cushion going into the 9th to make up for Todd Jones’ incompetence.

Todd Jones aside, I love this Tigers club and the idea of a playoff game at Comerica gives me chills, but I am trying my best to be a realistic onlooker. Nothing would make me happier than to see this pitching staff continue its brilliance all the way into November. I do not mean to be harsh to my ‘Motor City Kitties’, but for this team to remain successful the pitchers have got to stay hot. Unfortunately, the numbers tell a different tale for the second half of the season.

On a side note, Tigers hitters have scored fewer runs than the White Sox, Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays; their biggest playoff competition.

Detroit Lions Roster Analysis Part 1

For the Detroit Lions in 2006, there is no possibility for failure. If this season produces yet another terrible record, a major shakeup is in order, with GM Matt Millen being the first to go. Seven wins is the absolute bare minimum. With that in mind, here are the players who hope to pass and run the Lions to victory next season.

Quarterback - This position, more then any other, showcases new faces. Jon Kitna and Josh McCown were acquired in the offseason, while Jeff Garcia and Joey Harrington were shown the door. For now, Kitna has been named the starter.

Kitna has been in the league for nine seasons, all with Seattle and Cincinatti. His completion percentage usually flutters around 58-62%, and he should be a definite upgrade over the quarterbacks from past seasons. That, however, is not saying much. Even with a good completion percentage, Kitna is a very mediocre quarterback. He only averages about 225 yards passing a game, at best, and has turnover problems. He had one great year with the Bengals before Carson Palmer took over, but even then they only finished 8-8. The problem with Jon is that he has reached his full potential as a player already, and it is simply not enough. I doubt he will start all 16 games.

Josh McCown, on the other hand, is a player that I am a big fan of. While his yards per game last season were barely over 200, those numbers are deceiving because of the fact that he spent some time coming off the bench for Kurt Warner. As a starter McCown tossed around 280 yards a game, with several games where he almost reached 400 yards passing. He is also only 27 years old and still has plenty to learn about the game. With the talented receivers Detroit has, McCown should fit well into Martz's wide-open passing game.

While the Lions also have Dan Orlovsky on the roster, the quarterback starter for the season is a two-man race. As I said before Kitna is the starter now, but I would not be surprised to see McCown by the end.

Running Back - Kevin Jones has the starting job as running back for the Detroit Lions. But after having an incredible second-half to his rookie season, he really fell off the map last year. Maybe it was because Mooch never made a commitment to run, maybe it was because Shaun Bryson got carries in situations where it should have been Jones. Heck, it could even have been the nagging injury problems he had.

Whatever it was, it is time to put all that away and start over again. There is no question in my mind that KJ can return to his 2004 status, where he rushed for 4.7 yards a carry. The important thing to look out for is if he starts getting more balls thrown to him out of set plays. Mike Martz loves to use his running backs as wideouts, so it wouldn't shock me to see him do so with Jones.

After Kevin Jones there's a mess of running backs such as Shawn Bryson and Artose Pinner. If you ask me, neither should get many looks. Brian Calhoun should serve as the primary backup to Kevin Jones, or he was a waste of a draft pick. Calhoun was also a pretty good receiver in college, and should fit in better in the offensive system the Lions will run.

That wraps up the first half of the Lions Roster Analysis. Next up will be a look at the wide receivers, well-documented as they may be, and the tight ends.

Replacing Hockey Heroes

After a regular season that couldn't have gone any better, the Red Wings finished the 2005/06 season in the same disappointing manner that fans have been used to the last few seasons. Bounced by an eighth seed, it was clear change was in order. Just how much the roster would be shaken up, however, was something few Red Wings fans expected.

Steve Yzerman finally decided to call it quits and retire. Brendan Shanahan felt that the team was going a different direction and accepted a one-year four million dollar offer that the Wings surely could have matched. Manny Legace hasn't got any calls period. Not from the Wings or anyone else.

In the past, Detroit could have just flexed it's financial muscles and brought in more talent to fill in the holes. But with a salary cap and spending limits, the team no longer has as many options available to it as they are accustomed to.

So what can the Red Wings do to replace their departed players?

One player who could accomplish this feat immediately is Jiri Fischer. It has been reported that he has been looking for medical clearance to play for some time now. Before his horrible heart problem against Nashville, Fischer had been one of the better defensemen on the Red Wing's roster. Getting him back would not only increase the overall talent of the team, but also the morale of the players and fans alike.

The Wings have also spent some time signing players whose names many fans may not recognize. Matt Hussey from Pittsburgh and Dan Smith from Edmonton were added for depth. Both spent most of last season in the American Hockey League and both had good numbers with their respective teams in the AHL. Another AHL player who was signed was a Red Wings draft pick from 2000, Tomas Kopecky. Only 24 years of age, he had a fantastic season for the Grand Rapid Griffens last year.

The Red Wings also picked up physical defensemen Brad Norton.

To replace the goalie who failed, Detroit has resigned Chris Osgood while turning their sights on Ed Belfour. Belfour will come cheap and provide experience from his seventeen seasons in the NHL.

Finally the Wings have resigned many of their free agents, though it may not seem so, including Niklas Lidstrom, Brett Lebda and Dan Cleary.

What does all this mean? The Red Wings, for the most part, have shied away from spending big money on a weak free-agent class and have opted instead to sign cheap players who can hopefully provide energy. They also clearly hope to see improvement out of younger players such as Kronwall and Zetterberg.

It is not the big splash Red Wings fans were hoping for, but it looks like it is all we will be getting for now.

Time For Action?

Back in the early parts of the season, the Tigers dropped a game against Cleveland. The entire team had played an uninspired game and looked uninterested in winning. Jim Leyland took care of that problem by ripping the players a new one publicly and the team hasn't looked back since then.

Now entering a critical series with the division rival Chicago White Sox, the Tigers look like they need motivation once again. In seven games against the defending world-champions, the Tigers have only won once. With a slim lead on first place, every one of these games counts.

We lost today's game 7-1. It may seem like an overreaction to call for immediate action, but it isn't. We need to play the next two games, as well as every other game against this team, like it is the seventh game of the World Series.

Much like in that April game, today's game started with Nate Robertson taking the mound against a division rival. After giving up six earned runs, exactly the same effort he gave against the Indians, Nate left the game with a loss. A loss like the ones he had in the two starts before this game. This SHOULD concern Tigers fans. Nate has never been a great 2nd half pitcher, and we need him to keep pitching like he did through the first-half of the season to contend.

The first post on this blog celebrated the first half of the Tigers season and all the magic that occurred. But that is over now and these last seventy or so games are the ones that separates the playoff teams from the pretenders. The Tigers need to do something to keep themselves focused on the prize soon, or they may find themselves out of first place.

One thing is for sure, the White Sox are not going away. There is a reason why they are the #1 ranked team on almost every Power Ranking list despite having the best record in baseball for only brief periods. They won the World Series and they have a roster that is rock solid top to bottom. The Tigers still need to prove that they belong, and now is the perfect time to do so.

On a side note for all those wondering about possibilities of the team making a deal for a certain Philly slugger, here is a quip I picked up from a Yahoo recap of the game. " Detroit manager Jim Leyland said, barring something "freaky," a Tigers beat writer had a better chance of managing the team next week than Detroit had of acquiring Philadelphia OF Bobby Abreu."

A Pair of Piston Signings

It seems over the weekend the Pistons decided to add to their depth by signing two players, including one very familiar face. While it is true that neither of these names are high-profile, remember that Detroit had little to no money to spend thanks to Ben Wallace's sudden departure.

The first player the Pistons chose to sign was Ronald "Flip" Murray. Best known for the wonderful job he did filling in Ray Allen's shoes, Flip has been a disappointment for the past two seasons. His play did slightly improve, however, when he joined Cleveland midway last year. He is a good scorer who should provide some points off the bench, and best of all he was cheap. There is a chance he could fizzle out and do nothing, but it was a risk we had to take at this point.

Also a point to remember is that the Piston's coach, another Flip, was known for getting the most out of bench players who weren't as productive as possible in other locations. Hopefully Saunders will turn Flip Murray back into his old Seattle self.

On the other hand, for Alex Acker this signing means he probably will not get a rotation spot or much playing time. It could also mean that he could be sent overseas or to the NBDL again. We will have to see.

The second move that was made brought back Ronald Dupree. The Pistons have had Dupree under contract twice before already! He was a member of the Piston's summer league team in 2003, and was part of the active roster in the 2004-05 season, following a short stint with the Bulls. After being traded for a 2nd round pick to the Timberwolves in the 2005 summer, it seems he has made his back to red, white and blue once more.

Dupree is an energy player who was very cheap. He probably won't see much playing time but so what? We all expect Carlos Delfino to fill in the role as backup small-forward anyways. Dupree is a nice safety-net that we will hopefully rarely have to use.

With these two signings it looks like we may be out of money to get anyone else, but the door is not shut on trades. There is a rumor that we might be sending Delfino and something else for Al Harrington. The Pistons championship season turned around with a mid-season trade, so keep your eyes wide open for rumors and keep checking this blog for updates!

Tigers Looking to Deal

Soriano, Abreu possibilites, but will cost Detroit

With September nearing, and the race for the AL crown intensifying, rumors of a possible trade involve the Tigers has been widespread. Among the names being mentioned to Detroit are Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Abreu. Either player would help Detroit tremendously, but would likely come at a hefty price.

Earlier in the season, owner Mike Illitch went on record as saying he will spend or do whatever it takes to make this team a winner. For the Tigers to land Abreu, he would have to stand by his word. Abreu is currently on a 5 year 64 million dollar contract and is owed 15 million next season. In addition, Abreu has a no-trade clause, so for him to waive that and agree to a trade with Detroit, he is going to want some assurances from Detroit. Most likely he will want a promise that Detroit picks up his extension for the remainder of his contract.

Abreu is the left-handed batter the Tigers have been hot after all season. In addition to his large price tag, the Tigers would also have to give up top-pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez, and probably some fillers.

While Soriano isn’t the left-handed batter the Tigers have been after, he brings tremendous added power to the lineup. Soriano already has 29 home runs this season, which is 10 more than the leading Tiger (Thames, 19).

ESPN has reported that the Tigers are the frontrunners to trade for Soriano. In addition, Rob Parker reported earlier this week that a trade was being discussed that would send Soriano to Detroit for Humberto Sanchez, Craig Monroe, and Dimitri Young.

However, because Soriano is a free agent after the season, some are concerned that he is merely a rental player. If Detroit can get some sort of verbal agreement from Soriano that he will resign, the deal will look great. If not, Detroit is giving up their top pitching prospect for someone who will possibly play half a season here.

Either way, if Detroit manages to acquire Soriano or Abreu, the chances of winning a title becomes that much greater.

Summer League Recap

Well I’m finally back and its time to talk summer league ball again. The Detroit team played their final two games on Thursday and Friday against the Clippers and Celtics. They also lost both games. But as I said before, wins and losses really don’t matter in the month of July.

Summer League Game #4

Although he only scored thirteen points, Jason Maxiell continued his impressive display by being aggressive all night long. Unlike most Pistons big-men, Maxiell seems to actually want to attack the bucket. As he gains more experience, you expect more of his shots to go in. He looks like he should definitely get minutes next season off the bench.

Alex Acker had a pretty terrible game overall, considering how well he played the last two. His shooting percentage was atrocious and he scored in single-digits. On the plus side, he did continue to try to attack the basket. Still not clear how much playing time is in store for him.

other Pistons scored in the double-digits. Amir Johnson, who had a pretty good game compared to his efforts so far, and Rick Rickert, who has no real chance of making the team.

All in all, this game really won’t have any effect on who plays for the Pistons next season.

Summer League Game #5

Looks like the Pistons, as a team, had a better effort overall in this game then in the last two but still came up short. Maxiell scored a good amount of points, shot poorly from the floor but well from the line. Still isn’t rebounding well either. Make of that what you will.

Acker had another terrible shooting night, thirty percent, but scored ten more points than he did last game. The only problem is he won’t get twenty shots in a NBA game. Overall for the entire summer league, he has only been shooting a little over thirty-six percent and that is unacceptable. No one else on the team who got enough playing time shot so low. He will face better defenses and have a lot less time to work in the real league. Like I said in the last game’s recap, I don’t know if he will get playing time or not at this point.

Amir Johnson had a decent game, almost getting a double-double. He hasn’t scored too well in the five games but he hasn’t shot too much either (averaging under eight a game). He looks like he will be ready to contribute in a year or two.

Overall Summer League Impressions

So now we have seen five summer league games and how well our young players have performed. What does it mean to the Detroit Pistons we actually root for? Well for starters, I don’t think anyone outside of our five draft picks has a chance to make our active roster. So lets look at how those five did.

Jason ­Maxiell – Jason was pretty consistent throughout all five games. He made a commitment to attacking the point and scoring inside and it should pay off with a rotation spot in the Fall. He did not, however, have a perfect summer league. His free throws, though improved in the final game, are an area of concern, as is his low rebounding numbers. Someone with his body should be pulling down more boards than Alex Acker. Its really too bad Ben isn’t around to help his growth anymore.

Alex Acker – Had a two game stretch where he looked like the best player in Vegas (outside of the seasoned veterans who played in a few games) and a few where he simply did not get the job done. He finished as the team leader in scoring with just over eighteen points a game, but shot the worst percentage of any player with significant minutes. I don’t think he is ready to have a big role off the bench just yet.

Amir Johnson – As I said before he has had a pretty solid summer league…with the only problem being it was a forgettable one as well. He really never did anything spectacular or noteworthy like the above two players did. He is still very young and needs time to develop. Hopefully in next year’s summer league he will show he is ready to play big minutes.

Will Blaylock – Played most of the summer league manning the team and starting the offense and from all reports did a pretty good job. For now Lindsey Hunter has the job as backup point guard, however, so it is doubtful he sees any playing time. He needs to learn to be more aggressive with his shots as well.

Cheikh Samb – Its hard to judge someone who only took twenty-three shots in five games. He did make fifteen of them, but he still does not have the body for the NBA. He is a project that may end up paying off in the future. Not much else to say.

So to wrap up, Maxiell, Acker and Johnson should all be on the active roster next season. Maxiell will be the only one, however, to get minutes in non-blowout situations (though it is possible that Acker may get a look if the team needs to try something new to shake it up.) Blaylock and Samb should start off in the NBDL, where Acker and Johnson were a good portion of last season, and get the playing time they need to develop.

Sorry there are no pictures, couldn't find any. If you spot some from the above games let me know and I'll add them in a flash.

Boo Birds for Big Ben?

Ben Wallace's first visit to Detroit will be entertaining to say the least. One of the most interesting moments of the night, however, will come before the game even begins. What kind of return will the Piston fans greet Ben Wallace too? Will he be booed or cheered? I’ll make a case for both sides.

Cheer Him

For six seasons in Detroit, Ben Wallace gave his all. Ben came to represent everything our city stood for with his blue-collar approach to the game.

While many may be angry at Wallace for leaving, during his stay in Detroit, Wallace was grossly underpaid, and the NBAs biggest bargain. In addition, if you’re one of those calling Ben Wallace greedy for leaving, maybe you should spread the blame to owner Bill Davidson. Davidson is one of the leagues top 5 wealthiest owners, and is worth over 1 billion dollars, yet he refuses to go over the luxury tax to acquire players. This team has downgraded for the past 3 seasons, and it is mainly due to Mr. D’s refusal to spend what’s necessary.

Reflecting back on the Ben Wallace era, we can't take for granted all the success the team enjoyed. Growing up, I used to pray for the Pistons just to get into the 2^nd round of the playoffs, only to see the Atlanta Hawks knock them out a couple times, and Miami another time during the Grant Hill era. With Wallace, the expectations were so much higher. Anything less than a championship and the season was considered a failure. So here’s to cheering Big Ben, the rock that held the foundation in Detroit together for six incredible seasons.

Boo Him

For months leading to Ben’s departure from Detroit, all we heard was his usual, “money has never driven me” line. But the fact of the matter is, money is the only thing that drove Wallace away. Ben Wallace may have said one thing, but his actions did something completely different.

Ben turned down a 4 year 52 million dollar offer, which would have made him the highest paid Piston in team history, for Chicago’s 4 year 60 million dollar offer. In fact, Detroit’s initial offer of 4 years and 48 million even insulted Ben.

I thought to myself, there has to be another reason Ben left. Maybe Flip? Maybe another reason we haven’t heard about? But then I heard an interview Ben had with Fred McLeod. To paraphrase what Fred asked Ben, he stated,

“If all things were equal, and Detroit offered you the same contract, would you of stayed?”

Ben replied, “Oh, no question.”

Ben said money never motivated him. But money was the ONLY motivating factor in his departure. All the loyalty and trust we thought was part of Ben Wallace’s character was a lie.

Contrary to belief, six seasons ago, Ben was already headed to Detroit as a free-agent. Dumars took a chance on Ben when he was an unknown in the league. When Detroit and Orlando decided to do a sign-and-trade, there were some fans who wanted Bo Outlaw over Ben. That should tell you all you need to know about what Ben was thought of back then. Joe offered him twice the contract any other team would offer Ben, and this is the thanks he got?

Detroit embraced Ben and celebrated him despite all of his offensive decencies, but Chicago will eat Ben alive. Especially once the Bulls realize they are paying 15 million a year for 7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and about 1 steal.

Should Delfino Be Playing?

If you've been keeping up with recent posts, you know that many young Pistons are getting their chance to shine in the summer league. Players like Jason Maxiell and Alex Acker get the twenty to thirty, or more, minutes they need to get into the flow of games. And it has helped them. Through three summer league games Maxiell and Acker have both looked like they are willing to take the next step in their development.

The young player who figures to be able to contribute to the Piston's immediate success the most, however, has never played in the games played during July. For some reason or another, Carlos Delfino has always skipped out on giving a preview of what he can bring. But why?

If we look back at last season, Delfino was a promising shooting guard/small forward whose minutes got taken by Maurice Evans or someone else on a consistent basis. Still he showed plenty of signs that he can not only play but be a big-time contributor in his limited minutes. Flash forward to the present and we have traded Evans away for nothing, no offense to Samb, seemingly to open up a playing spot for him.

But with players like Ron Artest and Amare Stoudamire, guys who feel like they have something to prove, participating in at least one or two summer league games...I find it hard to believe that Delfino couldn't be here as well.


As a Pistons fan who is expecting a lot of the young man from Argentina, it disappoints me a little that he doesn't fight harder for playing time. On the flip side, I also feel that Joe D. or Flip should have nudged Delfino towards the summer league roster.

Also on a side note, I will be gone for this entire weekend so I won't be able to update the blog for a few days. The other contributors to this blog may post at some point, but if not I will be back in full force on Monday.

More Summer Fun

Yesterday's summer league game was the first time the Pistons didn't have a good showing. The Knicks, who have a pretty decent summer league roster, took it to the Detroit crew early and often.

The only player worth mentioning from the Piston's side is Alex Acker, who had another shining individual performance. Scored over twenty points on high-percentage shooting. The only thing to look out for is his lackluster defensive performance, according to those in attendance at the game.

As for the spotlight player, Maxiell, he had a decent game with a much better rebounding effort than the previous two. He struggled with his shot, but continued to be aggressive throughout the game. I am still looking for him to have a breakthrough performance in one of the last two games.

Finally, above is a picture of another Piston's summer league player, Rodney Billups. He looks a lot like Chauncey, doesn't he?

Your Future Tigers: The Lakeland Tigers

Hello, my name is Kyle: I will be your guide to Tigers minor league baseball. While I will try and cover all affiliates (such as West Michigan, Erie, Oneonta, Toledo, etc), my main focus is on the Lakeland Tigers (Class High A).

So far, this has been a season chocked full of great pitching. Jair Jurrjens (who is only 20 years old) led the way by going 5-0 before the All-Star break, which prompted management to promote him to Erie. Though not as consistent, Freddy Dolsi, Andrew Kown, and Jeremy Johnson have had decent outings at different times, while Kevin Whelan has been closing games when given the opportunity.

Several batters have been producing from the plate as well. Left-handed first baseman Jeff Larish leads the team with 15 home runs while boasting a .364 on base percentage. Florida State League All-Star MVP Jeff Frazier leads the team with 51 runs batted in.

Another event worth mentioning is the fact that Dmitri Young spent some time here while rehabbing not too long ago. In 2 games he went 2-5 and was able to work on getting back into the flow of the game. He also paid to cater food for the team and staff on several occasions from a very nice restaurant here in town.

So what is in store for the future here in Lakeland? Hopefully the Tigers #1 prospect, Cameron Maybin will move up to Lakeland by the end of the season. Also, expect to see Jeff Larish promoted to Erie by next season, as well as several other significant roster changes. Kyle Sleeth is still trying to rebound from Tommy John surgery with the GCL Tigers here in Lakeland, but he could move up as well if he improves some. Just a couple of months left in the season, and I hope that Lakeland can make some noise in the FSL playoffs.

Where Do We Go From Here?

If you’re a Detroit sports fan your world has been turned upside down this summer. Things have happened or are happening that no one could have predicted. The Tigers are leading the Majors, and our three biggest sporting icons, the players we relate to most as fans, have left town in one way or another. I’m going to focus on the latter, because it’s a much more interesting topic than how our baseball team is doing, as strange as that may sound during the Tiger’s unbelievable run.

Might as well start off at the top.

Steve Yzerman
I don’t think Stevie Y’s departure from hockey caught anyone off guard. He struggled a lot last season between injury, and just being an older guy in what the NHL has turned into a faster more open game. With that said, he gave us glimpses of his former self down the stretch and in my opinion was the best Wing during the playoffs. As much as I would have liked to see him leave the game with one last championship, it was time. But that still doesn’t make watching a legend retire easier. For my entire life the Wings have always had one constant: Steve Yzerman. It’s going to be tough as a fan to watch next season without Stevie in the lineup. He was a quiet leader who gained the respect of everyone, even those who despise the Red Wings. You can’t replace a Steve Yzerman, and that is what is going to be tough for Detroit sports fans this fall. No. 19 was our most well liked and respected athlete and now he’s gone. At least he left us with 22 years of great moments and memories. Enjoy retirement Stevie, you’ve earned it.

Ben Wallace
Naturally I figured Big Ben would fill the void left by Stevie. Ben was the most popular Piston and represented Detroit well. He was tough, determined and had an incredible work ethic. All those traits are appreciated in a blue-collar town like Detroit, and are what made Wallace so popular. Unfortunately Ben figured the grass was greener elsewhere. After a whole season of telling the media and fans that money was not an issue for him and that he wanted to stay in Detroit, he bolted for more money in Chicago. Wallace decided to take the 15 million a year the Bulls were offering over Detroit’s 12 million, which by the way would have made him the highest paid Piston. On a team without a superstar, on a team with the best chemistry and starting five in the NBA, being the highest paid player was not good enough for him. In fact Ben said he was insulted by the offer. The Pistons actually could have matched Chicago’s offer to keep Ben but it was a matter of principle. Joe Dumars didn’t see the logic in paying an aging center that kind of money whose skills have diminished each of the last three seasons. Add to that a horrible playoff and the fact that on offense it’s 4 on 5 with Wallace out there and this maneuver is looking a bit smarter from a Piston perspective. I’m not trying to suggest in any way that we’re better off without Ben, far from it. I think though, like with Stevie, maybe it was time to move on. Detroit and Ben may not have parted on the best of terms but he still leaves a huge void for fans in this city. Ben and Stevie WERE Detroit sports.

Brendan Shanahan
Although Brendan wasn’t as big on the Detroit sports scene as Yzerman or Wallace I would have put him on the second tier and right behind those two guys. He was likable and a fan favorite. Brendan arrived right when the Wings were on the cusp and he pushed them over. He was a huge part of 3 Stanley Cups here in one of the greatest decades of hockey in Wing history. Shanahan is leaving via free agency much like Wallace but for different reasons. The Wings offered just as much as the New York Rangers, (4 million a season) and even a second year, which the Rangers were not willing to offer. Shanahan decided to leave because he felt his time here had run its course. Brendan said he felt a new challenge is what suited him and that with the Wings young nucleus it was necessary for the younger players to step up. In many ways I agree completely, but I’m still going to miss his gritty play, his 40 goals last season, and doing the Irish jig after he scores a goal. Brendan represents another gaping hole in the Detroit sports landscape.

Again, where do we go from here?

Actually a better question might be, “Who is going to be our next ‘Detroit’ star?” As the Wings and Pistons change and realign a star that represents the fans and our city may emerge. Chauncey or Rip could step up from the Pistons. Both have been featured in national ad campaigns but I don’t get the same feeling that I had with Wallace as the face of that team. The Wings are even trickier. We have guys like Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Kronwall but I don’t get a real strong feeling about any of them. Perhaps Hank will step up, because of the three I think he is the closest to an Yzerman or Shanahan that we have left on the Wings.

It could very well come from the Tigers too. Although Pudge and Ordonez are the stars right now, I think there is a greater chance of Detroit accepting and embracing some of the younger talent. Guys like Verlander, Bonderman, Zumaya, Shelton and Granderson all have a great shot at becoming our next icon. (I get the feeling a certain poster on this blog has his heart set on Curtis) You might be thinking, “Why hasn’t he mentioned the Lions?” Well, I refuse to talk about that team until they show me something on the field.

So there you have it, a crazy summer with many questions but very few answers at this point. Detroit may be without one to claim as it’s own for some time, and to be honest, I don’t like it one bit. So here’s to the Tiger’s continuing their summer run, and hoping someone emerges this fall from the pack to fill the void left by three great, but former, Detroit athletes.

Two Flips in Detroit?

When Ben Wallace jumped ship to join our Central Division rivals the Chicago Bulls, Dumars’ quest to solidify the bench took a major hit. Whether the MLE was enough to lure a big name free agent to Detroit or not, with Ben leaving, the opportunity was no longer there. Gone from the picture are scoring threats such as Al Harrington, Bonzi Wells, Mike James, and the like. Instead, Nazr Mohammed is brought in with the MLE to fill the void. But the question still remains, who can the Pistons sign to improve their bench?

Detroit has a few routes they can take, such as a sign-and-trade, or offering the LLE. One name I hear being thrown around for a sign-and-trade is Al Harrington. But lets be honest, realistically, getting Al Harrington would be near-impossible. It would take a miracle for Dumars to pull that deal off, as Detroit has little to offer besides Dale Davis.

Another name being mentioned is Brevin Knight; but I fail to see why Charlotte would part ways with Knight for Davis when both are on expiring contracts, and Knight is far more productive at this point. Maurice Evans’ contract would have been pretty useful right about now.

Because of the limited options with a sign-and-trade, a more realistic approach would be using the LLE to sign a free agent. A name that has been thrown around a great deal lately has been Flip Murray of Cleveland. I’m sure NBA fans remember the tear Flip Murray was on when he filled in for an injured Ray Allen a few seasons ago in Seattle. Flip averaged around 20 points per game, and was being called the “Steal of the Decade,” by numerous NBA personnel, such as Rick Carlisle, while filling in for Allen.

Other names being mentioned are former Piston Chucky Atkins, and resigning Tony Delk. It would have been nice for Mr. D to allow Joe to trade some cash for a late first round pick in the draft so Joe could grab one of the Michigan State boys, but that’s a story for another day.

Granderson Highlight Video

This was just too good to not post. Its a video highlight of Curtis Granderson made by a Tigers fan and it was posted on Youtube.

The game against the Reds where he hit the tying homer with two outs in the ninth was my favorite game of the first-half.

But I think we all know whats missing from this video...he has to hit a Grand Slam at some point...right?

Summer League Take Two

Yesterday's summer league game was against the Phoenix Suns. Seeing as how the Sun's roster features Amare Stoudamire, I felt bad for all our big players trying to make a good impression. It turns out that the Pistons didn't need Amare to make them look bad, however, as the referees did the job for them. They called 96 fouls! When all was said and done, both Amare and Maxiell had fouled out and several players were close. It was so bad that Amare has been quoted as saying that the excessive calls may have swayed him to not play summer league games anymore.

Amare somehow ended up with eleven personal fouls, even though you foul out after ten. A superstar in every sense I guess.

Matched up against Amare, without question one of the better players in the league, all night Maxiell really got a chance to show something to Flip, Joe and everyone else paying attention. From all reports, it seems Jason held his own, even taking it to Amare on drives. As I said before, he had ten fouls but that doesn't mean much.

The Pistons play another game tonight and hopefully Jason will be able to build on his efforts. As I said in a previous post, he has the best chance of any young Piston to get significant minutes next season.


It would be wrong to finish this post without also mentioning Alex Acker, who was actually the best performer of last night's game. He finished with almost thirty points. But the points aren't as important as how he got them. Instead of settling for jumpers, he was aggressive all game and drove into the lane often, as guards should. Acker also had eight fouls in the game (such a shocker...).

What does this all mean to Pistons fans? Both Maxiell and Acker look like players who can contribute very soon. Remember that the championship Pistons had Tayshaun Prince and Mehmet Okur playing significant roles. If our first two selections of the 2005 draft can give quality minutes, the Pistons can easily go from having a weak bench to a strong one.

Oh yeah, and we won the game.

The All-Star Battery

Just wanted to make a quick post and give props to the two Tigers starting in tomorrow's All-Star Game. Pudge got voted in by the fans and got an automatic starting bid. Kenny got chosen by Ozzie, somewhat surprising as the AL staff also includes aces like Santana, Liriano (a good replacement even though I was rooting for Verlander), and Halladay. Roger's well-rested arm got him the nod.

According to various articles, the Tigers haven't had a pitcher start in the All-Star game since 1985! The last time they had a starting battery was forty years ago!

Just goes to show you how good this season has been so far for Detroit.

Pistons Summer League Update

With little money left for free agents, the Pistons now have to hope for stellar play from their young players. While it is a little unreasonable to expect big contributions from players like Will Blaylock and Cheikh Samb, rookies, it is time for 2nd and 3rd year players to start showing what they have to offer Detroit.

Jason Maxiell in particular, the 1st round selection by the Pistons in 2005, is a player I would pay special attention to. When drafted he drew comparisons to the departed Ben Wallace for his hustle and defensive ability. He also has the potential to be a good post player on the offensive side.

For the most part, summer league reports have been positive so far about J-Max through the first game. His size has been allowing him to bully opposing players in the post and he has been able to score on a consistent basis. With that said it is still summer league competition, and his free throw shooting is the only aspect of his game that looks up to par with Ben Wallace so far...

But here is hoping Maxiell turns out to be the player the Pistons need, he sure has a great opportunity to play this upcoming season.


Other Pistons to watch in the summer league include Alex Acker and Amir Johnson. Amir Johnson had a couple regular-season games last year where he got a chance to prove himself and did not disappoint. He is another big man who could find himself vying for minutes.

A "Grand"erson Slam First Half

Looks like the Tigers are going to go into the All-Star break with the best record in the AL, and the MLB. Who would have guessed it? A few observations from the first half of the season,

Justin Verlander has been extraordinary. He got more love from the major sports stations before Liriano started tearing up opposing hitters, but still. Double-digit wins in July, the fourth-best ERA in the AL, and a 100 MPH fastball. And he is only 23! How he, or the aforementioned Francisco Liriano for that matter, didn't make the All-Star game is beyond me.

Curtis Granderson is by far my favorite player on the team. I'd like to see him develop his running and bunting in the second half and beyond, but it is hard to complain about the season he has been having. Still waiting for the inevitable moment where he hits a home run with the bases loaded, so I can hear "It's a GRANDerson SLAM!!!" If the broadcasters don't say this, they should be fired on the spot.

It was mentioned a few days ago that these Tigers are kind of like the Pistons before Ben Wallace jumped ship. A lot of good, solid players that all play well together and win. I like that comparison, the Tigers have a lot of pieces (Placido, Inge, Thames, etc.) that just fit. Not to mention a good mix of talented young players and experienced veterans to help them.

The bubble-gum chewing is just fantastic.

Todd Jones should be traded or sent to the minors. Or both. Zumaya and Rodney both are much better pitchers and clearly are the future of the franchise at that position. Is there any Tiger fans left that still want Jones to be our closer?

Jim Leyland has been a great manager and should win Manager of the Year hands down. No one else in the league should come close.

All in all, this was the dream first half of the 2006 season for all Tigers fans, at least the realistic ones, and there is no indication that the second half should be any different.