Like Stripes on the Fur Coat of a Tiger - 08/24

   Freddy Garcia is movin' on up... to Toledo.  After throwing two scoreless innings in Lakeland on Saturday, the Tigers are pushing him up to Triple-A and he'll start for the Mud Hens on Wednesday.

As Jason Beck points out on his blog, there's only so much time to pitch Garcia in Triple-A, with Toledo's season ending in a week.  He could conceivably get two starts with the Mud Hens, as currently scheduled.

   Maybe we could've guessed this when the Tigers opted for Chris Lambert to start on Tuesday, but Baseball Prospectus' John Perrotto hears rumblings that Dontrelle Willis won't be added to the Tigers' pitching staff when rosters can expand on September 1.

  The Spot Starters looks at the Tigers' final 32 games, breaking down what should be a favorable schedule.  But will it be?

   Minor League Chew takes a look at the Olympic performances of Mike Hessman and Blaine Neal.  Unfortunately, their experience in Beijing didn't go very well, with Neal giving up two homers in 3 2/3 innings and Hessman batting .091 with 11 strikeouts. 

(Making matters worse, Neal might be in the Tigers' bullpen right now, had he not been with the Olympic team the past three weeks.)

   Mack Avenue Tigers would like to see Nate Robertson get a shot at the closer job.  But get that slider back first.  (Yesterday's outing may have gone a long way toward that.)

   Did you know... if Gary Sheffield hits his 500th homer with the Tigers, he'll be the first guy to ever do it in a Detroit uniform?