Before last night's game, Jason Beck reported that Jim Leyland said he intended for Marcus Thames to be activated by the weekend, as the Tigers will likely be facing four left-handed starting pitchers early next week. 

Thames started off slowly on his rehab with Toledo (perhaps to be expected, given his rib cage injury), batting 3-for-25 in his first six games with no home runs, two RBIs, and 10 strikeouts.  But in his last four games, he's hit 9-for-18 with two homers, four RBIs, and one strikeout.

  Beck mentioned in the same blog post that Jeremy Bonderman's rehab stint is officially over.  He's scheduled for one more side session, after which the Tigers will decide whether or not he's ready.  As we've been saying, however, it'd be surprising if he wasn't activated for Monday's day-night doubleheader in Chicago.

  Perhaps Thames will alleviate the run drought that is currently plaguing the lineup.  If not, however, Mack Avenue Tigers lists six names that could provide some help.  A couple of them probably aren't realistic possibilities, but the last player he mentions is exactly the type of player the Tigers should go after.  In terms of position and contract, it's a great fit.

(Mike McClary and I were chatting about this over instant message last night, as well, and he threw a name out there that's also intriguing, though he'd surely cost much more.) 

  Someone who won't be returning anytime soon, it appears, is Carlos Guillen.  Leyland said it's "going to be a while," which is hardly encouraging.  Nor is the fact that Guillen still isn't swinging a bat or throwing a baseball. I'm beginning to think we don't see him on the field again this season.

  If you hadn't heard, former Tigers prospect Gorkys Hernandez (part of the infamous Edgar Renteria trade) was part of a package sent by Atlanta to Pittsburgh in exchange for outfielder Nate McLouth. 

Talking Chop looks at the deal from the Braves' side, while Bucs Dugout has the Pirates' point of view. 

  Speaking of the Braves, how do you think Josh Anderson feels after he lost out to Jordan Schafer for the starting centerfield job this spring, and now sees his former team make a big trade to bolster that position (while demoting Schafer to the minors)? 

  According to Lynn Henning, the Tigers would like to take a position player with a big bat with their first-round pick, but one probably won't be available by the ninth selection, which is why they've been looking hard at high school pitchers.  (They're also intrigued by a couple of college pitchers, however.) 

  Take 75 North noticed Ryan Strieby getting some time in left field with Double-A Erie.  Could playing somewhere besides first base change his career track in the Tigers organization?  The 24-year-old is batting .299/.415/.609 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs in 205 plate appearances this season.

  Fire JIm Leyland looks at Edwin Jackson's 2008 and 2009 seasons through Pitch F/X and finds that the slider might be the key to his success this season.

  You might remember APIAS posting a chart detailing whether or not the Tigers were getting full value for the money being paid to each player on the roster.  In a FanShot, Dberg takes exception to the methodology used, and crunches his own numbers to see who's giving the team the most value for each dollar spent.