So Carlos Guillen's rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo did not begin last night, as soreness in his shoulder has apparently cropped up again.  No word on exactly when Guillen will join the Mud Hens, but it's thought to be later this week.

  Days after The Spot Starters looked at Casey Crosby's season with West Michigan, the 20-year-old no-hit the Kane County Cougars for five innings, racking up eight strikeouts. 

(Unfortunately, Crosby didn't get the win, as the Whitecaps couldn't score any runs for him.  Apparently, that problem runs through the entire Tigers' organization.) 

  The Dugout posted their take on Joel Zumaya's latest injury, and their account of a conversation between Zumaya and pitching coach Rick Knapp is brutally funny.  If you haven't read it already (VegasTigers posted it in yesterday's BYOBYB), give yourself a laugh.

  Catcher Alex Avila was profiled by Lynn Henning yesterday in the Detroit News.  Batting .284/.380/.456 with eight homers and 46 RBIs for Double-A Erie, he's beginning to look like the Tigers' best prospect.

  After mentioning both Crosby and Avila, we simply must link to Tiger Tales, where Lee has posted his list of the organization's Top 10 prospects.  Is Wilkin Ramirez where you thought he might be in the rankings?

  Can the Tigers really add payroll at the trade deadline if ticket sales are down and the team is likely losing money, according to Crain's Detroit Business?  Or is Mike Ilitch better off spending money to make money?

  Tiger Geist wonders if Detroit might have to give Adam Everett a significant raise next season if they want to re-sign him.  Did Pittsburgh's GM mentioning Everett by name indicate a larger interest in his services this winter?

  Gerald Laird's unusual throwing grip got the attention of Tom Gage.  Laird grips the baseball with three fingers, instead of the conventional two.  It's certainly working well for him, as he's thrown out 22 of 49 attempted basestealers this season.

  Kurt already got a healthy discussion going on this yesterday at Mack Avenue Tigers, but he posed the question of whether or not the Tigers should consider trading Fernando Rodney.  Is he worth more to them right now as a closer, or could he actually help get the bat Detroit so badly needs?

  I try not to link to Drew Sharp very often, but he's playing buzzkill again.  I guess we just shouldn't bother watching the Tigers for the rest of this summer if they're not good enough to win it all.  Oh, and he thinks the Tigers should trade for Juan Pierre.

  So did you pick a favorite "second team" when filling out all those All-Star ballots for Brandon Inge?  I picked the Mariners, mostly because I've been following them a bit since a good friend moved out to Seattle.  Plus, I really enjoyed my trip to Safeco Field earlier this season. 

Really, this is just a long-winded way of linking to this post about Ichiro's "ticklish" relationship with Ken Griffey, Jr.