The Tigers are now officially into the second half of the season, which means mid-season grades are being assigned throughout the Tigersosphere.  First up is The Detroit Tigers Weblog, who looks at some numbers and projects them out over a full season.  Billfer also has a handful of awards for some entertaining categories.

  What does it look like when a cranky old sports columnist uses his forum to take a clumsy shot at bloggers, thus making his entire article look unfocused and perplexing?  The Star-Tribune's Patrick Reusse provides just such an example, with a baffling swing (along with painfully forced joke) at Take 75 North's Matt Wallace over the Edwin Jackson-Matt Joyce trade.

I mean this seriously: I've read Reusse's column several times, and don't know what he's talking about.  Matt criticized the Jackson-Joyce trade, so if the Twins had made a better deal than trading Matt Garza for Delmon Young, Minnesota would lead the AL Central right now?  Trying to follow his logic will make you dizzy.   Reusse's ham-fisted attempt at an insult made about as much sense as me ending this sentence by telling you I ordered a pizza with spinach and feta cheese on it last night.  At least Reusse could've linked to Matt's post.

  Here is Matt's response, though he graciously takes the high road by keeping the discussion about baseball (and if Reusse had done that, maybe his column would've been coherent), rather than engage in bloggers vs. traditional media mud-slinging.  

  Mack Avenue Tigers thinks it's time for Clete Thomas to return to Detroit.  I agree that the Don Kelly experiment has probably run its course, and the two should switch places between Detroit and Toledo.  (Though if Josh Anderson wasn't out of options, would he draw the short straw?)

  Was Carlos Guillen really the Tigers' representative at last year's All-Star Game?  That seems so easy to forget now.

  Eye of the Tigers has some very sobering numbers about Detroit's record when they score three or fewer runs.  You can add another loss to that record after last night's defeat to the Royals.

  Sort of lost among the All-Star bids, campaigning for Brandon Inge, and Rick Porcello's skipped start was the news that Alfredo Figaro was put on the 15-day disabled list for a sprained wrist.  Was that injury affecting him during his start in Houston?

  Would the corner of Michigan and Trumbull be a good spot for a new hockey arena for the Red Wings?  Terry Foster addresses the question in the Detroit News.  I wonder if Corktown residents would really want another sports venue there.

  Passing out some more traditional letter grades is DesigNate Robertson.  Rogo's a fair grader, and I think I only disagree with one of his marks (the last one). 

  We're a few days late on this link, but The Spot Starters looks at who might play second base for the Tigers in 2010.  And giving the job to an inside hire looks a lot better than the free-agent candidates that will be available (other than possibly keeping Placido Polanco on a short-term deal).