Morning Prowl: Porcello's Appeal, Henning's Beef, Zumaya's Surgery, and Thames's Milestone

by Ian Casselberry on Aug 13, 2009 8:40 AM EDT in News Comment 22 comments

Rick Porcello dropped the appeal of his five-game suspension. Factoring into the decision was Armando Galarraga's scratched start last night. Galarraga will now pitch in Porcello's original turn on Sunday, and Kid Rick's next start will be Tuesday night vs. Seattle.

So should we all thank Ken Griffey, Jr. for helping the Tigers maintain their two-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central? You can do so personally next week, when the Mariners return to Detroit. Griffey's single off Tony Pena in the 14th inning drove home the game-winning (and only) run.

Okay, seriously - who in the Tigers' organization ticked off Lynn Henning? He's been cranky all season, and the second-to-last paragraph of this blog post is his latest example of fist-shaking. Maybe it's Jim Leyland who put out a cigarette in Henning's coffee (figuratively speaking), judging from what's written here.

That's not to say Henning doesn't bring up a good point in asking what really happened on Porcello's pitch to Kevin Youkilis on Tuesday night. But expecting Leyland to potentially call out his rookie pitcher is a bit much. (What ultimately surprises me is that Henning didn't somehow manage to add this to his argument that the Tigers should release Magglio Ordonez.)

Mark your calendars: One week from tomorrow, Joel Zumaya will undergo shoulder surgery. The procedure will take place in Florida, and be performed by one Dr. James Andrews ("the most valuable player in sports").

Jayson Stark has some interesting trivia surrounding the 100th career home run that Marcus Thames hit last weekend. Thames reached that milestone in fewer games than many of baseball's all-time sluggers. However, to join them in home run immortality, he'd have to play a long time. A very long time.

If you missed it yesterday, the Milwaukee Brewers released Bill Hall. (Just over a week ago, some blogger was suggesting the Tigers should try to pick him up.)

Any need for Hall might not be quite as great now, as Brandon Inge seems to be dealing with his knee injury better. And another right-handed hitting outfielder would probably just complicate matters at this point. But we're just saying: he's out there and will probably be cheap.

Wouldn't it be funny if the Tigers were one of the teams that put in a waiver claim on Gary Sheffield? It's a moot point, however, as the Mets pulled Sheff back off waivers, negating any possible trade.

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semi-related

this quote about Miner on BLS this morning kind of cracked me up

"One of my favorite mediocre players is Zach Miner, who filled in for Armando Galarraga with not great results. Miner also took the loss in relief on Monday. He’s Leyland’s designated driver. The guy will pitch in any situation. Underwater, if he has to. He’s very retro versatile, like Dennis Lamp in the early ’80s or Kelly Downs that one year."

by allikazoo on Aug 13, 2009 9:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

good find!

Don't drive angry!

by Dan Gurney on Aug 13, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

also

I just caught myself saying “Wieters knows” instead of “Lord knows” to a non-baseball friend.

I need to get a life

by allikazoo on Aug 13, 2009 9:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that seems like a perfectly good life.

Now just go get some Templeton Rye and we can all discuss who would win in a fight Lou Whitiker or Ryne Sandberg?

by IowaLion on Aug 13, 2009 9:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

lou would beat sandberg senseless.

by rook34 on Aug 13, 2009 10:32 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

I would tend to think so too

but I havnt seen Sweet Lou for a while … anyone know what he is up to?

by IowaLion on Aug 13, 2009 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

he is up to about 250...

Given what he looked like at spring training.

by rook34 on Aug 13, 2009 12:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

although,

Sandberg would just grin and ask lou how he was doing, and lou wouldn’t want to beat him senseless. Sandberg is an annoyingly likeable guy. I bet even palmerio still likes him.

by rook34 on Aug 13, 2009 10:34 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

So what are the odds we can

actually get a win in Boston today and avoid the sweep?

Welcome to Detroit>>Where the weak are killed and eaten.

by Detroitchik on Aug 13, 2009 11:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

good, I hope..

by allikazoo on Aug 13, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I give props to Shane Victorino

for keeping his cool

by Tagne13 on Aug 13, 2009 11:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed

Tammy

by VegasTigers on Aug 13, 2009 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Praise Avila

I hate when Biggy’s not in the lineup, almost as much as he does…

Welcome to Detroit>>Where the weak are killed and eaten.

by Detroitchik on Aug 13, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

so glad to hear that

the universe just feels off when he is not playing.

by allikazoo on Aug 13, 2009 12:16 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

+100

Welcome to Detroit>>Where the weak are killed and eaten.

by Detroitchik on Aug 13, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope we never put Guillen at first again

He missed two balls over there. OK they were in the dirt, but Miggy would’ve handled them!

Tammy

by VegasTigers on Aug 13, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who the **** is Lynn Henning?

He seems to think that his opinion is more important or enlightened? I understand the guy is trying to sell papers and “create” controversy, but really…is he that stupid? Is Leyland supposed to say “yeah, I ordered him to plunk Youk”?!? In which case, Leyland and/or the Tigers are fined and he’s suspended too. Duh! These are things that baseball players and teams have always handled, without BS umpiring and media whining that they’re not in the loop.

He’s also trying to say that this was the Tigers fault, for some reason? Maybe he’s trying to show independence, but the fact remains: had Youk not charged the mound like an idiot, this would’ve never been an issue. No suspensions, no ejections, no warnings. This allowed the umpires to make a poor judgement, that ultimately cost the Tigers the game.

The game before saw Cabby get beaned, followed by Youkilis. Problem solved, because everyone took their medicine. This game, Youkilis decided to be a tough guy by making a fool of himself charging a 20 year old kid and suddenly the 20-year old kid is to blame??? Gimme a break!

The flipside is this: here’s a team that you might face in the playoffs and you’re supposed to let them get away with plunking your best hitter two days in a row, whether intentional or not? Porcello did what he was supposed to do – send a message that it would not be tolerated. That should’ve been the end of it, if not for KY’s antics.

Let Henning go back to writing love letters to Brandon Inge and calling for the release of Ordonez and Guillen…we’ve gotten used to that nonsense already.

The world's greatest wiffle ball tournament! TheFatty.com

by rings on Aug 13, 2009 11:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs