Morning Prowl: D-Train's Debacle, Winning August, Twins Trades, and September Call-Ups

  Dontrelle Willis's rehab start last night in Toledo didn't go so well.  The most troubling number from his four-inning stint is eight walks.  That's how he allowed five runs on just three hits.  Willis walked four of the first five batters he faced.  44 of his 99 pitches were thrown for strikes.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog thinks the D-Train is done in Detroit.  I'm sticking to what I said back in June.

  Section148 points out that the Tigers are assured of a winning August for the first time under Jim Leyland's management.  (Actually, Billfer finds that they haven't had a winning August since 2000.)

  The number of moves the Minnesota Twins have made over the past month is pretty astounding.  Could one more be coming?  Maybe getting Rich Harden from the Cubs?  I missed the chatter about this over the weekend, but the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers thinks there's a strong chance this deal will happen.

(via Tigers Tracks)

  Matt Wallace's buddy, Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, thinks this race and the Twins' effort to stay in it is going to cost them long-term.  He believes they should've been sellers at the trade deadline.

  Judging from how high Brandon Inge jumped to get the last out of yesterday's game, you would think his knee is feeling better, but Jason Beck reports that isn't quite the case.

  Mack Avenue Tigers speculates about possible September call-ups, highlighting six names (three pitchers, three position players) that the Tigers could call up from Triple-A Toledo.  Lynn Henning (after a lead sentence that rings bitter) mentions seven candidates, but believes the Tigers will add just three players as of Tuesday.

EDIT: The Tigers just announced six call-ups, via Beck on Twitter.

  Tom Gage thinks Magglio Ordonez's pending contract option isn't an issue among the Tigers' management.  He wonders, however, if Maggs's recent silence indicates a belief that the media is out to get him.

  Seven weeks later, Rick Porcello has updated his blog.  (What, is he busy or something?)  Besides pitching for a first-place team (with kind of a slim lead over the Twins), Kid Rick has taken up golf in his free time.  Maybe for his next entry, he can tell us who he's playing with.

  At Baseball Prospectus, David Laurila interviews West Michigan Whitecaps hitting coach Benny Distefano, whom you might remember as the last left-handed throwing catcher to play in the major leagues.

  Are these the last Tigers-centric columns we'll see from Bob Wojnowski and Drew Sharp, with college and pro football seasons about to begin?  Or might the pennant race keep them around?