Bless You Boys: FanShots

Tigers Add Four Players to 40-Man Roster

2009-11-20T20:14:01Z

Tigers Add Four Players to 40-Man Roster

The Tigers had four spots open on their 40-man roster, with six players eligible for free agency. And today, when rosters had to be finalized, the team filled each spot.

Second baseman Scott Sizemore, shortstop Audy Ciriaco, and outfielders Ryan Strieby and Brennan Boesch were added to the roster.

(Bill Ferris has more at The Detroit Tigers Weblog)

Tigers Won't Increase Ticket Prices Next Season

2009-11-19T05:51:42Z

Tigers Won't Increase Ticket Prices Next Season

The Tigers announced a freeze on ticket prices today, also lowering the prices in certain sections for season tickets and individual game tickets.

The Lower Baseline Box (sections 112-114, 141-143) seats will be reduced by $7-9 and the Upper Baseline Box (sections 334-337) seats will be reduced by $5 next season.

5,800 seats will still be available for $12 or less. The highest ticket prices are $77 for premium games in the On-Deck Circle tickets ($70 regular). The lowest are the Skyline seats (section 345) for $5.

Justin Verlander Finishes 3rd in AL Cy Young Award Vote

2009-11-18T01:35:36Z

Justin Verlander Finishes 3rd in AL Cy Young Award Vote

For the second day in a row, a Detroit Tigers pitcher finishes third in voting for a postseason award.

The Royals' Zack Greinke won the AL Cy Young Award, receiving 25 of 28 first-place votes. Seattle's Felix Hernandez finished second, getting two first-place votes.

Verlander finished a distant third, but did receive one first-place vote. That was from MLive.com's Steve Kornacki.

Rick Porcello Finishes 3rd in AL Rookie of the Year Vote

2009-11-16T19:35:50Z

Rick Porcello Finishes 3rd in AL Rookie of the Year Vote

Jason Beck reports on his blog that Detroit Tigers rookie pitcher Rick Porcello finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Oakland closer Andrew Bailey (13 first-place votes) was the winner (which, to me, is kind of a surprise). Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus finished second.

Porcello received seven first-place votes, but eight writers left him off their ballot entirely.

"I don’t know, but I think Rick Porcello probably should win it. At 20 years old, or 21, to do what ...

2009-11-16T15:30:44Z

"I don’t know, but I think Rick Porcello probably should win it. At 20 years old, or 21, to do what he did—even if you take the numbers out, and look at the performances he had, he had a big performance in that last game that they played in. And to win 14 games at his age, it was pretty special to do that. It’s not easy to go up there and do that against hitters in the big leagues.

"So, if I had a vote, other than me, obviously, it would definitely be him. It would definitely be him. We faced each other in our first game, and to see him mature over the year, including when we faced each other a second time, and listening to guys talk about his stuff, he’s just pretty special."

-- Toronto's Ricky Romero, asked by Baseball Prospectus' David Laurila about the AL Rookie of the Year vote, which will be announced today.

(Hat tip to allikazoo)

Minor League Ball Q&A

2009-11-14T19:42:13Z

Minor League Ball Q&A

Over at Minor League Ball, John Sickels made a trip to watch some AFL action last week. He addresses a couple of Tigers prospects in the comments in this post. I know it's a lot to sift through, but there's also useful commentary about other AL prospects, too.

Trade rumor "round up" link

2009-11-14T19:20:58Z

Trade rumor "round up" link

Several articles were published on mlive in the last day or so regarding the trade stuff, and this link on MLBTR does a decent job of summing them up. Nice to see some actual quotes from Dombrowski on all of this, after so much speculation.

"My personal feeling is that Detroit is not going to trade Curtis Granderson. He’s like (...

2009-11-14T15:08:57Z

"My personal feeling is that Detroit is not going to trade Curtis Granderson. He’s like (Cleveland’s) Grady Sizemore. They don’t come along very often and Detroit is blessed to have him.

"If you let a guy like that go, you have to have a replacement, and the Tigers don’t have that player in their system at the higher minor league levels.

"And then, you have to look if it’s being done because the club is financially strapped like Minnesota was when Torii Hunter (left as free agent) and Johan Santana (traded) moved on. Go ahead and look at Granderson’s contract and tell me it’s a problem."

An anonymous American League executive, talking to MLive.com's Steve Kornacki

The NY Post explores a Granderson Trade...

2009-11-12T17:45:05Z

The NY Post explores a Granderson Trade...

IF, and I mean IF, the Yankees were to make a play for Grandy, the article explores three ways of how it would unfold.

Gold Glove for Polly!

2009-11-10T20:58:59Z

Gold Glove for Polly!

Polanco wins his second Gold Glove in 3 years. Other winners listed here.

(I figure Ian will post about this with more detail later, but thought I'd share!)

"I knew when I didn't play in that last game against Minnesota. I knew I was out of there."

2009-11-07T16:59:07Z

"I knew when I didn't play in that last game against Minnesota. I knew I was out of there."

Marcus Thames, talking to the Detroit News' Lynn Henning about being released by the Tigers yesterday

J.J. Hardy Traded to Twins for Carlos Gomez

2009-11-06T17:35:04Z

J.J. Hardy Traded to Twins for Carlos Gomez

This is already being discussed in the comments of today's Morning Prowl, but if the Tigers were looking at acquiring shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Brewers, the Twins beat them to it.

Hardy was traded to Minnesota today for outfielder Carlos Gomez.

Check out what Twinkie Town and Brew Crew Ball are saying about the deal.

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

2009-10-27T01:53:01Z

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

For those with Netflix, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is available for Instant Watch.

Manny Acta is the Indians' New Manager

2009-10-25T19:27:40Z

Manny Acta is the Indians' New Manager

The Cleveland Indians have hired Manny Acta to be their new manager. Acta was chosen over former Mets manager Bobby Valentine and former Tiger Torey Lovullo, the current manager of the Indians' Triple-A team.

Acta was let go by the Washington Nationals this year, after a 158-252 record as their manager over two-and-a-half seasons. He was also a candidate for the Houston Astros' managerial opening, but turned down their offer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

SI.com's Jon Heyman speculates that Valentine may have wanted to keep working in television, where he's currently an analyst for ESPN.

Rudy Jaramillo will be Cubs hitting coach

2009-10-21T18:01:34Z

Rudy Jaramillo will be Cubs hitting coach

For those wondering if the Tigers would be after him..

No Tigers Among International League Top 20 Prospects

2009-10-17T15:34:11Z

No Tigers Among International League Top 20 Prospects

Probably not a surprise, but the Detroit Tigers had none of their prospects ranked among Baseball America's Top 20 prospects for the International League.

As Matt Wallace points out at Take 75 North, the Tigers had one prospect in BA's Gulf Coast League rankings, but none in the Florida State League's Top 20.

Tigers' TV Ratings Up 10% in 2009

2009-10-16T14:38:46Z

Tigers' TV Ratings Up 10% in 2009

Attendance may have been down at Comerica Park this season, but that didn't mean people weren't watching the Tigers on TV.

Ratings for Tigers telecasts on FOX Sports Detroit were up by more than 10% this season. In terms of ratings points, FSD had the fourth highest increase among major league teams. The number of households tuning in for Tigers games also went up by almost 10%.

(via Bucs Dugout)

Tom Gage: Tigers Won't Have Any Money to Spend This Winter

2009-10-15T18:24:20Z

Tom Gage: Tigers Won't Have Any Money to Spend This Winter

Maybe the Detroit News's Tigers beat writer is being a bit of a buzzkill, but he's also stating what many of us had already been anticipating.

Gage predicts a payroll approximating $119 million for 20 players. (Compare that to the $125 million Mack Avenue Tigers forecast.)

Admit it, you smirked. A little. [Editor's Note: Via The Centrists]

2009-10-08T13:05:03Z

Admit it, you smirked. A little.

[Editor's Note: Via The Centrists]

"That’s the Metrodome. You think you’ve killed it, but no, it will not die. It will keep coming bac...

2009-10-06T13:03:10Z

"That’s the Metrodome. You think you’ve killed it, but no, it will not die. It will keep coming back, again and again, shoving itself into the limelight like a frustrated chorus girl. The last game in the Metrodome was supposed to be Sunday. The touching eulogies were written — yes, even the villains get touching eulogies. But the old barn had one more glorious day — deafening noise, twirling hankies, a big home victory. Now, today, we get a one-game playoff — Twins vs. Tigers — and once again it could be the last day of baggie baseball. But don’t bet on it. The creepy music plays. The phone lines have been disconnected. The Metrodome is looking like it might stick around for a while."

-- From Joe Posnanski's blog

(By the way, have you bought his new book yet?)