Like Stripes on the Fur Coat of a Tiger - 04/05

●  Congratulations to TigerBlog, which turned four years old yesterday.  Four years is a long time to be doing this blogging thing, and it's nice that the Tigers are finally rewarding Brian with a good team.

●  If you haven't been keeping up with The Detroit Tigers Podcast, Mike has posted two new shows over the past week.  Episode #6 has an interview with Tigers TV analyst Rod Allen.  And in the following episode, Mike speaks with Bob Wright and Dennis Cheatham of the Just Baseball podcast.

●  Did you catch Fernando Vina's debut on Baseball Tonight last night? (I missed the news of his hiring back in February.)  Apparently, the $6 million he stole from the Tigers ran out, and he needed another gig. But hey, if he's replacing Tino Martinez on that show, I'm happy Fernando's found gainful employment.  And he can always rest assured that he still has at least one fan back in Detroit.

● Over at Roar of the Tigers, Sam-Sam discovered something about Brandon Inge that you may not have wanted to know.  (I suppose a certain superstar golfer could employ this same tactic if he's successful in Augusta this weekend.  And that will probably be the only golf reference I ever make here.)  

Also, after another rather awful performance yesterday, Sam has officially put Fernando Rodney on notice.  (Watch out, dude.  You wouldn't like her when she's angry.)

● Matt Wallace of Talking Tigers will soon be taking his thoughts on the Tigers' minor leagues to the big time.  (I'd make some joke about him going to "the other network," but I just got done pimping Samela's blog.)

● America's newest author, Gary Sheffield, spent Tuesday's off-day signing books in New York.  Newsday's Jim Baumbach read Inside Power and didn't seem too impressed.

● I wish I had read that column before heading to the bookstore yesterday, because I bought Sheffield's book yesterday.  And I've become a cheapie when it comes to buying hardcover books, so that kind of hurt.  But I'm doing this for you, the people.  I'll see if I can plow through some of it over the weekend.

● Also while at the bookstore, I flipped through this week's Sports Illustrated, and if you haven't already seen it, Craig Monroe is the subject of "The Questions."  My favorite Q&A:

"Of course there's pain."  I'm ready to vomit just from thinking about it.  I'll never forget Craiggers getting nailed in the cookies.  And I'm pretty sure it's impossible not to yell when you see the video.  (How can YouTube be failing me on this?)  You'll yell again when you remember the dude wasn't wearing a cup!  

(Actually, I happened to be live-blogging from Iowa when it happened.  And the aforementioned Sam-Sam posted some Zapruder-film like photos of the incident.)

● Also, in the issue, former Tiger Chet Lemon is mentioned among several major leaguers who are now coaching high school ball. Lemon's Eustis (Fla.) team made it to the Class 4A regional final last year.

● Finally, just in case you were already on Ozzie Watch, Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times said the White Sox manager is in no danger of being fired.  How about we check back in November on that?