--No one seems excited, anywhere in baseball, about September call-ups. Nearly every sexy prospect is already in the majors, from Matt Cain to Felix Hernandez to the entire Brave roster to our own Curtis Granderson. Both the News and the Free Press report that the Tigers will call up a relief pitcher, but don't speculate about who that will be. The Mud Hens' playoffs start next week, so it will probably be someone from Double-A Erie, maybe even old friend Nate Cornejo.
--Vote for (or against) Guillen and Inge!.
--Justin Verlander certainly won't be called up today, even though rosters have expanded. He's still on the shelf, though he's progressing nicely.
--Could we see Joel Zumaya? That seems more likely. Look for him to get a start or two in Detroit after the Triple-A playoffs, if his season inning total is still below 175 or so.
--Carlos Pena, this time around: .452, 7 HR, 16 RBI. And he got a hit against a lefthander yesterday. Both Trammell and Dombrowski are being non-committal.
--Speaking of non-committal, aren't about 90% of the words that come out of the mouths of players, coaches, and execs nothing but empty, vapid, double talk? Why do we keep asking them to comment on things?
--The Cameron Maybin negotiations are a mess. Maybin remains one of four MLB first-rounders yet to sign, and he and the Tigers are playing he said/he said. Maybin hasn't done anything silly, though, like enroll in actual classes, so he could technically still sign at any time. Not until he and the Tigers start talking again, though.
--Roman Colon should be starting now. Sean Douglass, you had a decent run, but that's been over for a month or so.