The End
| [september 29, 2003] The End |
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=-) How can you not smile, the way the Tigers finished the season? After being written off by pretty much everyone as a lock to at least tie the record for losses in a season, the boys from D-Town win five of their last six games and finish the entire 162 game season with 119 losses and 43 wins. As the season came to a close, each win brought loads of excitement to the players and the fans. In the final homestand, the Tigs took three of four from the Twins. The Tigers finally caught a break, in that the Twins were resting most of their regulars, having clinched the division earlier in the week. Still, it wasn't easy. On Saturday, sitting on 119 losses, the Tigers rallied from an 8-1 deficit in the final three innings to win their forty-second and finished the season on Sunday with a sound 9-4 victory. The positive finish will hopefully have a lasting effect into the start of next season. While a number of the players will not be here when the next season starts, most of them will remember what it's like to get excited about winning some games. ------------------------------------------------------ The Tigers Weekly Continuum Project... ------------------------------------------------------ Thanks to Jason "Williams" Boddu, you can now review all of the Tigers Weekly's from the year 2003. And there was much rejoicing (yay). So now if there are any questions about games or if you want to look at some of the good and terrible predictions that I or readers may have made, you can check the back issues out at this page. http://theorigin8or.tripod.com/tigersweekly.htm Go Chicago Bulls! ------------------------------------------------------- Week of 9/23 - 9/29 Record: 5-1 WWWLWW- Undy Five Hundy: Seventy-six losses under five hundred, while a hundred and ten plus nine games we lost. There were more than a thousand K's, in less than two hundred days, there were errors, and lots of games they cost! Yeah, Mike Ilitch selling us on the Tigers was about equivalent to Harold Hill getting River City to buy into the boys band. But the index ends up at 76, two shy (one game difference) of what it would have taken to tie the Mets. That's good enough in my book. ------------------------------------------------------- Tigers of the Week... ------------------------------------------------------- Shane Halter hit a walk-off home run Thursday night to beat the Twins and had a game tying RBI in the tenth inning on Friday. Mike Maroth picked up two wins in the final week of the season, taking the hill one final time in the season finale. The man deserved to win ten games, and didn't deserve to lose twenty. But that's life. I think that Maroth dealt with it really well and he didn't get it too bad for being the first guy in twenty years to lose twenty games. If he can step up his skills and continue to show this kind of mettle, he will be a fine pitcher. ------------------------------------------------------- Tiger of the Year... ------------------------------------------------------- Barely edging out Craig Paquette this year is Dmitri Young. Honestly now... Dmitri has, without question, been the most positive story for the Tigers in the 2003 season. He led the team in most of the good statistical batting categories and he was the Tiger representative in the All-Star game. Money should be spent on guys like Dmitri, not on the likes of Dean Palmer. ------------------------------------------------------- MLB Standings... ------------------------------------------------------- AL East NYY 101 61 - BOS 95 67 6 *** AL Wild Card *** TOR 86 76 15 BAL 71 91 30 TAM 63 99 38 AL Central MIN 90 72 - CWS 86 76 4 KCR 83 79 7 CLE 68 94 22 DET 43 119 47 AL West OAK 96 66 - SEA 93 69 3 ANA 77 85 19 TEX 71 91 25 NL East ATL 101 61 - FLA 91 71 10 *** NL Wild Card *** PHI 86 76 15 MON 83 79 18 NYM 66 95 34.5 NL Central CHC 88 74 - HOU 87 75 1 STL 85 77 3 PIT 75 87 13 CIN 69 93 19 MIL 68 94 20 NL West SFG 100 61 - LAD 85 77 15.5 ARI 84 78 16.5 COL 74 88 26.5 SDP 64 98 36.5 ------------------------------------------------------- Playoff Preview... ------------------------------------------------------- American League Divisional Series' Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees Minnesota has lost their last thirteen games to the Yankees, but in this five game series, anything can happen (see 2002 Anaheim Angels). The Yankees are vulnerable, and the Twins were hot down the stretch. As my buddy Luis and I discussed today, game one in the Bronx is huge. If Johan Santana can win that game for the Twins, then the Yankees will have to play at least two games in the land of the Homer Hankee if they plan to move on to the LCS. Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics The A's are the champions of the West and the Red Sox are the Wild Card team, but most people are picking the Red Sox to win this series. Maybe it's because the Athletics have lost in the first round each of the last three seasons, or maybe it's just because the Red Sox are a dynamite team this year. Their pitching isn't spectacular (except for that P. Martinez guy) but their hitting is phenomenal. Bill Mueller won the AL batting title with a .326 average, and the Red Sox finished with a team average of .289 (which bested the next best AL team, big hitting Toronto, by ten points). With Mark Mulder out, the A's are a two headed monster on the mound, and they will have trouble keeping up at the plate. It's good for them they have a thing called "The Curse of the Babe" working for them. National League Divisional Series' Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves Who doesn't love the Cubs...except Cardinal fans? With the Sox and the Cubs in the playoffs this year, it gives the possibility of a "Hell Freezes Over" World Series. This divisonal series is hitting versus pitching. The Cubs have great pitching to counter Atlanta's great hitting. The series will be won or lost on who comes to play; Atlanta's hurlers or Chicago's swingers. Both have had their sporadic moments over the season, so if one can best the other, that team should win the series. Florida Marlins vs. San Francisco Giants The team that gets overlooked the most is probably the Florida Marlins. They are a very different team than the Giants, but should give them a tough series. They play with a lot of enthusiasm, and will run circles around you on the bases. Benito Santiago is going to have trouble keeping Pierre, Castillo, and Juuuuuan Encarnacion from strolling around the diamond. But they can't steal bases if they can't reach first base first (what a mouthful). Jason Schmidt and the rest of the Giants rotation will attempt to prevent just that. Oh yeah, the Giants have a dangerous lineup that includes the most dangeruous hitter in the game, Neifi Perez...er, Barry Bonds. ------------------------------------------------------- 2003 Tigers Statistical Leaders... ------------------------------------------------------- Batting Leaders... Note: There was an Ernie Young that got some time for the Tigers this year. However, whenever I say "Young" it is in reference to Dmitri. Pretty much every category was headed by Dmitri. Games Young 155 At Bats Young 562 Batting Avg. Young .297 On Base % Young .372 Runs Young 78 Hits Young 167 Doubles Young 34 Triples Young 7 Home Runs Young 29 RBI's Young 85 Walks Higginson 59 Strikeouts Young 130 Stolen Bases Sanchez 44 CS Sanchez 18 Pitching Leaders... Games Started Maroth 33 Games Walker 78 Innings Pitched Cornejo 194.2 Wins Maroth 9 Losses Maroth 21 Saves German/Mears 5 Holds Walker 12 Strikeouts Bonderman 107 K's/9 innings Rodney 10.01 Minimimum 50 innings pitched... WHIP Walker 1.20 ERA Walker 3.32 ------------------------------------------------------- Game Linescores... ------------------------------------------------------- September 23: Detroit 15 - Kansas City 6 Starters: DET: Maroth 5IP - KCR: Lima 3.2IP DET 121 342 200 15 18 1 KCR 110 400 000 6 12 1 W: Maroth (8-21) L: Lima (8-2) September 24: Detroit 4 - Kansas City 3 Starters: DET: Loux 5IP - KCR: Gobble 7IP DET 400 000 000 4 5 0 KCR 100 000 200 3 7 0 W: Loux (1-1) L: Gobble (4-5) S: Rodney (3) September 25: Minnesota 4 - Detroit 5 F/11 Starters: MIN: Santana 5IP - DET: Robertson 7IP MIN 001 000 030 00 4 6 2 DET 000 000 310 01 5 9 0 W: Mears (1-3) L: Thomas (0-1) September 26: Minnesota 5 - Detroit 4 F/11 Starters: MIN: Milton 5IP - DET: Cornejo 7IP MIN 000 201 000 11 5 12 1 DET 200 010 000 10 4 12 0 W: Guardado (3-5) L: German (2-4) S: Hawkins (2) September 27: Minnesota 8 - Detroit 9 Starters: MIN: Radke 5IP - DET: Knotts 3.2IP MIN 100 430 000 8 15 1 DET 000 010 341 9 14 1 W: Rodney (1-3) L: Orosco (1-1) September 28: Minnesota 4 - Detroit 9 Starters: MIN: Lohse 3IP - DET: Maroth 6IP MIN 000 020 020 4 12 2 DET 100 017 00X 9 15 1 W: Maroth (9-21) L: Johnson (0-1) ------------------------------------------------------- Readers Write In... ------------------------------------------------------- Nic "Where the f#$% are my glasses" Gilbert I feel really degraded for not making it in the weekly this week you asshole. Just cause I ended up pulling it out and becoming the only 3-0 team in fantasy football does not mean you have to ignore me for the rest of the year. May I remind you that my fondest memory of the year is the fact that I went 3-0 on the year. That is almost a whopping 10% of their wins. And not only that, but it was against the Yankees, A's, and White Sox. Who can say they have that luck. Now time to go study game film of the real sport so I can set my lineup this week and prepare for another league title and monetary donations. Gilby ------------------------------------------------------- Nick "Cy Young" Ciofani I will remember waking up, checking to see if the Tigers lost, then to see if the Indians won, and then moving on to read about the NFL. Without the Tigers I would have stopped paying attention to baseball in July. ------------------------------------------------------- Peter "Bobblehead" Ciofani Matt, on behalf of all your readers I will add you to my daily novena for all the pain and suffering you went through this year. As they say, when you die you'll go to heaven beacuse you've been through hell on earth. Great job each week! ------------------------------------------------------- Gary "Pettis" Conkle "Look Martha!! There's a light up ahead." Unfortunately, for the Tigers, I don't see a light up ahead for next year. Lack-luster ownership, non-existent general management and a philosophy of "homegrow your team" does not give me any confidence in the '04 Tigers. Now don't get me wrong. I love my Tigers wether they are winning or losing. (Well, OK, I like them a little better when they are winning.) I just think that until upper management is willing to cut loose a few extra bucks to get a couple of top quality players that can bring along the rest of the team and not send up a bunch of "still suckling at the AAA nipple" players, I see the Tigers fighting for last place for at least a couple of more years. ------------------------------------------------------ Dallas "Rick 'em" Senters yes the tigers are the worst team in baseball. this year there were some glaring problems with pitching and hitting, which pretty much spells out losing, but the pitching has "potential" and as matt pointed out last year the upside for the hitters is pretty high (except for money bags higginson) so the problem becomes their defense. how bad were they this year? did they get more runs than errors? that is what they need to improve next year. speaking of improving next year. the reds have to get some pitching. their three best players would have been nice to keep, too. the indians will have to figure out who is going to play when their FIFTEEN out for the year players are healthy next season (we hope) how did hillsdale baseball do this year? did they get a chance to get drilled by notre dame's b-squad? which is worse, matt?....this tigers season or 120+ titty twisters? i'm done dallas ------------------------------------------------------ John "Ma-Roth"well Methods of improvement for 2004: Major League Baseball buys the Tigers from Mike I. for a reasonable price. Major league baseball disbands the entire current Tiger team and buys out all salarys/contracts. Major league baseball, which owns the Montreal Expos, moves that team to Detroit. MLB wants to get out of Montreal in the worst way. Doing this will insure a better, more qualified, more >exciting, etc. team for 04. John W Rothwell ------------------------------------------------------ Steve "Jud" Sprague Toolie, I think my favorite memory of the Tigers this year was when they stopped Clemens from getting his 300th victory. I despise that man and there were three teams I absolutely did not want to see him reach that milestone against. The Red Sox for the way he left, pissing on the fans that cheered him for so long, the Cubbies because they are my favorite team, and of course the Tigers because I grew up rooting for them except for their inter-league games against the Cubs. I remember the Yankees holding the lead when Clemens came out and the Tigers rallying in the bottom of the inning to earn a no-decision for the Rocket. What followed was even better, the Tigers actually taking the Yankees to extra innings, they had a fire that game, the stadium was packed and the fans were going wild. That was not the game you expect to watch when one of the teams involved is the worst ever, and the other is the most historic franchise in all of sports. But, for a few hours that wonderful afternoon the Tigers were up to the task of playing the Yankees, and making Clemens and his overfed ego wait another five days to celebrate history. The only thing that could have made the day better would have been if Clemens took a hit off his throwing elbow and never pitched again. Seriously, I hate him. I think he should go into the HOF with a dollar sign on his hat. Hopefully in the future there will be many more exciting ball games at Comerica Park, until then Go Wings! Go Pistons! At least there is something positive about Michigan winters. Stephen Sprague ------------------------------------------------------- Simon "Mathematica" Pranaitis Matt, Great job on the newsletter. I do admit enjoying it even though I despise every Detroit sports team. OK, maybe that's a little strong. I really only despise the Red Wings, but being a good Colorado boy, I can't help but find the Tigers and Lions woes humorous. As for the poll question, the Tigers have to be better next year in every respect, but especially pitching. Anyhow, hang in there buddy. The Rockies won't be winning the pennant anytime soon either. Go Avs and Broncos! Simon ------------------------------------------------------- Toolie's Trashtalk... And that, as they say, is that. 162 games in the books. 43 up, and 119 down. It's been a long long season and it has finally come to a close. You have to give the Tigers credit for making that push at the end and avoiding the loss record. I was a little unsure about their sense of urgency, but they really showed that they didn't want that undesirable distinction by winning five of their last six. The most impressive win, in my eyes, was the comeback on Saturday after spotting the Twins eight runs. I had all but given up on the game. I was sitting at a bar, and I happened to glance up at the bottom line scores and I saw "Twins 8 Tigers 9" and I didn't even think that it was that day's score. In my mind, the game was over and the Tigers had lost. It took me about three seconds just to deliberate whether that was the true score or not. Then, I had to remember who the Tigers had played and that they were down 8-0 when I left. When I was sure of the victory, I raised my arms in jubilation and exclaimed "they won the Tigers won, holy crap they won!" or something to that effect. I couldn't get the words out of my mouth fast enough. After some high fives, I walked over to the DJ and requested "Eye of the Tiger" and basked in the win. On Sunday, I listened to the final game on the radio as I relearned how to take derivatives of and integrate inverse trig functions. You can imagine how much fun I was having. I had to go to the computer lab in the top of the sixth inning, and I saw on the gamecast that the Tigers had put up seven runs in the sixth and I knew then (with 90% confidence) that it was over. I was able to get back down to my office to hear the top of the ninth, the crowd going wild as Shane Halter fired over to Carlos Pena for the final out of the season. What a freaking finish! Yo, Mr. Ciofani, thanks for the prayer inclusion. I need it in more ways than just Tiger viewing. After all I've been through this season, I feel like I should be sitting at the right hand of the Father. But that spot is already taken, so I'll settle for something else. Gilby, I can ignore you whenever I want. This is my newsletter! BUT, the letter you had sent me was old news, as I had included the link on the 15th, so that's why you got the snub. I like the idea involving contraction in the league. I am for contraction, but of course, I am against contracting teams with a rich history. Two teams definitely need to go, perhaps four. As far as Clemens entering Cooperstown with a dollar sign on his hat: As I recall, he was kind of ushered out of Boston. The GM made some comment about Clemens being in the twilight of his career, I think. If that's the truth, then I think there can't be anything more satisfying than sticking it to the team that scorned you. Now, the most important question; the Tigers season or 120+ titty twisters? If I had to take the titty twisters all at once then I'd say give me the 119 loss season. However, if you spread the TT's over a six month period, that may be easier to deal with. I throw the question back to you, Dallas. Would you rather have the Reds lose 120 or would you rather take 120 laps around the Highlands in your boxers after suffering 120 10-0 losses to me (or Jim or Phil or Anthony) in foosball? There was an article on ESPN.com trying to focus on the positives from this season. Click the link below to check it out. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1623404 I've got to give it up for Mike Maroth. Maroth, already a 21 game loser and the poster boy for the Tigers miserable season, took the ball for one last time in 2003 and pitched to get his team victory number twenty-three. Maroth was coming off his eighth win in Kansas City, and had the Tigers stuck with the six man rotation they were on, he could have ended his season peacefully. But Maroth said "give me the ball and let's win" and pitched six strong innings. When the Tigers scored all those runs in the bottom half of the sixth, Trammell took Maroth out, who ended up getting win number nine. It was only fitting that Maroth be the one to finish the season for Detroit. As bad as the year was, it seemed to end on a high note for everyone. Maroth got the win, Higginson hit a home run, and Brandon Inge went 2 for 4, finishing with a .203 batting average. On Saturday, Alex Sanchez stole four bases, two coming in the ninth, which led to him scoring the winning run on a wild pitch. Craig Monroe had a homer in the last game, which brought his total up to twenty-three on the year. He will be a force next season. Jamie Walker, easily the Tigers best reliever this season, finished up the game working a 1-2-3 ninth inning. And Alan Trammell, first year manager and Tiger legend, got the forty-third win of his career. Next year will most certainly be better, but it may be a long time until Trammell and the Tigers get a bigger win than the one they got on Sunday... a win that kept the Tigers out of baseball's historical joke book. Teams I would like to see win the Series... 1. Twins 2. Cubs 3. Athletics 4. Red Sox 5. Marlins 6. Braves 7. Giants 8. Yankees I don't know who is actually going to win (or else I'd go to Vegas and put a bet on them) but I'll venture a guess, hoping to curse the Giants, and say that this is their year. I hope I'm wrong. I got to meet some of the Twins, and they were pretty cool. I'd like to see them win it all. Besides, someone needs to represent the AL Central. Toolie's Top Ten Tiger Memories of the Year... 10. Roger Clemens goes for 300 at Comerica. Stadium was sold out and the Tigers had a huge comeback to spoil it for the Rocket. Tigers lose in the 17th inning. 9. Game in July with Matt Weiland. Got to see the Rockies for the first time while hanging out with old Hillsdale buddy, Weiland. Afterwards, got to hang out with the Grey Fox (Claus) in Clarkston. 8. Seeing the Tigers beat the White Sox with Gilbert. I only saw two wins this year, so this had to make the list. Plus, I really don't like Chicago that much, so it was extra nice. 7. Tigers/Red Sox game with the Bottinelli's. What can beat a pregame dinner in Greektown and then seeing Pedro pitch for the Red Sox? The Tigs had a great chance to win, but couldn't get a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth. Claus found us halfway through the game and hung out, which was fantastic. The next day, I layed by the pool in the sun and listened on the radio as Wil Ledezma dominated the Red Sox. I'm not a sunbather, but Tigers on the radio can get me to lay out for hours. 6. Brandon Inge's walk off grand slam off of Troy Percival to beat the Angels at Comerica. I thought this game was over, and Inge, of all people, goes deep to give the Tigers some rare runs against the stingy Angels closer. A bright spot for sure in the season. 5. My first game of the season. Tigers lose to the White Sox 5-0. First time I had ever seen the White Sox, last AL team that I hadn't seen. First game with a person who means quite a great deal to me. First time I had seen the fireworks show after the game. A nice show. Tigers fall to 0-9. 4. Tigers beat Oakland 2-1. The other win I saw this season, also with Gilbert. Craig Monroe homers on the 13th pitch of an at bat against Tim Hudson. In the ninth, Monroe hits a leadoff double. He is sacrificed to third by Munson, and Brandon Inge hits a sac fly deep enough to get the winning run across. First win for Steve Avery since 1999. Afterwards it was beers at Hockeytown as we watched the Pistons beat the 76ers in the playoffs. 3. Game versus the Diamondbacks in July. Again, it was my first time seeing Arizona (check em off the list). Lia and a lot of my family were at the game, the fam via a charter bus from Ske-Town. Nice to see the game with uncles Eugene, John, and Denny, as well as many of my cousins. Got to take Deborah Kent to her first game in Detroit (it wasn't rained out!). Tigers lost in extras. Had just been to Hillsdalian Ryan Throne's wedding the night before. Good weekend. 2. Finishing the season 5-1 and avoiding the loss record. Lets face it, that's all we would have heard about had they hit the mark. Yeah, it would have been something to say that we had witnessed the worst ever, but I'd rather have the Tigers be associated with a historic tradition and winning (somewhat) than have some rotten loss record be what they are known for. 1. August 9th game versus the Minnesota Twins. Started with a trek across the finer parts of downtown Detroit. Met Luis and his friends by the ticket window, got our super hook-up seats and watched the game from 25 rows behind home plate. Tigers lost in extras (seeing a pattern? I got a lot of free baseball this year). Got to see most of the players from both teams after the games as they exited the locker room. Gave my first "interview" with the big headed (literally) Matt Roney. And as Ernie Harwell would put it, this season is Looooooooooooong Gone! Come November, everybody s back to 0-0. The Tigers will once again be tied for the AL Central lead, and the magic number will be 163. I am exhausted as a fan right now, but a long winter will be enough to whet my appetite for another season of Tigers baseball. Thanks to everyone for being on board this season and sharing the TW love with your friends. I really enjoy doing this (some weeks more than others) and I'm glad there are people out there who enjoy reading it, even if it is occasionally. Some year will be the Tigers year. Some day we will be celebrating fantastic seasons. Some October, I will be putting out Weekly's...maybe even updates after every game. It could get crazy. But for now we take what we've got and make the best of it. At my bowling league tonight, I was told that I was the biggest optimist the guy had ever known. Being a Tiger fan, having an optimistic view is essential for happiness. Next year! For the final time in 2003... I am out! Toolie ------------------------------------------------------- Tigers Weekly is in no way affiliated with the Detroit Tigers or Major League Baseball. Hey you! You are receiving this because I or someone else thinks that you give a darn about baseball. If you don't, or just don't want to receive the Weekly anymore, write back and put NO! in the subject box. If you know anyone that would like to recieve TW, reply and give me their names and e-mail addresses. Play Ball! If your e-mail address is changing, drop me a line and I will update it.... |
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