At The Forty Game Mark

Sizemore and Ordonez

The first quarter of the season – thereabouts – has been played.

A good time to take stock of this 2010 Tigers team.

Not bad timing, as Detroit just swept a two game series at Oakland. And they knocked Dallas Braden – perfect game pitcher just ten games earlier – out in the fifth.

After forty one games played – the Tigers sit pretty with a 24 – 17 record. And as I write this they sit tied for first place in the American League Central with those rotten Minnesota Twins – after the Twins have just now lost to Boston .

So how are the Tigers doing?

So far, so good.

Not bad.

Better than expected.

This team has been exciting to watch. They have come back from five or more run deficits to win five times so far.

The rookies have really contributed so far.

Austin Jackson has all but made Tiger fans forget about losing Curtis Granderson to the Yankees. Batting .331 and showing speed and agility in center field – with a strong gun that has cut down several runners at the plate.

Equally impressive, in only half the time, has been Toledo call up Brennan Boesch. Called up at the end of April to fill the vacancy left behind by Carlos Guillen's appointment to the designated hitters list. Boesch entered The Show and announced his presence with a streak of home runs, triples and doubles, hit hard and placed in the gaps. He currently sits with an average of .372 after 21 games.

As well, Miguel Cabrera has been stellar so far. Miggy is the leader on this edition of the Tigers. And it couldn't have happened to a guy who needed to redeem himself more.

As the pundits frequently remind us – water always finds its level,

But it sure has been fun to watch so far.

Here is your Tigers roster at this snapshot of time:

As of May 20, 2010

Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
C	Gerald Laird	30	28	101	89	6	14	1	5	10	21	0.157
1B	Miguel Cabrera	27	40	176	152	27	51	8	36	23	23	0.336
2B	Scott Sizemore	25	30	115	97	12	20	1	8	13	26	0.206
SS	Adam Everett	33	24	69	64	4	12	0	2	2	13	0.188
3B	Brandon Inge	33	39	160	143	8	32	4	21	13	34	0.224
LF	Johnny Damon*	36	40	169	141	29	40	3	17	26	26	0.284
CF	Austin Jackson	23	39	180	166	29	55	1	11	14	47	0.331
RF	Magglio Ordonez	36	38	169	145	27	45	5	24	23	17	0.31
DH	Carlos Guillen#	34	16	69	61	8	19	1	8	8	8	0.311
	Boys in The Dugout
Pos		Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA
SS	Ramon Santiago#	30	30	95	80	12	20	1	6	13	13	0.25
UT	Brennan Boesch*	25	21	81	78	8	29	3	19	2	12	0.372
C	Alex Avila*	23	21	66	57	5	8	2	2	8	18	0.14
UT	Ryan Raburn	29	17	54	47	4	10	0	5	4	18	0.213
UT	Don Kelly*	30	30	40	38	4	9	1	3	1	8	0.237
OF	Casper Wells	25	3	9	9	0	2	0	2	0	2	0.222
2B	Danny Worth	24	2	7	6	0	4	0	2	0	0	0.667
	Team Totals	29.8	40	1560	1373	183	370	31	171	160	286	0.269
	Rank in 14 AL teams				8	7	5	11		4	6	5

Source: Baseball-Reference.com

As you look at these numbers, you have to ask yourself the question – how does a team do so well, when only half their offense is hitting respectably?

Good question.

I would like to tell you that it's because our starting pitching has been stellar. But that has not exactly been the case. Justin Verlander is the only starting pitcher with a winning average at 5-2.

The rest of the rotation has not been winning. There have been good outings by Porcello, Bonderman, and Willis – but the offense could not recover from early inning lapses.

Scherzer was sent to Toledo to figure out what's wrong. Let's hope he finds the answer and returns shortly.

Jeremy Bonderman has been a welcome surprise with his results. Although his record is 1 – 2, the fact is he has exceeded my expectations. He is a quality starter again. He just hasn't been able to get the wins.

Dontrelle Willis was replaced for two consecutive starts by Minor and Bonine from the bullpen to start. Both resulting in wins. He was doing pretty well too. I expect Willis to be moved somewhere shortly.

It has been the Tigers bullpen that has made the difference so far. Minor, Bonine, Zumaya, Perry, and Ni. And Valverdi dancing on the pitcher's mound when his efforts result in a save.

Most noticeably, Joel Zumaya has been a real stopper. New pitches to augment his 100 mph plus fastball have allowed Joel to rise again to a national recognition level.

Defensively, the Tigers have been over achieving and underachieving at the same time. Catchers Laird and Avilla have been horrible at the plate, and only mediocre behind the plate. They are not holding runners as effectively as in the past.

The Tigers lead the American League in errors with 34, resulting in Ryan Raburn returning to Toledo. As well, second baseman Scott Sizemore – the reason why Placido Polanco was traded to Philadelphia – was sent back down to Toledo as well.

Sizemore was just not ready yet for the major leagues. Ankle Injury limiting his range and effectiveness at second, and poor offensive results, the outlook is not to expect Sizemore back any time soon.

This leaves the Tigers in an odd spot.

Brennan Boesch has been so significant in his debut, the Tigers will not easily be moved to return Guillen to left field to replace Boesch. So the plan at this point in time is to put Carlos at second base when he returns from the DL.

But in the meantime the spot had to be filled. Casper Wells was called up from Toledo in the mean time to fill the gap. And has also been … impressive.

Great problems to have, but a problem none the less. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

So to recap, the rookies Jackson and Boesch, as well as future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera have been boosting this teams otherwise struggling offense with big numbers. The starting pitchers have been struggling – but when the bullpen comes into the game, they shut the opposition down.

That is the Tigers of 2010.

So what happens next?

Guillen comes back to play second. And I bet he does a pretty solid job – because he is an infielder who wants to play infield again. And his bat will help buoy the Tigers to stay in the race – if not hold the lead – for first.

And a trade will be made. Maybe two. A pitcher. And an infielder or a catcher. The key will be if the trade is a good one, or a bad one.

But as for getting the Tigers into a tie for first place after forty one played … credit Jim Leyland. He has danced his lineup around – as well as masterfully managing his bullpen to yank wins out of losses. Some moves didn't work, but most did.

So after forty games, how are the Tigers doing?

So far so good.

And so far, it is very exciting to be a Tigers fan in 2010.

Thank You Mr. Harwell

This morning I am listening to a ball game on the radio.

Nothing new.

Except that this game is the 2002 season ender between the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Roy Halliday vs. Mark Maroth. The game itself means nothing. But it is very special all the same.

It's the last game broadcast by legendary hall of fame announcer Ernie Harwell.

Ernie Harwell passed away peacefully at home last week, with his family around him, after battling the cancer he was diagnosed with last summer.

But if you're a Detroit Tigers fan, you already knew that.

As I listened to the radio this last week, or read the baseball news – the stories of how great a human being Mr. Harwell was are flooding in.

Thousands of them.

And all those stories, being told by the common man, those that he worked with in the media, or those that knew him as a friend from working with various organizations and charities – all have the same common theme.

He was kind. Thoughtful. Genuinely interested in every person he came in contact with. And not just in passing, but he kept everyone met in mind. And the stories of all the nice things he did are just too numerous to count.

The common sentiment is that Ernie Harwell was the kind of person that everyone should be.

He asked for nothing. He gave everything.

And he was genuinely loved.

Think of all the people in the public eye that you have ever heard of.

Then name me one person of whom no one ever had not one bad thing to say about them.

Count them on your fingers.

My bet is that when you're done counting – only one finger was necessary.

Ernie Harwell.

I never met Mr. Harwell. I wish I had. But our paths never crossed.

But I feel like I knew this wonderful man. His voice is one of the first voices my ears ever recognized.

The Tigers game, when I was a boy, was always on the radio.

His voice filled the living room of our house in Jackson, Michigan when I was little. It was in the car as we made the drives to wherever we were going. It was on our boat when we were sailing.

And while that voice was one that so vividly painted the picture of the events unfolding on the field, more importantly to me was the gentlemanly kindness of the voice. The love.

The love for baseball.

The love for the Detroit Tigers he whom he announced.

The love for Tigers Stadium which now sits as a pile of rubble on the corner of Michigan and Tremble.

The love for the community of Michigan, his adopted home.

He spoke to the little child in us all. The little boy in me. He spoke to me as a grandfather explaining the game as it unfolded sitting next to his grandson from a seat along old Tiger Stadium's third base line behind the Tigers dugout.

I loved that voice.

It was the voice of kindness. It was the voice of faith. It was the voice you could trust. When you heard Ernie Harwell's voice, you felt good. Safe. You felt like you were a part of what was going on.

After Mr. Harwell retired from announcing in 2002, after some forty two years of announcing Tigers baseball, we all missed him.

Don't get me wrong. I think very highly of Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, the current radio announcers of the Tigers today. But in 2006, as the Tigers were progressing through the playoffs, Ernie Harwell came back to announce an inning or two of a couple playoff games. And we all remembered how special it was to hear that voice tell us how the game was unfolding on the field.

And now I am listening to Mr. Harwell one more time.

A pitching duel with no score in the eighth inning.

"I know it's thought that fans like to see home runs", Mr. Harwell commented, "but I don't think fans like them as much as people think. I think a double or a triple is much more exciting, watching all the players in motion on the field, rather than a guy lumbering around the bases after hitting the ball into the seats."

Who can argue that point? Not me.

Who else would refer to the Tigers players as 'the Detroiters'.

Or explain to fans when a ball is fouled into the stands that "that ball was caught by a young man from Kalamazoo". We all thought somehow Ernie knew that boy.

As the eighth inning winds down, Ernie speaks to Jim Price to say "I know that there has been a bit too much ado made over me as this season winds down …"

Not possible.

Norman Rockwell couldn't paint the feelings that Ernie Harwell brings to one listening.

The cadence of his speech – tinted with the remnants of a Georgian drawl.

Distinguished.

Unique.

And now absent except for the recordings, and the echoes in our memories.

The Tigers lost that game. And the next season the Tigers tied the record for the most losses in Major League Baseball history.

"I don't like goodbyes, so instead let me say thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of your family", said Ernie in his closing comments to end the final broadcast.

No, Ernie. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Harwell. You taught me so much as a boy – purely by your example. And you mean so much to me – and to millions like me.

I know they have a press box at that field of dreams. And I know that all on the other side of life have just seen Heaven enhanced – because now they can stick the radio under their pillows at night, and listen to Ernie call the play by play.

I can hear him now.

Photo credit Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times