He first sip of the major league cup of coffee was bitter sweet and two sizes short of a venti mocha. Three innings in just two appearances isn’t near enough to impress, but Tigers management could see he has decent stuff. The Tigers sent him down 0nce their bullpen got completely healthy, and quietly he has been making solid performances since then for AAA Toledo. Moving to the starting rotation, to fill a major need in the organization (yes at the back end on the paretn club), French has been impressive as of late. 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA and 41 strikeouts in his last six starts with Toledo. He says a lot of his success has to do with the improvement of his slider.

“The pitch I needed to work on was my slider,” French said. “I threw it more and it started clicking. I was able to start throwing it for a strike and then to start locating it.”

French, who was greeted first by the cousin of the pitcher he is replacing this call up, could be the answer to all of the Tigers prayers on the mound.  Since moving to the starting rotation in Toledo, French has compiled a 7.3 K/9 with opponents only hitting .236 off him. He is flying under the radar, and the Tigers Mangement flew this bullpen to starter move right under the sonar. While Tigers fans were worrying about Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson, Alfredo Figaro, and Zach Minor competing for the last spot in the rotation, French logged 83 innings of work, going the distance in one of his thirteen starts.

We will see how he tosses tonight, but this move makes me believe that the Tigers will not be hunting for a starting pitcher as the deadline nears. The real win will be either releasing Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson, and showcasing French for the rest of the year. Even if he doesn’t pan out as a starter, it seems that Dombrowski, Leyland and company will keep him on as a lefty specialist.

“Our starting pitching has actually been pretty good,” Dombrowski said. “You’re always concerned about any area, because all it takes is a bad day of injuries. Our top three guys have been good for us overall, and [Armando] Galarraga has been better his last couple starts. Our fifth spot, we have confidence in Luke French.”

French will get his chance tonight against the rival Twins. Let’s hope that slider works for him. I am rooting for him. He might be the last resort in the fifth spot of the rotation.

Want to download This Week in Detroit Tigers Baseball to your computer, mp3 player, Iphone or want to rip it to CD? (lord help you if you do). Now you can. Grab it now on the Itunes format! You can also grab the podcast on the RSS Feed as Well. 

A brand new edition of This Week in Detroit Tigers Baseball is here! In episode number three, we cover the first half of the season.

Our Guests on the opening panel in this episode:

Greg Eno- Where are you now, Johnny Grubb?

Ian Casselberry- Bless You Boys

John Brunn- Tiger Geist

J. Ellet Lambie- Eye of the Tigers

Topics of the First segment include: Team MVPs, Rick Knapp, Pitching performances of the first half and if this teams compares to any other Tigers squads in the past. In the second Segment, the guys talk about the trade deadline, and J. Ellet Lambie explains how Nate Robertson could be used in the second half (let’s just say it has nothing to with pitching!).

Topics discussed included: Adding a bat in the order via trade, Is Adam Dunn a good fit? What is the best solution to the backend of the rotation? Will Edwin Jackson and Justin Verlander hold up in the second half?

Thanks again to the guests in the first two segments!

Matt Wallace of Take 75 North joined us for this week’s Prospect on the Prowl. Today’s topic was the recent Amatuer draft. Though Matt and I hit on top two picks Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner, our main focus was third round pick Wade Gaynor out of Western Kentucky.  Wallace also informs us on some recent prospects that are on the climb and some recent injuries. Thanks again Matt from your insight and time.

Finally we wrap up episode number three with This Week in Detroit Tiger history. In this episode we go all the way back to June 28, 1976, where Mark “The Bird” Fidyrich took the nation by storm on Monday Night Baseball. The Bird was the word in the 1976 season, going 19-9 in 29 starts. Of those 29, Fidryich went the distance 24 times. Something that is unheard of these days.

This Week In Detroit Tigers Baseball

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Want to make fun, listen, or comment on your Detroit Tigers? Stop by tonight starting at 7 PM ET to listen to some of the best Detroit Tigers Bloggers live on This Week In Detroit Tigers Baseball! Today will be the recording of Segments one and two of the podcast, which will be posted in full tomorrow. 

Joining us tonight Will be: 

Greg Eno of WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, JOHNNY GRUBB?

J. Ellet Lambie of the new Eye of the Tigers

Ian Casselberry of Bless You Boys

John Brunn of Tiger Geist

Our Topics of Discussion will include: 

Mid-Season Grades

The Trade Deadline 

Looking Forward to the Second Half

The Fifth Starter Situation 

That and Much Much More coming up tonight on Motor City Bengals Live!

Rick Porcello couldn’t pull together for win number nine in the first game of the Tigers/Athletics series.  (I blame John!) Porcello gave up five runs and walked a season high four hitters. The Tigers offense continued to struggle.  The Bengals were only able to muster six hits throughout the game. Brett Anderson shut down the Tigers through 5 innings, giving up just four hits while striking out seven. 

Magglio Ordonez continued to struggle, all the way down to seventh in the order. He went 1-4. Fu Te Ni made his debut last night, pitching 1 2/3 innings. Jim Leyland was overall impressed: 

“He did fine. He looked pretty impressive, actually. I think he’ll do well. I’m happy for the kid.”

John over at Tiger Geist talks about the game a bit more today on his site, pretty interesting insight, as he had front row seats for the action. 

–Chemistry Talk

An interesting nugget out from Jim Leyland last night; He believes that the Tigers have the best chemistry of any team since he has been there . From the Detroit Tigers Official Web Site: 

“This is the closest team we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Leyland, whose Tigers face the Oakland A’s Tuesday in the second game of a three-game set. “This is a team with guys that pull for each other.”

What makes this team so close? Is it the way they play together on the field? How they spend their time off of it?

“It’s all-around,” Leyland said. “We have a lot of characters. …It’s a really fun group.”

A fun group that doesn’t mind being made fun of.

Leyland referenced a recent clubhouse moment in Houston involving Gerald Laird.

The catcher left Saturday’s contest against the Astros in the first inning with lower back spasms. Felipe Paulino allowed one run on three hits and struck out nine in seven innings to lead Houston to an 8-1 win.

Laird was back in the lineup the next day.

“I called it Paulino-itis. It was a miraculous comeback. He got rid of it in about 12 hours,” Leyland joked. “We had fun with him, and he handled it like a champ.”

The Tigers will take on the Athletics in game two on the mound. The Teams have flip flop records. Armando is on the mound for the Tigers.

He really has the stuff to be a major league pitcher. He showed it last Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s got solid poise for a youngster. Hell, he even has the hat wearing skills of his cousin Fernando! I’m looking forward to watching him pitch this weekend, and I can’t quite figure out why. It isn’t that I am super impressed with him. I don’t think he is going to shut out the Astros. Maybe it is because finally for the first time in a month, the Tigers have a pitcher in the five slot that can actually compete to win.

Figaro to the rescue in 2009? Stay tuned.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that rookie pitchers in Detroit’s recent history have been dominant. Maybe I hope to see a glimpse of Edwin Jackson, Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello. Maybe deep inside, I am praying this poor kid’s career isn’t ending before it had a chance to start. The goal will be to keep his composure and as Jim Leyland says: 

“It’s all about talent. It’s not about age or service, veteran or rookie. It’s not about any of that. It’s about talent. It’s about being able to get the job done.”

If Figaro can get the job done throughout this stretch up to the All-Star break, it gives the Tigers at least a few options. If they have true faith in him, then he could be the starter that helps propel them to enough wins for a playoff birth. If not, he at least becomes a prospect that teams have witnessed do well against major league competition. Coming into the season, Figaro was in the middle of the pack when it came to prospects. Now he has showcased a 97 MPH fastball with good control for a twenty four year old. He also has witnessed that he can remain calm when he gets into tough situations. Though it seems cliche, he really does care about winning. That was evident last Saturday after his final strikeout of the game.  

Like the last few years, ’sellers’ at the deadline remain to be small. Possibly the Cleveland Indians, but there is now way a deal would get done between division rivals. Billy Beane stated a few weeks ago that his team was still in the hunt, and that players like Matt Holliday weren’t available. Now, the A’s are nine games out of first place in the American League West. The Rangers will get Josh Hamilton back after the all-star break. The Angels are finally getting completely healthy for the first time all year. That doesn’t mean that Beane would deal Holliday. There is talks that he will try and offer him an extension at the end of the year. We all know that Beane isn’t going to deal his pitching either. Only because their whole staff remains one of the youngest in Major League Baseball. 

There is no doubt the Washington Nationals need pitching help (even though they drafted god in June.) Could Figaro fit in a package to get slugger Adam Dunn? The Nats wouldn’t mind unloading the rest of his eight million dollar salary this season, and twelve million for next year. Figaro might be just enough for Dunn, who really knows. He is another base clogger, hitting only .258. He does have 18 home runs so far this season. Though many hope the Tigers add him to their lineup, I shade away from this theory. He is a wonderful fielder though……

It will be interesting to see what is to come. Let’s just hope that Mr. Alfredo Figaro can keep us in the ball game tonight versus the Houston Astros.

Detroit Tigers (41-31) @ Houston Astros (33-37)

The Tigers will take on Pudge and the Astros this Weekend. Pudge will forever be remembered for his part of the recent success of the Tigers.

Series Overview: 

For the Detroit Tigers, it has been a solid run to this point in interleague play. After getting swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates and losing two out of three to the Cardinals, The Tigers have caught fire. Two sweeps later, The Tigers are now 7/12 against the N.L. Central this season. They will look to continue the winning streak against a mediocre Astros Squad. The Astros finished their last series against the Royals by winning 5-4. Lance Berkman joined the killer B’s by getting his 1,000th RBI in the Astros Uniform. Berkman, who is having what Astros fans consider a down year, hit two home runs to help propel the Astros over the Royals on Thursday. Manager Cecil Cooper hopes that Berkman is getting back to the power hitter of ‘old’:

“It looked like the Lance Berkman of old. If he stays in left-center, he’s a pretty good player, and hopefully this will jump-start him and get him going.”  

Berkman went 3/4 on Thursday, and looks to continue that success against the Tigers. The Big Puma is what you would consider a ‘Tiger Killer’. In eight games against the Tigers, Berkman has hit .370 with 3 RBIs, 1 HR and 3 walks.  One of the biggest story lines going into the weekend has to be the Tigers taking on Pudge Rodriguez. Pudge will always be remembered as one of the most beloved Tigers, and the start to the turnaround on the field for the Tigers after the 119 loss season in 2003. Nobody knows today’s starter Justin Verlander better than Ivan Rodriguez. Despite one at bat against him, I won’t be surprised if he has success this series.

For the Tigers it will be decision time on who will be left out of the lineup. Without the DH, Jim Leyland will have to decide between Ryan Raburn, Marcus Thames, Magglio Ordonez and Don Kelly. Raburn has been hot as of late, hitting the walk off in game two of the Cubs series and going 3/4 yesterday with a couple of RBIs. Don Kelly has been the hot hand since being called up from AAA Toledo. In 11 games Kelly has a triple, two doubles and three walks to go with a nice .333 average. It has been a small sample, only 30 at bats, but Leyland has been known to ride the hot player. Marcus Thames could also play in left or right field, because he has done a good job so far of protecting Miguel Cabrera. Thames has been in the lineup everyday since the 16th, so he might get a break in game number one.  In the last ten games with Marcus Thames in the lineup (the last ten games), Cabrera has hit .385 with 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs and three walks. 

The Astros are currently five games back in the NL Central, while the Tigers hold a five game lead on the Minnesota Twins in the A.L. Central. 

Pitching Probables: 

Friday, June 26th 8:05 PM ET:  Justin Verlander (8-3 3.31) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (6-6 3.81)-

After losing four and pulling together a no decision, Wandy Rodriguez finally got back on track in his last start against the Minnesota Twins. Rodriguez went seven innings, giving up just two hits and striking out 8. Despite the four straight losses, Rodriguez has been a big reason why the Astros continue to be in the hunt. Now that he is over the rough patch, I am going to guess that he is going to pitch well tonight against the Tigers. Rodriguez doesn’t give up the long ball all that often, which is impressive considering where he calls home. In 90 innings pitched, Rodriguez has given up 10 home runs. Rodriguez has a .251 opponents average. 

For the Tigers they will send Justin Verlander to the mound. The righty has been back to form all season long, winning 7 of his last ten decisions. Nine of his last ten have also been quality starts. In his last outing he pitched well, giving up an early home run, but holding the Brewers to two runs while striking out eight. Verlander has been a workhorse and savior to the bullpen, going 98 innings strong so far this season. Alongside Edwin Jackson, Verlander has been dominant all season long. Hitters have an average of .230 against Verlander. Righties are hitting only .201. What has worked so well for the young ace this season is his strikeout/walk rate. Verlander has struck out 118 hitters, while only walking 30. Another success factor has to be how well Verlander has shut down opponents with runners in scoring position. With two outs and runners on second or third, opponents are hitting just .189. He will look for win number eight tonight. 

Saturday, June 27th 7:05 PM ET: Alfredo Figaro (1-0 3.60) vs. Felipe Paulino (1-4 6.18)- 

Felipe Paulino returns to the mound for the first time since June 11th. Paulino, who at one time was a top prospect for the Astros, has had a hard time with consistency and control throughout his career. So far this season, Paulino has a 1.72 WHIP to go along with 58 hits in 44 innings pitched. That isn’t going to cut it in the Majors, but Paulino will get another chance because of the lack of depth in starting pitching for Houston. Paulino lost his starting job in May, while maintaining a 10.80 ERA.  He will look to turn things around. According to manager Cecil Cooper, Brandon Backe will be ready in the bullpen just in case.

“We have to save someone in case we need a long man. We don’t know what’s going to happen with Paulino. He may go out and throw two innings and give us 80 pitches and force us to go another direction, so we’ll have to save a long guy and Brandon will be that guy.” 

Alfred Figaro will get his second start of his young career on Saturday. So far on Saturdays, Figaro is perfect win wise. He was able to control the Brewers hitters in his first start above AA-Erie. Milwaukee manger Ken Macha gave Figaro credit after striking out seven in five innings. 

“I give him credit. It wasn’t like we didn’t put any pressure on him.”

Macha also commented on Figaro’s fastball, saying that it worked well and he mixed it well with his breaking ball. We featured Figaro in our first prospects on the prowl segment on TWITB II. 

Sunday, June 28th 2:05 PM ET: Edwin Jackson (6-4 2.40) vs. Russ Ortiz (3-3 3.47)- 

Russ Ortiz has had a solid comeback for the Astros this season. At one point, he went 17 2/3 innings without giving up a run. Though that was broken up in his last two starts, he has still been effective, going six and seven innings respectively in his last two starts.  After rehabbing this off-season, Ortiz has been in the rotation and thrown long relief as well this season. Like Brandon Backe and Felipe Paulino, Ortiz has been part of the slew called the back end of the rotation for Houston. 

“I was actually enjoying my time with my family and I’ve never done that in my career; spending day after day with my family,” Ortiz said. “There were a couple of days, where I was thinking like, ‘Man, this is nice.’ But after talking about it, seeing how well I was doing in rehab, I figured, hey, I’d give it a shot.”

Ortiz has done well so far, holding hitters to a .258 batting average. 

Edwin Jackson takes the mound for the Detroit Tigers and boy has he been a pleasant surprise for the Tigers in 2009. Sure, they expected a solid number two or three type performance in 2009 from Jackson, but the righty has logged the most amount of innings for the Tigers, has the second best ERA in the American League, and has given up only 79 hits in 101 innings pitched. What has made Jackson so successful is his biting slider and maturity on the mound. His control has been better than in years past. We have seen Jackson hit 99 MPH on the gun late in the ball game and get in and out of jams, unlike in years past. He will go for win number seven on Sunday. 

Radio Notes: 

Regular Detroit Tiger Radio Network play by play man Dan Dickerson will not make the trip to Houston. Dickerson, who is still healing from surgery after an accident jogging earlier in the year. Jim Price will be joined by Fox Sports Detroit’s own John Keating. Dickerson will return to the Tigers broadcast when the Tigers return home to take on the Kansas City Royals on Monday, July 6th.

The Tigers have lost a talented bullpen arm this week. Former top 30 prospect Noah Krol has been released and has now resigned with the Pittsburgh Pirates. According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Krol asked for his release to get away from the organization.  A former 17th round pick of the Tigers, Krol had a very impressive college career at Wichita State. From our scouting report of Krol last season:

Noah Krol will get a second chance with Pittsburgh.

In his last colliegate year, he closed out 12 games, in tip top fashion. In 34 innings pitched, Kroll tallied 49 strikeouts while putting together a .87 WHIP. The Tigers were impressed enough to give him the starters slot to open up his career with the rookie A Oneonta Tigers straight out of college. Krol didnt dissapoint, putting up a team leading 17 saves. Remarkably, Krol struck out 39 hitters in 28 innings. The Tigers like what they saw, and in 2008, the righty started the season as the closer for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Though his numbers automatically make you believe he is a flamethrower, Noah Krol’s fastball sits in the high 80’s to low 90’s but has tremendous drop and movement. Though his fastball isn’t his bread and butter, he locates it well to set up his slider. One that many consider the best in the organization.

I got to see Krol pitch for the Whitecaps and thought he could have a future as a reliever, despite throwing pretty soft. We will see if he can bounce back with the Pirates. He will start his career there with the West Virginia Power. 

You can read more about Noah Krol here.

(Are you a twitter fool? Want to keep updated on your Tigers and Redwings? Follow @joedexter to get all the updates on your teams! Plus @fansided will keep you up to date on all the coverage across the fansided network. Add both today! You can also email us at motorcitybengals@gmail.com)

I really like the look. Especially when the bat lifted quickly off the shoulders, and Magglio rounded the bases minus the hair flopping. Ordonez put his first home run in the seats since April, and added his first extra base hit since the Pittsburgh series. Is he completely back? Who knows. It was good to see that patented Magglio swing though. Hopefully he can multiply the performance, just like Ryan Raburn suggests:

Magglio loves the new hair do. Jim Leyland doesn't but he loves the results. (AP)

“I think Maggs needed that more than anybody,” said Ryan Raburn, who went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. We couldn’t be happier for him, and hopefully, he can continue to do what he’s doing.”

Armando Galarraga got his first win since April, though it wasn’t pretty. Jake Fox homered early in the ball game for the Cubs, but it wasn’t enough. Ryan Raburn continues to hold a hot bat, going 3/4 with 2 RBIs. I have to imagine that Rayburn will be the starting left fielder heading into the Juice Box this weekend.  We will have a preview coming up later today. 

News and Notes:

–While Magglio puts his hair up on Ebay to sell, manager Jim Leyland is a bit jealous. In fact, he is so jealous he might just bid his way to owning five years of hard work, where Magglio grew arguably the best hair in all of baseball. 

“I was so jealous. I told him I wish I would’ve been there. I would’ve picked up those curls and I would’ve made it into a toupee if I could’ve. He’s got beautiful hair. I’m jealous.”

That’s why you have to love the skipper. 

–Fernando Rodney picked up his sixteenth save in sixteen opportunities in 2009. Rodney stranded a runner on second and struck out all three batters in the ninth. Brandon Lyon continues to pitch well, He shut down the side in the eighth, alongside Bobby Seay’s perfect seventh.

–The Tigers have signed Giovany Soto! Ok, not the slumping Cubs catcher, but a left handed pitcher out of Puerto Rico. The Tigers took him in the 21st round of this year’s draft. The Tigers have also come to terms with Edwin Gomez. The Shortstop is quick on his feet, with an open stance, and a solid baseball frame that he can build up. Gomez has the size, and his defensive ability is pretty strong at this level, but he could be moved eventually to a different position.

This Week In Tigers Baseball is back with a brand new edition! This Week we look at last night’s big win over the Cubs and their current five game win streak.

Also in this Edition:

Prospect on the Prowl: Alfredo Figaro, SP Detroit Tigers

This Week in Detroit Tigers Baseball History:  On June 24th and June 25 in 1998, the Tigers brought traded two longtime Major Leagues in Tim Worell and Dave Roberts to obtain power prospect Geronimo Berroa. Berroa never panned out. The Tigers also trade Bip Roberts to the Athletics the week before the deadline.

This Week In Detroit Tigers Baseball

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