Each week of this season, we will look at each painful week of that season, a game during that week that was especially painful, and a colorful name on that roster that was painful for everyone see wearing the Olde English D.

Apparently, we here at Motor City Bengals love to inflict pain.

Credit: http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/Vu4q7yw1YEg/hqdefault.jpg

2003 Detroit Tigers–March 31 through April 6: 0-6

In the year 2003, Major League Baseball started its regular season in March for the first time ever. Despite the 42-degree day, the sold-out Opening Day crowd was festive and hopeful. Many were anxious to see franchise hero Alan Trammell take the reins as manager, along with 1984 legends Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish on his coaching staff. Certainly the trio could do no worse than Phil Garner and his early season successor, Luis Pujols, who lost 106 games in 2002. Could they?

It was a new age for the Tigers, and its ballpark–entering its fourth year. After much criticism, the team finally decided to move Comerica Park’s cavernous left field fence from 395 to 370 feet. The move made sense from a baseball prospective, but it wasn’t until before the 2005 season that the bullpens moved from right to left field, leaving an empty void out there in 2003 and 2004.

The vast emptiness in left field was perhaps prophetic for the coming season–and Opening Day failure.

Painful Game of the Week: March 31: Twins at Tigers (Opening Day)

The defending AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins were on the schedule as the Tigers opened at home in chilly conditions. This game was frustrating on so many levels.

First off, the Tigers actually pitched very well. Future 21-game loser Mike Maroth got the nod, and pitched a solid seven innings of five-hit, two-run ball. Those two runs came in the second inning when Dustan Mohr hit a homer that went over–you guessed it, the new left field wall.

Dean Palmer manufactured a run with an infield single that scored Omar Infante in the seventh inning, but that’s all she wrote for the scoring. To add insult to injury, a pre-Chicago White Sox (and not yet hated in Detroit) A.J. Pierzynski slapped a solo shot off Jamie Walker in the eighth, immediately returning the deficit to two runs.

Final: Minnesota 3, Detroit 1.

Trammell was prepared to keep the lineup card from his first game as manager, but decided against it.

Credit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bxEuF4LrxkU/S_yE_AAg6pI/AAAAAAAAGb4/YrpeHxSOS0A/s1600/scan-2004Vintage-BobbyHigginson.jpg

“I’m going to keep it when we win,” Tram said. “I hope I forget about this one real quick.”

Turned out he’d have to wait nearly two weeks for that lineup card, and Opening Day actually proved to best game of the week for the team. With losses in all six games that week, the Tigers were outscored 36-6 (including two shutouts).

(Lousy) Player of the Week

The best Detroit Tiger on that 2003 team was likely Bobby Higginson. In the dark days of 1989 to 2005, he was not a terrible player, but because the franchise was in such disarray, it meant he was a great player by Detroit standards.

Higginson started his career with the Tigers in 1995, and became a rising star when he hit .320 with 26 homers in 1996. His best all-around season may have come in 2000, while hitting behind Juan Gonzalez, posting a .300 average with 30 homers and 102 RBIs. His production dipped greatly when Juan-Gone got gone, bottoming out with a .235 average, 14 homers and 52 RBIs in 2003.

Three years later, when the Tigers recaptured the glory of the franchise, their biggest star of the dark era was nowhere to be found, completely out of baseball.

Bobby never played on a winning team in his 11 seasons in professional baseball.

June 24, 2010; Detroit, MI, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach Alan Trammell (3) during batting practice before the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Two longtime Detroit Tigers were on this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame ballot – as they have been for over 10 years each – but neither was inducted by the Base Ball Writers’ Association of America. In fact, no player on this year’s ballot received the required vote total to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Jack Morris was seemingly on the cusp after receiving votes from 66.7% of the BBWAA’s voting membership (75% is needed for induction), but he gained minimal ground this season, rising to only 67.7%. There was an abnormally large number of reports of writers filing blank ballots – an apparent protest to the large number of “steroid era” players now included – and perhaps Morris’ cause was hurt by these. Had these voters simply voted for the supposedly clean players (like Morris) they felt were worthy – rather than take the opportunity for a “look at me” grandstanding effort – then he may have made a more significant stride in the voting. Public opinion is split on Morris’ qualifications (basically high win total vs. high ERA total), but no one would argue that he was tainted by PEDs.

The advanced stat crowd may not love Morris’ resume, but for them Alan Trammell is a shoe-in selection (as would be Lou Whitaker if he hadn’t inexplicably fallen off the ballot). The writers of Baseball Prospectus released their collective (hypothetical) ballot this morning and, while none of them voted for Morris, over 81% voted in favor of Trammell’s induction. Alan Trammell earned the support of 36.8% of voters in last year’s “real” BBWAA Hall of Fame balloting and actually slipped a bit this year – he’s now down to 33.6%.

For my part, I wouldn’t be in favor of Jack Morris entering the hall, but Alan Trammell (and Lou Whitaker) really should be in there.

Both Trammell and Morris received enough support to remain on the ballot next year, so we’ll have these same discussions in twelve months. It’s like Miguel Cabrera versus Mike Trout, but drawn out over a 12+ year span.

So yes, while the Tigers are giving us reasons to tear our hair out and get into Twitter wars with someone who isn’t quite sure he wants to be a parody account of a historic Tiger or not, at least they’re giving us SOMETHING. It’s why we’re sports fans to begin with. We live for the moments that make us feel physically ill.

Nothing is more depressing than watching a team only because you feel like you have to. We’ve done that enough as Tigers fans.

I’m not trying to tell you how to root for the Tigers. I just want you to know that it could be worse. So for the remainder of the season, I’m writing this feature to remind Tigers fans of that.

On this day in in 1995 the Tigers lost to the Orioles, 6-2

Games behind in the division: 23

Starting lineup:

1. Chad Curtis, CF
2. Bobby Higginson, RF
3. Travis Fryman, 3B
4. Cecil Fielder, DH
5. Lou Whitaker, 2B
6. Tony Clark, 1B
7. Alan Trammell, SS
8. Phil Nevin, LF
9. Ron Tingley, C

P    Felipe Lira

The first thought that came to mind was, “Holy crap, Fielder, Whitaker and Trammel were still on the team in 1995?” But clearly that didn’t help. There were worse teams in the 90s, but this team wasn’t that good.

The Tigers kept it close for most of the game, trailing 2-1 until the eighth when Baltimore dropped a four spot. Hitters 5-9 didn’t record a hit (sound familiar?) and that includes the Tigers’ two pinch hitters.

The Tigers’ two pinch hitters:

Derrick White: He pinch hit for Cecil Fielder. White hit a healthy .188 in 1995, his longest cup of coffee in the bigs (36 games). After 1995 he wouldn’t play again until 1998, where he played 40 games for the Blue Jays, Cubs and Rockies before his career ended. This guy pinch hit for Fielder.

Franklin Stubbs: He pinch hit for Tingley. Stubbs was actually a former World Series winner, playing first base for the Los Angeles Dodgers during their 1988 run. But 1995 was a long way from his prime.  Stubbs was in his final MLB season and it was the first time he played in the MLB since 1992.

This team in the 80s might have been pretty good. Not so much in 1995.

So, yeah. If you prefer watching the shadows of once great players toiling 23 games behind the division leader, then September 18, 1995 was your JAM. If not, then remember. Today could be worse.