Hey all, it’s time once again for the annual mid-season awards. I have no idea if this is the first annual awards or second, or third, as I was not with this site last year and I’m too darn lazy to dig through the archives to see if Joe did something like this before.
But regardless, here they are. There is some collaboration of these things, you’ll find a few notes written by my cohorts, Matt and Zac. Then, just for fun (and because I was just catching up on what Samara has been doing at Roar of the Tigers) I added a [...]

In the Summer of 1981, Ernie Harwell missed one of two games in his broadcasting career. He did so because he had another place to be; the Hall of Fame. Winner of the Ford C. Frick award that year, Harwell delivered a stirring speech as only he could and ended it with perhaps his most famous soliloquy.
I think I have said all I can say about Ernie. His body is being shown at Comerica Park, an open invitation for fans to pay their respects, as I type these words. I will say just one more time, Thank you Ernie, you will never know [...]

Detroit 3, Minnesota 4 (box)
On a night when the Tigers lost their voice, they also lost a baseball game, though it hardly seems to matter.
Detroit got a good start from Dontrelle Willis and they managed 11 hits against Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn, but in the end, fell short.
The Twins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Willis struggled with control in the first. Like in previous start however, he was able to settle in and hold the Twins without another run until the sixth.
The Tigers got four consecutive hits to tie the score at 2-2 in the fourth, but wouldn’t [...]

My friends, we have lost our voice, our soul.
The world became aware this evening that legendary broadcaster Ernie Harwell has passed away tonight, finally losing his battle with cancer. He was 92 years old.
I’m sure over the next 24 hours or so, you will find a dozen or more fantastic writes about Ernie. People will treat you to memories of meetings they once had, how genuine a person he was, and how the world is never going to see another like him.
You know what? As much as the same could be written about any human being on the planet, none [...]

There was a Dontrelle Willis sighting over the weekend at TigerFest, and Drew Sharp of the Free Press wonders if we can expect to see a more successful Willis in 2010. Sharp’s article outlines the path Willis has taken to become more mentally healthy and all initial signs say that he has come to grips with his emotions.
At this point, how that affects his performance on the field is anyone’s guess, but if he can come back and just be healthy enough to compete, I would view it as a victory for Willis. Let’s hope that translates to victories for [...]

Kansas City 3, Detroit 4 (box)
Magic Number 13
 
The box score will show that Fernando Rodney earned his 33rd save of the season in the Tigers’ 4-3 win on Wednesday night.  The real save of this game, however, happened in the eighth inning, and it belonged to Brandon Lyon.
 
With the Detroiters clinging to a one run lead, Bobby Seay gave up singles to David DeJesus and Mitch Maier, both left handed hitters, to start the eighth, putting runners at the corners with no one out.  Enter Brandon Lyon into a near impossible situation.  His task: to keep the Royals off the [...]

On January 1st, I think it’s important for us to remember what is most important to us in our life. For all of us, baseball is something we love. So remember this New Years what the real definition of baseball is, from one of Detroit’s true heroes. Mr. Ernie Harwell:
There’s a man in Mobile who remembers that Honus Wagner hit a triple in Pittsburgh forty-six years ago. That’s baseball. So is the scout reporting that a sixteen year old pitcher in Cheyenne is a coming Walter Johnson. Baseball is a spirited race of man against man, reflex against reflex. [...]