Granted, it’s hard not to think about Jurrjens when Edgar Renteria makes an error, lofts another can of corn to left field or otherwise leaves runners stranded. But the reasons — at the moment they made the deal — Detroit sent Jurrjens (and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez) to Atlanta were a) the Tigers needed an upgrade at shortstop (stop laughing), and b) the organization was pitching rich. Also, there were some concerns about Jurrjens durability.

Bottom line: This trade made perfect sense at the time, less sense when Andrew Miller, et al, were shipped to Florida, and no sense when the Tigers find themselves two games under .500 in late August.

It’s too early to say whether Galarraga will be a Jurrjens — or vice versa — but knowing that the former’s likely to be a mainstay on the Tigers staff for the foreseeable future makes watching Jurrjens on TBS a bit more palatable.

The Score: Tigers 8 - Rangers 7

The Gist: Gary Sheffield hit his 493rd career jack and went 3 for 5, and Curtis Granderson drove in four as the Tigers escaped with an 8-7 win in Arlington. Kenny Rogers eeked out a win thanks to two four-run outbursts by his teammates in the seventh and eighth. (And Rogers struck out seven in his six innings…usually a sign of impending doom. But not on Monday.) Kyle Farnsworth, a model of consistently sub-optimal pitching since his return to Detroit, made it too interesting in the eighth but Fernando Rodney pitched not awfully and sealed the deal.

The Quote: “[I]t would be the biggest mistake of his life if he goes on the mound hoping to show the Rangers something. That’s high school [stuff].” — Jim Leyland on Tuesday’s starter and former Rangers farmhand Armando Galarraga.

The Stat: 12. The number of errors by Edgar Renteria so far this season. He leads all A.L. Central shortstops in flubs — but not by much. Orlando Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta each have 11. The Twins’ trio of Adam Everett, Nick Punto and Brendan Harris average about six. KC’s Tony Pena (8) and Mike Aviles (6) roundout the Central.

Up Next: Tigers @ Rangers

Armando Galarraga (11-4, 3.11) vs. Vincente Padilla (12-6, 4.85)

Here we are, approaching the third weekend of August, and the Tigers are mired in third place, nine-and-a-half games out of first place. And, as I’m always reminding myself, only five games out of last place. This was supposed to be like 1984, 1968 or even 1945. It was not supposed to be like - gulp - 2005.

The Tigers record coming into this weekend series against the Orioles is 59-62. Entering play on Aug. 14, 2005, the Tigers were 53-61, 21-and-a-half-games out of first.

While the 2005 club was further back in the standings mathematically on Aug. 14, the current team feels about that far behind the White Sox and Twins. Doesn’t it?

Three years ago, Tigers fans seemed more interested in whether or not Alan Trammell would return as manager, who they’d acquire in the offseason, and what on God’s green earth to do with Carlos Pena?

Today, well, the team has probably more questions than the 2005 team did. One thing we can be assured of is Jim Leyland returning as manager. And that’s a good thing. Of course, some may disagree with that, but I believe there are very few buttons he could’ve pushed this year that would make up almost 10 games in the standings.

Here are 17 questions about the 2009 season rattling around in my head:

1. Who’s the closer in 2009?
2. Does Chuck Hernandez return as pitching coach?
3. Is Nate Robertson a Tiger next season?
4. Can Dontrelle Willis bounce back?
5. Can the Tigers deal Carlos Guillen?
6. If the Tigers can get a catcher, do they — and do they move Brandon Inge back to third?
7. Does Vance Wilson return at long last?
8. Who’s the shortstop?
9. Would they deal Magglio Ordonez as some suggest?
10. How does Jeremy Bonderman recover?
11. Is Clete Thomas on the big club to stay?
12. Who is 2009’s Matt Joyce?
13. Are the Tigers counting on Freddy Garcia?
14. Will Brent Clevlen finally break through?
15. What can the Tigers expect out of Joel Zumaya?
16. Do they sign Placido Polanco to an extension before the season?
17. What’s Gary Sheffield’s role — if any?

Ultimately, the 2005 Tigers finished 20 games under .500. Will this year’s team finish that far off the pace? Some days (i.e., against Tampa Bay) it certainly feels as if they could, but I doubt it.

I’m tending to believe that Doug’s right — 81 and 81 for this year’s club. But the fate of the 2009 team lies in how they address the pressing issues hovering over the organization.

The Tigers signed Rafael Urbano (Colina) Lugo as a free agent on April 8, 1990, and became a free agent on Oct. 15 that year.

In between, he appeared in 12 games for Detroit (one start) he posted a 2-0 record and a plump 7.03 ERA.

When you look closer at his stats, it’s astounding that he notched a win.

• 24 IP
• 30 Hits
• 19 R - all earned
• 9 HR
• 13 BB
• 12 K
• 3 HBP
• 2 WP

Happy 46th Birthday, Urbano, where ever you are.

Discuss.

Teams aren’t permitted to comment on the waiver process, so it’s possible the timing is coincidental. But there were indications that the Tigers floated Sheffield’s name in trade talks before the July 31 trading deadline. So it seems likely that Sheffield’s latest remarks have prompted them to see if interest in him may have picked up this month in the wake of a number of injuries to prominent players on several contenders.

Putting players on waivers happens all the time, but given that Detroit ownership wants Sheffield gone, and that he’s mouthed off at the wrong time to the wrong manager, there’s lots of fire amid the smoking Mt. Sheff.

• Ralph Houk, 89
• Jack Tighe, died on Aug. 2002 at 89
• Jerry Moses, 62 (born in Yazoo City, Miss., don’t you know.)
• Bill Campbell, 60
• Kevin Saucier, 52
• John Moses, 51
• Troy Percival, 39
• Dusty Allen, 36

The Score: A’s 4 - Tigers 2

The Gist: Same old story.

The Quote: “This was a big relief, I think, for everybody.” — Oakland manager Bob Geren on his team’s first win since I was in my 30s.

The Stat: 47. The number of games left in this season.

Stat #2: 9. The number of runs the Tigers must score in those remaining games to hit the much-ballyhooed 1,000-run mark. Just to clarify: not average 9 runs; score 9 runs. At least.

My two cents: Hey, the A’s had lost 10 straight and were due for a win. But the Tigers, of course, don’t have a knack for kicking a bad team when they’re down — or piling on runs when a pitcher is teetering toward disaster.

Up Next: A’s @ Tigers

Armando Galarraga (9-4, 3.23 ERA) vs. Dan Meyer (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

• Free Press Boosts Tigers Coverage…Apparently
• Bullpen still a problem
• If you can’t stand the heat, turn off the Grilli

• The Tigers have tumbled seven spots ESPN’s Power Rankings this week. Detroit is now #20. Quite honestly, I think the Worldwide Leader is being generous.

• In last week’s Fungo Pulse Check we asked Who’s next to go if the Tigers make more moves this month? (Belated apologies for the alliteration.) The responses weren’t surprising:
  • Gary Sheffield - 64%
  • Edgar Renteria - 56%
  • Todd Jones - 44%
  • Nate Robertson - 42%
  • Someone else - 14%
  • Marcus Thames - 6%

  Be sure to cast your vote for this week’s provocative question.

• Sorry I missed this one yesterday: On Aug. 7, 1904, the Tigers acquired Piano Legs Hickman from the Indians for catcher Fritz Buelow and infielder Charlie Carr. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Hickman’s given name was Charles Taylor Hickman, and his other nickname was Cheerful Charlie. Oh, to be alive in the days when players had two nicknames.

• On this date in 1992, Rico Brogna made his major league debut for the Tigers. He doubled off the Blue Jays’ Dave Stieb in the second inning (though the Baseball-Reference.com box score lists the hit as a double to “deep third base.”) With Cecil Fielder ensconced at first base, the Tigers dealt their number-one pick in the 1988 draft to the Mets for catcher Alan Zinter. Brogna went on to have a decent career with the Mets, Phillies and, to a lesser degree, the Red Sox and Braves. And Zinter? He wouldn’t appear in the majors until a decade later with the Astros. Yet another astute trade by the Tigers’ early-’90s management team.

And finally, two other historical notes for you:

• On Aug. 8, 1914, Tris Speaker of the Boston Red Sox recorded an unassisted double-play against the Tigers — his second of the season. He previously accomplished the feat against the Philadelphia Athletics on April 21. This is a record for outfielders.

• On Aug. 8, 1920, the Tigers’ pitcher Howard Ehmke wins the American League’s shortest game ever when he defeats the Yankees 1-0 in one hour, thirteen minutes. Where have you gone Howard Ehmke?

Have a great weekend.

How do I know this? Because of a stream of comments, pleas and offers for seats on a post I wrote last October.

If you’re looking for seats, browse the comments here. Of course, I’m doing this as a courtesy to fine Fungo readers everywhere. I have no personal interest in the sale of these seats, nor do I know the people offering them or looking for them.

Caveat emptor.

Mike McClary: Heading into the 1984 season, was it a long off-season? It would seem like you would be chomping at the bit to get back on the field shortly after a little break. Was everyone coming into spring training raring to go?

Johnny Grubb: Yeah, I think so. I remember us getting Dave Bergman and Willie [Hernandez]. So they came over, and they fit right in with the team, too. I mean, we just had a good group of guys that got along, and Dave Bergman is a heck of a guy and so was Willie. So it worked out great.

MMc: Let’s talk about the ’84 season in general. Obviously, you got off to a great start, 9-0, and in the middle of that, Jack Morris throws a no-hitter. As you were getting older and becoming the seasoned veteran, were you really just enjoying about every moment of that season?

JG: Oh, gosh, yeah. It was fun to watch those guys play and every once in a while to jump in and do something myself. But it was a lot of fun watching Gibby and Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker and Darrell [Evans] — and Lance did a great job. And Howard Johnson had the great season for us. I thought he did a great job. And Larry Herndon and all those guys really did well in the pitching.

So really what I remember most about it is that I never really felt like we were out of any ballgame. Any lead a team could get, we felt like we could have a big inning and jump right back in the game. And we had real good pitching, so if we had the lead, we had Willie and [Aurelio] Lopez coming in to shut the door on them. The pitchers did their job, and the hitters did their job. And we just felt like we could win any game.

That 35-5 start really helped a lot, too. But I think that pretty much was an indicator of how strong we were because that’s pretty phenomenal when you think about a 35-5 start in the major leagues. That’s pretty good.

MMc: Even today when you see teams get off to a good start, and then you look at the record and you think, That’s a good start, but that’s not 35-5.

JG: Yeah, that was awesome.

MMc: One moment of the ’84 season in particular I want to ask you about is the second game of the playoffs in Kansas City. Eleventh inning and you got the hit that drove in the go-ahead runs. That came off Dan Quisenberry. What do you remember about that at-bat? What were you looking for from him, and what did you get? Because you drove that ball deep.

JG: Actually, he got two strikes on me and (Royals catcher) John Wathan went out to the mound to talk to the pitcher. I guess he wanted to make sure that they were going to be on the same page.

We didn’t get the bunt down to get the runners over to second and third, so there were runners on first and second and one out. And he got two strikes on me, and I kind of was watching them when they were out there talking. I thought I could read their lips and I thought I saw them saying fastball.

And I said, well, I can’t trust that, but I’m going to be ready for it. And he threw a fastball, and I’m sure Willie Wilson was cheating in a little bit on me with two strikes on me. But I happened to get a hold of one and drove it over his head. So I’m glad I came through to help out. That was my turn I guess to do something to help the team.

MMc: Would you say that’s one of the biggest — if not the biggest — hit of your career?

JG: Yeah, I’d say that was the biggest hit for me helping the ball club and everything. It came at a great time because he was a tough relief pitcher, and he’d gotten it to the eleventh inning. And being at their ballpark, sometimes it favors the home team when it starts going extra innings. But things worked out.

MMc: Did you have success against Quisenberry throughout your career?

JG: You’d have to check my record on him because I felt really good against him because he was a sinker ball pitcher, and I’m a good low ball hitter. And I felt like I hit the ball hard on him, but I don’t know how many hits. I can remember a lot of times coming back across the diamond going into the dugout thinking you lucky son-of-a-gun. It was like I hit the ball hard, but it’d be at the second baseman or right at the centerfielder.

So I don’t know if my batting average was that high against him. But it’s one of those pitchers where maybe my batting average wasn’t – I’m not sure. I don’t know what my batting average was against him. But I felt good facing him. I felt good hitting against him.

[Note: According to Baseball-Reference.com, Grubb had a .200 career batting average (3 for 15) against Quisenberry, with just one RBI. Before facing him in the A.L.C.S., Grubb had one plate appearance against the Royals' submariner in 1984: a flyout to left on Aug. 3.]

MMc: After sweeping the Royals in the A.L.C.S., what was the confidence level heading into the World Series? It looked like it was going to be against the Cubs until the Padres came back to win the N.L. Pennant.

JG: Well, I remember watching the [N.L.C.S.] because we wanted to see who we were going to be playing. And you’re right, I thought it looked like it was going to be the Cubs, and then all of a sudden it turned out to be San Diego. And I don’t remember knowing that much about either team.

I knew more probably about the Cubs than we did about San Diego. But I think most of the guys, the way that team was with Detroit, I think we just felt like we’re going to play them, we’re going to take care of business with them. I don’t think it would have made any difference. I think we were destined to have a good year wherever we played it. We planned on going out there and taking care of business.

MMc: What was that like for you going back to San Diego where you started your career?

JG: It was real neat to go back. When they did the introductions, I remember they gave me a nice ovation. I wasn’t sure really what they might do. You’re not sure if fans are going to turn on you or not. But they were really, really nice. And I remember Ruppert Jones was with us, and they gave him a nice round of applause, too. So it was neat. And, of course, we had friends that still lived back there, and just going back where I started my career was a neat feeling being in that stadium.

MMc: Talk about the whole World Series experience for you as a player at that point in your career.

JG: Well, it was all new to me. I’d gone to College World Series, Junior College World Series, watched them on television. And I guess as a kid you put yourself in that position where you could just imagine and dream about being in the World Series. So it wasn’t like I was intimidated or I don’t think any player at that level are going to be intimidated. The big crowds and all the media and all that were a little different.

But as players you get focused on what you’ve got to get done. And you still just make it this same game. It’s still the same ball and the same bat and gloves, and you don’t try to make it any different than that and make the plays.

And all the hype and all the media and all that, that I guess can get to some players. But Sparky had pretty much told us not to talk too much to the media and just get focused on the game. He said, “Let me speak to the media” and that let us go out and do the work on the field. So I think that was good advice.

MMc: It seemed like it was a very focused group, but everyone assumed it was going to be a quick World Series with the Tigers coming out on top. Did the team self-police each other in terms of getting overconfident or did Sparky have to do that — or was that even an issue?

JG: I don’t think it was an issue. We had guys on the team like Gibby and Chet [Lemon] and, of course, you’ve got a veteran player like Darrell. And Lance was kind of quiet, so he didn’t do a lot of rah-rah stuff. But we just had a group of guys that all of us, we weren’t going to be intimidated, and we didn’t take anybody lightly.

We understood what it would take to win ballgames, and went out there and played hard every pitch. And we respected Sparky’s decisions. I know we had Marty Castillo starting at third base, and I’m sure, myself included, when we saw him starting at third, it was like, wow, I wonder why Howard is not starting at third? But that’s who he’s going to play. We’ll just go out there and take care of it with Marty at third, too, because he’s a good ballplayer as well. And darn it if he didn’t hit a home run (in Game 3). It was like Sparky made all the right calls.

MMc: I want to talk to you about your final season which was also, from a team perspective, a good one, the 1987 season. Heading into that season, did you have a sense it was your last year, or were you just going to kind of see how it played out?

JG: Well, I was close to 40, so I knew it was getting right down to the end. And I knew Sparky probably saw me as not going to have a whole lot of playing time, a guy off the bench. And he’d pretty much shown to some of the veteran players that he was starting to move a little bit more towards younger players (like) Scott Lusader. So I knew it was a good chance it might be my last year, but I wouldn’t allow myself to think that way. And I just had a poor season, but ended up having a good playoff for us. But I wish I’d have had a better season for us. I just didn’t do that well that year.

I know I was hoping that the team would do it again, and I’ve got two boys, so my little extra motivation was that I would have liked to have had two World Series rings so I could pass one down to each child. So it would have been nice.

But that was a heck of a ball club. We had a good team, and we had some new players that I believe Mike Heath was the catcher that year. And, of course, we had Frank Tanana and Walt Terrell, and it was a number of new faces, but real good ballplayers.

So we had a good team. We caught Minnesota when they were hot, and we had come off a real tough series against Toronto. So it just was one of those situations that you catch a team hot and maybe you’re not as hot as you’d like to be, and anything can happen. They won the whole thing that year, so I guess they were destined to win, too.

MMc: Were you surprised that you only got one World Series out of that collection of talent?

JG: Well, see, ’87 was my last year, so I don’t know how they did the following year. But that Eastern Division at that time was a tough division. And just to win the American League East, that in itself was saying a whole lot because Toronto, Baltimore, Yankees, Boston, there’s some good ball clubs, and just to win the American League East is tough. So it’s a shame we didn’t beat Minnesota, but they played better. They came with their fans with those whistles.

MMc: Yeah, their Homer Hankies.

JG: The Homer Hankies and all that. But they had a heck of a ball club, so you’ve got to give them credit. They were scrappers and they played hard. So they got the job done.

MMc: I understand that you’re involved with Tiger Fantasy Camps. Is that something you do every year?

JG: Yeah, I enjoy going there. That way, I get to see my old teammates and, of course, the people that do the fantasy camps are real nice people, and I’ve gotten to know a lot of them over the years. So it’s a great experience and look forward to going every year. Jim Price is one of the guys that helps along with Jerry Lewis. And, of course, the Tigers I think operate it and everything. It’s a fun time.

MMc: And do you stay in touch with a lot of your old teammates and follow the Tigers in general?

JG: I still follow the Tigers and get Christmas cards and stuff from the teammates. And I don’t talk to them as much as I’d like to, but I usually catch up with them at Tiger Fantasy Camp or some reunion that we might have. But it’s every time you see them, just like I saw Darrell Evans recently at the Tigers camp, Milt Wilcox, and those guys, it just seems like it was just yesterday that we were playing. So it’s great seeing them.

In honor of Johnny Grubb’s birthday, here’s the first of two installments of the discussion. Beginning with the trade that brought him to the Tigers from the Rangers for reliever Dave Tobik.

Mike McClary: What was your mindset coming to Detroit in 1983?

Johnny Grubb: Well, [Rangers manager] Doug Rader called me in his office in spring training when I was with Texas and he told me that they had made a trade.

He used to call me Grubsteaks. He said, ‘Grubsteaks, you’re going to like where you’re going.’ I said, ‘where’s that?’ And he said, ‘Detroit.’

And, of course, if you get traded, that would be a good team to go to because we knew they were strong and getting better each year and right on the verge of being a real, real good ball club. So I was happy to go there.

MMc: Did you know anything about the team in terms of who your new teammates were going to be or Sparky’s reputation?

JG: I knew Sparky’s reputation as a manager from playing against him in the National League. And then, of course, they did have a boy on the team, Mike Ivie, that goes back to when I played minor league ball. He was a teammate of mine, and he was a player with Detroit then. So I was going into a ball club there that at least I knew one guy real well.

MMc: Anything in particular that you needed to do as a player to adjust with Opening Day around the corner?

JG: Actually, I hadn’t had much playing time in spring training in Texas, so I knew something was going to happen. Either they were going to just release me or make a trade. And I didn’t think they would just release me because I felt like I could still play. But I knew because of the lack of playing time in spring training that something was probably going to happen.

So when Doug called me into his office, I figured then this was it. When I went to Lakeland, I didn’t feel like I had to prove anything because Sparky should have known me as a player and pretty much understood my role when I got there. If you can hit, they will find a place for you somewhere, and I felt like I could still swing the stick. So all I had to do is just show them that I was healthy and I could still swing the stick.

MMc: When you got to Lakeland, did Sparky call you in and talk about how he saw you fitting in with the team?

JG: He pretty much called me in and welcomed me to the ball club. He knew I was a veteran player, so you pretty much said the same thing. But I know you’re going to be glad to be with this team. It’s a great bunch of guys, and we’ve got a real good team, we’re real close. So he made you feel good about being part of a team.

Sparky always had a good knack for doing that where he made you feel like he was picking good people that were going to get along together as teammates and always encouraged everybody to go out and work hard. He was a good motivator.

MMc: So that 1983 season, your first year in Detroit, you could probably see the makings of the ’84 team. You had finished behind Baltimore that year. What was the mood of the team and your thoughts going into the off-season in ’83?

JG: Well, I was thinking that we were right there. I mean, we were real close. And knowing the makeup of all your teammates, that first year you get to learn a little bit more about the guys.

So we had a couple guys that left, [John] Wockenfuss left and Glenn Wilson and some of those guys from the ’83 team. But, I mean, my feeling was that we were so close and everybody on the team were hard workers that if we put our minds to it, we could win the whole thing. I think that’s the way most of the guys felt. We work hard, we could win it.

MMc: As a player in the ’83 season finishing in second, was that about as close to first that you were in any point in your career? Obviously, when you got traded to Texas, they were still in the hunt. But was that kind of a first?

JG: Yeah, that was the first team in the major leagues that I played on that we were that close to going to playoffs or anything. San Diego, we never came close. Cleveland, no, and Texas we did that one year when I got traded over there. Of course, that was a month to go. Well, I take it back. I think there was one other team in Texas that we had a chance. And I think because of the strike, we ended up getting shortchanged that we lost a game to Milwaukee that kept us out of the playoffs. Had we won that game, I believe we would have been in the playoffs.

But we had a good team in Texas a couple years. But Detroit, I really sensed that we could get to the playoffs and do well. We had the right group of guys.

Tomorrow: Johnny Grubb talks about the 1984 season.

Listen to show in the sidebar podcast player —>

In this episode we’re joined by Ian Casselberry, of BlessYouBoys.com. Ian and I discuss:

• The abysmal Tampa Series
• The Pudge-for-Farnsworth Trade
• What to do with the bullpen?
• The Tigers’ next moves
• The Chicago series that starts tonight

Download the audio file or grab the RSS feed here.

••• 

Comments? Leave a message on the listener line: (602) 903-5174.

Theme music for the podcast produced by Paul Minshall.

The Tigers picked up May in a Dec. 6, 1975 trade with the Astros. He came to Detroit with Jim Crawford and Dave Roberts for Leon Roberts, Terry Humphrey, Gene Pentz and Mark Lemongello.

May’s first season as a Tiger was Freehan’s last, and it was one to forget. A broken ankle limited him to a half-dozen games behind the plate. Freehan and Bruce Kimm, Mark Fidrych’s personal catcher, shared receiving duties that year.

Here’s how May, who wore number 12, was described in the 1978 Tigers Yearbook:

Steady it goes with Milt May, the Tigers’ experienced catcher. He missed all but six games of the 1976 season, his first as a Tiger, because of a broken ankle. But 1977 was another story, as Milt caught 111 games with fine defensive skill and some timely hitting.

His .249 at the plate [sic] included two eight-game hitting streaks and 12 home runs, the most for May in his major league career. One of the homers was Milt’s second grand slammer and he also hit two for the circuit in one game.

That year, May, the son of Phillies’ infielder Pinky May, caught in 94 games and despite being just 27, was being phased out in the transition to Parrish. The Big Wheel appeared in 85 games at catcher in 1978 and 142 in ‘79.

After just five games in ‘79, May’s tenure with the Tigers was over. On May 27, the White Sox purchased his contract and the Gary, Ind., native played in 65 games for Chicago. In the offseason, May signed with the Giants where he played from 1980 through August 1983 when he was dealt to his original team, the Pirates.

Milt May’s final season was 1984. In 50 games with Pittsburgh, he hit just .177. His final career line: 1,192 games, .263 average, 77 homers and 443 RBI.

After his playing career, May went the coaching route. First as Jim Leyland’s hitting coach with the Pirates (1987-96), then the Marlins (1997-98). He spent the first half of the ‘99 season with Tampa Bay and then became Leyland’s pitching coach in Colorado for the remainder of that season.

Happy 58th Birthday, Milt.

• So how did July end up for the Tigers? Even. As in 13-13. Here are some other tidbits that helped shape a so-so month in this so-so season:
  • Losses to the Twins on July 1 and the Indians on July 31 bookend the month.

  • Top hitter: Magglio Ordonez: .386; however he played in only 15 games. We’ll expand this to the two players that played in the most games last month: Curtis Granderson (26 games) .324, and Miguel Cabrera (25 games) .330.
  • Most hits: Granderson, 36; Cabrera, 25
  • Most homers: Cabrera, 8.
  • Top pitcher, wins: Justin Verlander, 4
  • ERA, starter: Zach Miner, 1.29
  • ERA, reliever: Bobby Seay, 0.79
  • Saves: Todd Jones, 3.

• The good news heading into a new month is that the Tigers are just 5.5 games out of first place with two months to play. The bad news? The Tigers are just 5.5 games out of fourth place. Savor that for a moment, won’t you?

• According to the results of The Daily Fungo Pulse Check unscientific poll, 57 percent of Fungo readers said they expected the Tigers to be buyers at the trade deadline, 43 percent thought the Tigers would sell. Interestingly, I noticed a mini-surge in “sellers” votes after the Pudge deal was announced. Be sure to cast your vote in this week’s new poll.

• The big media outlets released power rankings for this week. The Tigers certainly have the look of a middling team according to:
  • ESPN.com: 11
  • Fox Sports.com: 18
  • CBS SportsLine.com: 14
  • BaseballProspectus.com Hit List: 13
  • SportsIllustrated.com: 14
  • MLB.com’s Fab 15: 14

• Does anyone else feel like it’s Sept. 20 and not Aug. 1? This season is exhausting.

Finally, on Aug. 1, 1974, at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, Ron LeFlore made his major-league debut for the Tigers. Ralph Houk put him in the leadoff spot against the Brewers’ Jim Slaton and LeFlore struck out thrice. It wasn’t until his fourth at bat that he put a ball in play: a grounder to third baseman Don Money for the first out of the eighth.

The Tigers won the game 2-0 behind a masterful performance by Woodie Fryman: a complete-game one-hitter. Woodrow struck out 10 and walked three. Norm Cash drove in both runs with a solo homer and an RBI single.

Wondering who caught Fryman’s gem? Gene Lamont.

Have a great weekend.