Reader Brian K. informs us that John McHale has died at age 86. McHale played 64 games for the Detroit Tigers from 1943 to 1948, plus three more in the 1945 World Series, which Detroit won over the Chicago Cubs.
After his playing career, McHale continued to work in baseball. He became president of the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969 before serving as their general manager from 1978 to 1984.
My thoughts go out to the family and friends of Mr. McHale.

Left-hander Johnny Podres, who pitched from 1953 to 1969 for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres, died Sunday night at age 75. During his playing career, Podres won 148 games and was named to three All-Star teams. He also owned a sparkling 4-1 World Series record and won three championships with the Dodgers.
My thoughts go out to the family and friends of Mr. Podres.

The Texas Rangers have traded outfielder Freddy Guzman to Detroit for catcher/first baseman Chris Shelton.
Who are these guys? Glad you asked.
Guzman once was known as Pedro De Los Santos and played second base in the San Diego Padres organization. Then when the visa crackdowns came along, his name changed and he aged a few years. Guzman has decent on-base skills and is fast. His ceiling is a poor-man’s Juan Pierre, but really, he’s a fourth outfielder. Actually, so is Pierre, but I digress.
Shelton spent all of 2007 in the minors after batting .273/.340/.466 for the Tigers in ‘06. The guy …read more

The Chicago Cubs have traded outfielder Jacque Jones to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Omar Infante. Jones began his career in the AL Central, with the Minnesota Twins in 1999. For his career, he’s a .280/.329/.455 hitter. Last year, Jones hit just .285/.335/.400 with a career-low five home runs.
Jones, who will turn 33 a few weeks after the 2008 season begins, has played mostly right field over the past few season, although he did get into 84 games at center field last year. Presumably with Curtis Granderson patrolling center, the Tigers will move Jones back to a corner spot and …read more

The Atlanta Braves have shipped shortstop Edgar Renteria to the Detroit Tigers for right-hander Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez. What a curious trade. This gives the Tigers two outstanding shortstops, and leaves the Braves with none.
Well, on the surface anyway.

Wednesday. The middle of the week. Humpday. Halfway between there and here. Eh, you get the point. Some good games on tap today…
American League

Indians at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Just a half-game separates these AL Central rivals. Paul Byrd vs Justin Verlander looks like a mismatch, and I suppose it is. Byrd, though, is a crafty veteran with freakish control (18 walks in 143 IP). Verlander’s ERA is 4.89 in seven starts since the All-Star break. Detroit’s offense is crazy good — Magglio Ordonez is a legit MVP candidate, Gary Sheffield is having a monster year (including 20 SB …read more

Billfer at Detroit Tigers Weblog notes that the Tigers have inked first-round pick Rick Porcello. Apparently it’s a Major League contract worth more than $7 million. If nothing else, this reaffirms that Bud Selig’s efforts to “slot” players in the draft have been wasted.
This is a great addition for Detroit, but it’s got to be something of a slap in the face of Selig and MLB, which recommended a signing bonus of $1.17 million for the 27th pick this year. Of course, you could argue that Porcello slipped so far because of his reported demands. And that brings us to …read more

Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander spun a no-hitter Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. Yep, he shut down the likes of J.J. Hardy, Prince Fielder, and Geoff Jenkins for a full nine innings. Walked Bill Hall all three times, but hey, a guy’s got to know his limitations.
Verlander fanned 12 batters on the night. You know how many pitches he threw? 112. That’s sick.
Another thing that’s sick is Verlander’s improvement this season. He was outstanding as a rookie, but check this out:

Justin Verlander, 2006 vs 2007

Year
Age
IP/GS
ERA+
H/9
HR/9
BB/9
K/9

Stats are through games of June 12, 2007, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

2006
23
6.20
125
9.05
1.02
2.90
6.00

2007
24
6.46
156
6.96
0.75
3.21
7.29

Talk about nice …read more

As part of Darren Rowse’s latest group writing project, and because Roger Clemens is in the news again, here are five Clemens moments that we’ll never forget:

April 29, 1986: At age 23, Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners in a game at Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox win the game, 3-1, and Clemens enters the history books. [More at Baseball Almanac]
October 10, 1990: Clemens is ejected in the second inning of ALCS Game 4 against the Oakland A’s, who complete the sweep of Boston en route to their third straight World Series. [More at ESPN.]
September 18, 1996: Ten years …read more