Tigers-Devil Rays Preview
Detroit (70-34) at Tampa Bay (43-62), 7:15 p.m. ET

Not long ago, the Tigers were used to playing in front of small crowds. This week, it's going to be an adjustment.

After the Twins saw their largest three-game series crowd in 14 years with the Tigers in town and after five sellouts in a six-game stretch at home a week ago, the Tigers head to the lower-traffic confines of Tropicana Field for a four-game set. And while the crowds aren't surprising, the Devil Rays can be.

The Red Sox came to town earlier this month and lost three out of four. The Yankees took two out of three there just before the All-Star break, but needed a 1-0 win to do it. The Orioles gave up 27 runs over a two-game stretch in losing two out of three a week ago.

The Tigers are 5-2 there over the last two years, but it's enough of a concern that manager Jim Leyland plans to talk to his players about keeping focus.

"This is a team that scored 19 runs [Saturday] against Randy Johnson," Leyland said. "I don't like to get ahead of myself, but I think you've always got to prepare. It's not a matter of not being respectful. It's just a matter of making sure that you've got to keep grinding it out. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. ...

"The atmosphere [in Minnesota has] been fantastic. I'm not exactly sure what it'll be like down there."

In some ways, it'll be interesting what level of following the Tigers can draw in Tampa Bay, where the Yankees and Red Sox have always drawn more fans when in town than the Rays. While Florida has its fair share of Michigan transplants, it hasn't had a Tigers team to draw those transplants since the Rays opened play in 1998.

"That's one thing I think Leyland has brought to us more than anything else," catcher Vance Wilson said. "A lot of times, a lot of teams I've played on, we'll play in a series like [Minnesota] and then we'll go to Tampa and we won't be ready to play. We'll be dead. Skipper doesn't let that happen. Win or lose [Sunday], he'll be screaming at us about Tampa. He'll be screaming at us to make sure we're ready for Tampa, or they'll kick our butts. It's the truth.

"The biggest thing is, mentally, guys take a break. If you're going to stay up, if you're going to pad the lead, though Tampa Bay's playing better and they're on their way, those are the teams you've got to play your best baseball against. Those are how you pad your wins."

One more win, and the Tigers will equal their win total from all of last season with two months left to play.

Pitching matchup
DET: LHP Kenny Rogers (11-4, 4.45 ERA)
Control woes have put the American League's All-Star Game starter in a slump. He has allowed 27 runs over his last 26 innings, despite holding the White Sox to a run in six innings during that stretch. However, the Devil Rays might be the solution to those struggles. He held Tampa Bay to a run on four hits in eight innings earlier this season at Comerica Park, improving his career record against the Rays to 9-3.

TB: LHP Casey Fossum (4-4, 5.22 ERA)
Fossum had the shortest start of his season Wednesday afternoon, getting knocked out after 1 1/3 innings pitched with seven runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk. He gave up six runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings against the Tigers last month at Comerica Park.

Player to watch
The Tigers hope Ivan Rodriguez returns to the lineup after missing the entire Minnesota series with a sore right thumb.

Up next
• Tuesday: Tigers (LHP Justin Verlander, 13-4, 2.69) at Devil Rays (LHP J.P. Howell, first ML outing in 2006), 7:15 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Tigers (RHP Zach Miner, 6-2, 3.95) at Devil Rays (RHP Tim Corcoran, 4-2, 3.57), 7:15 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Tigers (LHP Nate Robertson, 10-6, 3.87) at Devil Rays (RHP Jae Seo, 3-9, 5.84), 7:15 p.m. ET
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060730&content_id=1583464&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det

Wonder if Casey will be in the lineup today?

I was about to ask the same.
I mean, it was the 1st deal done today, thats pleanty of time to join the team.

Just to let you guys know, BJ Upton was called up today and will be playing 3rd base for the Rays.

No Casey tonight. He'll start tomarrows game

That was a stinker.

That was a stinker.

For sho.

Another day, another craptacular defensive performance.

I was sort of worrying that the game 3 loss to the Twins the other day might have a bit of a negative carryover effect, since we kind of imploded. Not saying that is what happened last night, but I think we need to right the ship ASAP before some of those old thoughts start creeping back in.

On the bright side, I think we found a full time DH yesterday. I think one of his teammates should take Dmitri's glove and throw it in a dumpster. He shouldn't even bother putting it on anymore this year. Thanks Meat Hook, we've seen all we need to see from you in the field. He really should have had 4 errors, but they didn't change the Guillen one that they should have. I wonder what the record for errors in one game by a single player is?

If anyone is still questioning the acquisition of a .300 hitting, defensive stud that plays first base, last night should have quelled those concerns. I'm actually suprised that Leyland didn't put Casey in after the errors started to pile up. I think it's safe to say that he'll be seeing a lot of playing time.

It will be interesting to see if Leyland tries Pudge or Guillen more at 1B when Casey needs a day off.

My guess is that Shelton will be back very soon.

Shelton wont be back until his swing is. We have Casey, he'll play 1st. On "days off" puge can play 1st whenever Casey gets a day from Leyland

^that's pretty much what I said

Oh yeah, Kenny Rogers is a mess right now.

Hurry back Maroth.


alsoineverthoughtiwouldeversaythat

Oh.......In that case I agree.

Verlander is on the mound tonight. He's been our slump stopper all season long and hopefully that'll continue tonight.

We'll see how Casey does in his debut today. I still hate him.

Rogers needs to sit down for a couple of starts. He's just starting to look tired, and I'd rather have him at the top of his game come playoff time. Bring up Tata and put Rogers on the 15 day DL for fatigue. He'll come back strong.

Sean Casey is my Tiger.

First AB in uniform he fouls off 2,000 pitches before getting the RBI single on the 10th pitch. This cat is what it's all about.

Yes, I realize the math about 2,000 and then 10 doesn't quite work out, but it doesn't matter because Sean Casey is still my Tiger.

Ok, I realize Craig Monroe is everyone else's Tiger, and I can't really blame you. But Casey is still my Tiger.

Casey is definitely still my Tiger!

verlander for cy young! assuming we hold on, he leads the majors in wins, and will be second in era. imo, that would be the biggest regular season award a detroit player has gotten since barry's mvp. and no one even cares about mvp's in football, so you'd have to go way back to match a cy young. hill's (co) rookie of the year? i still would take cy young. way better than federov getting the hart ross memorial trophy, or yzerman getting the player's mvp.

my head is spinning with JV's success.

Welcome Brent Clevlen.

Guillermo got the MVP in 84, that's the latest I can remember.

Really shocked that there isn't more feedback on this game yet.
Verlander leads the MAJORS with 14 wins after this game.
Guillen hits for the cycle.
Clevelen, who couldn't handle AA pitching, hit 2 homers and has like 6 hits in 9 AB.
Casey played his first game with the team and went yard.
Tigers broke their 2 game skid, while the Twins are getting blown out and the Sox are tied in the 9th.
BIG day for the Tigers, and only me, diddy and vinny seem to care.
At least give me Anthony. Fella is always good for some Tiger love.

I'm there for ya J.. ...Just got out of a drunked work assembly and ran to my hotel room in time to hear Rod yell like he'd had a hot poker put up his cack hole. Good stuff.

Thanks Herm.

*kiss*

Great game.

Gulillen with the Cycle!
Casey is ballar for real. Dude smoked a couple of balls tonight, and didnt drop 1 ball.
Verlander is the Cy Young. If he dosnt win it, there is not justice in this world.
Brent Clevlen....He dont want to go back down. 2 home runs over 400 feet to straight center field. Unreal.

i dont know about no justice in the world. right now i think its liriano's to lose. but verlander has to be top 5, and if he finishes out the year like he's been pitching for the last 2 months, JV could steal it from him.

i cant remember the last young talent detroit has had being this promising. he's like darko making good.

That was fun to watch.

*Tigers remove schneide*

Sorry I wasn't able to post last night. The heatwave has been kicking my ass for awhile now. I was also busy making my Clevlen shrine.

Congrats to Guillen on the cycle. Too bad Verlander couldn't pitch a no-no.

Nice debut for Sean Casey, but he's going to have to do a lot more to impress me.

Check out Arch firmly throwing the gauntlet at Casey's feet.

By the way, thoughts on Verlander - can you believe how much rookie pitching talent there is in the AL? Verlander, Liriano, Jered Weaver, Papelbon, Jenks, etc.

I really like Clevlen's swing. Not just from the two homers last night, but from his very first AB -- his swing looks very good, there's just something about it -- doesn't look like there's many holes or anything. Kid looks good.

Also Verlander rocked it.

I wonder if Clevlen's performance is another indicator of just how much AA is a pitcher's league.
Last season he hit .304 with 102 RBI at Class A Lakeland in 130 games.
This season he hits .224 with 42 RBI at AA Erie in 101 games.
Upon being called up to the bigs, he's 5 for 8 with 3 extra base hits and a walk. Sure, he's only been up a few days, but certainly one of these things is not like the other. At this pace, he'll likely stay with the club through the month, and then he's a sure thing to stay here after Sept 1. The only way I think he would return to the minors before Sept 1 is if someone else is hitting the cover off the ball.
Speaking of players hitting the cover off the ball, you might want to know that Gomez has played the last 5 games in Toledo since being sent down and has 2 hits in EACH of the games, going 10 for 24 (.417) with a HR, a 2B or two, a SB and an outfield putout.

On a side note, I also like what I saw from BJ Upton. Should be a great player.

verlander for cy young! assuming we hold on, he leads the majors in wins, and will be second in era. imo, that would be the biggest regular season award a detroit player has gotten since barry's mvp. and no one even cares about mvp's in football, so you'd have to go way back to match a cy young. hill's (co) rookie of the year? i still would take cy young. way better than federov getting the hart ross memorial trophy, or yzerman getting the player's mvp.

my head is spinning with JV's success.

The only way Verlander is going to lead the league in Wins is if he pitches close to 200 innings and I don't really see that happening. He might still win 18+ games, which might be good enough for him to get the ROY and maybe even the Cy Young.

14 wins in 21 starts. he's probably got 10 more scheduled starts. but hes also won 6 or 7 streight starts (not just 6 or 7 in a row). even if they rest him a start or 2, he's definitly got a shot at 20, though i agree, 18 sounds more realistic.

i was thinking about starting an official AL cy watch. liriano just missed a start due to an inflamed elbow, lets hope its gangrenous.

Verlander pitched 129 inning last year and had to be shut down towards the end of the season because of a dead arm.

This year, he has already pitched 135 innings. Assuming he starts 10 more games and pitches 6 innings in all of them, that would be another 60 innings bringing his season total to 195 innings. At that rate, his arm would fall off before we get to the playoffs.

I'm sure Leyland will watch that.

They'll surely use the 6 man roltation once or twice through when Maroth comes back - unless one of the pitchers is horrible. That could benefit everyone. Miner and Rogers certainly look like they need it. Verlander, Bonderman and Robertson don't exactly look like they need it, but it can only help, maybe so that they never do look like they need it. Even after they've gone through the rotation a couple times, whichever pitcher moves to the bullpen could certainly hit a spot start again if Leyland thought the staff needed it. That probably means one or two fewer starts for Verlander, but it also should mean he doesn't need to shut it down. You saw last night the quick hook after 5. I think you'll see that a lot more with him for sure, if not the whole staff.

Detroit Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Placido Polanco 2B
Dmitri Young DH
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen SS
Craig Monroe LF
Sean Casey 1B
Brandon Inge 3B
Vance Wilson C

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Rocco Baldelli CF
Carl Crawford LF
Jorge Cantu 2B
Travis Lee 1B
Jonny Gomes DH
Greg Norton RF
Dioner Navarro C
B.J. Upton 3B
Ben Zobrist SS

Didn't Leyland mention something about Pudge catching all 4 games of this series?

right. switch to a 6 man rotation, and dont let him go 7 innings anymore, and hopefully he'll be fine. i think he can stay way under 200 innings and still have a shot at 20 wins. maybe i should say, i hope he can still win 20. thats a huge accomplishment in baseball, and would definitly put him in contention for cy young.

what do you guys think about keeping bondo, robertson, and minor on a standard 5 man rotation, and then rotate rogers, maroth, and verlander in the remaining to spots. it seems like rogers could really use a break, and no one knows if maroth is going to even make it back this year. plus, it seems like bonderman and robertson are getting stronger throughout the year, so i'd hate to knock them out of their rhythms.

Robertson has a history of coming down with dead arm every year in late July early August.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7014/splits

Yeah, Maggs!!! Two run double, 4-3 Tigs...

Cue Anthony...."I love me some Craig Monroe!"

Maggs and Monroe come up huge. Nice!

Cue Anthony...."I love me some Craig Monroe!"

My sister was ont he computer so its a little late but:

I love me some craig monroe!

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

The Tigers are 72-35.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

I love Tha Meathook.

Maggs too.

Todd Jones as well.

niiice.

Cue Anthony...."I love me some Craig Monroe!"

He's no Aubrey Huff.

Dude, whats with the negativity lately?
Enjoy the winning.
We're going to the playoffs.
Chill.

Dude, whats with the negativity lately?
Enjoy the winning.
We're going to the playoffs.
Chill.


We agree!

The players arent running the show in the tigers clubhouse.

Dude, whats with the negativity lately?
Enjoy the winning.
We're going to the playoffs.
Chill.

If that was towards me, I was kidding. It was meant to be a jab toward posters who were drooling over Aubrey Huff's nuts this year.

Oh, forget I mentioned it then :-D

Goddamn you, Nate Robertson.

Way to make me almost have a heart attack.

Touch em all, Craig.

Alfonso WHO?

Anthony loves him some Craig Monroe.

We need to get something going here in the 6th.

shit

Bah...

Anybody else get the feeling the Tigers are headed for a Major League swoon? I just feel like I'll be awakening from the dream at any moment. I really hope Im wrong, but losing 2 to the D-Rays and our pitching lately has me really concerned.