Experiencing History. Thome's 600th Homer.

Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Ken Griffey Jr., these are the names that will forever be engrained in baseball fans minds. Those four men are all members of the 600 Home Run Club, and the only four without links to steroids.

The addition of Jim Thome brings that number to five. 

It was a homer that put the game well out of reach, but the fans in Comerica Park stood and game the Minnesota Twins slugger Jim Thome a well-deserved ovation, he had just made history. He became just the eight player in the history of the game to hit 600 career home runs. Seeing something like that in person is a one in a lifetime event, and I can count myself as one of those who was there.

Thome has been in the league for twenty seasons, jumping from team to team but in almost every stop setting home run records. He holds the record for most home runs for both the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox. In each of his stops he brought his blue-collar attitude and just put his head down and played the game as it should be played.

The burden that Thome will have to bear is that he played through a dark time in baseball; the steroid era. This era has tainted so many to have come out of it and it is still being felt today. In 2010, Jose Bautista came from nowhere to hit 50+ home runs and the first thing many thought was; is he on steroids?

Thome has never had that shadow cast over him and for good reason, he has stated that his father had told him if he ever took steroids that he would beat him. That's the mentality that more players need to have in this day.

While he has never been in the spotlight for very long, Thome is without question a future Hall of Famer. He has gone into every clubhouse and he has made it better. Teammates and opponents alike both characterize Thome as one of the nicest people in the league. Thome responded to this characterization by saying he treats people the way he expects to be treated.

At his press conference following the game Thome again showed his true colors when he said; "If you dream big enough, there's nothing you can't do."

Not only is this man kind and a great teammate, he is a great family man as well. Following his 600th blast to left field at Comerica Park he was greeted at home plate by his wife and children and his father. The man who had threatened to beat him if he ever took steroids was able to embrace his son who had just passed into history.

Maybe if Thome had played in New York or Boston people would be more excited about his accomplishment, but having watched him demolish my Tigers for my entire life I can say I am proud to have been in the crowd when he reached that mark. 

Congratulations Jim, you deserve it.

"Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

Tigers Alburquerque Lands on DL After Suffering Concussion

The Tigers suffered a big loss before a pitch was even thrown in Baltimore last night; during batting practice Alburquerque was playing catch with a teammate with his back to home plate when an Orioles batter launched a fly ball to left field.

Alburquerque never saw the ball, which caught him flush on the head, knocking him to the field. Team trainers quickly responded to his injury and called for an ambulance to take Alburquerque to the hospital in Baltimore. He was taken out on a stretcher and was complaining of some dizziness.

FSD Video: Alburquerque Hit By Fly Ball

Once at the hospital Alburquerque was diagnosed with a mild concussion and was kept over night for observation. Manager Jim Leyland said that there was some internal bleeding, which made the decision to keep him overnight a must.

With the number of concussions on the rise across all sports, Major League Baseball created a new disabled-list just for players who have suffered concussions. A team may place a player on this DL for seven days while the player recovers.

When Alburquerque was released from the hospital on Saturday morning, the Detroit Tigers placed him on the 7-day DL with a concussion. The measure was taken because concussions are frequently difficult to come back from, see Justin Morneau, and when dealing with someone's brain the safest route is usually the best one.

The Tigers sent Alburquerque back to Detroit to recuperate and get himself ready for the upcoming homestand, however he will not be flying aboard Red Bird II or on any commercial plane, he will be driving back to Detroit. Those who suffer concussions are barred from flying on airplanes because the constantly changing pressure around them could cause harm to their brain.

There is no timetable set on his return to the team as the Tigers will want to play things safe with their talented rookie. He is also being put on anti-seizure medication as a precautionary measure.

With Alburquerque heading to the DL the Tigers made a move to fill the hole he left in the bullpen, recalling Ryan Perry from Toledo.  Since being sent down to Toledo earlier in the season, Perry has appeared in 20 games and has accumulated numbers like this; 3-0, 3.03 ERA, 7 SV, 30 SO and .207 AVG.

Perry is not the long term answer the Tigers are looking for in the bullpen, but he will be a good replacement while Alburquerque is on the DL. He has already joined Detroit in Baltimore and will be available to pitch Saturday.

Dombrowski and Leyland Given Extensions...What the Hell?

It was announced today that the Detroit Tigers had reached agreements with both General Manager Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland to extend their contracts. Leyland was renewed for just one more season, putting him under contract through 2012 whereas Dombrowski was handed a new four year deal through 2015.

In July both of these men were feeling the pressure of the ownership and fans alike, so much pressure in fact that they fired pitching coach Rick Knapp to try to appease them. That move has indeed worked as new pitching coach Jeff Jones has had an effect on the pitching staff. Prior to his promotion the Tigers had a 4.39 ERA, since he has taken the helm that has dropped to 3.64.

The Tigers have shown that they don't understand the game of baseball; they're handing out extensions like candy. They gave out extensions without winning anything, there was no proving ground. This team is up by four games and still have to play the Cleveland Indians twelve times to end the season. It's not far fetched to say that Detroit could find itself in third place.

Are the Tigers going to be as willing to hand out extensions in two or three weeks from now if they're only up one game or maybe six weeks away in the midst of a full blown collapse? From the looks of it, they don't care.

Neither of these men needed an extension at this point. With the track record that both of them have the conditions of an extension should have been; make the playoffs or your fired. This team isn't great, in fact it isn't good. It's just the best polished turd in the American League Central.

Before the All-Star Break, Owner Mike Illich basically said that Leyland and Dombrowski needed to win in order to keep their jobs. That must have been a kick to the pants of both men right? Not at all. Since the All-Star Break the Tigers are 12-10.

Detroit has managed to run away with the division because it's a terrible division, not because they're a good team. And it's only a four game lead, it's not 10 or 11 games. The Indians were up in the 7th inning in most of the games on their road trip; they ended up losing those games. But they could easily be one game back or even ahead of the Tigers.

It's not even like Detroit has a farm system to fall back on, Dombrowski managed to completely gut that and get nothing in return. In the entire farm system the Tigers have two prospects that have the potential to actually make it to the majors and do anything.

When Dombrowski took over the Tigers they boasted one of the best farm systems in the league, now they are ranked 28th. The dismantling of prospects without getting anyone of any worth back in return is what Dombrowski does, he's not some baseball genius. It's not Billy Beane sitting up there in the press box, it's some guy who can't tell a dud from a stud.

Why did the Tigers have to extend their contracts now? It's not like these guys were the going to run off to other clubs after the end of the season. Leyland isn't going to run off to Chicago as soon as the season ends. Dombrowski doesn't have teams lining up for his services. Just wait! There's almost two months of baseball left to be played.

Mike Illich said that Dombrowski gives the Tigers the best chance to win in the future; he's losing his mind. Handing out extensions at this point send the wrong message, it shows that the Tigers reward mediocrity. What happens if the Tigers collapse down the stretch run? Then you have Leyland for another season and Dombrowski for four!

This team is not good, it only looks good comparatively in the division. That won't be the case for long, because the other teams in the division have good GM's and managers. In 2009 the Tigers gave Jim Leyland an extension during the season and what happened? They collapsed down the stretch. Why would you do it again?

Terrible move for the Tigers, it just shows that Illich is impatient and has little understanding of what it takes to build a winning baseball club. Fire Dombrowski, fire Leyland, sell the Tigers. Detroit deserves better than this.

The Phil Coke Experiment Has Run It's Course

The Detroit Tigers ended up beating the Kansas City Royals on Friday night but it was forced into extra innings because of the continued ineptitude of Phil Coke. Rick Porcello had pitched masterfully and again a lack of an average caliber defensive in-field and poor bullpen pitching cost him a chance at the win.

When Porcello got into trouble Manager Jim Leyland went to his bullpen to try to stop the problem before it got out of hand. His choice was to go with Phil Coke, who was called in to face a left-handed batter and promptly allowed him to reach base.

Although this runner did not ultimately come around to score the "Phil Coke Experiment" has proved to be a grand failure.

As a starter Coke was unable to get things together and win more than one game, becoming for all intents and purposes a liability for the team. Finally, the front office and Leyland realized their mistake and moved Coke to the bullpen where they could use him in specific situations.

However, this plan too backfired. Similar to David Purcey, who was blessingly outrighted to Toledo, Coke has exhibited a stunning ability to miss the plate on a consistent basis. While he does show his work ethic every time he sprints from the pen to the mound, the product that he displays once there is sub-par to say the least.

A look at Coke's numbers reveals just how much he has struggled this season; 1-8, 4.84 ERA and a 1.522 WHIP. His WAR further shows his problems this season, he has a -0.3 WAR this season. Meaning that he costs the Tigers 0.3 games a season as opposed to his replacement.

Purcey was sent down to Toledo because he displayed a complete and total inability to find the strike zone even if the umpire pointed it to him. Coke is not to that point yet, but his struggles with the Tigers so far this season have showed that he is not to be called on in clutch situations, not a good tag to have in a playoff stretch run.

In the end the Tigers need to do what is in the best interest of both the club and Coke; and the best option right now is to send Coke to Toledo to work on his control. He has the work ethic, which means that a demotion to Toledo would do a world of good for Coke. Send him down, for everyone's sake.

This Tigers Team Looks Like AL Central Champs

Despite falling to the Texas Rangers on Thursday the Tigers were able to take two out of three from the American League West leaders. In doing so they were able to improve to eight over the .500 mark on the season and pull to a season-high four games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.

Detroit learned that their two trade deadline acquisitions are going to perform well for them down the stretch. David Pauley came out of the bullpen and pitched well for the Tigers in the game on Tuesday night. And newly acquired starter Doug Fister benefited from having run support and was able to convert his first start in the "Old English D" into a win.

In competing against another division contender in Texas, Detroit is proving that they are able to hold their own against quality opponents and are showing no signs of declining. And with the addition of Fister to the starting rotation the Tigers have found the pitcher that will put them over the top in the AL Central.

Coming into his first start for Detroit, Fister had the second-lowest ERA on the staff, essentially making him the Tigers second starter. As long as the Tigers are able to play good defense behind him Fister will continue to impress on the mound. He will also be able to teach Rick Porcello a thing or two, both pitchers are ground ball pitchers who pitch to contact.

Alex Avila appears to be coming out of his slump so far in August; he had no RBI in July and only 10 total bases. As of August 3rd, Avila had two home runs, five RBI and 14 total bases. Despite his July slump Avila was able to keep his batting average around the .270 mark and it is already on the rebound.

With Magglio Ordonez continuing to play well the Tigers boast one of the best team batting average's in the entire league. Second hitter Brennan Boesch is hitting .296 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI and a .352 OBP. While the lead off hitter position is fluctuating between Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks and Boesch is on a tear, the bases usually have runners on when the Tigers big hitters come up to the plate. 

The Tigers 4-5-6 hitters are some of the most fearsome in the league with Miguel Cabrera batting .314, Victor Martinez batting .317 and Jhonny Peralta hitting .317. These batters have proven time and time again that they are the heart of the team and have maintained their batting averages around the .300 mark all season.

Detroit is leading Cleveland, who despite the addition of Ubaldo Jimenez still have no hitting, and with their major players all clicking right now, the Tigers should finally run away with the division down the stretch.

Doug Fister Trade Is Exactly What Tigers Needed

July 30th was a very busy day for the Detroit Tigers, they called up super-prospect Jacob Turner to make his major league debut and were in the midst of making a deal with the Seattle Mariners to bring two pitchers to the club.

Turner's debut was everything the Tigers could have wanted; he showed poise and skill against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and wasn't rattled when things got tense. However, Turner is not the answer to Detroit's problems this season, which is why General Manager Dave Dombrowski made a deal with the Mariners.

In the middle of the day last Saturday the Tigers announced that they had reached a deal with Seattle that would bring right-handed starter Doug Fister and right-handed reliever David Pauley to their team. In return Detroit sent left-handed reliever Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, third base prospect Francisco Martinez and a player to be named later to the Pacific Northwest.

Furbush had shown flashes of what he could become for the Tigers, he particularly excelled coming out of the bullpen in the sixth and seventh innings while struggling in his two starts. With further development Furbush could become an excellent reliever or a middle of the order starter without much trouble.

Wells proved that he could compete at the major league level, but right now the Tigers has a plethora of talented outfielders and had no room for him. When Wells was sent to Toledo a week ago to bring up Duane Below Manager Jim Leyland said he felt bad about doing it because Wells, didn't deserve to be sent down, but he was the odd man out. This trade is great for Wells as he will get a chance to play in the major leagues on a regular basis in Seattle.

Martinez was ranked as the Tigers No. 4 prospect, playing third base his trade may raise some eyebrows with the struggles of Brandon Inge and the trade for stop-gap Wilson Betemit. But, Detroit was looking farther down in their farm system, they felt that they could afford to trade Martinez away because they have Nick Catellanos in the wings developing into a third baseman Detroit can use.

Detroit received right-handed starter Fister in the deal, which will help to bolster their rotation. Fister does not have the most outstanding record, but keep in mind he was playing for the Mariners. This season he has a record of 3-12 but a 3.33 ERA and 1.171 WHIP. While in Seattle he got the least run support of any major league pitcher, meaning that when he pitches for a team like Detroit that can score runs, he should be racking up the wins.

Some have pointed out that he has only won three games away from Safeco Field in Seattle and have said that he will struggle pitching in Detroit. While Safeco is definitely a pitchers park, Comerica Park isn't exactly a bam box. Safeco has a park factor of .840 opposed to Comerica's .956, both of which prove that hitters don't exactly like playing in either stadium. A rate lower than 1.000 in park factors means the stadium favors the pitcher.

An added bonus to Fister is that he is not a rental player, he is signed for several seasons and is available for arbitration in 2013. Not to mention he becomes one of the lowest paid players on the Tigers roster, at $437k a year. While he may come cheap he will most certainly provide the Tigers with a solid arm that will help steady their rotation.

Also included in the trade was reliever David Pauley. Pauley is an excellent addition to Detroit's bullpen, he comes in with a 5-4 record and a 2.15 ERA and a .994 WHIP. His true value appears when his WAR is examined, to date he has a 1.7 WAR. This means that Pauley contributes 1.7 wins to his team through his efforts on the mound. 

While this deadline deal may not be the splashy deal that Tigers fans have become used to with Dombrowski at the helm, it has an opportunity to be one of the most worth-while. Detroit was able to add two solid arms to their team while not having to give up anyone from their starting lineup or top-prospect Jacob Turner. Look out for the 2012 Tigers rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Doug Fister and Jacob Turner.