Those with young kids will recognize the title as lyrics from Bob the Builder, but the Tigers put together a solid team effort over the weekend to earn a split with the mighty Yankees.  While my ability to comment on the games is limited because I was only able to listen to parts of the  game on Saturday and Sunday, I still have some ruminations…
 

• I attended Friday’s game, and it was probably the best game that I’ve witnessed since the final game at Tiger Stadium.  The offense was clicking, Maroth was almost unhittable, and the defense stepped up nicely.  However, what I will remember most is Brandon Inge’s catch against the wall in centerfield, and all the starters waiting to congratulate him on the field before heading to the dugout.

  This year’s Tigers are a TEAM for the first time since I’ve been doing this blog. While other Tigers have been vocal (Higginson) or emotional (Young), Pudge seems to be the first true leader this team has had since Trammell retired. Combining Pudge, and the professionalism of guys like Rondell White and Carlos Guillen the Tigers finally have a clubhouse that can take care of itself. Moments like we saw Friday night are why I find myself saying, “I love this team.”

• Saturday’s game was another strong effort, where the Tigers just came up a little short.  They didn’t play bad, but those timely hits they needed just ended up in the Yankees gloves, most noticable Eric Munson’s shot down the line.  There is no shame in playing competitively against the Yankees.
• I think the question everybody had to be asking themselves going into Sunday’s game was whether or not the Yankees would be another Angels for Nate Robertson.  Nate’s only pitched 3 bad games this year.  Two were against Anaheim, and the other was against the Yankees.  Well Nate quickly took care of those worries by pitching a strong game.  The Yankees did hit some balls hard, but fortunately for the Tigers most of them were right at people – kind of a reverse of the night before.
• I find it odd that Trammell took Nate Robertson out with only 86 pitches.  I can understand pulling him if somebody got on base, but let the guy start the 9th.  Just because the offical rules of baseball say when a save can be awarded, it doesn’t mean you have to bring in your closer.  On the other hand, Trammell let Maroth go for the complete game shut out, and didn’t have anybody warming up in the 9th.  I’m glad that Tram left Maroth in, and Mike finished the game with 126 pitches.  However, if Gary Sheffield would have gotten on, then Mike would have probably been going over 130 pitches, because there was nobody ready to bring in.  To Tram’s credit, he’s been careful with his pitchers this year, and Maroth’s outing was the longest of the season by a Tiger starter.  However, considering Mike’s pitch count, and the fact he’d lost several mph’s off his fastball I would have liked to have seen somebody ready in the pen.
• Lynn Henning had an interview with Carlos Pena in today’s News.  To Henning’s credit he asks the tough questions about how Pena hasn’t produced like a first basemen, and Carlos’ penchant for striking out.  Pena didn’t have answers of substance, but it was nice to see Henning asking the questions.
• Nate Cornejo’s days as a pitcher maybe numbered.  He’s heading to Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews and the anticipated diagnosis is the dreaded frayed labrum.  While doctor’s are proficient at fixing elbows, they haven’t been as successful with repairing labrums.  For more on the labrum check out this article.

I’m heading down to tonight’s game, and hopefully at least 30,000 others will join me.  The Tigers took care of business from a marketing perspective this weekend by playing 4 competitive games with a full house.  I’d love to see them keep it up.