A lot of positive national press has been coming the Tigers way. Today, this piece by Bob Nightengale ran in the USA Today. (thanks to Kyle for the link) It included a quote from Rondell White, that just shows how cool Rondell is:
Hey, after everything they’ve been through, they deserve nothing but the best. I don’t want them to beat us, obviously, but I root for them to beat everybody else. They deserve it. That city deserves it.”
This weekend they got attention from Murray Chass in the New York Times.
Also, Joe Sheehan penned a column about the Tigers late last week, .
and he thinks they’re for real(premium content)
The key for the Tigers staff has been eliminating home runs. They
bill, did Jim leave Rodney out for the 8th? I didn’t catch that part.
if so, Leyland def deserves a ton of criticism and probably a slap. and not lovingly on the behind.
I think we should look at Rondell White as one of the reasons the Tigers are back into contention. He was one of the few players who signed with the Tigers when nobody else would and made other free agents realize that Detroit was an option.
I read on one of the Twins blogs, that White may be available if the the Twins aren’t respectable by the end of May.
Yes.
No doubt. He’s a class act and was a huge asset to the team at the time. I don’t think he would fit with the Tigers anymore, but we are indebted to him.
I’ve always liked Rondell White as a player and then as a person when I began to read his quotes and see how he carried himself in Detroit, but I don’t see how he’d be of value to the Tigers this season. If he wanted to come back and was willing to bat very sparingly as a pinch-hitter, then I guess it’d be ok. I just don’t want any more players on the team that could take Marcus Thames’ already limited at-bats! Am I the only one that loves this guy??
The thing that the press and Leyland will need to understand at some point is that hearing criticism is ultimately a good thing–it means fans are starting to feel passionately about the team.
It wouldn’t be baseball if we couldn’t second guess the manager. But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that it is second-guessing. Too many fans forget that they have the benefit of hindsight and too many think they could do better than the manager if given the chance.
I haven’t been thrilled with a number of choices that Leyland has made, but Sparky drove me crazy too. All managers do stuff that drives fans nuts. And any quibble I might have with Leyland to date is far outweighed by the apparent affect he and his staff have had on the attitude of the team.
Tonight is a good win. They broke a little streak that included a couple of blown leads. They got the jump early again, in the first. Another road win. Zumaya blew smoke. An uneventful save for Jones. Back to back jacks from the 9 spot and the leadoff spot. And Verlander continues to do well. A good night.
And btw, Thames should be starting over DY. (Just a little criticism Mr. Leyland :-)).