A look back at the year that was here at Detroit Tigers Weblog:
January
- Debunking the theory that long grass helped Trammell’s defense
- Curtis Granderson stops by for an interview
- Talking Tigers prospects with Jonathan Mayo
- Nate Robertson gets 3 year deal
- Miguel Cabrera becomes very rich
- Jose Canseco is scum ball, Ordonez gets implicated
- A look at the best defensive seasons ever – for Tigers
- Stuff about Brandon Inge
February
- Multi year deals continue to flow, this one for Grandy
- We scout Dontrelle Willis with pitch f/x
- I question why Santiago is a lock for the team. Santiago later responds with career year.
- Rick Porcello makes his debut
March
- People are going crazy for Tigers tickets
- More stuff about Brandon Inge
- Tigers linked to crappy relievers
- What was your best day in baseball?
- Do Jeremy Bonderman’s pitches fool umpires?
- Tigers set roster
- Game On!
April
- And there was much losing and a lack of highlights
- Francisco Cruceta finally allowed to immigrate
- The Yorman Bazardo era ends before it got started.
- Dontrelle’s knee does weird bendy thing
- Jim Leyland has seen enough
- And musical positions starts with Miggy and Guillen switching
- Granderson returns
- Verlander has arm angle issues
- Jason Grilli traded!
May
- Patience is a virtue and a technique
- The Jacque Jones era ends, unfortunately after it started
- Remember when Sheffield became the full time left fielder? Or when Guillen was, the first time?
- Leyland exercises his intentional walk fetish
June
- Can you believe that Casey Fossum was with the team since the begining of June?
- Tigers draft Ryan Perry and every college reliever available.
- Other scouts on the Tigers
- Bonderman is toast
- And the Tigers start winning
- Inge and Pudge platoon
- Dontrelle Willis gets optioned to A ball
- Rodney gets activated and shelled
- Inge wrestles pillow, loses
July
- Guillen is the only All Star
- Tigers use rally kitten to beat Indians
- Tiger Stadium starts to fall
- Candidate 1 for worst game of the season
- Todd Jones out as closer
- Pudge traded for Farnsworth
August
- Candidate 2 for worst game of the year
- Candidate 3 for worst game of the year
- Tigers sign Freddy Garcia
- Verlander and pitch counts
- Hey, Zumaya is injured
- Robertson kicked from rotation
September
- The 09 schedule comes out (yeah, September was a slow month)
- Jonesy retires
- Chuck Hernandez is fired
- Cale Iorg is going to be an All Star
October
- Leyland talks about stuff
- Rick Knapp is the new pitching coach
- A look at strike throwing
November
- Tigers increase ticket prices
- The Tigers defense and PMR
- DTW gets a redesign
- BA’s top 10 Tiger prospects
- Tigers set 40 man roster and leave Skelton unprotected
December
- Tigers almost trade for Jack Wilson, but don’t
- DTW Live debuts
- Tigers get Gerald Laird and Adam Everett
- Tigers trade kitten rescuer for Edwin Jackson
- Tigers WAR projections
Site Info
It’s nice that every year I get to write about how the site is growing. This year saw 395,316 unique visits to the site with 728,073 page views. This included the one millionth visitor in November and the 2 millionth page view will be served up in January.
I made 650 posts this year, which is way too much for you guys to have to read. This year also marked the debut of live chats and streaming video. Both are features I’d like to continue.
On those 650 posts, all you left 29,999 comments (for real, as of 5:27 ET). Three games topped the 500 comment mark, two heart breakers against the White Sox (both were candidates for worst game of the year) and a dramatic tilt against the Indians.
As for the most prolific commentor? That would be Sean C in Illinois, aka Smoking Loon. Combining his totals across his name amounts to 3405 comments. That is more than Mark in Chicago and Dave BW combined, and they were second and third respectively.
So thanks for everyone’s support this year. Thanks to Sean Baligian and Jamie Samuelson for the repeated mentions on the WDFN airwaves and the opportunity to participate in your discussions. Thanks to the other bloggers who linked here and provided inspiration for me to write on topics I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Thanks to everyone who participated in the comments, and for those that just stopped by and read either on the site or in your feed reader. Have a great 2009.
#3! I feel like a star!
A much better blogging year than baseball year for us Tigers fans . . .
What’s cool about 2009 is that we’ll get baseball on TV 24 hours per day.
The MLB Network starts at 6pm Today and is on channel 213 for Direct TV. It should be an interesting winter with all the coverage that they’ll have.
Keep it up Billfer, good work this year.
Thanks for all you do Billfer, half of the stuff in your recap I remember as much for this site’s content as the actual team’s play on the field!
No MLB Network on AT&T UVerse or Dish Network – bummer.
Yeah, they are running highlights from yesteryear all day on MLB Network, until 6. It’s making some nice background noise while I play video games all day today. Actually, it’s causing me to flash back to some of the magical moments I had the pleasure of being at Comerica for in ’06, especially those two games with the Yanks. Oi, I’m getting all misty!
Bilfer thanks for another awesome year on DTW. (and all the other posters too) Its great to be able to connect with so many Tigs fans on here, as compared to the 5 fans I know here in Portland.
I’m getting psyched up for the MLB Network as well, less than an hour and a half! 213 on Direct TV.
Good Luck and Happy New Year to the Tigers and all the DTW Faithful.
For 2009, I’m streamlining and dropping “the K” from my name to just Joey in Portland OR
Wowwww. over 3000 comments from one person? Committed. Didn’t I have the most in 2007 with like 700-something? You crazy kids and your intrawebz!
Harold Reynolds hit the lottery. MLB Network looks like it’s going to 100x better than his old gig at Baseball Tonight.
You guys are making me jealous. Comcast screwed up and doesn’t have MLB available as of today even though they’re supposed to. Scumbags!!! I have to wait for a tech to come out and check things out.
Anyway, than you Billfer for this wonderful blog.
MLB Network should be nice. Too bad I moved and was forced to get Dish, which doesn’t have it. Or Extra Innings. Blah.
Anyhoo, a hat tip to billfer for this blog, which has become my one stop shop for bitching about the Tigers. And also another hat tip to Smoking Sean for making the rest of us feel less obsessive.
Smoking Loon just likes to hear the sound of his own typing.
My new years resolution is to be more healthy. Therefore, there will be no more talk on this site about “ham sandwiches”. I would appreciate if everyone used “ham wraps” please.
Thanks for your hard work Bilfer. I’m looking forward to Spring Training.
Maybe a lean ham sandwich with some alpine lace and light mayo every once in a while?
January 3 and no posts from Loon yet. Doesn’t he know that he is already 20 posts behind schedule?
I sent out a Loon search party, but they quickly became distracted by ham sandwiches. These things happen.
2009: The Year of the Ham Sandwich
Ha. Clearly not a good year.
Thanks Billfer…… this Bud’s for you
wow, I was #2? That’s honestly very surprising. Somehow I still managed to get a positive review at work, too. 2008 was a good year indeed.
Anyway, thanks billfer for providing us this forum and generating such great analysis and research. There aren’t many sites I check daily (and only 1 that I comment on) but yours is on that list for me. Here’s looking to a great 2009 for your site and the Tigers!
also, (see, this is how you get to be #2: hit submit too soon and then have a second thought that requires an additional post. New Year’s resolution to slow things down a bit) please note that Smoking Loon has dial-up internet at home (or at least used to), making his 3405 comments all the more impressive.
Mark —
Seeing as you beat me by one slot this year, we are now lifelong enemies. I know it seems silly, but hey, I don’t make the rules.
Rankings shmankings. Sure you guys commented a lot on baseball, but who made the most comments that had absolutely nothing to do with the game or even sports in general?
Loon.
He appears to be scared off now. I forgot about the dial-up part. That makes it truly remarkable.
Sorry Dave BW, I’d like to respond to your post (threat?) but I don’t see how it relates to baseball or the Tigers.
Darn it Billfer… did I even make the top 20? Who rounded out the top 10? I think I made it to the top 10 in 2006 or 2005.
As far as Smoking Loon being #1, well… his comments are short and usually half baseball related, half craziness insanity.
650 posts is a lot that is almost 2/day on average
I’m impressed.
Hey on another rankings note, how do you measure up to other Tiger bloggers? I know you guys are a “family”, but I’m sure you want to be #1!
My guess is your page views/page quality blows them out of the water. You’re the first link after mlb.com, yahoo and espn if you search google for “detroit tigers”