U of M Building for the future!

Kevin Borseth takes his explosive attitude into building a new practice facility.



U of M basketball is taking steps to improve their basketball team!

Tigers Young Talent is Shining

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- The first Saturday night fireworks of the season at Comerica Park weren't just on the field.

After the Tigers' 7-6 comeback win over the Red Sox, they made three key changes to their roster, optioning starting second baseman Scott Sizemore and key starting pitcher Max Scherzer to Triple-A Toledo and anointing Carlos Guillen as the new starter at second when he returns from the disabled list.

Armando Galarraga, who was already being recalled from Toledo to start Sunday's series finale against Boston, will stay in the rotation. To replace Sizemore, the Tigers purchased the contract of infielder Danny Worth, who could make his Major League debut as soon as Sunday at second base.

Manager Jim Leyland said he'll fill second base with some combination of Ramon Santiago, Worth and utilityman Don Kelly until Guillen is ready. Guillen, currently on the 15-day DL with a strained left hamstring, has been taking ground balls the past couple days and is expected to begin a rehab assignment sometime next week after the Tigers' current homestand ends Tuesday.

The moves and announcements came just before midnight ET after Detroit's 12-inning victory, and they came in a flurry. While the Sizemore and Scherzer moves sent out two struggling youngsters to work out their on-field issues, the Guillen announcement reveals the Tigers' solution to the long-speculation challenge of finding playing time for Guillen and rookie sensation Brennan Boesch in the same lineup.



"I think they would run me out of town if I sent Boesch down," Leyland said.

The Tigers tabbed Scherzer to fill the void in the middle of their rotation immediately upon acquiring the gifted 25-year-old from Arizona in the Edwin Jackson trade this past December. After four encouraging April starts, however, he fell into a deep four-start struggle that saw him battle his mechanics more so than hitters.

Scherzer gave up 27 runs on 33 hits over 18 innings in his past four starts, the last three of them losses. The capper came Friday night, when he surrendered three home runs -- including a 450-foot drive from David Ortiz -- that tagged him with six runs on six hits over five innings.

Scherzer has given up nine home runs this season, tying him for third in the American League.

"We have some [rotation] flexibility there with the days off [in a week or so]," Leyland said. "We think Max is one of our top-of-the-rotation guys, and we still feel that way. But this is a little bit of a time where we can pick some spots to get him down there, get him working on things and come back and be the pitcher that we know we have."

Scherzer would've been on track to start next Thursday at Oakland. Instead, the Tigers will likely slot Dontrelle Willis into that outing, pitching him in his hometown. Galarraga can then start Friday against the Dodgers on his regular restafter starting Sunday.


Galarraga has boasted impressive numbers in Toledo, owning a 4-2 record with a 3.92 ERA. With a strike-to-ball ratio of better than 2-to-1, his command seems to have improved since last season with the Tigers, where he posted a 6-10 record in 25 starts before being relegated to bullpen duties.

The 25-year-old Sizemore has struggled for the vast majority of this season, but has fallen on particularly tough times lately. His two strikeouts against Red Sox lefty Jon Lester on Saturday night extended his current slump to 0-for-14 and dropped his average to .206. He hit one home run and added eight RBIs, part of the struggles at the bottom of the Tigers' order.

"He's scuffling right now, just overall," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We think he's going to be a good player. We think he's going to hit; right now, he's scuffling offensively. His defense has been so-so, but we think he's going to be an offensive second baseman, and right how, he's scuffling."

The telling sign came Saturday night, when Leyland used Santiago to pinch-hit for Sizemore in the eighth inning of a tie game against Red Sox left-hander Hideki Okajima with the potential go-ahead run on third with one out. Santiago lined out to third and stayed in the game at second base before drawing the walk-off walk in the 12th.

"I think it was very smart not just to hold Sizemore until Guillen came back," Leyland said. "I think it was smart, because what you're doing, you're doing something good for Scott Sizemore. He needs to get down. He needs to get away from here for right now. He knows the speed of the game up here now. He knows what he has to do. And just to hold him for another 10 days does not make a lot of sense."

The Guillen move has a twist of irony. When Guillen complained about his role at the end of last season, he made not-so-subtle suggestions that he would be happy with a return to the infield. There were some questions coming out of his October remarks whether he was hoping to move to second base if Detroit didn't re-sign Placido Polanco, a question that became moot once the Tigers committed to Sizemore as their starter at second in 2010.

Guillen came to the big leagues as a shortstop prospect, then shifted to third base for a stretch in Seattle to play alongside Alex Rodriguez. He has 12 career games at second base, the last coming in 1999.

Guillen went on the disabled list April 23 after straining his left hamstring rounding third base at Angel Stadium. The Tigers called up Boesch, who has done far more than expected in his first taste of Major League Baseball. His two-run triple Saturday raised his batting average to .388 (26-for-67), with three home runs and 19 RBIs in 18 games.

The 24-year-old Worth was once among the Tigers' shortstop prospects, having been drafted in the second round of the 2007 Draft out of Pepperdine. He largely struggled as a hitter in his first three seasons, but has proven valuable around the infield this year at Toledo, where he's batting .274 with five doubles, two homers and 14 RBIs. He has played at shortstop, second and third.


The 2010 Detroit Tigers season is a year of rebuilding. It does not seem like it for a team that is 22-16 and in second place in the division. Young talent has definitely caused the team to make some tough decisions. Brennan Boesch has been lights out since being called up and has made the Tigers find a room for them. I know it is still tough to get rid of those players that we have grown to love like Granderson and Polanco but when you get to a certain point where young talent is coming up through the system you have to find a way to get those guys more playing time and lower the team salary. In the end the Tigers are going to be a great team. The 22-16 record is proving why this was a great decision.

I am ashamed when I hear people call our GM Dumb-broski. Some of the same people making these bandwagon comments really just talk to talk and have no idea how to build a winning organization. I would like to see them in that seat and see if they had the guts to make tough decisions about the Tigers future even though it might not be the popular decision. Leyland and Dombroski have made the Tigers a winning team again after losing over 100 games so I do nothing but tip my hat to them. It is hard to bit your tongue and not calls someone an idiot for making those decisions. These two have worked as a team and have a track record of winning. So lets stop repeating the negative comments we hear on talk radio just to be cool and use our own brains to evaluate our decision.

-Michigan Sports Guy

If you build it, they will come...

For sale: 'Field of Dreams' farm

Courtesy of ESPN.com and written by the Associated Press

DYERSVILLE, Iowa -- In "Field of Dreams," Kevin Costner's character builds a baseball diamond out of a corn field after a voice tells him: "If you build it, he will come."

Well, now he can buy it and so can anyone else.

Don and Becky Lansing, the owners of the site near Dyersville where the field was built by Universal Studios, said Thursday they're selling the property. The asking price is $5.4 million.

The couple said they love the land, which has been in Don Lansing's family for more than a century, but they're ready to retire and give up the property.

"It's really time for us to head to the locker room. Maybe that sounds corny. I don't care," Becky Lansing told The Associated Press. "We really would just love to become spectators. We want to sit in the bleachers. We want to look forward to all that the 'Field of Dreams' will become in the future."

The "Field of Dreams" is in the middle of a cornfield in eastern Iowa. The movie, released in 1989 with Costner as its star, was based on the book "Shoeless Joe" by W.P. Kinsella.

The site has been a popular tourist destination, with the family maintaining the baseball diamond built by Universal. The Lansings purchased the left field and center portions from neighbor Rita Ameskamp in 2007, ending a long-standing split over the commercialization of the site.

Up for sale is the diamond, a two-bedroom house, six outbuildings that include a concession stand, and a 193-acre parcel. The land includes the mystical cornfield where the ghosts of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, "Moonlight" Graham and others emerge to play ball.

Former major league pitcher Ken Sanders, now a real estate consultant overseeing the sale, said he's already received a number of inquiries about the property.

Sanders said the majority of those who've reached out have shown interest in preserving the property. But he's also heard from people thinking about putting up a hotel, water park and even some contemplating whether to build a minor league ballpark on the site.

There's little doubt, though, that the property's iconic place in sports movie history will help its resale value.

"We are the caretakers of a living piece of sports memorabilia," Becky Lansing said. "This is an organic, living, breathing piece of memorabilia."

What do they do now?

There are some tough decisions to make this off season.

Erie Road Trip!

550 Miles and 15 hours later we are back home from our Erie road trip. I was going to write a story about how awesome a trip it was but there is a great article below about the game that was on Erie's homepage. After that I have included a few pictures to show how much fun it was.



By Nick Underhill

Cancel the calling hours and flowers; Duane Below is back.

After a rocky start to the 2010 season following elbow surgery last June, Below strung together his second solid start by allowing one run on two hits, striking out four, and walking none to lead Erie to a 4-3 victory over Trenton Sunday.

"The first couple starts were struggles, It's a mind game mostly," Below said. "You have to overcome it, throw strikes and give your team an opportunity to win."

Below cruised through the first six Trenton (10-12) batters, retiring them in order, before surrendering a leadoff home run to Jose Gil, who hit a 1-1 pitch that narrowly scaled the shallow left field wall in the third inning. From there he allowed one hit to next eight batters he faced.

"I had the adrenaline going a little bit, so I made an adjustment and calmed myself down," Below said. "That's the biggest part right now for me is making adjustments."

However, the hero in Sunday's game was once again Max St. Pierre.

The Thunder struck for two runs against Erie (12-11) reliever Ramon Garcia, and held onto the lead until the ninth inning when St. Pierre came to the plate with one man on.

He fouled off the first pitch he saw and then took a strike. Down to his last pitch, he got a fastball down in the zone and took it over the left field wall for his second walk-off homer of the season.

"It barely went out, but it was a big one. I was just trying not to strike out," St. Pierre said.

St. Pierre hit a walk-off homer on his 30th birthday to give Erie its first win of the season April 17 against the Altoona Curve.

In his first three outings Below surrendered nine runs over 7.2 innings, never pitching past the fourth inning, for a 10.53 ERA.

"I wasn't worried about him. I know how hard he's worked to get to this point," manager Phil Nevin said. "He's limited on the pitches he can throw, but the reason I wasn't worried about him is that I watch his side sessions and he's succeeded at this level before."

Something clicked for Below in his last start on the road against Bowie and he has now since has allowed one earned run over 10 innings while striking out 14.

"I slowed things down the last couple starts and tried to explode through the strikezone and find my balance point. That's a big thing and it helps me throw strikes."

Erie has now won five straight series after dropping two to start the season; they are also now about .500 for the first.

"You win series. That's what we talk about in here," Nevin said. "We want to win series. You build momentum and things snowball when you (take series)."

       Just arriving at the park!


       Great view from our seats!


       An Erie great JV


       We are sad to see you gone Curtis


       Smith's Sausage Shack


       The even grill the dogs, no warmers here


       Looks so good


       The lineup cards are in


       Oh Say Can we.......


       Duane warming up


       1 2 3 your out


       There is a great view from anywhere in the park, I am standing where two home runs we caught today


       It was a great game


       Max saves the day again and the Celebration begins




- Michigan Sports Guy

Should Joe D be Fired?

As much as I love Joe Dumars should he be fired? My first reaction has always been no but I think we need to give this a new look. Joe D is the one that has placed the value on the Pistons that they need to win now and nothing less then that is acceptable. He is the one that would fire a coach after only one year becuase they had a horrible season. So after a season like this should Joe D go or should he be forgiven?


I think people can get over the Darko draft pick instead of drafting Carmelo but I do not think a lot of people will ever get over losing Chauncey. He was the leader of our team and at this point we need to find a new leader if we are ever going to survive this. A lot of people think Stuckey is not the answer. If he is not then who is? How will Free Agency pan out this off season. There are a lot of unanswered questions that Joe will have to answer for us.


With this big of a free agency off season can the pistons survive being sold? I think Karen Davidson has to either sell the team fast this summer for the sack of the Pistons or she needs to come out and make a strong statement that the team is going to stay in the family. At this point all the pieces have fallen into place for the sale to happen this summer. In February the Tampa Bay Lightning were sold and last year the Shock were sold and moved to Tulsa. Even Ton Wilson stepped down as President after being with the organization for 32 years. So yes we might actually see Red Wings Hockey in the Palace next year.

-Michigan Sports Guy