http://richkincaide.mlblogs.com/2011/06/26/thanks-sparky-arizona-diamondbacks-at-detroit-tigers-sunday-june-26-2011/
Down on the field right now Dan Petry is addressing the crowd, talking about Sparky Anderson. His #11 is being retired here today for the balance of all time. Players from back in the 1960′s like Al Kaline and Willie Horton and Gates Brown are among those seated in the infield between the mound and home plate. Players from the 1980′s, guys who played for Sparky like Lou Whitaker and Tom Brookens and Milt Wilcox are down there, too. There are 15 or 20 of those former players taking part in the ceremony this afternoon and it occurred to me during the introductions that there is not one of them who I didn’t see play in person. Like it says at the top of this blog, “I saw my first game in 1963…”
I was at the press conference in June, 1979 when Sparky Anderson was named manager of the Tigers. I was at the press conference in 1995 when Sparky quit. I was still a baby reporter back there in ’79 and I can tell you that Sparky went out of his way to put me at ease and to give me good material with which to work. I have never forgotten that, and I never will. And that’s what I think of Sparky Anderson. He made me feel like I belonged at a time when I still wasn’t quite sure that I did.
A lot of people here in the press box this afternoon have been asking why the Tigers waited until Sparky was dead to do this. Why didn’t they honor him while he was still alive. It’s because they never forgave him for refusing to manager the replacement players back in the early 1990′s during one of this sports many labor disputes. That’s what I think. Sparky said at the time that he was a major league manager and that meant he would only manage major league players. Off all the managers in baseball, Sparky Anderson was the only one who took that stand. I thought he was %100 right to do so. The organization disagreed, and that was the end of Anderson’s career here in Detroit. And there a thing about baseball. It has a long memory. A really long memory. So that’s why I think they didn’t retire Sparky’s number until today.
Just about time for First Pitch, so that means it’s just about time for today’s Official Game Notes:
It’s a beauty day, sunshine at 73. The start of the game is delayed by the Anderson ceremony, but it won’t be much longer now.
1:26 I hate to admit this, but I missed the game last night, which means I missed seeing another gem by Justin Verlander. All he did last night was set a new career high in strikeouts with 14, but other than that, it was no big deal. I was in Lansing doing play-by-play of a minor league football game which was fun and which was a paying gig and all, but the game took way longer to play than it should have due mostly to the fact that they were using minor league officials to officiate the minor league game and they kept getting confused and had to hold up play whilst they conferred with one another and the like. Plus, there were a lot of injuries. A lot. Half a dozen guys had to be dragged off the battlefield on their shields, or on the shoulders of teammates still standing. So, I didn't get back to the Detroit area until the game was in the sixth and since I was still half an hour from the ballpark, I figures, "What's the point?" I'm here today though. Ready to watch Brad Penny. It is 1:26 and we are underway.
1:29 For those of you scoring at home, the Tigers are 2-4 in Penny's last six starts dating to May 14. Just as an aside.
1:32 Penny got them out on 11 pitches in the first, allowing only a two-out single to Justin Upton who happens to have a brother--also named Upton--playing for some other Major League team. Interesting. I am, for the first time in I don't know how long, maybe 30 years, wearing a sport coat and a tie today here in the Press Box. It's in honor of Sparky who was a stickler for that sort of thing. He said to be a professional you had to look like a professional. Besides, I thought I might have a chance to talk to his widow and I wanted to look like a professional for that. I was going to tell her that stuff about what it meant to me to have Sparky treat me the way he did, but she did not attend today. I'll send her a note. I'll probably write it in my underwear, which would be ironic.
1:40 The Tigers got two, two-out singles in the first, the big news being that Magglio Ordonez went first to third on the second of them, and Victor Martinez hit a for-sure double down the line in left but it was a foot foul. He striped it, too. After that, he hit a weak pop foul to first and that was that.
2:21 Sorry, I forgot all about the blog what with the doing the live update on WDFN and the ice cream being served and all, but leading off the second Jhonny Peralta homered to left, a high fly ball right down the line that made it about four rows into the stands, and that's all the scoring so far. It was Peralta's 12th homer of the year, which is pretty good. We are in the top of the fourth, and Penny has held them to just two hits, both singles. t-4: Detroit 1, Arizona 0.
3:01 The Diamondbacks just left two on in the 6th which was more LOB in the inning (2) than they had had in the entire game to that point (1). Penny has held them to only 4 hits--all singles--but the Tigers too have only four hits--three of them singles--but they also have that just-barely-go-out-of-here homer by Peralta leading off the second. b-6: Detroit 1, Arizona 0.
3:03 Wow. Joe Saunders just got the Tigers out on seven pitches in the bottom of the sixth. That's 1-2-3 in a hurry.
3:17 The D'backs have taken the lead in a hurry. Four hits, three singles and a double, have produced two Arizona runs and have driven Penny from the hill after 6 and two-thirds innings of pretty solid work. Al Alburquerque is in with runners and the corners and those two outs. None of his first four pitches catch the strike zone and none are offered at by the hitter, so now the bases are loaded and Alburquerque has just thrown his 5th consecutive ball, prompting a mound visit from somebody who came bounding out of the Tigers dugout wearing a Detroit windbreaker and whatever had said worked as Alburquerque finally throws a strike. Alburquerque gets the strikeout and the inning ends. But the Diamondbacks get the two runs on the four hits and they lead. The Tigers have nine outs left to change that. b-7: Detroit 1, Arizona 2.
3:57 Arizona's Joe Saunders retired the last ten Tigers he faced, but did not answer the bell for the 8th and now the Tigers have two on and two out and Kirk Gibson--he manages the D'backs, as you know--has brought in his second relief pitcher of the inning. It's a big, big at bat for Magglio Ordonez, what with the game on the line and all.
4:01 It's a 4-pitch walk to Ordonez, all of them inside and Cabrera bats with three men on and two men out. Cabrera, the scoreboard tells us, is a career .431 hitter with the bases loaded. That's sick. And he's hitting better than that, now after lashing a line drive single to left to score two and put the Tigers on top. That might have been the biggest two-out hit for Detroit this season. Victor Martinez singles in another and Detroit has a three-run eighth going, still two on and two out.
4:08 The hits keep on coming and Gibby goes to his third bullpen ace of the eighth inning. Peralta gets a single, his third hit of the game, to plate another Detroit run, their 4th of the inning. And to think that Detroit was an out away from being retired in this inning without scoring any runs. b-8: Detroit 5, Arizona 2.
4:13 Inge is up--the 7th Tigerto come to plate this inning with two out, and he singles in two more. Detroit has sent ten men to the plate in the 8th and have scored six. It looked like the inning would be over, but the third baseman kicked a totally routine grounder and it's another run for the Tigers, seven in the inning all told. There are still two out. b-8: Detroit 8, Arizona 2.
4:17 Jackson strikes out to end an inning in which Detroit scored seven runs, each and every one of them with two out. Imagine. If Cabrera makes an out instead of singling, Arizona still leads this ballgame 2-1. I think we can start packing up for the trip home. No locker room today. I got enough material out of the Anderson ceremony to meet my needs. We'll be back here tomorrow and we'll talk to you then.
1:26 I hate to admit this, but I missed the game last night, which means I missed seeing another gem by Justin Verlander. All he did last night was set a new career high in strikeouts with 14, but other than that, it was no big deal. I was in Lansing doing play-by-play of a minor league football game which was fun and which was a paying gig and all, but the game took way longer to play than it should have due mostly to the fact that they were using minor league officials to officiate the minor league game and they kept getting confused and had to hold up play whilst they conferred with one another and the like. Plus, there were a lot of injuries. A lot. Half a dozen guys had to be dragged off the battlefield on their shields, or on the shoulders of teammates still standing. So, I didn't get back to the Detroit area until the game was in the sixth and since I was still half an hour from the ballpark, I figures, "What's the point?" I'm here today though. Ready to watch Brad Penny. It is 1:26 and we are underway.
1:29 For those of you scoring at home, the Tigers are 2-4 in Penny's last six starts dating to May 14. Just as an aside.
1:32 Penny got them out on 11 pitches in the first, allowing only a two-out single to Justin Upton who happens to have a brother--also named Upton--playing for some other Major League team. Interesting. I am, for the first time in I don't know how long, maybe 30 years, wearing a sport coat and a tie today here in the Press Box. It's in honor of Sparky who was a stickler for that sort of thing. He said to be a professional you had to look like a professional. Besides, I thought I might have a chance to talk to his widow and I wanted to look like a professional for that. I was going to tell her that stuff about what it meant to me to have Sparky treat me the way he did, but she did not attend today. I'll send her a note. I'll probably write it in my underwear, which would be ironic.
1:40 The Tigers got two, two-out singles in the first, the big news being that Magglio Ordonez went first to third on the second of them, and Victor Martinez hit a for-sure double down the line in left but it was a foot foul. He striped it, too. After that, he hit a weak pop foul to first and that was that.
2:21 Sorry, I forgot all about the blog what with the doing the live update on WDFN and the ice cream being served and all, but leading off the second Jhonny Peralta homered to left, a high fly ball right down the line that made it about four rows into the stands, and that's all the scoring so far. It was Peralta's 12th homer of the year, which is pretty good. We are in the top of the fourth, and Penny has held them to just two hits, both singles. t-4: Detroit 1, Arizona 0.
3:01 The Diamondbacks just left two on in the 6th which was more LOB in the inning (2) than they had had in the entire game to that point (1). Penny has held them to only 4 hits--all singles--but the Tigers too have only four hits--three of them singles--but they also have that just-barely-go-out-of-here homer by Peralta leading off the second. b-6: Detroit 1, Arizona 0.
3:03 Wow. Joe Saunders just got the Tigers out on seven pitches in the bottom of the sixth. That's 1-2-3 in a hurry.
3:17 The D'backs have taken the lead in a hurry. Four hits, three singles and a double, have produced two Arizona runs and have driven Penny from the hill after 6 and two-thirds innings of pretty solid work. Al Alburquerque is in with runners and the corners and those two outs. None of his first four pitches catch the strike zone and none are offered at by the hitter, so now the bases are loaded and Alburquerque has just thrown his 5th consecutive ball, prompting a mound visit from somebody who came bounding out of the Tigers dugout wearing a Detroit windbreaker and whatever had said worked as Alburquerque finally throws a strike. Alburquerque gets the strikeout and the inning ends. But the Diamondbacks get the two runs on the four hits and they lead. The Tigers have nine outs left to change that. b-7: Detroit 1, Arizona 2.
3:57 Arizona's Joe Saunders retired the last ten Tigers he faced, but did not answer the bell for the 8th and now the Tigers have two on and two out and Kirk Gibson--he manages the D'backs, as you know--has brought in his second relief pitcher of the inning. It's a big, big at bat for Magglio Ordonez, what with the game on the line and all.
4:01 It's a 4-pitch walk to Ordonez, all of them inside and Cabrera bats with three men on and two men out. Cabrera, the scoreboard tells us, is a career .431 hitter with the bases loaded. That's sick. And he's hitting better than that, now after lashing a line drive single to left to score two and put the Tigers on top. That might have been the biggest two-out hit for Detroit this season. Victor Martinez singles in another and Detroit has a three-run eighth going, still two on and two out.
4:08 The hits keep on coming and Gibby goes to his third bullpen ace of the eighth inning. Peralta gets a single, his third hit of the game, to plate another Detroit run, their 4th of the inning. And to think that Detroit was an out away from being retired in this inning without scoring any runs. b-8: Detroit 5, Arizona 2.
4:13 Inge is up--the 7th Tigerto come to plate this inning with two out, and he singles in two more. Detroit has sent ten men to the plate in the 8th and have scored six. It looked like the inning would be over, but the third baseman kicked a totally routine grounder and it's another run for the Tigers, seven in the inning all told. There are still two out. b-8: Detroit 8, Arizona 2.
4:17 Jackson strikes out to end an inning in which Detroit scored seven runs, each and every one of them with two out. Imagine. If Cabrera makes an out instead of singling, Arizona still leads this ballgame 2-1. I think we can start packing up for the trip home. No locker room today. I got enough material out of the Anderson ceremony to meet my needs. We'll be back here tomorrow and we'll talk to you then.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment