Tagged: Detroit Tigers
Whitecaps Update
Still In Second: The Whitecaps are still standing in second place in the MWL Eastern Division with a record of 32-24 in the second half. They are just unable to catch the almost unbeatable 
Fort Wayne TinCaps. who they trail by 8.0 games as of this post.
Hot Bat: Short stop Gustavo Nunez has been hot at the plate since returning to West Michigan. Last week Nunez homered from both sides of the plate (including a grand slam), during a nine-run first inning against the Dayton Dragons, a game the ‘Caps would win 14-2. Over the last 10 games he’s batting .357 with three homers and eight RBI’s.
Ups and Downs: Ronnie Borquin has been reassigned to the Whitecaps from the AA Erie Seawolves. He was sent to Erie right after the MWL All-Star game and hit .228 with five homers and 19 RBI’s during his AA stint. Second basebman Brandon Douglas has been placed on the disabled list. Also a MWL All-Star, Douglas is batting .333 with 34 RBI’s in 74 games so far this season in West Michigan.
Alex Avila: Wow, it seems like just last season when I was watching Avila play in a ‘Caps uniform. Oh, wait, it WAS just last season. Spending most of the 2009 season with the AA Seawolves, he was recently promoted to the Detroit Tigers and is making the most of it, going 2-4 in his MLB debut. As of this post, he’s hitting .370 with three home runs, four doubles, and nine RBI’s in just 10 games with Detroit. The Tigers have had a tough time finding a reliable backup at catcher this season that can do anything productive at the plate.
“I guess that’s the reason they called me up”, Avila stated. “They want to see what you can do and how you can play at this level…Any time you’re in the lineup, you just try to do your job. Then, hopefully, you’ll stick up here.”
In his stint with the Whitecaps last season, he hit .305 with 22 RBI’s in 58 games. He was assigned to West Michigan after being drafted out of the Univ. of Alabama. Being his dad is the Tigers assistant GM, baseball must be in his blood.
“Ever since I was young,” Avila said, “all we did was baseball.”
Photo courtesy of The Detroit News
Former Whitecaps Traded at Deadline
Today the Seattle Mariners traded left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn to the Detroit Tigers for former Whitecap pitchers Luke French and Mauricio Robles.
“We had an opportunity to acquire two starting left-handed pitchers under the age of 23, including one with Major League experience”, Seattle general manager Jack Zdurienecik said in a statement.
French has mostly played with Detroit’s AAA farm club Toledo Mud Hens this season, but has had five starts with the Tigers. He is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA in those games for Detroit. In a game against Seattle on July 23, he limited the Mariners to just two hits in 5 1/3 innings. Playing for West Michigan in 2006 and part of 2007, he was crucial in helping the ‘Caps winning back to back Midwest League titles. He was named MWL Pitcher of the Week on 07/23/06. French was an eighth round pick of the Tigers in 2004, coming out of high school in Colorado. The 6’4″, 220 pound lefty, basically hurls three pitches. His fastball is ‘Reagan Era’ at 86-88, but can hit 90 at times. He can also toss a 76-78 mph slider and a sinking change up at around 74-76.
Robles pitched for West Michigan in 2008, and pat of this season before being promoted to High-A Lakeland. His 2008 totals are 5-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 23 games. He only gave up two home runs and struck out 79. This season in only 11 games with the ‘Caps, he was 4-4 with a 4.23 ERA, and struck out 71. Robles is a bit more of an unknown, as he didn’t focus on pitching until after he was signed by Detoit as a free agent out of Venezuela. His fast ball averages 91-94 and has peaked at 96. Unfortunately, it goes down to 89-90 from time to time. His arm noticably slows down and flattens during while throwing his curce, so that’s something he’ll have to adjust in the Minors.
Good luck to both Luke and Mauricio in this new chapter of their careers. All the best in Seattle, and we appreciate your time and efforts in the Tigers organization. Seems like ‘win-win’ for both teams on this one. Detroit’s hold on the AL Central is hanging by a string, so hopfully Washburn and keep runs off the board, as the Tigers are having trouble scoring them.
Photo courtesy of Farm1.Flickr
Whitecaps Update
Stealing Second: The West Michigan Whitecaps still sit in second place in the MWL Eastern Divis
ion with a record of 18-12, nine game behind the red hot Fort Wayne TinCaps. They remain 3.5 games ahead of the third place South Bend Silver Hawks. The Whitecaps have already secured a playoff spot, though, but hope to gain some ground on the TinCaps. The first playoff game will be at Fifth Thrid Ballpark on Sept. 10.
Player of the Week: ‘Caps outfielder Ben Guez was named Player of the Week (July 20). He’s been hot at the plate since the All-Star break batting .373 with three home runs and 20 RBI’s. For the season he’s slugging .261 with seven homer and 42 RBI’s in 62 games. Guez is the sixth Whitecap to earn Player of the Week honors this seaon (Casey Crosby, Luke Putkonen, Bryan Pounds, Billy Nowlin, and Ronnie Bourquin). Pitcher of the Week: Casey Crosby was named MWL Pitcher of the Week (July 26). Crosby is a 2009 MWL All-Star and has a record of 8-3. His ERA is 2.92 and has struck out 101 batters so far this season. Last Monday he threw five hitless innings against the Kane County Cougars. Crosby is the first Whitecap since Mike Hernandez in 2006 to win the award twice in one season.
Hot Bat: Right fielder Avisail Garcia has had a hot bat his last seven games. He’s hitting .423 with four runs scored and four RBI’s.
Matt Nokes: Former Detroit Tiger Matt Nokes will be appearing at Fifth Third Ballpark on August 31 as part of ‘Tiger Fridays’. Matt was a rookie with the Tigers in 1987 when he was third in Rookie of the Year voting, was selected to the American League All-Star team, and won the Silver Slugger Award. He batted .289 and hit 32 home runs that season.
Tigers and Fun in West Michigan
There’s no better way to spend your birthday than at the ballpark. This year my dad, the kids and I went to the Whitecaps game. We started off at Chuck E. Cheese’s in Grand Rapids so the kids could expell some energy.
At the game, the rain held off and we had a beautifull night. They were playing the Peoria Chiefs again this time. Last year we got to meet Ryne Sandberg while he was managing there. This season former Tiger Barbaro Garbey was in town so he signed some cards for the kids. Garbey was on the Tigers 1984 World Series Championship team, and is currently the hitting coach for the Chiefs. It was also Tiger Friday, so John Wockenfuss was on hand to meet the fans and he signed some cards for the kids, too. They were also giving away bobbleheads to the first 1,000 fans. In the end, the ‘Caps won 9-0 and we had a great time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch another game in West Michigan this year or not, but we’ll be going to Appleton, WI next month to watch the Timber Rattlers.
Photos property of MIB
Whitecaps Update
Pounding The Ball: ‘Caps third basebman Bryan Pounds has been on a roll the last nine games. He’s batting .361 with 15 RBI’s and seven runs scored. Pounds is getting offensive
help from the outfield as well. Left fielder Billy Nowlin is batting .389 with nine RBI’s and seven runs scored. While not patroling center field at Fifth Third Ballpark, Ben Guez is slugging .333, respectively, and has added 11 RBI’s and nine runs scored including a home run in his last ten games.
Snakebitten: The Whitecaps have had a rough time with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers this season, dropping 5 of 6 games. Last week the ‘Caps commited four errors that led to three Rattler runs in a 5-2 loss at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton. In the lone ‘Caps win, however, they won 11-2 on the back of 17 hits.
Ups and Downs: Being promoted to West Michigan from the GCL Tigers is short stop Hernan Perez. Perez was batting .255 with five RBI’s in 13 games so far in the Gulf Coast League. He replaces Gustavo Nunez who has been recently suspended. Nunez has been batting .328 with one home run, 24 RBI’s and 37 stolen bases so far this season with the ‘Caps.
Johnny B In West Michigan: This Friday is another Tiger Friday at Fifth Third Ballpark. Former Detroit Tiger fan favorite Johnny B. Wockenfuss will be on hand to sign autographs and meet fans. Wockenfuss played in Detroit from 1974-1983, being traded to Philadelphia before the Tigs won the World Series in 1984. He was a solid utiliy player who played catcher, first base, and outfield. His career BA was .262, slugging 86 home runs and 310 RBI’s. Wockenfuss also managed the Toledo Mud Hens starting in 1987. In 1989 the Mud Hens (Detroit’s AAA farm team) actually beat the Tigers with Wockenfuss himself being the winning pitcher. Had had never pitched in his Major League career. I’ll be on hand this Friday, too, to get my free bobblehead and enjoy the game.
Smile, You’re an All-Star
Monday night Tiger third baseman Brandon Inge forfilled a life-long dream of competing in a Home Run Derby. For all his efforts, he hit 0 home runs. That’s
right, the big goose-egg. Some came close, flying to the warning track, and his last attempt just floating foul. Despite being shut out, Brandon walked back to his teammates with a huge smile on his face. Why?-might you ask, would someone smile after not hitting at least one home run during a competion like this? The answer is easy. Brandon was doing what not enough players of even fans do-just having fun.
After a disappointing season last year, Inge is simply happy to be an All-Star. He’s happy to be recognized for his efforts this season and to be part of the festivities in St. Louis. So what if he didn’t hit a home run. He was there.
Maybe we all can learn a little bit from Inge’s reaction. After all, we really are all on the same team here. We’re baseball fans. I really don’t think the players view the rivalries the way the fans do. I don’t really think most players hate players from other teams. So tonight while watching the game, just sit back and enjoy it. After all, it’s for us, the fans, anyway. We don’t have to worry about winning and losing. And this fall, lets keep the same attitude about our team and the one’s they’re playing in the playoffs. Why hate anyone? Especially just because they support or play on a certain team. Just relax, have a beer, and keep the smile on your face. After all, you’re watching baseball.
Inge Earns Final 2009 All-Star Vote
Detroit Tiger
and former West Michigan Whitecap Brandon Inge has been voted into the All-Star game. He was voted in by the fans to the 33rd and final roster spot for the American League. Inge will also live a childhood dream of competing in the Home Run Derby. He stated he watched that more as a kid than the game itself. Being regarded as one of the best defensive third baseman in the business surely helped his cause, but slugging 19 home runs and 54 RBI’s may have convinced a few voters, too. During last night’s telecast versus the Indians, Inge came on and stated he was ‘floored’ by being voted in and thanked all of the fans who voted for him.
In 1999, however, Inge was a catcher for the Whitecaps. He was actually named the best defensive catcher in the Tigers system by Baseball America with a .900 fielding percentage, 703 put-outs and only five errors. At the plate he hit .244 with 54 runs, 86 hits, 25 doubles, nine home runs and 46 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He was noted as a team leader and gave plenty of free time to community appearances. Also this year, he was part of the Inaugural Class of the Whitecaps Hall of Fame.
Photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps
Whitecaps Update
All Star Hero
:West Michigan Whitecap Ronnie Bourquin (recently promoted to the AA Erie Sea Wolves) blasted three run homer in the fourth inning of the Midwest League All-Star Game to put the East up 5-0. With runners at the corners, he lifted a 3-1 count pitch over the fence. The East went on to beat the West 6-3.
“I’m not a guy that usually hits a lot of home runs, I’m usually a gap to gap guy and I’ve come close on a lot of balls that I’ve hit”, he stated.
Bourquin was accompanied to the All-Star game by five other ‘Caps players. Pitchers Casey Crosby, Jared Gayhart, Maruicio Robles, and Tyler Sthor, along with second baseman Brandon Douglas made the trip to Clinton, Iowa.
Back To The Playoffs: This is the fourth straight season the Whitecaps have clinched a playoff berth in the first half, and the sixth straight in the playoffs. The Whitecaps have seen post-season action in 12 of the last 15 seasons.
MLB Debuts: Two former Whitecap pitchers have made their MLB debut with the Tigers. Alfredo Figaro (2008) made two starts with Detoit, while Luke French (2005-06) has made one start and is scheduled for at least one more.
Players of the Week: Whitecaps third baseban Ryan Pounds and right-handed pitch Luke Putkonen have been named the Midwest League’s Players of the Week respectively. This is the first time in the 15 yr. history of the ‘Caps that they swept the awards.
Pounds is batting .285 with two home-runs and a team leading 48 RBI’s. In a game last week versus Dayton, he went 3-5 and drove in six RBI.
Putkonen is 5-4 with a 3.98 ERA. He’s struck out 71 batters in 86.1 innings this season so far. Last week versus South Bend he through a complete game shut-out.
Photo property of MIB
RIP Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych
A few months ago in a tragic accident, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych lost his life while working on a truck on his farm in Massachusetts. The details of the accident arn’t as important as the fact that he was only 54 years old, and left behind a wife and daughter. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.
oo, but that isn’t going to happen now. I did actually send him two cards in the mail to sign for Lily and Trevor (before Brian came along). He was nice enough to sign them and send them back. Mark is Lily’s favorite player, too, basically because she’s heard all of the stories from me and has seen all of the things I collect of his. All I can do, I guess, is keep telling the stories, showing the pictures, try to keep his legend living on. Pictured to the right is Fidrych at a Whitecaps game on 70’s night in 2007. So Rest in Peace, and in my opinion, the Bird is STILL the word.
Minoring In Baseball 