Month: July 2008

Remembering the (First?) Todd Jones Trade

Todd Jones is no longer the Tigers’ closer. The statement is as true today as it was on this date in 2001. That’s the day the Tigers sent Jones to the Twins for lefty Mark Redman.

In 2002, his only full season with Detroit, Redman went 8-15, 4.21 in 30 starts. The Tigers traded Redman to the Marlins after that season for Nate Robertson, Gary Knotts and Rob Henkel.

After winning the 2003 World Series with Florida, Redman went on the team-a-year plan:

  • 2004 – Oakland
  • 2005 – Pittsburgh
  • 2006 – Kansas City
  • 2007 – Atlanta/Colorado

He began this year with the Colorado organization and got some time with the big club:

Redman appeared in 10 games with the Rockies this year, nine of them as a starter, and was 2-5 with a 7.54 ERA. He began the season in the Rockies’ rotation before being sent to Triple-A Colorado Springs on May 11.

The Rockies designated him for assignment 10 days ago and his career might very well be over.

Same could be said for Todd Jones.

Frank Tanana, Part 2

The last we saw of Frank Tanana (in this 1987/Frank’s-birthday-mini-mini-series, at least), he pitched brilliantly against the Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium only to watch the bullpen blow the game and put the Tigers farther behind Toronto in the A.L. East race.

Tanana faced the Jays 10 days later, this time at Tiger Stadium, and with a different landscape atop the East division. On the last day of the season, Tanana and Toronto’s Jimmy Key squared off again. The Tigers came into the game one-up on the Jays. Win and clinch the division; lose and prepare for a one-game playoff the next day.

Continue reading “Frank Tanana, Part 2”

Happy Birthday, Lerrin LaGrow

The righty from Phoenix posted a record of 8-19 for the awful 1974 Tigers. But let’s step back and look at his totals:

  • 1970: 0-1, 7.03 ERA in 12 innings pitched
  • 1972: 0-1, 1.32 in 27 IP
  • 1973: 1-5, 4.33 in 54 IP
  • 1974: 8-19, 4.66 in 216 IP
  • 1975: 7-14, 4.38 in 164 IP

The Cardinals purchased his contract from the Tigers on April 2, 1976, which means poor Lerrin didn’t even get to enjoy the Mark Fidrych Era. But, by leaving Detroit when he did, his number 30 became available for Jason Thompson.

Happy 60th, Mr. LaGrow. (Click here to see what he’s up to now.)

Happy Birthday, Frank Tanana – Part 1

Frank Tanana turned 55 on Thursday.

I was ecstatic when the Tigers picked up Tanana on June 20, 1985. For years — since the days of Mickey Lolich, in fact — Detroit lacked a long-term lefty in the rotation. Unfortunately, Bob Sykes didn’t pan out as we’d hoped.

But along came Tanana in a one-for-one swap with the Rangers that sent Duane James to Arlington. One could argue that Tanana’s two most-critical starts for the Tigers came two years later in the heat of an unforgettable pennant race: one a tough-luck loss, the other a thriller for the ages.

Here’s a recap of both from my article in Tigers Corner 2008:

September 25, 1987

Tigers left hander Frank Tanana had been in one divisional race in his 14-year career: in 1979 when he helped the California Angels win their first American League West title. In 1987, Tanana approached the twilight of his career but Toronto starter Jimmy Key’s best days were just dawning. Key had won 14 games in each of his first two years as a starter and in 1987 he would finish second in A.L. Cy Young voting, posting a 17-8 record and 2.76 ERA.

For the second straight night, the Tigers produced a two-run lead. In the Tigers’ second, Chet Lemon doubled and Darrell Evans singled him home. Later, in the sixth, Gibson bunted for a base hit and took second on Key’s wild throw to first. Herndon followed with a single to left scoring Gibson and giving Tanana a two-run cushion.

Tanana pitched one of his best games of the season throwing seven scoreless innings, yielding just five hits and a walk. Key was equally masterful in his 8.1 innings pitched. He scattered nine hits, allowing only one earned run and walking a single hitter. Going into the ninth inning the Tigers maintained a 2-0 lead.

The Jays scored three off of Dickie Noles, Willie Hernandez and Mike Henneman and the Tigers were 2.5 games out of first with eight to play.

Ten days later, Tanana would take the hill for his most memorable start in a Tigers uniform. Stay tuned for Part 2.