Tag: Aubrey Huff

The Non-Sequiturs: Trick or Treat Edition

~ Mike McClary ~ 2 Comments

pumpkin.jpgEach October, I’m astounded to learn that Halloween is the second-largest retail holiday of the year. I’m not a fan of Halloween, though I do like the occasional, or frequent, Kit Kat.

It’s a treat to be able to watch the World Series on Halloween, though the Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria sightings are undoubtedly the “trick” part of the equation.

  • In our highest vote-gettin’ poll of the season, Fungo readers were emphatic on what the Tigers’ next offseason move should be: target Nationals’ slugger and free-agent-to-be Adam Dunn.

    Twenty-four percent (148 voters) of the 628 readers casting votes selected Dunn as their top choice. Here are the runners up:

    • Sign Jason Werth (16%, 103 Votes)
    • Sign Victor Martinez (15%, 97 Votes)
    • Trade for a starting pitcher (14%, 88 Votes)
    • Pickup Jhonny Peralta’s option (14%, 88 Votes)
    • Sign Magglio Ordonez (12%, 73 Votes)
    • Other (5%, 31 Votes)

    Thanks to everyone who voted and a special thanks for those that left comments. It was a great discussion. Keep those comments rolling in.

    Continue reading “The Non-Sequiturs: Trick or Treat Edition” →

Widespread Selective Amnesia from Media on Huff’s Pennant-Race Experience

~ Mike McClary ~ 1 Comment

AubreyHuff.jpgThe other day, friend of the Fungo, Doug Hill, sent us an email relaying what he heard Dodgers’ radio announcers say earlier this week: “how great it must be for Aubrey Huff to be in a pennant race for the first time in his career.”

Doug and I had the same reaction: What about last season when he arrived in Detroit as the Tigers were fighting off the Twins?!

Apparently there’s some collective amnesia in the media about Huff’s time in Detroit — not that we can blame them. After all, in 40 games with the Tigers last season Huff was dreadful: .189 average, six doubled, two homers, 13 RBI and an OPS of .567.

During Saturday’s Padres/Giants game on FOX, play-by-play guy Chris Rose also mentioned Huff’s long dry spell — and omitted his uselessness last season in Detroit.

And now there’s this: an ESPN The Magazine mini-article focused on Huff’s “epiphany”:

Huff’s first season in San Francisco has been a life-changing experience. “Until this year, I didn’t know what the big leagues were about,”says the 33-year-old.

(snip)

[I]t’s hard to blame Huff for letting the losing get to him. Except for disjointed stints as a late-summer rental for the 2006 Astros and 2009 Tigers, he’s spent more time in the cellar than a ’64 Bordeaux — his clubs have finished in last place six times, and only two active players (Randy Winn and Michael Young) have played more games without a postseason trip.

I’ll be honest, of all the Tigers’ recent late-season pickups I harbor the most bitterness for Huff. He was given a golden opportunity to be a difference maker for a division-leading team and he failed miserably. I can only scratch had in bemusement for this sudden love for him in the media.

He might be a great guy and a model teammate with the Giants. But with the Tigers, he was a colossal bust.

No Hitters? No-Hitter!

~ Mike McClary ~ Leave a comment

Thumbs Down.jpgIt seems awfully unfair for a guy to throw a no-hitter against a team that evidently has no hitters, doesn’t it?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn’t see any of Monday night’s bizarro-rama — Max Scherzer also had a no-hitter going into the sixth?! — because I was out at a family thing. (I think I would have put my marriage in jeopardy had I attempted to participate in Baseball Tonight Live on ESPN.com while at the restaurant.)

Nevertheless, I listened to the Rays’ announcers call the ninth inning on XM Radio on my way home. What a weird experience that was. The last time the Tigers were no-hit — June 2, 1990, by Randy Johnson — I couldn’t have listened to the Seattle feed even if I wanted to.

Whoa. Got off track there.

Anyway, what are Tigers fans supposed to do now? Their team is still — astonishingly — a mere three games out of first place at the end of July. You can’t give up on them, can you?

After all, on July 26, 2009, the eventual division champion Twins were one game under .500 and in third place just four games out.

Apple to apples? Not even close. Even though the Twins lost Justin Morneau they surged. Without Magglio Ordonez the Tigers are already showing signs of retreat.

So what if the Tigers pick up a hitter or two this week? Does Adam Dunn give them enough of a jolt — and protection for Miguel Cabrera? More than Aubrey Huff did last year. Would it help to bring Jermaine Dye back from retirement home? What about Carlos Delgado? Or Joe Crede?

Now this post has taken a turn toward the absurd. But that’s what we’re facing, isn’t it?

Even if Dave Dombrowski manages to add a few pieces will they be enough. It’s hard to believe they would be.

But he better get someone to hit the ball. Otherwise, Matt Garza‘s no-hitter might not be the last we see against the Tigers this year.