Carlos Pena

The Friday Fungo: May 17

May 17, 1984: Off Day in Detroit

The Tigers await the arrival of Oakland for a weekend set.

Record: 29-5

Mark Carreon #15

Outfielder/DH Mark Carreon came to Detroit with Tony Castillo in a Jan. 22, 1992 trade with the Mets for lefty reliever Paul Gibson and minor leaguer Randy Marshall — one of many curious deals the Tigers made in the 1990s.

In his one season in Detroit, Carreon hit just .232 with 10 homers and .636 OPS in 101 games. He homered in his first Tigers at bat, off the Blue Jays’ Juan Guzmán, on April 9.

Carreon had success before and after coming to the Tigers:

5 seasons with the Mets: .272 average, .746 OPS
4 seasons with the Giants: .289/.813
1 season with the Indians: .324/.835

He filed for free agency after the season and signed with the Giants in January 1993.

Bonus! A Taste of Up North

I discovered this live stream cam from Charlevoix looking out at Lake Michigan, and I check it a few times a week. In the winter, it makes me feel great about living in Arizona. In the summer, not so much.

There are a couple of other views including Bridge Cam and Round Lake Cam.

Birthdays

Carlos Pena, Ozzie Virgil and the late Billy Hoeft

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 411 9/9 Rarity: 36

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

2012 Top 10 Stories: #5 – Victor Martinez Lost for Season

About four weeks before the Tigers convened in Lakeland for spring training, the club’s outlook instantly went from brimming with confidence and optimism to soaked in despair and gloom. That’s when Dave Dombrowski received word from Florida that Victor Martinez suffered a torn ACL in his left knee and would eventually be lost for the season.

The Tigers’ front-office boss put on a brave face when he talked to the media after hearing the news:

“After you feel sorry for yourself for a day or so, you move on,” general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We have a good club. We’ve got a lot of players who will step up.”

But Tigers fans knew the impact this would have on the lineup and most likely the season. Martinez’s provided desperately needed protection for then-cleanup-hitter Miguel Cabrera. As good as Delmon Young was in the postseason, few expected him to be a reliable solution. And, Dombrowski certainly made it sound as if the Tigers would be making no major splash to shore up the sudden loss of Martinez.

Slugging first baseman Prince Fielder remains a free agent, but it’s unclear if the Tigers would want to make a major financial commitment to a long-term contract to replace the injured Martinez.

“Most likely, I would say it’s short term,” Dombrowski said. “But I don’t know that for sure. Depends on what position somebody plays and who they are.”

Dombrowski did seem to shoot down the possibility that Cabrera could move from first base to third, with another first baseman joining the team.

The Tigers signed Gerald Laird to serve as Alex Avila‘s backup, so that part of the equation was solved. The pressing issue was how to replace a guy who in 2011 batted .330 with 103 RBIs and a .855 OPS.

How could they possibly do it? Dave Schoenfield offered some borderline gruesome alternatives:

If there’s good news for the Tigers, there are at least several decent options out there in free agency. One-time Tigers first baseman Carlos Pena could provide a nice alternative, even improving the team’s defense if Jim Leyland is willing to shift Cabrera to DH. Pena needs a platoon partner, but did have a .388 OBP and .504 slugging percentage against righties in 2011. Johnny Damon, another ex-Tiger, would also fit in nicely at DH.

Thankfully, neither of these two options materialized.

And luckily Tigers fans didn’t have to wait long to find out who’d replace Martinez in the lineup.

—

The Top 10 Stories of 2012

Today’s Tiger: Jason Thompson

Jason Thompson

Born: July 6, 1954 in Hollywood, Calif.
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Height: 6′ 4″ Weight: 200 lb.
Acquired: Drafted by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 1975 amateur draft.
Seasons in Detroit: 5 (1976-80)
Uniform Number: 30
Stats: .256 avg., 98 HR, 354 RBI, .779 OPS
Awards: Three-time All Star (1977, ’78 and ’82)

On May 27, 1980, Tigers GM Jim Campbell traded my favorite player, first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens.

The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that he made his mark: .270, 31 homers and 105 RBI — and earned an All Star Game selection.

Continue reading “Today’s Tiger: Jason Thompson”

Gerald Laird Likely to Lose at His Uniform-Number Shell Game

On May 29, Gerald Laird changed his uniform number from 8 to 12 in the hope his offensive luck would change. Who could blame him for trying something — anything — to inject some life into his bat.

How’s it worked? He’s 2 for 16, or .125 since the switcheroo.

Before he had clubhouse guy Jim Schmakel sew him up a new uni, Laird was 16 for 101, or .158. And his overall stats for Laird while wearing #8 — the ones we’ll compare below with his predecessors are: .184 avg., 5 HR, .271 OBP, .553 OPS

This uniform-change ploy got me thinking about recent Tigers players that wore number 8 or number 12 to see which had the best offensive numbers and if, based on recent history (going back to 1995ish), Laird might luck out by some numerical karma.

Continue reading “Gerald Laird Likely to Lose at His Uniform-Number Shell Game”