Detroit Tigers

You could feel the buzz the moment you stepped out of your car.

Whether you parked your buggy somewhere along Abbott Street or off Michigan Avenue, or in the Firestone lot across the street from the ballpark, the air was teeming with baseball electricity.

Maybe the Blue Jays were in town, or the Yankees. Perhaps those darn Orioles.

If you didn't know who Miguel Cabrera was, and you asked him what he did for a living, his staunch response would obviously be: professional athlete. Your response would probably be, "bowler, Lucha Libre wrestler, competitive eater, possibly?"

He enjoys this distinction with the likes of Brian Scalabrine or John Daly as guys who don't necessarily fit the perception of their job description.

Miguel Cabrera and Jose Valverde will represent the Detroit Tigers in the 2010 Midsummer Classic.

Cabrera narrowly lost out to for the starting position at first base to Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins. Through Saturday night's game against the Mariners, Cabrera had a .338 batting average, 20 HR and 68 RBIs. 

Cabrera is most likely the last remaining hitter with a chance at the American League triple crown this season. He ranks in the top five in batting average, runs batted in and home runs.

Every time we think the Tigers have depth in the rotation, they seem to have to dig deep into their system to find someone to plug into the mix.

The latest find has been left-handed pitcher Andrew Oliver, who made his second career start earlier this week after being drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft.

Make no mistake, I admire Jim Leyland. He’s old school, colorful, a winner, and one of the best managers in the game today. I was ecstatic when Detroit signed him to manage the Tigers. He took them to the Promised Land in 2006 after years of embarrassment and 100-loss seasons. Yet I’m wondering if this might be Leyland’s last season in a Tigers uniform.

After he made it home and got into bed, Miguel Cabrera was swarmed by teammates who gathered around the sleeping slugger to congratulate him on the no hitter he had just completed on a very trying Date Night.

It was yet another no hitter in this year that has seen four of them already, not including Armando Galarraga's near perfect-game.

But this one might have been the most impressive as Cabrera, with a history of alcohol and domestic violence problems, came through completely unscathed for the first time in his career.

Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya suffered from what appeared to be a major elbow injury as he exited the game in the eighth inning.

Zumaya, who is known for his high-velocity pitches that frequent the 100 mph mark, said he heard a pop in his throwing arm after his last pitch of the game against Michael Young.

The Tigers went on to win the game against the Minnesota Twins 7-5.

The injury plague that has ruled Detroit Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya's career struck again Monday night.

The reliever threw a pitch with one out in the eighth inning that Minnesota Twins outfielder Delmon Young fouled off.

Zumaya's right arm went limp after the pitch and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. His right thumb shook as trainers examined him.

The video shows a pitcher in so much pain he can barely walk off the field.

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Reputations precede you in pro sports. And they can enslave you.

It’s easy to spoil us—we who don’t play the game. We who merely watch and follow and pound out Tweets and blister athletes in 140 characters or less.

We got used to Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers right fielder. Every late winter/early spring, when the reports of how the Tigers were shaping up started to flitter in from Florida, we’d do a mental evaluation, position-by-position. When we came to Maggs, it was a simple evaluation.

Starting pitcher Andy Oliver will make his big league debut for the Tigers tonight against the Atlanta Braves.

Oliver, who Detroit took in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State, has been stellar with the Double-A Erie Seawolves. In his 14 starts, he has a 6-4 record with an ERA of 3.61 and 70 strikeouts.

Oliver has been moved up partially in response to starting pitcher Rick Porcello's sophomore slump. As a result, Porcello was recently sent down to Triple-A Toledo.