Fan News

Julio Lugo began a rehab assignment Wednesday for the Pawtucket Red Sox and came away feeling better, physically, than his performance would indicate.

Lugo, who batted leadoff and played shortstop, was 0-for-3 in three official at-bats and drew a walk in an International League game won by Pawtucket, 8-7, over Rochester in 11 innings.

He handled four routine plays in the field and was credited with three assists and one out.

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It is only a matter of time until Major League Baseball sees fewer and fewer fans coming to games across the nation.

The average ticket price rose five percent in this struggling economy to $26.64 with "premium" tickets falling a tad under one Ben Franklin for this 2009 season.

The average cost for a family of four to attend a Major League Baseball game?

A tad under $200. With this terrible economy and the unemployment rate skyrocketing, few families can say they have been to a ball game this year.

The Mets are not a .500 team. 

I'm pretty sure Cleveland will win more games than it loses, and I don't think Toronto is going to win 2/3 of its games for the rest of the season.

Got that? 

So why is this a problem?

We're less than ten percent through the 2009 season and already we have fans complaining, ready to throw in the towel. 

Baseball is a game of streaks and slumps. Full of hitting slumps and streaky pitchers. 

Welcome to DL's (Rudy Dominick and Johnny Lawrence) first weekly installment of Detroit Tigers information and analysis.  Each Wednesday, we will delve into all things Tigers. Read and digest, or skim and spit out our insightful banter.

Keep an Eye on...

Alfredo Figaro, Starting Pitcher—Erie Seawolves (AA)

Eastern League Player Of The Week  (April 13-April 19)

1-0, 12.2 IP, 9 K, 0.00 ERA

Drive-By Argument:  Best Free Agent Acquisition

The English language is one of the most difficult to learn and master, it confuses many people to their dying day. But one would think that someone would use some form of spell check on major league teams jerseys before they trot them out in front of a huge crowd everyday. This list is a tribute to the best typos in pro sports. These are not in a Top 10 format, just a list of epic fails.

With special thanks to ESPN's Paul Lukas for the idea and several of the photos.

I understand when a player is so incredibly talented that a team must find a way to make him a starter even when there isn't room for him.

Alfonso Soriano moving to left field in the majors comes to mind, but were talking about a player who is an all-star and Silver Slugging award winner.

It's a mighty fine day to hate the New York Yankees.

If you thought Alex Rodriguez' hip injury or Chien-Ming Wang's meltdown were karmic retribution for treating the rest of the league as a trade deadline shopping center, plundering the annual free-agent market, and fleecing taxpayers into subsidizing a cash cow of a stadium for the richest organization in baseball, you weren't thinking big enough.

Washington D.C. schools are a mess and people have been trying desperately to improve them over the years. Even the public school supporting the Obama family passed them up in favor of a private school.

But apparently the problem goes beyond the schools, to the interior of the Washington Nationals ballpark. A ballpark that is, ironically, located near one of the traditionally poorer sections of the Nation's capital.

The company that supplies their jerseys decided the team did not know how to spell their own name, and rechristened them the "Natinals."

I may have trust issues, so excuse my hesitance to put any real meaning into early individual numbers.

But they are all we have up to this point...

The team, and by team I mean the Boston Red Sox, is 7-6. 

Not great, not bad, slightly better than mediocre, etc.

Some have struggled, some have been great, and some have been okay. 

Let us dive into a quick take on each hitter in the everyday lineup...

Jacoby Ellsbury:  OPS+ 55