Sorry for the lack of an open thread for this contest tonight...great game going on right now.

Tigers trail by just two in the seventh after going down 8-3 in the middle innings.

Two on, two out for Carlos Guillen as I type...

Fausto Carmona (14-7, 3.16) vs. Jair Jurrjens (0-1, 5.14), 7:05 p.m. EST

Cleveland
K. Lofton LF  
C. Blake 3B
G. Sizemore CF  
V. Martinez C
T. Hafner DH  
R. Garko 1B
T. Nixon RF  
J. Peralta SS
A. Cabrera 2B

Detroit
C. Granderson CF  
P. Polanco 2B  
G. Sheffield DH  
M. Ordonez RF  
C. Guillen SS  
I. Rodriguez C
S. Casey 1B
M. Thames LF  
R. Raburn 3B

Raburn gets the start ahead of Inge at third (which was foreshadowed yesterday), Polanco finally comes back after a bout with the flu and Maybin gets the day off.

The suprising Carmona is 2-0 against the Tigers this year with a 3.86 ERA.  His last start overall came against Detroit -- a 5-2 Indians win -- with him pitching eight innings and only giving up four hits.  In that game he was opposed by Jurrjens, who was making his first major league start.

Former Tiger minor leaguer Jack Hannahan, who was traded just weeks ago, hit his first major league homer tonight.  With the A's leading the Jays 3-1 in the third inning, Hannahan hit a three-run shot off of Toronto's Shaun Marcum to extend the lead to five.

Congratulations to Jack on the achievement, and we're rooting for him to hit a lot more...as long as it isn't against the Tigers.

Not sure if any of you have noticed this today, but BYB main blogger Ian will be participating with ESPN.com's Face of the Franchise feature.  Joining him in this discussion is the Free Press' Jon Morosi and Baseball Tonight's Eric Young.

He is set to participate in this starting Wednesday, so keep an eye out for it.  In the meantime please vote and help aid the discussion over there.

Zoom is back from his hand injury that left him out for about three and a half months.  To make room the Tigers optioned Aquilino Lopez to AAA Toledo.

Will Joel be the bullpen's savior?  We shall see.  Compared to his amazing 2006 run, in which he put up a 1.96 ERA, Zumaya seemed to be "average" to start '07.  Through 17 innings he had given up 13 hits and walked 11.

Anybody that can come in and spark this team is much appreciated.  Joel could be that guy over the course of the next few weeks.  It's good to have him back.

Ryan Raburn is fighting his way into some playing time with the Tigers.  Who better watch out for this guy?  Brandon Inge, who's hitting .200/.237/.291/.528 in the month of August.

Inge had one month where he hit .343 (June) and one month in which he posted a .150 average (April).  Not exactly the model of consistency.  And the worst part is he has one homer since June 12th.

MLBTradeRumors has this little tidbit regarding the Tigers:

Jeremy Bonderman (10-5, 4.65) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (13-6, 4.09), 1:05 p.m. EST

Detroit
C. Granderson, CF
S. Casey, 1B
G. Sheffield, DH
M. Ordonez, RF
C. Guillen, SS
R. Raburn, 2B
M. Rabelo, C
B. Inge, 3B
C. Maybin, LF

New York
J. Damon, LF
M. Cabrera, CF
B. Abreu, RF
A. Rodriguez, 3B
H. Matsui, DH
J. Posada, C
R. Cano, 2B
W. Betemit, SS
A. Phillips, 1B

Chien-Ming Wang has dominated the Tigers in his short MLB career:  In four starts against them he has a 3-0 record with a 2.52 ERA, not giving up a homerun in 25 IP. On the season he has only given up seven longballs, including only two at Yankee Stadium.

Pudge gets the day off and Polanco is still suffering from that flu bug. It will take some contributions from everyone to salvage a split in this series.

Chad Durbin (7-5, 4.68) vs. Roger Clemens (4-5, 4.00), 3:55 p.m. EST

A Tigers game on FOX that I'll actually be able to view down here in Florida. Wow.

The Rocket holds a 22-11 record against the Tigers with a 3.95 ERA over the course of his career. Last year Clemens made one regular season start against Detroit as a member of the Houston Astros, picking up a loss after only giving up one earned run.

Detroit
C. Granderson cf
M. Thames 1b
G. Sheffield dh
M. Ordonez rf
C. Guillen ss
I. Rodriguez c
R. Raburn 2b
B. Inge 3b
C. Maybin lf

New York
M. Cabrera cf
D. Jeter ss
B. Abreu rf
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
J. Giambi dh
R. Cano 2b
A. Phillips 1b

Nate Robertson (7-9, 5.01) vs. Andy Pettitte (9-7, 3.93), 7:05 p.m. EST

Detroit
C. Granderson, CF
C. Maybin, LF  
G. Sheffield, DH
M. Ordonez, RF  
C. Guillen, SS  
I. Rodriguez, C
S. Casey, 1B
R. Raburn, 2B
B. Inge, 3B

New York
J. Damon, CF
D. Jeter, SS
B. Abreu, RF
A. Rodriguez, 3B
J. Posada, C
H. Matsui, LF
J. Giambi, DH
R. Cano, 2B
A. Phillips, 1B

Maybin in left, batting second.  Against leftys he wasn't too successful down on the farm; In 76 ABs versus southpaws while with Lakeland he had a .211/.333/.395/.728 line.  At the AA level he only has had one at bat, drawing a walk.

I know he's not the only Tiger out there playing tonight; However I believe this is one of the more anticipated debuts we've seen in a while as Detroit fans.

***

By the way, good luck to Craig Monroe - his time as a Tiger is more than likely over. My perception of him as a player was always positive in terms of his personality, work ethic and as a team player. I've got the utmost respect for him in those departments, but that wasn't going to keep his job on a team that is in the midst of a pennant race. His season long slump at the plate was only harming this team, so this was in no doubt the right move by the organization.

Cameron Maybin will be in New York tonight with the big league club.

Excellent news!

More to come as it unfolds...obviously someone had to be removed from the 25-man. Monroe? Thames?

UPDATE

As mentioned in the comments section, Danny Knobler has given us the details of the day. Craig Monroe has been DFA'd to make room for Maybin, and Infante was optioned to Toledo in favor of Ramon Santiago.

Thank you Carlos Guillen.  Thank you for giving us a nice cushion last night.  What a refreshing feeling not having to watch the Tigers claw back from an early deficit, especially against a team with a lineup as detonative as the Yankees.

JV pitched a fairly decent game last night -- picking up the win --  against a very patient group of Yankee hitters.  Through only 5.1 innings he was forced to leave the game with a pitch count of 119, handing the ball over the bullpen to pull this one out over the course of the final four frames.  Needless to say, the thought of a winning result in this one was high in doubt.

But they pulled through.  Byrdak, Miner, Rodney did their jobs, giving up only two hits and striking out eight over 2.2 innings of work.  Jones gave up a couple of runs, but the cushion was enough where we would let him slide this time.

Definitely a good start to the series.  Great win.  Now, they need to secure at least a split over the next three games at Yankee Stadium.

Justin Verlander (12-4, 3.58) vs. Mike Mussina (8-7, 4.50), 7:05 p.m. EST

The Tigers, along with former Bronx Bomber Gary Sheffield, return to Yankee Stadium tonight for the first time since the showdown in the 2006 ALDS.  This will be the first matchup between the two teams, both deep in the heart of a playoff race; The Yankees are currently tied with the Mariners for the AL Wild Card lead, while the Tigers are battling with Cleveland over the top spot in the AL Central.  Needless to say, this is a big four game set in New York.

Justin Verlander will take the mound for the Tigers tonight, having won his last start against Oakland.  He has gone 5-2 over his last 10 starts.  His opponent this evening will be Mike Mussina, who pitched a complete game six-hitter in his only regular season matchup against our Tigers last season.  In his career he has dominated the Tigers, going 17-5 with a .224 BAA.

The Yankees are 10-4 in August and have gone 24-10 since the all-star break.  It's going to be one tough series at the Stadium.

The Tigers have shipped minor league infielder Jack Hannahan to Oakland for Jason Perry, an outfielder who has spent the entire season in Triple-A Sacramento.

Link

Fernando Rodney gets the call and is activated from the DL.

Photo Credit: Gatorzone.com/UF Sports Information

The 2007 Football Media Guide is now up on the official UF athletic site, Gatorzone.com.  If you get a chance and you're salivating to the same degree I am over football starting in a couple of months, I'd suggest downloading it.  If you can get a hard copy of it, even better.  It looks great.

Go Gators!

Corey Brewer, the seventh pick in this year's NBA draft, signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves today with what looks to be a four-year deal worth at least two-million in his first two seasons. The Wolves will hold two options for the second half of the contract, which has been commonplace among rookie signings this offseason.

Photo Credit: NBA.com

This is a story we've all been waiting to read about, and for good reason.  Brewer seemed to have the most to gain out of making the leap to the NBA, but made the decision to come back for his junior season in '06 to play alongside his fellow O-Fours.  When the news broke that Corey and the other three were leaving, we couldn't blame any of them; They brought an amazing amount of respect to the University of Florida along with success. There wasn't much else to accomplish at the college level.

Mr. and Mrs. Brewer should be getting some nice things over the next few days thanks to their son.  This should bring a smile to all of our faces.

Go Gators!

Yeah, so I've done two straight summer league updates from the NBA.  All of the notable players are making it interesting.

Tonight Anthony Roberson scored 22 points for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets in their 110-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Peep will be attempting to make his third NBA squad in his pro career.  He also had short stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Warriors, who released him last season.

Yesterday Taurean Green got his first taste of NBA action in the summer league.

In an 84-76 loss to the Boston Celtics, Green scored seven points, grabbed seven boards and dished out three assists for the Blazers.  In the forgettable shooting performance he went 3-12, including 1-5 from beyond the arc.

Other notable players in the summer league that have not seen action just yet are Corey Brewer, Lee Humphrey and former Gators Matt Walsh, Anthony Roberson, Mohamed Abukar and Mario Boggan.

Al Horford and Joakim Noah aren't participating in the league.

I'm usually not the type to take unnecessary shots at rivals, but this is just too plain funny to pass up (H/T to Bob Redman of GatorCountry).

I know this may come across as a bit arrogant, pompous, whatever -- and it probably is. Now matter how it looks, a school that has had the success that FSU has had over the last couple of decades should not have to lower prices/advertise/use marketing campaigns to sell season tickets. Come on guys, seriously. I thought this new coaching staff was the second coming? I thought the championships were going to start flowing in? Shouldn't that be incentive enough to head on out to Doak Campbell Stadium?

Go Gators!

Former "future star" CB Avery Atkins was found dead in his car this morning, according to several sources.

Atkins has had all sorts of legal problems, both during his time as a Gator and after he lost his scholarship and was dismissed from the football team prior to last season.  This, unfortunately, was the end for a kid with a potentially bright future that somehow strayed down the wrong path. And because of that, this is a truly sad story of a life lost that seemed to have so much promise.

As college football fans we continually throw barbs at each other regarding drug problems of rival athletes ... in this case, this was no laughing matter.  The outside influences that some of these kids face and fall under can be truly damaging; This outcome is a brutal reminder of that.

Really, really sad.  All you can say.  RIP young man.

Game Recap
Box Score
Win Probability Added

Earned His Tiger Stripes: Bonderman 8.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 7 Ks, .560 WPA

Bonderman in reality was the Tiger of the game in this one -- and for obvious reasons -- but there is no doubt that the most important moment of this game was an eighth-inning, two-out solo home run by Marcus Thames.  The long shot to left field, one of only three Tiger hits on the evening, put the Tigers ahead 1-0 late in the game and gave the Twins only three outs to put a run up on the board.

The Tigers had a similar game last season, against these same Twins.  Vance Wilson hit a two-run shot off of Johan Santana in the eighth inning that put the Tigers ahead for good in that one; Those kind of games were what made last year such a wild ride following this team.  Hopefully we can see the Tigers win a few more of these close games with exceptional pitching and late production from the lineup down the road this season.

As for Marcus Thames, the game-winning homer was a nice change of pace from his normal, nothing-spectacular season as a Tigers' bench player in '07.  If we see a few more hits like this, maybe Jim Leyland will find a way to get him some more time in LF alongside Craig Monroe -- who tonight went 0-3 including a GIDP, dropping his average to .223.

For the Tigers, this was an important one to win.  They avoided the sweep against a division rival closing in fast.

Up Next:  Tuesday vs. Indians, 7:05 pm

The Tigers made yet another move for the bullpen today, acquiring RHP José Capellán from the Brewers. In exchange the Tigers sent Single-A pitcher Chris Cody to Milwaukee.

Capellán is only three years older than Cody, and has already seen a good amount of time coming out of a Major League bullpen.  With that in mind, this may not be a bad move for the Tigers, who should try anything in their power to use Jason Grilli less.

UPDATE - 1:30 pm:

Danny Knobler has chimed in on the deal. He seems to like it.

Brew Crew Ball has a running discussion on the trade.

Lee Humphrey accepted an invitation to work out with the Washington Wizards beginning next week after going undrafted in Thursday night's NBA Draft.

This comes as very pleasant news to Gator fans, as Humphrey became a fan favorite in Gainesville during his college career.  Known for his clutch three-point shooting (he's the school's all-time leader in three-pointers made in a career) that helped the team to back-to-back national titles over the last two seasons, Humphrey was the only one of the six draft hopefuls from the University of Florida not to be picked up by an NBA squad on Thursday night.

Making the Wizards will not be an easy task, writes Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun:

Go Gators!

Game Recap
Box Score
Win Probability Added

Earned a Lecture From Leyland: Verlander 5.0 IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 6 ER, -.219 WPA

Obviously we were all expecting a little bit more out of a Justin Verlander/Johan Santana matchup we were treated to last evening.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, though, baseball has a funny way of bringing guys back down to earth rather quickly if they don't bring their best stuff to the table ... and last night that happened with Verlander, who has been nearly untouchable since his no-hit performance against Milwaukee a few weeks back.

Verlander was bad from the beginning.  Before even earning an out in the first inning, the Twins loaded the bases on a single and two walks.  It took 31 pitches to escape the first frame, and the Tigers already found themselves down by two facing off against one of the game's best pitchers in Santana.

Verlander would again load the bases in the fifth on three walks to Twins' batters, and Joe Mauer proceeded to thank him by knocking a line-drive grand slam over the left-field wall to break the game open.  This signaled the end of this game for Verlander, who walked five batters in all and never exactly looked in control of his fastball last night.

What was supposed to be one heck of a pitching matchup turned into a laugher last night, and fast. And slowly we're seeing those pesky Twins sneaking up in the Central standings, having won five of their last seven.

Up Next: Today vs. Twins, 3:55 pm (Miller vs. Slowey)

Any fashion mistakes aside, last night's NBA Draft was (one of) the most satisfying professional draft I've watched as a fan of the University of Florida.

Five Gators were drafted, including all four of the Juniors which declared early after last season. Chris Richard, one of only three seniors on last year's squad, also was drafted in the second-round last evening. Not only was this an unprecedented feat for the University of Florida basketball program; The '07 class made NBA Draft history as well.

Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah became the first same school trio in NBA Draft history to be drafted in the Top Ten (top nine, actually) when they went at pick three, seven and nine. Horford became the second highest picked Gator of all time, and only the third player ever selected in the top five of the draft (Neal Walk went at #2 in 1969, Mike Miller went at #5 in 2000).

The drafting of five players, including one that even came off the bench, just shows us how special the squads were from the last two seasons. There have been great college basketball teams, but never one quite like this is Gainesville.

What a night to be a Gator.  It will be very exciting watching these young men try to make their marks at the pro level -- I already have an added interest and will no doubt be maying much more attention to the NBA next season.

Unfortunately there are no Minnesota Timberwolves (which drafted both Brewer and Richard) or Atlanta Hawks blogs on this network, but Blog-A-Bull has a nice writeup on the drafting of Joakim Noah.

Go Gators!

We're almost underway in New York ... Portland is now on the clock with their number one draft pick(and they will take Greg Oden).

Did you see what Joakim Noah was wearing?  What an exceptional look from that young man.

UPDATE - Al Horford to the Hawks, just as basically every single mock draft had. Al was by far the most NBA capable player on last year's squad, and it was only fitting that he went first of the tremendous O-Fours that left after last season.

He's strong. He blocks shot. He rebounds well. He has great post moves. He can shoot mid-range jumpers. Al does everything you can ask out of a power forward type player at the next level.

I'm very proud to see Al as a representative of the University of Florida; He's a class act and will bring tremendous talent and upside to the Atlanta organization. Congrats to Al.

UPDATE 8:15 pm - Corey Brewer is now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves; Very excited to see Corey make it in the top-ten as I've been a huge fan of his passion, energy and athleticism throughout his career in Gainesville.

Corey was one of, if not the, best defenders in the country in college ... the Wolves definitely got a great player in that aspect, and if he can throw on some muscle and improve some little things on the offensive side of the ball, Corey will be one exciting player in Minnesota.

UPDATE 8:35 - Noah to the Bulls. Not surprising to see him in the Top Ten. Plus he will be playing alongside Big Ben, so that, along with the other Bulls, makes Chicago a solid defensive squad overall.

Noah's an eccentric guy, and wherever he went he was going to have critics. I guess now he'll have some critics in Chicago and the Central division.

More will come later on these picks ... not enough time to put together anything of substance on these guys right now ...

The 2007 NBA Draft will take place tonight starting at 7 pm EST, as three Gators -- Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer -- will be attempting to become the first trio ever from the same school to be drafted in the top ten.

Here are where some of the mock drafts have the tremendous trio of Gators:

Go Gators!

Game Recap
Box Score
WPA Graph

Earned a Lecture from Leyland: Jones 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, -.460 WPA

If your goal coming into the evening was writing the template for one of the most frustrating baseball games possible, then tonight was your night.

It started out very well for the Tigers.  A two run first-inning that saw perfectly executed baseball; a base-hit, a stolen base, two walks, a sacrifice fly and a two RBI single.  After that, unfortunately, the offense decided to go into one of their customary post first-inning slumps -- they would not achieve another hit until the fifth inning on Granderson's solo shot.

But all was well as Nate Robertson returned from the DL in glorious fashion ... in an almost similar performance to Kenny Rogers triumphant return in Atlanta last Friday, Nate went 5.1 innings, only giving up four hits and one run.

And then the bullpen happened ... twice.  And once again we're left scratching our heads wondering why the heck Todd Jones is trotted out in non-save situations, if any situations at all.

Not even a gutsy rally in the eighth inning could help the Tigers in this one ... an offense can only do so much to try and overcome eight runs by the opposition in the final three innings.  Oh, it's bad.

Hopefully somehow the Rangers leave Detroit in a few days and accidentally leave Eric Gagne behind.

Up Next: Tomorrow vs. Texas, 1:05 pm EST

... And at this point I bet you're wondering who the heck Jiwan James actually is.

James, a recent graduate of the nearby Williston High School, was named the Class 3A Baseball Player of the Year for the State of Florida; And he happens to be committed to play at the University next season under new head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.  He made that decision last summer, while former coach Pat McMahon was in control of the Gator baseball program.

The only thing that stood in the way of the Gators having the exceptional skills of James on the baseball diamond was the MLB Draft; If a team were to draft him and give him a good enough offer, there was a realistic shot that we would be seeing him in a minor-league ballpark next season, not McKethan Stadium.

The choice may have gotten even tougher when the Gators decided to go a different direction at head coach ... nearly the same time that the Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 22nd round.

Today James decided that the college game was where he needed to be in 2008 (Courtesy of the Gainesville Sun's John Patton):

Go Gators!

According to Danny Knobler's Tigers Insider Blog, Fernando Rodney is headed to the DL with tendinitis in his right arm.

The spot that is coming available with the loss of Rodney to injury will be filled by the return of Nate Robertson to the pitching rotation this evening against Texas.

Fernando hasn't had the same success this time around that he did in '06, when he had a 3.62 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 63 appearances out of the bullpen.  This season he has struggled with control and velocity, specifically with his fastball, on the way to a 1-5 record with a 5.40 ERA.

Let's hope that Fernando comes back strong from this trip to the DL ... it happens to be of the 15-day variety as of June 24th, according to his Yahoo! player page.

I was flipping through the channels last evening and noticed that the starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in their game against the Atlanta Braves, Andrew Miller, is from Gainesville.

Miller, the 22 year-old phenom who now holds a 3-1 record on the year and a 2.70 ERA, was born (and I would suppose raised) in Gainesville.  He attended Buchholz High School (the alma mater of our favorite quarterback, Doug Johnson) before going onto a successful college career with the University of North Carolina -- he went 27-9 with a sub-three ERA over three seasons in Chapel Hill.

My question is, and I haven't found too much on this, how the heck did this guy not end up going to Florida?  Who's to blame?  How do we let a kid of that talent escape Gainesville?

Anybody who stumbles upon this site ... do you know an answer?

***

Also in baseball news - Matt LaPorta was given a nice, $2 million signing bonus with the Milwaukee Brewers ... looks like he made a great decision to stay with UF a couple seasons ago.