Maggs in the house
It was great to see Magglio Ordonez back in the Tigers clubhouse before Tuesday’s game against Tampa Bay. It has been three weeks since his surgery for a sports hernia and the original prognosis was for an 8-10 week recovery. So, while Mags has plenty of recuperating to do, it was great just to see him walk around the clubhouse with a smile on his face.
Another Tiger on the DL is closer Troy Percival. You don’t see him moping around the clubhouse. In fact, he still rustles up a daily card game and is still very much a part of the clubhouse. It’s not much fun being at the park if you can’t play, but Percival realizes there is much more to the game than what takes place on the field. I’ve known Troy since he broke in with the Angels in the mid ’90’s. He is the definition of a teammate. Tuesday night during the telecast we showed Troy in the bullpen and in the dugout during the game. He could easily have been in the clubhouse ten toes up watching the game on the big screen, but he’d rather be around his teammates. 
There is no question he has already had an impact on the relievers in the pen, but it doesn’t stop there. Craig Monroe told us in Texas on the last trip that Percival, who lockers next to Craig, has taken the time to help him with how other relievers are apt to pitch him. Not only do other pitchers benefit from being around Troy, but the young hitters do as well.
There’s a whole lot of money sitting on the DL right now between Magglio and Troy, but the club has already gotten some return on it’s investment. And, if things go well, it won’t be long before the payout increases.
Last Call 
Hey Mario, I enjoy your Tiger broadcasts with Rod. It took me a while to warm up to Rod, but I think he has very good knowledge and compliments your style well. I’ve been watching most games for 4 years now, and I never realized you went to MSU! I’m also a MSU alum. GO State and GO Tigers.
Hi Mario, you are right, there is a whole lot of money sitting on the DL right now. But these guys are going to come back strong. Their career numbers speak for themselves, so they will produce when they return. Sometimes, I view the Tigers as a duck paddling his heart out in the water just trying to stay afloat(.500)…hoping not to drown or go under. If they can just stay around .500 until the cavalry comes back and another
possible move by Mr. Mike (starting pitcher), we have a legitimate shot at making a run in the fall. It’s fun when every game counts in September….
Side note– Great move by Tram. starting Logan at lead-off. This young cat can run and will bring another deminsion to the Tigers lineup card. Look for him to have a big game today as he dipelled all butterflys yesterday.
As a response to the previous comments:
I’m not so sure Logan leading off is a great idea. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy and I think he’s a great hitter and he’s faster than lightning (I even have him on my fantasy baseball team), but I think inge is the better leadoff man. Logan just can’t draw any walks! 0-6 is not what you want from a leadoff man. 0-4 with a walk or two is what you want, although it’s not ideal. I think Logan needs to work on pitch selection, then he can be an awesome leadoff hitter. Also, I dont’ think the tigers need to make a move for a starting pitcher. Let’s look down to our minor league system. Whatever happened to Justin Verlander? What is he doing in single A??? A guy that throws 100+ and has an ERA under 2 does not belong in single A! Let’s bring him up to the majors and see what he can do! He would probably do better than Ledezma at least.