Thames

It's ironic that on the night the Tigers on Channel 20 and not on FSN, they're beating the Sox in the sixth inning. Marcus Thames hit a home run that has put the Tigers in front. It's his career high eleventh homer already -- he's going to be a good one. The irony I was going to point out is that Marcus Thames going to Toledo prior to the '05 season caused a division in the Tigers clubhouse. One of the biggest detractors was (former) Tiger Dmitri Young.

The person who "made" the team in '05 was Bobby Higginson. Higginson's making the team has been singled out as one of the moves that began the division that wrecked the Tigers clubhouse last year and helped lead to the release of Manager Alan Trammell and his entire coaching staff. This year, here comes the real irony, Dmitri has become the "new" Higgy. The player who is a cancer. Remember, last year, Bobby "disappeared" from the team with a sore arm. Dmitri has left for personal reasons, and the rumor today is that he is entering the Betty Ford Clinic in California.

Clubhouse cancers really cause division and destroy continuity. Jim Leyland and his staff are making an effort to really get a chemistry built in Motown. Higgy is gone. Dmitri is gone. I think there are a couple of other longtime Tigers who may be on the way out, as well.

Let's hope they win tonight's game and break the Sox cycle of "winning dirty."

Go, Tigers, Go!!!