Kuzul

Magglio Ordonez is retiring after playing 15 seasons in the major leagues. He was a six-time All-Star during his time with the White Sox and Tigers. He won a batting title, three Silver Sluggers and was the runner-up for the 2007 American League Most Valuable Player award.But his greatest highlight and his place in history will always be his walk off, ALCS clinching home run that propelled the Tigers into the 2006 World Series. The team that lost 119 games in 2003 made it to the World Series in just three years. And Ordonez's blast against Oakland's Huston Street capped the amazing turn around.His home run would have been memorable in any era. But in the age of camera phones and YouTube, the home run is not only recorded, but it can be seen from just about every possible angle.To honor Ordonez's career and his greatest highlight, let's take a ...

It’s been said that the triple is the most exciting play in baseball. I’d submit to you that the inside-the-park home run trumps that, but there you go. Let’s give the triple the benefit of the doubt. But if that’s the case, how come no one waxes about the greatest triples in baseball history? I haven’t seen any TV specials about the historic triples of all-time. There aren’t coffee table books celebrating the triple. The home run is still the Cadillac of baseball hits. That’s what Ralph Kiner called the four-bagger—sort of. Kiner, the Hall of Fame slugger of the Pittsburgh Pirates, once said that “Singles hitters drive Fords. Home run hitters drive Cadillacs.” The Tigers have had their share of Cadillac drivers, as has any big league franchise. From Greenberg to Kaline to Cash to Colavito to Fielder to Cabrera, the Tigers all-time roster is liberally sprinkled with Cadillac ...

The Detroit Tigers begin the 2011 season with the goal to win a championship. However, if they want to be able to claim their first World Series title since 1984, they have some work to do. For most of the past five years, the team has started strong out of the gate and faded down the stretch, the lone exception being in 2008, when the team became the MLB’s version of Murphy’s Law. This trend of second-half collapses was glaringly obvious this past year, when the Tigers went 7-21 from July 16 to August 13, dropping them from a half-game off the AL Central lead to 10.5 games back and an eventual third place finish at 81-81. The Tigers generally don’t make big free-agent deals, but they have brought in Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit in efforts to shore up the C/DH and relief pitching, respectively. Brad Penny has also signed with ...

I am going to have to admit, I am really sour on the Detroit Tigers’ offseason so far. This team had almost $70 million come off the books after the 2010 season and the best they have done so far is sign Victor Martinez, overspend on a middle reliever, and re-sign a bunch of aging free agents.   Perhaps my expectations for what the Tigers were going to do was too high. I thought the Tigers were going to make some major splashes. VMart was a good signing, but I thought they were eventually going to pair him with someone like Jayson Werth or Carl Crawford. The Tigers didn’t sign any other major free agents, but instead filled out their roster with guys like Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers re-signed Ordonez to a one-year, $10 million contract on Thursday. Ordonez will be back for his seventh season in Detroit and ...

A baseball source close to ESPN has confirmed that Magglio Ordonez and the Detroit Tigers have reached an agreement to a one-year, $10 million contract.  Back in October, Detroit declined Ordonez's $15 million option, but the team stated that they would want Magglio to return if he successfully recovered from a season-ending ankle injury that occurred in July of last year.Earlier this offseason, the Tigers spent $66.5 million to sign catcher Victor Martinez and relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit.  Infielders Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta have also re-signed with Detroit, making this offseason quite successful so far.  In 84 games last season, Magglio Ordonez hit .303 with 12 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 56 runs scored.  Throughout his 13-year MLB career, Ordonez has recorded 2,072 hits, 289 home runs, 1,204 RBIs, 92 stolen bases, and a batting average of .312.It is expected for Magglio Ordonez to return to right field in ...

One of the orchestrators of the biggest deal of both the 2007 and 2009 winter meetings, many were shocked not to hear from Dave Dombrowski and the Detroit Tigers at the meetings this past week. The reason they were quiet is simple: even with spring training more than two months away, they've already accomplished quite a bit thus far this offseason. Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta were brought back to secure the left side of the infield, and Joaquin Benoit was signed to set up for Jose Valverde (albeit at an absurd price tag). Undoubtedly though, the prize of the team's offseason thus far is Victor Martinez. A lifetime .300 hitter and four-time All-Star, Martinez should be a major upgrade over both Johnny Damon (who got on base but hit for virtually no power) in the DH spot, and Gerald Laird (who brought literally nothing to the table offensively) as the ...

The winter meetings have seen a lot of action so far.Carl Crawford signed with the Boston Red Sox yesterday for seven years and 142 million dollars. This was in the wake of the huge contract given to Jayson Werth a week earlier from the Washington Nationals.After the top two hitters on the market have signed, the remaining players have a starting point in negotiations and there are still plenty of quality hitters remaining for teams looking to fill out their lineups.Here are the top 20 hitters remaining.Begin Slideshow

As soon as GM Theo Epstein & Company completed the trade to acquire Adrian Gonzalez, and long before they boarded a plane for Florida to attend the MLB Winter Meetings, their collective attention immediately turned to other priorities. What is next on the agenda? Epstein has made it clear the club has a couple of needs that need to be addressed this week: a pair of relievers and a right-handed bat.Begin Slideshow

Fresh off acquiring Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres for three prospects and a player to be named later, the Boston Red Sox are considering acquiring one of several slugging outfielders, including former Tiger Magglio Ordonez and current Met Carlos Beltran. According to multiple reports headlined by ESPN's Adam Rubin, Boston is kicking the tires on trading for New York's slugging superstar center fielder just days after including his young cousin, Reymond Fuentes, in the deal for Gonzalez. The Mets reportedly have opened the door on Beltran, who is coming off an injury-diminished season in 2010 and is fast approaching free agency in 2011. A career .282 hitter with an .853 OPS and a plus rating as a defender, Beltran hit just .255 and posted his lowest ever UZR/150 (-8.6) in 2010. At the moment, Beltran may be a buy-low candidate, but the Mets may also be reluctant to deal him before the ...

The Detroit Tigers have already made a big splash in the 2010 offseason. Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit were key signings for Detroit.  Detroit has said it would like to have a lower payroll than it had in 2010. After adding $29 million in new contracts (Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Martinez and Benoit), Detroit still has room to add another contract or two and still remain under the $60 million it dropped. As it stands right now, Ryan Raburn is being viewed as the everyday left fielder, which eliminates Carl Crawford from coming to Motown. Dave Dombrowski said this week the only opening currently was in right field. The right field opening brings up two predominant names: Jayson Werth and Magglio Ordonez. Tigers fans are familiar with what Magglio brings to the table. Ordonez was having a resurgent year before his ankle injury prematurely ended his season. Werth has been a late bloomer but ...