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Joined: 15-05-2024
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Subject :DETROIT - When Mike Ilitch was asked about the ramifications of another huge financial commitment by
DETROIT - When Mike Ilitch was asked about the ramifications of another huge financial commitment by his Detroit Tigers, the octogenarian owner looked down for a couple seconds as if checking his wallet. Patrick Kane Blackhawks Jersey .Yeah, Im OK, Ilitch said. Ive got some 20s in there.The Tigers finalized a $68 million, four-year deal with Victor Martinez on Friday, keeping the slugging designated hitter in the middle of their lineup after he finished second in the AL MVP race this year.Martinez hit .335 with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs, helping Detroit to its fourth straight AL Central title. Detroit agreed to the lucrative deal less than six weeks before Martinezs 36th birthday, showing the Tigers still are willing to spend big in pursuit of their first World Series championship since 1984.You know how I feel — Ive felt the same way since Ive had the club. I love baseball, Ilitch said. Im very, very fortunate to be an owner of a major league team. Im just a happy man.Martinez shared Ilitchs upbeat outlook after reaching a deal with Detroit relatively early in the off-season. The switch-hitter has batted over .300 in eight of his last nine seasons, not counting 2012, when he missed the whole season with a knee injury. His bat carried the Tigers at times in 2014.Im just real excited for this great opportunity to get my dream complete, which is winning a World Series, Martinez said. I have never been on a team like this.Martinez will make $14 million next season and $18 million annually over the following three years. He can list 10 teams he cant be traded to without consent, and after the 2015 season he would have the right to block any trade as a 10-year veteran who has been with his current club for five years.Detroit began its streak of AL Central titles after signing Martinez heading into the 2011 season, and he was instrumental this year. The Tigers clearly had little interest in trying to replace him, and he was happy to return. Team president Dave Dombrowski recounted a conversation he had with Martinez at the ballpark earlier this year.He says, Ive never done anything like this before, and maybe Im not supposed to do this because my agents may not like this, Dombrowski said. But he said, I want you to know how much I want to be a Detroit Tiger. I dont want to go anywhere after this contract. This is like my home. ... He came and he grabbed me and had that conversation on his own.Detroit has spent heavily in recent years to keep stars Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Anibal Sanchez and now Martinez. The Tigers edged Kansas City by one game this year in the division, then were swept in the AL Division Series by Baltimore.Right-hander Max Scherzer is a free agent, and its not at all clear whether the Tigers will be able to hold onto him, but Detroit has wasted little time trying to take care of other priorities this off-season. The Tigers traded for centre fielder Anthony Gose earlier this week, and they have also signed reliever Joel Hanrahan to a minor league deal.Dombrowski said the Tigers are unlikely to re-sign free agent outfielder Torii Hunter. He also said hes fairly optimistic about the bullpen, which was a trouble spot this year. Hard-throwing right-hander Bruce Rondon missed this whole season with a torn ligament in his right elbow, but Dombrowski is confident hell be back.I like our club, but were only in the middle of November, so were not going to fold up tent at this point, Dombrowski said. Weve still got a long way to go so well see what happens. The good part is we filled the void in the middle of our lineup with a left-handed hitter, we got somebody to play centre field that can really go get the ball. But we can get better. Duncan Keith Blackhawks Jersey . They are back to a game above .500 on the year and back to .500 on the road. It was their 10th extra time game of the year, and only the second one that did not got to a shootout. Nick Leddy Blackhawks Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears say they have agreed to a one-year contract with centre Roberto Garza. http://www.blackhawksshophockey.com/red-12-peter-regin-womens-jersey/ . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. DETROIT -- Robbie Ray provided a glimpse of what the Detroit Tigers saw in him when they acquired the pitching prospect for Doug Fister. Ray gave up one run in his major league debut and got plenty of run support, especially from Miguel Cabrera, to help Detroit rout the Houston Astros 11-4 on Tuesday night for its season-high seventh straight win. When Ray walked off the mound and toward the dugout in the sixth inning, he was given a standing ovation by a crowd that included his mother, father, fiancee and her family. "I did enjoy it," he said. "I started tearing up a little bit." Some of those same fans may have wondered what the Tigers were thinking when they traded a 14-game winner to Washington for the 22-year-old Ray during the off-season. "I got the sense that before today, they didnt know who I was," Ray said. Now, they know and 27,939 fans probably liked what they witnessed from the hard-throwing lefty. Ray (1-0) gave up one run, five hits and a walk, and struck out five in 5 1-3 innings. He probably earned another turn in the rotation because Anibal Sanchez is on the disabled list with a cut on his right middle finger. "Id be surprised if it was somebody else," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Ray responded well when Jose Altuve led off the game with a bloop down the right field line, which he turned into a double. Dexter Fowler followed with an infield single after Ray ran past first base when Cabrera tossed him the ball. With the poise Ausmus predicted he would have, Ray struck out the third and fourth batters in Houstons lineup and an inning-inning groundout got him out of the jam. "That was a big inning," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "You have a guy whos making his first major league start on the ropes with the middle of the order coming up. "But to his credit, he was able to get out of it." The former Nationals prospect had a shot to have a scoreless start, but second baseman Ian Kinsler dropped a popup that allowed Fowler to score in the sixth innning. Jonathan Toews Jersey. "Hes got good stuff and a good head on his shoulders," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "But people cant -- or shouldnt -- put pressure on the kid about being part of the Fister trade." Cabrera homered in the first inning for his first of four hits and four RBIs. He raised his batting average to .293 after it was .206 on April 21. The reigning two-time AL MVP, who matched a season high with the four hits, had an RBI single in the seventh and a two-run double in the eighth. "Every player goes through a little bit of a lull once in a while," Ausmus said. "Its just that I think Miggy has set such a high standard that people dont expect it." The Tigers scored two runs in the third inning and another in the fourth. J.D. Martinez was the only player in Detroits lineup who did not have a hit until he had an RBI single in the five-run eighth. Houston, which has the worst record in the majors (10-23), lost its fourth straight and sixth in seven games. "Its a little tough, you know," right-hander Josh Fields said after giving up five runs and getting only two outs. "Were struggling. But itll be all right." Brett Oberholtzer (0-6) allowed four runs, nine hits, two sacrifice flies and a walk over six innings. "I thought he did a good job of battling and did a good job of leaving us in a good position when he left the game," Porter said. The Astros bullpen, though, ended any shot of at least staying competitive in the game by giving up seven runs. "Extremely troubled," Porter said. "If our bullpen would have been able to keep it there, it would have been a different ballgame." NOTES: Detroit OF Torii Hunter extended his hitting streak to 13 games and had the first of Detroits three sacrifice flies. ... Porter said RHP Scott Feldman, who has been on the DL since mid-April with right biceps tendinitis, will start Friday at Baltimore and said a decision will be made Wednesday or Thursday about who will be taken out of the rotation. 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