Tigers a bit better than Padres in Worst Series

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SAN DIEGO -- They were streaming into Jack Murphy Stadium this week, grabbing every available seat to see their heroes as the NL champion San Diego Padres and the AL champion Detroit Tigers met ...

Whoops, sorry.

That was a leftover sentence from October 1984.

San Diego's Brian Lawrence lost consecutive starts after bringing four-hit shutouts to the ninth. (AP)

Today? Ah, today ...

The only things missing from an interleague series matching the worst of the NL, San Diego, and the worst of the AL, Detroit, were the iodine pills they sometimes hand out to folks who live near nuclear reactors in case of an accident or attack.

The Padres and Tigers are lovable like puppies in a pet shop window are lovable, only not as fierce. On pace to challenge the 1962 New York Mets' record of 40-120 at various times this season, the Tigers and the Padres look like they are from the same litter.

At least, they did until the Tigers whacked the Padres in the first two games of the series, dropping San Diego into the Worst Record in Baseball Dept. through midweek.

"Thinking back to Sunday (when the Tigers erased that 7-1 deficit and refused to let the Yankees' Roger Clemens collect win No. 300 against them), I really do believe that has something to do with it," Detroit manager Alan Trammell says. "We grew up."

The Padres, after Wednesday night's 5-3 loss to Detroit, are playing .283 baseball (17-43) and are on pace to finish 46-116.

The Tigers are playing .286 baseball and are on pace to finish 47-115.

The '62 Mets played .250 baseball.

Fittingly, Roger Craig, who went 10-24 for the '62 Mets, was here for the series -- and in uniform. A former Padres manager (1978-1979) and Sparky Anderson's pitching coach on the great 1984 Tigers team, Craig was wearing a Detroit uniform for the series at Trammell's request.

"No, no, no, I don't chuckle," Craig said when asked his reaction when tough-luck modern teams inevitably are compared to the '62 Mets. "I feel bad for both teams, especially the Tigers since I'm a little associated with them. Boch (Padres manager Bruce Bochy) already has established himself as a good manager. Tram, I talked to him, and he's established a good clubhouse. I told him to walk in every day like he's on a 10-game winning streak. I noticed it today -- he asked a few people to be out here for a workout at 1:30, and the whole team was out here."

Ten-game winning streak?

The Tigers started the season 0-9, then dropped to 2-19. They've endured losing streaks of nine, eight, seven and six games. Their longest winning streak is four.

The Padres have endured losing streaks of nine and five games (three times). Their longest winning streak is three games.

"They've shown me ways to lose that I never knew existed," then-manager Casey Stengel once said of his expansion Mets.

In the first game of a doubleheader on May 1, a Baltimore pitcher, B.J. Ryan, collected a victory over the Tigers without even throwing a pitch. He was summoned in relief, picked Omar Infante off of first base to finish the seventh inning and left.

"What a country," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove exclaimed afterward. "I've seen a guy get beat in a no-hitter, but I've never seen that."

In the nightcap, a Tigers pitcher, Mike Maroth, took a no-hitter into the eighth inning ... and lost. That dropped his record to 0-7, en route to 0-9 before he earned his first victory.

"I didn't think about (Ryan's victory in the first game) until somebody said something afterward, 'You see he got the win?'" Maroth said the other day. "It was like, 'Wait a minute! He didn't even throw a pitch!' You'll probably never see that happen again."

Ways to lose? The Padres have lost three games on their current homestand despite taking a shutout into the ninth inning. Last week, after the first of those games, losing pitcher Matt Herges said: "It breaks your heart. It makes you want to throw up."

On their last homestand, astoundingly, the Padres lost relief pitchers Luther Hackman and Brandon Villafuerte on back-to-back nights as they were warming up in the fifth inning.

The Padres rank 11th in the NL in attendance, averaging 22,793 fans a game. But crowds have been dwindling so much that the people who run the stadium have closed concession stands and laid off workers.

The Tigers rank 13th in the AL in attendance, averaging 17,372. Only Tampa Bay, at 11,976, is worse. But Detroit's fans have expressed their displeasure more, uh, vocally.

"It's bad enough that we have nobody in the stands behind us," Detroit slugger Dmitri Young told the Associated Press in early May. "I'd rather go play on the road. These people don't care about us."

Discussing the negative vibes in Comerica Park, Young also told the Detroit Free Press in early May: "It seems like it's a public stoning."

The Tigers rank 14th in the AL in team batting average at .215. The modern-day record for a season is .212, set by the 1910 Chicago White Sox.

The Tigers also rank last in the AL in runs scored (170), and 14th in on-base percentage at .283. All of which helps explain why they have the second-worst record in baseball despite the fact that their pitching staff ranks a respectable seventh in the AL with a 4.33 ERA.

The Padres rank 16th in the NL in ERA (5.71) and 16th in wins (17). Without Trevor Hoffman, who almost certainly would have made a difference in those three ninth-inning shutouts they've blown over the past week, the Padres rank 14th in the NL in saves (nine).

They fired pitching coach Greg Booker earlier, on the day of horse racing's Preakness, after which Booker fired off this memorable bit of philosophy: "You can prepare a donkey to run the Preakness, but he probably won't run very well."

The Tigers are currently running fifth in the AL Central, 15½ games behind first-place Minnesota.

The Padres are fifth in the NL West, 20 games behind first-place San Francisco.

The '62 Mets finished 60½ games behind San Francisco in a 10-team NL (no divisions). Their .240 batting average was the worst in the league, their 617 runs scored were ninth in the league and their staff ERA of 5.05 was worst in the league.

Craig had a long talk with Maroth, now 1-10 with a 5.56 ERA, before the first game of the series Tuesday.

"I just told him some of the things I went through, how I'd pitch good and lose," Craig said. "A lot of times, we'd get no runs. I came in the clubhouse one day and said, 'Just get me half a run!'"

In going 10-24 in '62, Craig compiled a 4.51 ERA. In 1963, he went 5-22 for the Mets despite a 3.78 ERA.

Craig's 3.78 ERA in 1963 would have placed him within spitting distance of the NL top 10 ERA leaders last year. Arizona's Curt Schilling and San Francisco's Kirk Rueter tied for ninth at 3.23.

The Tigers, after acquiring Alex Sanchez from Milwaukee, now are on their fourth center fielder this year. Sanchez follows Andres Torres, Hiram Bocachica and Gene Kingsale.

The Padres have used four different catchers -- Gary Bennett, Wiki Gonzalez, Michael Rivera and Miguel Ojeda. They have used seven different No. 3 hitters: Rondell White, Mark Kotsay, Ryan Klesko, Sean Burroughs, Ramon Vazquez, Xavier Nady and Dave Hensen.

The Padres haven't won back-to-back games since April 25.

The Tigers have yet to win a series at home.

"I knew it was a challenge going in," Trammell said before the series started on Tuesday. "To have 14 wins ... if it was 16 or 18 wins, or 20 or 21, I don't know really how much different it would be. We'd still be in for a big challenge.

"It's somewhat what I expected. Would I have thought we'd have more wins? Yes. We're going to take some lumps, and we have. We're going to find out what we have. I don't know if two months are enough to make a determination."

The Tigers are in their fourth season in a new ballpark.

The Padres are in the final season of an old one, a season in which they were supposed to be gaining momentum for their move into the unfortunately named Petco Park next April.

In both cities, fans were finding alternative entertainment by Memorial Day. The clubs, by necessity, are in evaluation mode rather than winning mode.

"It's not something we want to talk about," Bochy said. "It's not something we care to talk about. We know our situation. I know they hope to finish strong. It's our plan to finish strong."

Taking shelter is never a first choice. But storms pass.

One year after losing a combined 46 games during that awful two-year period with the expansion Mets, Craig worked in relief in the 1964 World Series ... and he earned the victory in Game 4 for the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Yankees.

"For me, I love baseball and would do it for nothing," said Craig, now a 73-year-old pitching guru who is retired and splitting his time between Hilton Head, S.C., and Southern California. "That year (1962), it got to be like a job.

"But the good thing about it was, I lost a lot of ballgames over those two years, but it helped me a lot in my teaching."

Earning their stripes

In the midst of the misery is this beacon of hope for the future in Detroit: The Tigers have used the same five starting pitchers all season: Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Cornejo, Mike Maroth, Adam Bernero and Gary Knotts.

Detroit is one of only three AL teams and five major-league clubs to remain that steady in the rotation this year, and it's the Tigers' longest stretch to start a season while using the same five since 1974, when Joe Coleman, Mickey Lolich, Lerrin LaGrow, Woodie Fryman and Bill Slayback started the first 70 games before Luke Walker started on June 28 and earned a victory over Milwaukee at Tiger Stadium.

So out of the rubble comes at least a few building blocks for what they hope will be a solid foundation.

"I'm allowed to dream a little bit," Trammell said. "We have a lot of work to do with this club, but the way it's unfolding, we're giving people opportunities and by the end of the year, we hope to evaluate players and come to some conclusions.

"If we get there and can say our pitching has been upgraded significantly. ... That's the No. 1 component in baseball, and if we can say our pitching is upgraded, then we have something. ...

"They've not been perfect, but they've been deserving of opportunities to go out every fifth day. They've been deserving, because if they weren't, then we would have made a change by now. I'm hoping at the end of the season we can look back and say we have something."

Corky

It's tough to squeeze the cork back in the bottle, as Sammy Sosa is learning -- especially with all of these pundits around:

Arizona first baseman Mark Grace: "Had I known, when I played in Chicago, there were corked bats in the bat rack, I probably would have hit 25 home runs."

Cleveland reliever Terry Mulholland on whether all corked bats should be banned: "It's either that or bring back the spitball to level the playing field."

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire, a .232 lifetime hitter as a utility man in the 1980s, on his ignorance of the subject: "I could have hit with an aluminum bat and still not got any hits in the major leagues. Why cork it?"

Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki: "I never heard of that happening in Japan. If it did happen and someone was caught, there would be much shame."

Conan O'Brien on his late-night television show early Thursday morning: "They took 76 bats away from Sammy Sosa ... and delivered them to the New York Mets."

David Letterman on his show late Wednesday night: "There was some controversy in the Miss Universe Pageant. Miss Paraguay was ejected when she corked her bra."

More Letterman: "When Sosa's bat shattered they found cork, Styrofoam and ground up bits of rubber. It's the same way they make their hot dogs in Chicago."

And finally, Letterman's Top 10 list of "Sammy Sosa's Explanations:"

10. "My mind was clouded by the anabolic steroids."
9. "Damn Al-Qaeda."
8. "I may be a strong guy, but those bats is heavy."
7. "I wanted to catch the premiere of American Juniors -- man, those kids can sing!"
6. "Hans Blix checked my bat for three months without finding any cork."
5. "Wanted to do something to take the heat off my girlfriend, Martha Stewart."
4. "Threat of rain necessitated a more buoyant bat."
3. "If you hit home runs you get paid $20 million a year, dumb ass."
2. "I was Punk'd."
1. "Pete Rose bet me I wouldn't do it."

Interleague play and Bambi

Ah, the return of interleague play. This week, it has evoked memories of the first World Series ever played (Boston at Pittsburgh), the 1976 World Series (Yankees at Cincinnati), the 1984 World Series (Detroit at San Diego) and, of course, Ben Davis' hunting trip from 2001.

Say what?

Davis was met by two members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission this week when Seattle arrived in Philadelphia. They were looking to collect a fine Davis was assessed two years ago.

Davis said the fine resulted from shooting a deer on semi-restricted land in rural Pennsylvania, and his story was that it wasn't even his fine -- he was covering for a friend.

"A couple of years ago, we were out hunting deer, and he did something he shouldn't have," Davis told John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "I got fined, but if he'd been the one fined he would have had to pay a lot more. Actually, I thought I'd already paid the fine, but I guess I'd forgotten to pay it."

So Davis coughed up the $171, and it apparently won't be the last time he opens his wallet on the matter. His Mariners teammates were highly amused, and Mark McLemore noted that it's going to cost Davis a whole lot more in the club's Kangaroo Court.

Meanwhile, as Hickey noted, after collecting the fine, one of the inspectors told Davis, "I'd wish you good luck, but I really can't do that."

Interleague play and Hall of Famers

Further shooting holes in the myth that pitchers can't hit and the designated hitter is a necessity, Minnesota's Joe Mays cracked a single, drew a walk and dropped a sacrifice bunt in Tuesday's victory over San Francisco, leaving these eye-catching numbers in his wake:

Lifetime batting average of Willie Mays: .302.

Lifetime batting average of Joe Mays: .300 (3-for-10).

Interleague play and myths

More damning evidence against the myth that pitchers can't hit and the DH is a necessity: Playing shorthanded because Carlos Pena was injured on Wednesday night, Trammell -- at bench coach Kirk Gibson's suggestion -- sent pitcher Steve Avery to bat for pitcher Wilfredo Ledzma in the seventh inning of Wednesday's eventual 5-3 Tigers win in San Diego ... and Avery punched an opposite-field double and wound up scoring the go-ahead run.

Avery came up with one out in the seventh and the score tied 3-3, worked the count to two strikes and then laced the liner the opposite way.

"We felt like if there was a runner on base, Avery would have bunted because he's got a good background in bunting (from his Atlanta days)," Trammell said.

But when Eric Munson struck out to start the inning, the Tigers obviously let Avery swing away. He was using catcher Matt Walbeck's bat, Walbeck's batting helmet and he wasn't sure whose batting gloves.

"I didn't realize Wally's helmet was too big until I was running to second and it was falling into my eyes," Avery said.

He also was praised for his sliding ability -- he laid down a textbook slide going into second -- but he shrugged that off.

"To be honest, I was thinking 'I can hit a home run here and be a hero,'" Avery said. "But with two strikes, I was just trying to put it in play."

It was the Tigers' first pinch hit by a pitcher since Joe Niekro back in 1970, and it was Avery's first hit since June 6, 1999. It reminded Avery of his epic batting practice contests with his fellow pitchers back in Atlanta.

"I was always trying to go deep, and (John) Smoltz was always trying to go deep," he said. "(Tom) Glavine was always slapping at the ball -- the hit I got tonight was like one Glavine would get. (Greg) Maddux, he was the worst good hitter I've ever seen."

Power rankings

Atlanta closer John Smoltz has rarely met a golf course he doesn't like -- which is why this week's list comes with a disclaimer. "These are in no particular order, I can't come up with an order," Smoltz said. Fair enough. Smoltz's five-pack of favorite courses:

• Hawk's Ridge (Ballground, Ga. -- "My home club.")
• Pine Valley (New Jersey).
• Marion (Philadelphia).
• Oakmont (Pittsburgh).
• Seminole (Jupiter, Fla.).