Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 36

BASEBALL DETROIT FREE PRESS WWW.FREEP.COM 6D THURSDAY. AUG. 17, 2006 MONKEY AND A TIGER Tigers schedule Home shaded; i-also ESPN; y-also ESPN2 Pudge: 'Whatever you want, Skip' SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (hi. 7, Det. 7, Det Bos.

Tex. Tex. Tex. Det. 3 Bos.

4 Bos. 2 inc. 7:05 7:05 7:05 fSN- FSN Ch.20 JO 21 22 23 24 TS 26 Tex. CWS CWS CWS CWS Cle. Cle.

1:05 7:05 7:05 7:05 1:05 7:05 7:05 FSN FSN I FSN FSN-y FSN Ch. 20 A. fl i -i CHARLES Sidelined 3 He's told me from Day 1, 'whatever you need, whatever you want, I'll HIGH PRAISE FOR BONDERMAN: Esteemed Boston veteran Curt Schilling praised Jeremy Bonderman after Bonderman outpitched him Tuesday night. "If I could start a major-league team with five starting pitchers, he's on my list," Schilling said. "He is one of the best pitchers and definitely one of the top two or three young pitchers in the game." A COUPLE 17S: Tigers closer Todd Jones recorded his 33rd save Tuesday night, which tied him with Chicago's Bobby Jenks for the American League lead.

It was the 17th straight save opportunity he has converted. Jones has allowed only one run total over those 17 saves. The Tigers' 3-2 win Tuesday night was their 17th of the season in which they scored three runs or fewer. "That means we've got outstanding pitchers and (pitching coach) Chuck Hernandez has done a hell of a job," Leyland said. LEDEZMA GETS BIG PAPI: Jamie Walker is the Tigers' late-inning left-hander, but Leyland summoned Wil Ledezma instead of Walker to face left-handed David Ortiz in the eighth inning Tuesday night for a simple reason: Ortiz was 5-for-9 lifetime off Walker with three homers.

"I told Walker, 'If Ortiz comes up late, you can go to the TIGERS CORNER By JOHN LOWE FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER BOSTON Some things never change at Fenway Park. Some things do, such as Pudge Rodriguez's roles the last few nights. On Tuesday night, Rodriguez batted sixth as he dropped out of the third spot for the first time this season. Then, when Placido Polanco got hurt and the Tigers had no backup in-fielders available, Rodriguez played second base for the final two innings of the Tigers' one-run win. On Wednesday night, Rodriguez was in another unfamiliar spot: atop the batting order.

Curtis Granderson, the usual leadoff man, didn't play against lefty David Wells. Polanco has usually hit leadoff when Granderson hasn't played. With Polanco out, manager Jim Leyland saw Rodriguez as his best option at leadoff Wednesday. He wouldn't say if Rodriguez would hit there again when Granderson doesn't play. Leyland raved about Rodriguez's willing versatility: "All I know is that I've got a Hall of Famer, and whatever I want him to do, he does.

That's pretty good. If I move him to sixth, (he says), 'Whatever you want, "I give that guy a lot of credit," Leyland said. "He can make your life a little tough. He makes it nothing but pleasant. Soriano deal very unlikely And we thought the only monkey on Jim Leyland's back was trying to get the Tigers to the playoffs.

Wednesday night at Fenway Park, Leyland got a visit from Ayla, a service monkey. The monkey serves as a helper for the disabled. 4 KRUPAAssociated Press 8 weeks chance of obtaining Soriano. Even if the Nationals decide to deal him -and their desire to do that is unclear -the Tigers would need every other team pass up the Alfonso Soriano chance to claim him first. And it's unlikely that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees would fail to place a claim on Soriano, who was a second baseman for the majority of his career.

JON PAUL MOROSI hit. If you need to sacrifice a runner, he can sacrifice a runner. He's a manager's dream. He does every little thing that a manager wants. We're going to miss him.

"I love him. It (his injury) breaks my heart for him." Infante, a reserve infielder, started at second base Wednesday night. Leyland also intends to start him there tonight. Infield coach Rafael Belliard said second base is Infante's best position. "I want him to make the routine play and turn the double play," Leyland said.

"We're not going to replace Polanco. But I'm a big believer that it's more important how we handle the loss of a hell of a player than the actual loss of a player, because that's already happened." Contact JOHN LOWE at 313-223-4053 or jlowefreepress.com. 1 1 i Maybin seeking plea in possession charge 0 4 POLANCO From Page ID Manager Jim Leyland sounded ready for Polanco to be out several weeks. "I wouldn't begin to guess a timetable," Leyland said, deferring to Rand. "This could be anywhere from three weeks to eight weeks." The regular season ends in 6'A weeks.

Rand was asked if he was hopeful Polanco could play before the season ends. "Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely," Rand said. "Placido Polanco is a hardworking guy, loves to play the game, (and) is going to work very, very hard to get himself back out there to play.

We want him back on the field as quickly as possible as well. But we've got to take care of him as well. He's an important piece of our puzzle. It's just not a one-year deal." Leyland said Omar Infante will be the second baseman for now. "He's a good player," Ley-land said.

"I can't replace Polanco, but I feel pretty good about putting Omar Infante out there. Is he Polanco? No. That's just the way it is." It's possible the Tigers can make a trade in the coming weeks for someone to play second. But such a deal could be difficult, because the annual July 31 trading deadline has passed, and any player traded for the rest of the season must first clear waivers. Given recent history, it would be a surprise for any valuable player to clear waivers i.e., go unblocked by other contending clubs in the AL.

As the second baseman and Rtif Qra.r rii NT I I On deck: Rangers Series: Texas at Tigers for four games, tonight through Sunday. TVradio: Tonight FSN, ESPN (blacked out in Detroit area), WXYT-AM (1270); Friday 7:05, FSN, WXYT; Saturday Channel 20, WXYT; Sunday FSN, WXYT. Pitching: Tonight LH Kenny Rogers (11-6, 4.36 ERA) vs. RH Edison Volquez (1-1, 3.00); Friday -RH Zach Miner vs. RH Kevin Millwood (11-8, 4.73); Saturday LH Nate Robertson (11-8, 3.85) vs.

undecided; Sunday RH Jeremy Bonderman (11-5, 3.76) vs. RH Vicente Padilla Tickets remaining (as of late Wednesday afternoon): Tonight approximately 7,000 seats and 4,000 standing-room tickets; Friday approximately 3,000 seats and 3,000 standing-room tickets; Saturday no seats and approximately 2,500 standing-room tickets; Sunday approximately 3,000 seats and 3,400 standing-room tickets. concession Leyland said. Ortiz, the game's best clutch hitter, tied the game with a single. "I was so proud of Ledezma," Leyland said.

"I told him, 'You go after this But he kept him in the ballpark, and that was important." TOP TV: Tuesday night's telecast had the highest rating 12.8, or about 250,000 homes of any on FSN in the network's nine years of carrying the Tigers. fully this is something he can put behind him soon." According to the Grand Rapids Press, Maybin told police that the 5 a.m. accident occurred when he swerved to avoid a deer. The Press reported that he registered a .04 blood alcohol level on his preliminary breath test below the state's legal limit of .08, but above the zero-tolerance policy for minors. The incident does not seem to have affected Maybin's per formance.

The No. 10 overall pick in the 2005 draft is second in the Midwest League with a .322 batting average. games. "I don't know if it's as high as the Super Bowl, but it's pretty high, said Roth, whose busi ness deals mostly with seats. "It's been so long since the Tigers went into the postseason that you know the prices are going to go up." Some season-ticket holders, who know they will purchase postseason tickets, already have put them on the secondary marketplace at www.stubhub.com.

If those games are not played, buyers would have their money refunded, according to StubHub spokesman Sean Pate. Pate predicted that the Stub-Hub marketplace for postseason tickets in Detroit would be similar to that found in Chicago last season. According to Pate, those prices were as follows Division Series: range, $166 average; American League Championship Series: range, $305 average; World Series: range, $1,421 average. Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosiiafreepress.co?n. By JON PAUL MOROS1 FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER The local attorney for Cameron Maybin is negotiating with a Grand Rapids-area assistant prosecutor about a possible plea bargain on the minor leaguer's alcohol-related charge.

Maybin, 19, is on the road with the West Michigan White-caps, the Tigers' Class A affiliate, and was excused from Tuesday's pretrial hearing in Rockford District Court. He was initially charged with mi-nor-in-possession of alcohol in a vehicle and careless driving in connection with a July 13 acci- dent. Joshua J. Kuiper, an assistant prosecutor in Kent County, has since .1 Jj dropped the "in a Cameron vehicle portion Maybin of the MIP charge. Kuiper and Christopher P.

Yates, May-bin's local counsel, may reach a plea agreement ahead of the Sept. 14 jury selection date. "Cameron's a good kid who does not get into any trouble," his agent, Brian Goldberg, said Wednesday. "He's respectful to everybody around him. Hope Playoff pricing The Tigers haven't released their ticket prices for the postseason.

These were the prices at Angel Stadium for last year's American League Division Series and American League Championship Series and what they would have been for the 2005 World Series had the Angels advanced that far. The Diamond price is the Angels' premium seating, similar to Comerica Park's On-Deck Circle or Tiger Den. Alfonso Soriano has been placed on waivers, according to a FOXSports.com report. But his next stop most likely will not be Detroit. Soriano, the Washington Nationals leftfielder the Tigers sought before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, may be claimed by any of baseball's 28 other teams before the Tigers, who have baseball's best record, would have a chance to place a claim.

At that point, the Nationals could either agree to deal Soriano to that team, or pull him off waivers and retain him, Detroit has essentially no second-place hitter, Polanco is not the most powerful or spectacular part of the Tigers' machine. He is more like the oil that keeps it going smoothly. "He's a real baseball player," said third-base coach Gene La-mont. "He's a winning player. When the ball is (hit) to him, you feel good." Polanco began a minimum 15-day stay on the disabled list Wednesday.

Ramon Santiago was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take Polanco's roster spot. Leyland made it sound as if he'd miss Polanco every day he is out. "He does every little thing for this ballclub that a manager wants," Leyland said. "He's steady on every routine ground ball. He turns every routine double play.

If you ask him to hit-and-run, he can hit-and-run. If you need a fly ball, he can hit a fly ball. "If you need a two-out base hit, he can get a two-out base ftp- 39 Mo. Lease Tl0. wr -j 4D LS -i "7 39 2G05 Tigers a tough postseason ticket Event Low High Diamond ALPS $16 $74 $110 ALCS $31 $129 $165 Series- $65 $185 $235 By JON PAUL MOROSI FRKK PRESS SPORTS WRITER Regardless of the pennant race's outcome, the Tigers have played well enough to force team officials to begin preparing for something no one has seen before: postseason games at Comerica Park.

The Tigers submitted their postseason ticket plan Aug. 1. The Major League Baseball approval process concluded Tuesday. Details will not be released for several days. However, the Tigers are marketing a plan in which customers who purchase full-season tickets for the 2007 season including a 50 non-refundable deposit receive priority in buying tickets to potential postseason home game Also, according to Jie Tigers' Web site, season-ticket holders have the exclusive benefit to "purchase your same seat for all postseason home games." Beyond that, there is likely to be some form of online, telephone or box office sale for the remaining tickets.

Tickets promise to be scarce as they already are. Comerica has sold out for nine of 16 TRMLBLAZER 4x4 LS Source: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home dates since the All-Star Game. The Tigers drew more than 38,000 to 11 of those 16. Fans unable to purchase tickets directly from the team would need to look to the more expensive secondary marketplace. Richard Roth, a broker with Farmington Hills-based MAR tickets, said this week that the demand for Tigers tickets has become "probably a little higher" than for regular-season Red Wings or Pistons Sunroof, 6 Disc CD Changer, Power tf JfX Windows, Power Locks, Bose vw -ft MoASiU 2003 COBALT 1 Mo EVERYONE PRICE! MPG City 32 MPG Hwy.

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