Detroit Tigers

NASHVILLE -- The Detroit Tigers say they have no interest in closer Rafael Soriano. The agent for Soriano refuses to believe it. Soriano opted out of a contract with the New York Yankees that would have guaranteed him $14 million next season. With major-market teams either set for a closer or reluctant to spend big money to sign one, Boras has not yet found a team to give Soriano the expected multiyear contract. The Tigers, who bid farewell to Jose Valverde after his disastrous postseason, say their closer will be 21-year-old rookie Bruce Rondon.

If this keeps up - and the Angels certainly hope it will - they might have to explain to their fans why they yanked their most effective pitcher out of their starting rotation. Garrett Richards dominated the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, pitching seven innings without giving up a run or a walk. The Angels scored nine runs in the first inning - highlighted by Mike Trout's first grand slam - and rolled to a 10-0 rout at Angel Stadium. The Angels scored more runs in the first inning Saturday than they had totaled in any of their first 15 games this season.

The Detroit Tigers have emerged as the front-runner to sign free-agent right fielder Torii Hunter, who reportedly spent Tuesday in Detroit meeting with team officials, who are expected to extend a two-year contract offer to the 37-year-old. The Tigers, coming off an American League pennant-winning season, and Hunter, who craves a chance to play in his first World Series after spending the last five seasons in Anaheim, appear to be a perfect match. Detroit is looking for a corner outfielder, preferably one who hits right-handed, and Hunter is a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner coming off one of his finest seasons, in which he hit .313 with 16 home runs and 92 runs batted in and carried the Angels for much of September.

It was a high-wire act for Angels starter Tommy Hanson and two relievers Friday night, but the defense provided a nice safety net, and the offense provided a rare cushion in an 8-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium. Detroit had 16 baserunners, and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning when it trailed only 2-0. But the powerful Tigers, who were shut out in Seattle on Thursday, didn't score until the ninth, after the Angels broke open the game with five eighth-inning runs.

Reporting from Arlington, Texas — The Detroit Tigers may be battered, they may be bruised and they may be one loss away from next season. But they're not done yet. And that, designated hitter Victor Martinez thinks, makes them dangerous entering Saturday's sixth game of the American League Championship Series, which they trail, three games to two. "We don't get this opportunity often," said Martinez, one of four Tigers starters nursing an...

Former Royal High catcher Travis Kinyoun, who was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 36th round of the June amateur draft, has signed a contract with the club and will report to the Florida Instructional League in September. Kinyoun batted .391 last season at Royal with 8 doubles and 16 runs batted in, and batted .340 during the American Legion season. He had intended to play next season at College of the Canyons.

Bo Schembechler, who earned fame as the hot-tempered football coach at Michigan, will devote his organizational skills to baseball and the Detroit Tigers. The 60-year-old Schembechler, who finished with the fifth-best Division I-A college coaching record in history (234-65-8), was named Tigers president today by club owner Tom Monaghan.

Keith Smith, the leading passer in California high school history, signed a six-figure deal with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, giving up a scholarship to play quarterback at Arizona. Smith signed for a $200,000 bonus, plus a $50,000 college scholarship, he said. Smith, who graduated Friday from Newbury Park High, was the Tigers' fifth-round pick in the amateur draft earlier this month. "I just think this is what I needed to do to fulfill my dream of being a pro athlete," Smith said.

Sparky Anderson's season is captured in a needlepoint picture that hangs from the wall of his office. A tiger's head droops beneath the folksy phrase: "Leave Me Alone -- I'm Having A Crisis." The Detroit Tigers are last in the American League East with the worst record in baseball. They struggle to make a necessary transition, finding rookies to replace the men who helped the team to 11 consecutive winning seasons. The strain of this summer shows on the face of the manager.

For somebody who's already hit 48 home runs, driven in 126 runs and helped lift the Detroit Tigers out of the basement, Cecil Fielder may end up disappointing people. The prospect of Fielder becoming the first major leaguer in 13 years to hit 50 home runs in a season has generated white-hot hype in recent days. Whoever catches his 50th homer could: -Donate it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Hall has the record 61st home run ball hit by Roger Maris in Yankee Stadium in 1961.

Torii Hunter's first at-bat in Angel Stadium on Friday night was delayed by a standing ovation, which the Detroit Tigers right fielder acknowledged by waving his helmet. When Hunter took his position in the first inning, fans in the right-field bleachers rose in unison, one row of spectators holding up a large “THANK U TORII” sign. For Hunter, who hit .286 with 105 homers and 432 runs batted in during a five-year stint with the Angels in which he was also the heart and soul of the club, it wasn't just about appreciation.

The Angels take a major league-worst 5.43 earned-run average into Friday night's game against the Detroit Tigers, but pitching is by no means the only problem for an underachieving club that has won only four of 14 games. The offense has posted some decent numbers, hitting .268 (fourth in the American League) with a .326 on-base percentage (sixth) and .419 slugging percentage (third), but hasn't produced much in the clutch. The Angels are batting a major league-low .155 (16 for 103)

Not that the Dodgers are pinching pennies these days, but the cost of retaining Clayton Kershaw just went up. Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers agreed Friday on a five-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $140 million, according to Buster Olney of ESPN. That is an average of $28 million per year, with an option for a sixth year at $22 million. What does this mean for Kershaw and the Dodgers? Verlander and Kershaw would have been the crown jewels in free agency after the 2014 season.

Remember that chalky pink piece of gum that used to come in every pack of baseball cards? Well you might want to steer away from the one Topps would have to make to match the Prince Fielder card it unveiled Tuesday in Lakeland, Fla. At 275 pounds, Fielder, who plays for the Detroit Tigers, is a big guy under normal circumstances. But his new baseball card is of Ruthian proportions, measuring approximately 90 feet tall and 60 feet wide, making it the largest baseball card ever made, according to Topps.

Clayton Kershaw had a great day Thursday, no matter what he did. The bar for his next contract was set even higher, with Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners agreeing on a seven-year, $175-million deal. That could put Kershaw in position to become the first pitcher in baseball history with a $200-million contract. Kershaw, 24, the Dodgers' ace, is two years younger than Hernandez and two years from free agency. Hernandez won the American League Cy Young Award in 2010 and finished second in 2009; Kershaw won the NL Cy Young Award in 2011 and finished second in 2012.

NASHVILLE -- The Detroit Tigers say they have no interest in closer Rafael Soriano. The agent for Soriano refuses to believe it. Soriano opted out of a contract with the New York Yankees that would have guaranteed him $14 million next season. With major-market teams either set for a closer or reluctant to spend big money to sign one, Boras has not yet found a team to give Soriano the expected multiyear contract. The Tigers, who bid farewell to Jose Valverde after his disastrous postseason, say their closer will be 21-year-old rookie Bruce Rondon.

Sparky Anderson knew there was something special about the Detroit Tigers the first day he walked into Jim Campbell's office. That was 13 years and 1,005 wins ago. And the relationship shows no signs of going stale. Anderson signed a two-year contract extension Thursday that will keep him on as manager of the Tigers through the 1994 season. By that time, he should be the third-winningest manager in baseball history and a lock for the Hall of Fame.

I refuse to call a 56 - year - old man with white hair 'Sparky.' --American League umpire Al Clark George Lee Anderson won't debate this umpire's decision. Sure, Sparky was fine at Dorsey High School and a lot of playgrounds and ballyards in between then and now, but Sparky was never really what he was all about, not really who he was. Always a nice person, but too much the showman, he says now. Too much hype. Too much ego.

You can now officially refer to Angels outfielder Torii Hunter as former Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. A person with knowledge of the negotiations says free agent outfielder Hunter has agreed to a two-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. The person, who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made, says the deal is pending a physical. So, it looks like the Angels outfield next season will consist of Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout and Peter Bourjos, unless Vernon Wells suddenly becomes a good player again.

The Detroit Tigers have emerged as the front-runner to sign free-agent right fielder Torii Hunter, who reportedly spent Tuesday in Detroit meeting with team officials, who are expected to extend a two-year contract offer to the 37-year-old. The Tigers, coming off an American League pennant-winning season, and Hunter, who craves a chance to play in his first World Series after spending the last five seasons in Anaheim, appear to be a perfect match. Detroit is looking for a corner outfielder, preferably one who hits right-handed, and Hunter is a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner coming off one of his finest seasons, in which he hit .313 with 16 home runs and 92 runs batted in and carried the Angels for much of September.