Ok, I admit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I have really been slipping on this writing thing lately\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it was my New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s resolution to have more written conversations with you. As you can see, I have\u00c2\u00a0failed already due to a multitude of excuses and crap I will not bore you with. 2010 was a rough year for me and now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone (thank God for that!). Today is a new day, a new leaf and a new lineup and all that other positive bologna so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 lets get crackin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122!<\/p>\n
My friends find it funny (and odd) that I have this select little group of players that I adore and I follow religiously through out the year, into the off season and even into the Caribbean Winter Leagues (that is, if they participate). They laugh and roll their eyes at me when I say things like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t watch House <\/em>last night, Venezuela was playing Puerto Rico on the MLB Network!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the Lakers\/Pistons game, I was busy watching USA vs Dominican Republic in the WBC!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy to report that my friends and I have reached a point of understanding. They know what the answer to their non-baseball questions are about 90% of the time but they feel obligated to make conversation and small talk. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care what they watched last night\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 nor do they care what baseball game was on my flat screen. They just smile and continue droning on about American Idol at me like I care. And because I am their friend I listen and act interested.\u00c2\u00a0 But they are getting wise. \u00c2\u00a0At random times during their babble, they throw in key words that exist in my vocabulary just to see if I am listening to them\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 words like – Ordonez, Miggy, Martinez, Guillen, Mr. Glass, Cabrera,\u00c2\u00a0Maggs<\/em>. Apparently, or so they tell me, these words illicit a response from me that lets them know that I really am listening\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 somewhat\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n I have a strange love for a select few players on the Tigers roster. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me wrong, I love them all (well, almost all of them, except for #25 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c\u00c2\u00a0uncharacteristically strong dislike for our supposed super hero utility player and I have no clue where it comes from either\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6) but there are a select handful of players that I covet. They are mine\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 my Tigers, my favorites, my summer family, my little club I like to call them my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Venezuelan Brethren\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Ah, even the sound of their little group name brings a smile to my face in the dead of winter in Detroit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c post blizzard. My little group of Latinos warm my cold dead little heart year round.\u00c2\u00a0 You other fans can keep your Brandon Inges and Austin Jacksons – Give me Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera any day!!!<\/p>\n Yes, it is true \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Detroit Tigers have an exceptionally high number of players who call Venezuela home. Prior to the trade of Armando Galarraga to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the end of January, there were 8 players on the 40 man roster from Venezuela. Eight out of forty\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that is 20% for those of you who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like to do the math. Woah. Now, not all of these fine men are going to make the opening day roster for the big league team. The pitchers are still considered prospects rolling around in AA and AAA. But the bulk of these players will. And they will hold an interesting place in the line up as well.<\/p>\n P \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lester Oliveros In case you are not keeping track\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 out of a 9 man batting lineup, your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th slots are all Venezuelans\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 that is more than 40% of the lineup, the heart of the lineup, the\u00c2\u00a0long ball crushers – \u00c2\u00a0all from the same country. This begs the question \u00e2\u20ac\u201c does the Tigers front office have a love affair with the people of Venezuela? I may be wrong, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think there is another team in the entirety of the MLB that is so full of players from one specific country outside of the USA. Detroit has become the new Caracas \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Caracas Nueva…<\/p>\n This is in no way to be construed as a complaint on my part \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m an advocate of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153if you play well, you play\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 if not, take your bat and glove and go home\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. \u00c2\u00a0Bring me more Venezuelans as long as they can pitch under a 3.0 ERA and hit a consistent .300. I would be happy to welcome them to my \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Venezuelan Brethren\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 One of the best aspects of “America’s favorite past time” is that it’s not just for Americans… It’s for everyone to love and enjoy.<\/p>\n I wear my World Baseball Classic 2009 Team Venezuela #30 Magglio Ordonez shirt with pride. I love the looks that I get from people who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 But I know. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m paying homage to my Venezuelan Brethren.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m eagerly awaiting the start of Spring Training and those Caribbean\u00c2\u00a0League playoffs\u00c2\u00a0to start… so I can check out future members of my ever\u00c2\u00a0growing “Venezuelan Brethren” and hope that the Tigers front office sees the same things I do, hopefully welcoming them to my little club in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ok, I admit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I have really been slipping on this writing thing lately\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it was my New Year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s resolution to have more written conversations with you. As you can see, I have\u00c2\u00a0failed already due to a multitude of excuses and crap I will not bore you with. 2010 was a rough year for me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":352,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nP \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Jose Ortega
\nP \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Brayan Villarreal
\nC\/DH \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Victor Martinez (slotted 5th in the lineup)
\n1st \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Miguel Cabrera (cleaning up in the 4th slot)
\n2nd\/DH \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Carlos Guillen (either 2nd or 6h in the lineup, if he stays healthy)
\nRF \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Magglio Ordonez (table setting for Miguel in the #3 hole)<\/p>\n