Back to even
Now, my start is basically Game 1 of a five-game series. We’re even, where we needed to be at night’s end. It’s going to be a tough game. We’ve got a Cy Young winner on the other end of the lineup card.
It’s inspiring to watch Kenny go out and perform like that. I just want to jump on that wagon a little bit and do a little bit myself. Pitching sets the tone, and Kenny set the tone. The rest of the team followed. We got a couple big hits early on there, and once Kenny got the lead, he didn’t let it go, which was huge. For him at this point in his career, he’s leaving it all out there. Shoot, he’s probably got another 10 years left.
We couldn’t add on early there, but more importantly, after they got out of bases loaded, Kenny went out there and threw up another zero. That’s what was big. Just keep the momentum on our side. I think that was the biggest thing. Getting that extra run didn’t prove really to be the difference. It was the fact that he went out there and put up not only the first zero, but several zeroes to follow.
I think it was fitting that Alan Trammell was here to enjoy this with his team. It was good to see Tram, good to see him smiling, and good to see him stand before the fans here and take the recognition that he deserves. It was a good moment to see, and I’m sure that he enjoyed standing out in front of them as well. I was looking for him, and I saw him standing over there, and I wanted to at least go over there and say hi to him. More importantly, the moment he was out there, that was his moment. He’s been part of the heart and soul of this organization, and it was just good to see fans react the way they did. Pretty good everybody that played under him went up there to say hi to him, give him a little handshake and a hug. It was a good moment.
Nate Robertson's Gum Time 
Great to see Tram get the credit he deserves. For everything. One thing about Detroit sports fans — they stand by their heroes. Go get em Tuesday, Nate!
Congratulations on the 3-1 win over the Cards!! A tough game, and it did get hairy in the top of the 9th.
Another great performance by K. Rogers and the whole team of Tigers!!
Get those runers in on Tuesday, and best of the best to Nate and the whole Tigers team!!
Good luck to you Nate
Nate,
Wow, what a game by Rogers. His run is truly amazing. I think you’ll ride some of that energy on Tuesday just like Bonderman did after Kenny’s start against the Yankees. Tuesday night is your night to show the world what Nate Robertson is all about. Take that tenacity and bulldog mentality and ride it. You’re going up against a Cy Young winner, but I think at the end of the night, you’ll be the story. Give ’em **** Nate.
Go Tigers!
Hey Nate…Enjoy your comments.All the best Tues. PM. Too bad our TV is soured by a couple of ST.LOUIS announcers. The B.S.about the dirt on Kenny’s hand was started by McCarver.(You know, the guy who made the final out in 1968).I pitched 50 years ago & when the ball is cold & slippery, you spit on your hand in warmup to get a grip. After about 10 min.,its a mess. When he was rubbing a game ball, some of the ‘mud’ made it look yellow.If it had been “foreign”,it would not wipe off. Only a loser like McCarver would think otherwise. Go get um Tues.PM.
Don, Grand Rapids
Nate, first of all, Congrats on getting to the big dance and being lucky enough to pich in Game 3!
You can outpitch Carp even though he’s the reigning NL CY Young…he isn’t the reigning AL Cy Young–who was actually much better. Also, to give you some encouragement, my personal hero, Roy Oswalt beat that guy who got the NL Cy Young…so you can definitely do so!
I have faith in your abilities and remember, they played more games in the last few days than you did and they are tired…make them feel that weight, throw first pitch strikes my man, and you will prevail.
Nate, best of luck to you from an Astros fan…keep doing what you do best–getting those hitters to swing and miss!
Congratulations to the Tigers on making it to the big show.
I want to say that out of the many years I have been a Tiger Fan, I have never seen such a TEAM spirit as I have with this year’s Roster.
Remember, “Working together as a team means winning together as a team” and as a fan, I plan on doing my part.
Good Luck.
Good luck tomorrow night Nate! I will be ready with my pack of Big League…I have never been prouder to be a Tiger fan. You guys are the best.
Nate – best of everything as you and the team head out to St. Louis. Tell Kenny he was awesome and tell Jones I had faith! 🙂
I loved every minute of yesterday. Keep up the wonderful job you are all doing. You all have so much to be proud of – thanks for restoring the ROAR!
– Yvette 🙂
PS- Ready to bat on Tuesday? I have some quarters for the batting cage if you need them. 🙂
Nate,
You will do a great job in Game 3!!! I have always been a huge fan of Trammell and your positive comments are appreciated! Hopefully, Tram can be part of the Tiger organization next year because it’s in his heart. Leyland is awesome but Alan Trammell will always be my Tiger. Your my Tiger too!!!
Good Luck tomorrow Nate… We’re watching and wearing our Tiger garb with Pride … Love ya!
St. Louis is glad that the umps didn’t eject Kenny Rogers for cheating. We don’t want to win on a technicality. We want to win fair and square. The camera crew picked up the foreign substance, not the announcers. They were just doing their job. Kenny & your manager should get their stories straight before they talk to the media.
Hey Nate, we’re watching from Lady Lake Florida, a ton of very loyal Tigers fans, and one Cardinal fan, me. I have cheered for you Tigers all season, what a story, and you should all be proud. I’m just sorry Kenny had to try to cheat, it was selfish on his part, to you all, his teammates. We’er even now, it’ll be fun on Tuesday, you and Carp, now that’s baseball!
good luck nate!!! you’ll do great!
go tigers!!!
Good post Nate…..good luck in game 3. You will do a great job.
Enjoy it while your at it
Hey Nate, good luck in game 3.
Maybe you should color up your hand with a little yellow marker, because obviously that’s all they can think about.
“But if it distracts someone. … I’d do anything to distract anybody”-Kenny
Nobody knows exactly what was going on except Kenny and maybe the Umps, and he was just fine without it. I wouldn’t think it’s fair if the other team had a pitcher that was that dominant either. Hope you show them the same in game 3 Nate…shut those Birds down.
Nate, Go Get em Tues… We are rooting for you here in Glasford, IL. Get on Kenny’s coat tails and ride it for all it’s worth, just like Bondo did. Give the Cards ****!! I am long time Tiger fan and i have been with you boys through the good times and most importantly the bad. I am no fair weather fan. We love what you boys are doing for the city of Detroit not to metion the whole state af Michigan. Go get ’em in St Louis and don’t let it come back to Detroit!!
Scott Kurkowski
Glasford IL
Kenny and a foreign substance? Please….
Cards fans got lucky with game 1 and are looking for any excuse for why they will lose the series.
Carpenter would be 13-13 in the American League. Nate would be a 20+ game winner in the NL.
No one is giving Nate (outside of this blog and the media from Detroit) credit for the type of job he has done this year.
Nate, I will take great satisfaction when you outpitch Carpenter Tuesday Night in St. Louis.
And, yes, the GUM will be huge…
Nate best of luck from your home state of Kansas, just talked to a mutual friend’s (James Eisenbart’s) grandma (Marita West) and all of us here in Southeast Kansas are watching and rooting for you. Go Tigers and Go Shox!!!! How about Tigers ’06 World Champs and Wichita State ’07 College World Series Champs. Thanks for making Kansas and Wichita State proud.
Hey Nate,
We are all so proud to be Tigers fans…and to watch you guys succeed! You probably don’t remember, but I was there in Chi Town when you beat the Cubs…and you signed my Jersey. Thanks for talking with me and making me love the Tigers even more. I remember watching you play minor league ball…man have you come a long ways. Go Kick some Cardinal butt!
Your Friend and Fan,
Joe, Lansing, MI
Excellent game last night, Tigers, although it took awhile for my heart to start beating again after the 9th inning!
Tired of hearing all this foreign substance talk. Kenny is doing a phenomenal job pitching, and he makes all of us “over 40’s” feel a little bit better about our age.
It is just fantastic that the Tigers are in the world series. However, it sure would be nice to be watching the games on Fox Sports Detroit and listening to Mario and Rod, not these dopes from the network. We’ve missed being able to see the ceremonial first pitches as well as some of the celebrating after the ALCS win a week ago because of the inane amount of commercials they have been running.
Go get ’em tomorrow, Nate! Sooner or later, the rest of the US will realize what we have known all year. The Tigers are the best!
P.S. Nice words about Tram. A previous post said it well. Detroit fans don’t forget their heros, and Tram will always be a hero in my book!
Nate — when you take the mound in St. Louis – you won’t be alone. We’ll be with you in spirit. Pitch with all your might. You can do it!!!
Soon, you will get a tough game in worldseries.
For Detroit Tigers, it’s been a long time to get a chance to grab a world series title.
Maybe…. you meet a tough opponent pitcher Chris Carpenter,
who won Cy Young award last year.
Hurls your ball like Missiles’ moving which never should be back.
Let’s me see your performance of today.
Behind you, Kian.
Nate,
Keep throwing up zeroes tomorrow night and your teammates will take care of the other pitcher. By the sixth inning he’ll be out like a Carp!
Tiger fans, Shocker fans and fans in the Wichita area are proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. Keep up the good work and good luck.
Before you defend Mr. Rogers, check out the pics ESPN has on line of Kenny’s hand from his last two games. His hand is dirty in the exact same spot. The camera doesn’t lie. Maybe his out of court settlement wasn’t enough?
Nate, you deserve a lot of credit for writing your own blog and most of all, for sticking with it. Not very many players open up like that to fans, but even fewer stick with it on a regular basis. I hope that same kind of perseverence serves you well tomorrow night in St. Louis. We spotlighted Nate Robertson’s Gum Time today on Baseball Nooz.
All best,
Walter Roark (editor)
http://www.baseballnooz.com/
(All baseball, all the time—over
230 blog feeds + news sources)
I was in church for the first half of the game and missed the pre-game festivities.
I want to see video of Sparky and Trammel in the pre-game. Does anyone know where I might find video of these two?
Thanks in advance!
David M. Coe
Beth Haven Baptist Church
Morgantown, West Virginia
http://www.bethhaven.truepath.com
ks8254… before you get too carried away, just look at the fact that Rogers pitched exactly the same way after washing his hand.
It’d be a pretty moronic place to put a foreign substance… in plain sight of any and all cameras, officials, umps, players, fans, etc.
Tram and Lou are my two boyhood heroes and will always hold a special place in my heart. They also hold a special place on my wall in the form of a photograph!
Keep up the great work Tigers, good luck to you Nate. We’re all pulling for you!
Tim in Honolulu
Wow what an awesome game last night. I was actually going through all my old childhood boxes of stuff and found a bunch of trammell cards, one of em even had an autograph 😉 from many years ago!
You guys did an awesome job and destroyed their offense.
I had a big wade of big league chew in my mouth the entire game for good luck and you can bet I’ll have an entire pack in my mouth Tuesday night.
Best of luck Nate you will stomp them, the whole city of Detroit is behind you!
I will be jumping out of my chair and yelling good things everytime you get an out or strikeout 🙂
Nate:
Great reading your comments. We’ve been fortunate enough to attend the games on the last 3 Saturdays – not a more memorable 3 weeks in my life. Thanks to you and your teammates for bringing such magic and excitement back to Detroit. We’ll all be watching the next 3 games and cheering you on!!!
Nate, you are such a bulldog no matter what you never give up. I admire that and respect you. You are a great teamate and player. Good Luck. I think the GUM TIME thing is cool. So when softball starts up again I’m gonna borrow your idea, hope you don’t mind.
Bless you Boys!!! and Good Luck!!!
Love:Ur biggest fan
Erin from Detroit 🙂
Nate –
Last night’s game was amazing. Kenny was great on the mound and everyone else was just plain good. It’s nice that Tram got some recognition. I remember watching him during the 84 World Series. He was amazing. He’s been my favorite Tiger all these years.
Good luck tomorrow. I know everyone in Detroit will be pulling for you. Even my friends in Georgia are cheering for the Tigers. Watching you pitch is pure joy.
I sure wish Gibson had been there as well as Tram, but i’m sure he was watching, somewhere. **** of a game for Kenny, **** of a game. Jonesy really made me nervous at the end there but all worked out. Good luck in STL Nate, you’ll rock em i’m sure!
Could be Kenny was using pine tar, or it could be that it was just mud that builds up on your hand when you rub a ball up. I tried it and thats exactly where the dirt ended up on my hand. Regardless, this gives a whole new meaning to GUM TIME.
Nate,good luck,you are one of the class acts in baseball today.Your comments about Al Trammell prove that.
I just find all this Kenny Rogers stuff very upsetting. I think it is distracting people from what a great job Kenny and all the Tigers are doing.
Big Nate, please do all of us in Tigerland a favor and PLEASE find a way to shut up all these critics who are trying to disqualify and discredit the teams outstanding performances and Kenny’s unbeleivable pitching. Maybe a statement or SOMETHING. I can’t stand how ESPN is already trying to place an asterisk around the Tigers playoff run, and how they are jumping all over Kenny again at the slightest opportunity. PLEASE tell me all this talk about pine tar is a hoax!!!
Good job Nate for not speculating over the idiotic K-Rog speculation. Doesn’t need to be dignified. Best of luck tomorrow, you are pretty underrated and your 5 1/3 shutout innings against the As was overshadowed. It won’t be tomorrow. Wheel and deal Nate.
-Rob
http://www.therobzone.com
i think it is bull**** about the kenny rogers controversy. They say he cheated but all he had was dirt on his hand. but even after he wash his hands he still pitched a good game. they know hes a **** good pitcher and one of the best or the best if you wanna call it. but now i hear on the news that st. louis will be selling t shirts at tonights game that says “cards brought the heat” “detroit had to cheat”. now what the f*** kind of **** is that,excuse my language. but its getting me very mad. nate, good luck with tonights game and have fun. But tell kenny rogers he did a good job.
-Tonya from southwest detroit
You know, its weird talking to a detroit tiger. i would have never amagined. but good luck and i hope zumaya comes out and pitches in the 7th or 8th inning. i love him so much, just like you. and all the other players!
Hey Nate!
I sincerely doubt you’ll see this before you pitch tonight, but just in case you do, I think you should smear some dirt on your hand before you go out to the mound – just to shake things up a bit. Give ’em **** tonight!
So proud of you boys!
-Janet
nate! i hope you have an *awesome* game tonight! thank you so much for not giving credit to all this hooey about kenny – trying to diminish the incredible pitching that’s marked the tigs this season. i appreciate that you’ve ignored it – and i hope the whole team is!
…we’re all behind our baseball team, go get ’em tigers!!!…
Good luck tonight! Its amazing watching someone from your hometown and the same college you go to pitching….go tigers and go shox 🙂
hey Nate keep that bubble gum big league chew up for next year. By the way have you visited the dentist yet. How about that deal we got for gary sheffield pretty sweet huh. I am going to miss having jamie walker on our team. Guess who my favorite pitcher is YOU!!!! Go get em Nate your the best no dought in my mind that were going to lose when your on the mound!! GO GET EM TIGERS!!
that were not going to lose when your on the mound Nate sorry.
just wondering when we’ll hear from you again? I imagine you are just chillin’ relaxing until April.. hope to hear more about you and your holiday soon.
Hey Nate , Merry Christmas and Thanks for the awesome ride this year. Im the mom of the kid in the US Navy thats stationed in Somalia, was sationed in Somalia, hes back in VA now , thank God. Some lady from this blog emailed him about his gum story.Anywayzzz…. I thought this all year… why now?? why us?? Well heres my wierd theory, it was all about me.. all for me… The baseball Gods smiled on me cause they knew I needed a HUGE distraction to help me get through Tims deployment in the Persion Gulf/Indian Ocean. Hes my only kid, I live alone and not near my sis and family, also hes the biggest ball fan alive, Im running a close second. Hence the Tigers had to come to my rescue, and they sure did. Im kinda poor so going to lots of games isnt an option as its a 8hr round trip but I managed to go to 3 games over the summer, Tim sent me a killer ticket 20 rows away from Brandon, it wa the best!!! I thought at the time anyhow. And Now The Rest of the Story…Tim’s ship arived in Norfolk on Tuesday, Tim flew home to MI on Saturday healthy whole and as xcited about the Tigs as anyone who hadnt missed a game all year though he was only keeping up through internet articles and my daily emails for all the details. WELL he not only was home to watch the WS!!!! He took me to Sundays game, game 2, when Kenny took em to school, we sat 12 rows above you guys inthe bullpen, talk abut the coolest thing in the world, that had to be it, I know the BB Gods gave me this season to occupy my thoughts and you guys were incredible but to get the BIG surprise and go to the WS with my kid, wow I just wanted to thank all you guys for the great year. I hope you can do it again so Tim can watch “in person” and just cause its the greatest thing in the world for all of us to see you guys do so well and have so much fun!!! Thanks again, we’re already counting down the days till April!!!