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The Low Down on D-Town (Mar 27)

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Published March 27, 2012 • 1 comment

BY CHRIS ZADOROZNY, Staff Reporter

We are inching closer and closer to the end of the semester, and that means less Red Wings hockey and Pistons basketball and more Tigers baseball. The Tigers are continuing their dominance in Spring Training with the regular season looming, the Pistons are slumping as of late, and the Red Wings finally won their first in seven games.

Detroit Tigers: Spring Training is now over as the Tigers have won 16 games, only lost four, and tied four games. That is good enough for the best record in the Grapefruit League, and all of Spring Training.

Among the 16 wins, they have beaten the following teams (some more than others): Florida Southern College, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Tigers did get a scare early last week, as Miguel Cabrera took a ground ball to the face, just under his right eye. The ball, which took a weird bounce, came up and hit him in the orbital bone, which left him bloodied and with a broken bone. It’s not serious, and he will only be out for a few more days. It sounds like he will be ready for Opening Day.

The Tigers will open the 2012 Major League Baseball season against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, April 5 at 1:05 p.m. The gates will open at 10:30 a.m. for all fans to come and experience Tigers batting practice.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons have lost their past five games, and have been rumored to draft Ohio State University player Jared Sullinger in the 2012 NBA Draft. Well, rumors will be rumors, but until then, the rest of the season must be played out. Their five game losing streak started a couple of Fridays ago, against the the Phoenix Suns, falling 109-101.

They then fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 85-83 in overtime. It was a close one against the Denver Nuggets, but they couldn’t pull it out, losing by one point, 116-115. The Miami Heat came to town this past Friday, but the Pistons couldn’t come together for this game either, dropping it 88-73. Finally, the New York Knicks were up next, at Madison Square Garden. They lost that too, though, 101-79.

So, now the Pistons can look to the draft, as they have a 0.0% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN.com’s John Hollinger.

Upcoming home games for the Pistons include the Charlotte Bobcats, on Saturday, March 31 at 7:3 0.pm., Tuesday, April 3 against the Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m., and the Washington Wizards on Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Detroit Red Wings: “It’s a game we knew we needed, not just for the standings, but just to feel good again,” said Drew Miller, who scored the game winner to end the Wings’ six game losing streak.

During the streak, the Red Wings lost to the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, and the New York Rangers. The Red Wings are still experiencing a bit of the injury bug. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom, who returned against the Hurricanes after suffering a deep bone bruise in his ankle, had an assist on Todd Bertuzzi’s goal, which cut the lead to one in the second period.

With Joey MacDonald and Jimmy Howard out, Ty Conklin earned his fourth win of the year, his first since January 17. He has been in the minors, but with MacDonald out, the Red Wings had to call him up. The Wings will also be getting back more defensemen, making their roster look a lot more like the start of the year. Jakub Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson should return within the week, causing some players to head back to the minors. Those players include Doug Janik and phenom Brendan Smith. Both are expected to be recalled for the playoff run.

Leading goal scorer Johan Franzen is expected back next week as well. Unfortunately, third-line center and grinder Darren Helm will probably be out until the first round of the playoffs.

There are seven games remaining in the season for the Red Wings, five of which are at home. Their next home game is against the surging Nashville Predators on Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference with 95 points, one point behind the Predators, a team they could possibly play in the first round.