DETROIT TIGERS BASEBALL

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AP File PhotoMore than 94 percent of the demolished part of Tiger Stadium is being recycled which includes over 11.4 million pounds of steel and almost 17.4 million pounds of concrete and other debris.

DETROIT -- Going to a baseball game in Detroit used to mean heading to Michigan and Trumbull, the intersection that became shorthand for Tiger Stadium. Go there today, and all that remains is a small slice of the arena that once drew throngs of fans to see legends like Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg play.

The rest of the ballpark, which hosted thousands of games between 1912 and 1999, has been demolished, loaded into trucks and driven away.

But it's not gone forever.

Courtesy Photo/Turner Sports"He's built for the camera, and he handles it in a non-phony way," Turner Sports coordinating producer Tim Kiely said of Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson.

The Detroit Tigers do have one player in the postseason.

Curtis Granderson is in the TBS studio analyzing playoff action with Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley and Cal Ripken Jr.

Granderson, the center fielder who led the American League in triples, is shining in his second October with the network.

"Ten to 15 years from now, when Curtis Granderson is done playing, he'll be one of the big stars in television," predicted Turner Sports coordinating producer Tim Kiely, who produces the studio segments in Atlanta.

DETROIT -- The Detroit City Council has granted Tiger Stadium a stay of execution.

The council voted 5-3 on Tuesday to reject a resolution that would have authorized the immediate demolition of the historic ballpark.

Crews began tearing down the stadium in June. A corner of the ballpark has been left standing while a preservation group tries to raise money to turn it into a sports museum.

DETROIT -- The pitch to save part of Tiger Stadium is once again in the hands of the Detroit City Council.

The council is set to decide at its Tuesday meeting whether to authorize the complete demolition of the old ballpark.

AP PhotoDontrelle Willis didn't win a game for Tigers in 2008. "I don't know that anybody could have predicted this," Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski said.

Dave Dombrowski has been a general manager longer than any American League counterpart. He has built and rebuilt teams for 20 years, developing a reputation as one of the foremost baseball team architects.

He turned the Montreal Expos into winners as the boy GM, took the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997, and transformed the 119-loss Detroit Tigers of 2003 into the American League champions of 2006.

Everything he did was golden ... until this year.

AP File PhotoAfter being dismissed by the Detroit Tigers, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez says it's time to start anew.

Chuck Hernandez didn't have to wait long to get back into baseball after the Detroit Tigers fired him as their pitching coach.

"I've been offered a job," Hernandez said, pausing for effect.

"It's at Tampa Catholic, where my son, Cody, is a freshman. I'm not sure what they want me to coach, but I will love it."

Tigers beat writer Steve Kornacki joined Bill Simonson on "The Huge Show" on Wednesday to talk about Detroit manager Jim Leyland not receiving a contract extension.

"If it festers, (the Tigers) have the right to do anything they want," Kornacki said about the possibility of Leyland not returning next year. "A lot of times things happen and there are some feelings that just aren't good feelings at the time. But they move on."

Listen to the full interview below:

AP PhotoThe Tigers are 162-162 over the past two seasons under Jim Leyland.

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland did not get the contract extension he desired from general manager Dave Dombrowski.

"I'm not going to talk about that," Leyland said Wednesday in a phone interview. "I just don't want to get into any of that."

Leyland is under contract for 2009, but nothing beyond. He led Detroit to the 2006 World Series, but has been 162-162 the past two seasons.

DETROIT -- Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland says he is "disappointed" that general manager Dave Dombrowski hasn't offered him a contract extension.

Leyland on Tuesday told WJR-AM radio host Mitch Albom on the "Mitch Albom Show" that he doesn't want an option year added to his contract or a buyout.

AP File PhotoDetroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera, who only hit eight home runs before June 1, is the American League home run champ with 37.

CHICAGO -- Miguel Cabrera's power surge in the last four months of the season earned him the American League's home run crown.

Cabrera hit 37 homers, becoming Detroit's first league leader in that category since Cecil Fielder hit 51 in 1990. Chicago's Carlos Quentin (36) and New York's Alex Rodriguez (35) finished close on his heels.

"It feels good," Cabrera said. "It is something great to win and remember. But now we go home. We expected to be going to the playoffs. We feel sorry about that."

Only eight of his homers came before June 1, when Cabrera began learning the pitchers in a new league, adjusting to a new town and new position (third to first), and heating up with the weather.