Right-hander Brian Moehler bid a tearful farewell to Detroit, then drove down Interstate 75 to make his first start with the Reds at 12:35 p.m. today.

A tearful Brian Moehler talks about the trade at a news conference in Detroit. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Before the game, Moehler will etch his father's initials into the dirt of the pitching mound, as he did when he pitched in Detroit.

        Moehler, 30, made it clear he would rather have stayed with the Tigers, but he's happy to get a chance to pitch in a pennant race.

        “I haven't cried like this since my kids were born,” he said at a news conference in Detroit. "I'm sad to be leaving. I've been in the Tigers organization for 10 years ”

        Moehler was 1-1 with a 2.29 earned-run average in three starts this season after coming back from shoulder surgery that limited him to one start last year. He never won more than 14 games as a Tiger, but he was a model of consistency in erratic times in Detroit.

        Detroit hasn't had a winning season since 1993. The Tigers went 79-83 in 2000, finishing third, but couldn't improve upon it.

        “It's been tough the last three or four years,” Moehler said. “As I became a leader on the team, I felt we let the team down and let the city down.

        “There was a point a couple of years ago when we were four games out in the wild card race. I know that's a lot to make up, but it meant a lot just to see the Tigers in the paper every day in the hunt. Every start meant something.”

        Other than the chance to acquire more young talent, the Tigers made the deal because Moehler is eligible for free agency after the season. He'll be 31 in December, which puts his age, not to mention his price, beyond the Tigers parameters of rebuilding. But Moehler said, “I wouldn't have made it difficult for them to re-sign me. I wanted to stay here.

        “This is a business, though. This is the way it is.”

        Moehler's career stats

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