I’ve always been a Higginson fan, and I was really hoping he’d have a good year.

Here’s the rub, Higginson was the face of the Tiger organization through some very lean years for which he deserves credit. He had a couple of good seasons, mixed with some mediocre to bad ones. The contract was not his fault, either, Mr. Ilitch was the impetus behind it. Yet, I have always found him smug and much too willing to offer his opinions to the press (who are more than glad to receive them) when his focus should have been on his own success. I held out hope he might salvage a decent final year in Detroit but it appears that any perceived closeness between he and Trammell must have diminished or his abilities have diminished more than we have imagined. I would say in the Tiger pantheon, his places resides with the Larry Herndon’s and Steve Kemp’s and not anywhere near the Al Kaline level. Maybe Champ Summers level? Ultimately, had he have been able to contribute at all this season it would have been nice finish to his Tiger career.

I agree with that, Steve. He’s nowhere near the Al Kaline level, nor the Trammell/Morris/Whitaker/Parrish level. He’s not within shouting distance of Gehringer & Greenberg level, and Ty Cobb is offended to be mentioned in this sentence. Still, there are players on every team that is bad — and stays bad for a good long while — that the fans take a liking to. Was Bobby too quick with his opinions in the press? Probably, but that’s just Bobby. With the way Mr. I jacked around with the budget for a few years there, I can’t say that I blamed him much.

I’m surprised that no one took me to task for not mentioning that Ed Kranepool won a championship with the Mets (the Miracle variety, 1969), whereas Bobby… Well, we all know the answer to that one. All too well.