Archive for the '2008 Tigers' Category

This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, but Brandon Inge has told management that he’d rather start for someone else rather then play a reserve role with the Tigers.  Jason Beck talks about the Giants being the team that’s most likely to want him and it’ll be interesting to see what we can get for him with that contract the Tigers gave him last year.

I have mixed feelings because I’ve always been a Brandon Inge fan.  He’s been on this team longer then anyone and he was one of the guys who helped get the Tigers there in 2006.  Still, there’s little doubt that he’s on the short end of the stick after the Tigers made this deal with the Marlins.

Randor Bierd was the best of the three players the Tigers lost in the Rule 5 draft yesterday.  Bierd could turn out to be a solid middle reliever for a big league team and while he wasn’t a huge loss, this is a guy who could have played a role with the Tigers in the next couple of years.  The other two guys the Tigers were lost came in the Triple A portion of the draft.   Juan Cedeno and Benjamin Fritz were the other two guys and neither look to be a major loss.

Kevin Goldstein broke down the Rule 5 draft in a nice column.  Be sure to check it out.

This isn’t a huge surprise with the Tigers designating Chris Shelton for assisgnment but they dealt him to the Rangers for minor league outfielder Freddy Guzman.  Chris Shelton is one of the more interesting players the Tigers have had in a while.  A Rule 5 pick, Shelton put together a solid 2005 season then took the world by storm with an incredible first couple of weeks to the 2006 season.  He came back down to earth quick and never even became the player he was in 2005 and he put together a mediocre season for the Mud Hens last year.

Freddy Guzman is hardly a prospect anymore and he’ll turn 27 in January.  He’s a speedy outfielder with 253 career minor league stolen bases.  Kind of looks like a Triple A equivalent of Juan Pierre. 

First off, Detroit Tigers Weblog compiled a lot of the blogger comments from yesterday’s trade.  It’s worth checking out.

In a perfect world, a trade works out for both teams so it’s interesting to speculate on how this trade should go for both the Marlins and Tigers.  For the Tigers, they sign Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabera to longer term deals and Willis reverts back to his 2005 form and becomes a front line starter and Cabrera keeps doing what he’s doing.  With these two guys as corner stones, the Tigers could go on to win five straight division titles, three pennants and one or two World Series.  Again, we’re being optimistic but that’s not out of the realm of possibility.

For the Marlins, the upside probably won’t become evident for a few years but what if Andrew Miller is a Cy Young contender.  And if Dallas Trahern and Eulogio De La Cruz are the real deals, you could see them at the back of the Marlins rotation.  For Cameron Maybin, he could become the centerfield equivalent of Miguel Cabrera in a few years.  That’s four vital cogs on a team that already has some solid young talent.

So my question to you is, is it possible, or even probable, that the Tigers and Marlins square off in a World Series in say 2012 with the impetus for both team’s success coming from this trade?  I know I’m painting a rosy picture but it certainly is a possibility.

What happens to Brandon Inge?  You have to think he might be on the way out unless he’s willing to revert back to a super sub like he did back in 2004.

How does this lineup look:

1)  Curtis Granderson  CF – Should Have Been an All Star
2)  Placido Polanco 2B – 2007 All Star
3)  Gary Sheffield  DH – Former All Star, Future Hall of Famer
4)  Magglio Ordonez  RF – 2007 All Star
5)  Miguel Cabrera  3B – 2007 All Star
6)  Carlos Guillen  1B – 2007 All Star
7)  Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames  LF
8)  Ivan Rodriguez  C – 2007 All Star, Future Hall of Famer
9)  Edgar Renteria  SS – Former All Star (five times)

And you also have to like this rotation

1)  Justin Verlander
2)  Kenny Rogers
3)  Dontrelle Willis
4) Jeremy Bonderman
5)  Nate Robertson

Do you think this team is going to be good next year?

Well, the deal isn’t done quite yet, but what looked like a deal that wasn’t going to happen this afternoon turned into a fact when the Tigers traded Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz, Mike Rabello and Burke Badenhop to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.

Wow, the Tigers gave up four of their top eleven prospects in a deal which will essentially gut their minor league system of top quality talent.  In exchange, the Tigers get a front of the rotation starter as well as one of the best hitters in baseball.  Miller and Maybin were the cornerstones of the deal but Eulogio De La Cruz had a ton of talent as well.  Trahern was a wait and see type of guy because he wasn’t a hard thrower. 

Willis came close to winning a Cy Young back in 2005 and Miguel Carbera has belted at least 25 homers and driven in 110 runs the last four years.  Cabrera won’t be 25 until after the start of the season and Willis will be 26 in January so this isn’t a one or two year buy.  You have to figure that the Tigers wouldn’t have made this deal if they weren’t going to sign both guys to at least three year deals.

In conclusion, this is a hard deal to digest because none of the guys that the Tigers gave up had even a full year with the big league club outside of Rabello as the team’s backup catcher.  Still, I like the way this sets up the Tigers for the next couple of years at least.  This should vault them over the Indians as the favorites in the Central next year and they should be at least in the top five talent wise in all of baseball so you have to be happy about that. 

There’s a rumored deal I heard on WXYT that would have Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin going to the Marlins for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.  This would be a huge deal if they could pull it off.

***UPDATE***

Jason Beck is on the radio now and he indicated that this deal is unlikely and that the Tigers don’t have enough to get both Willis and Cabrera.  He noted that Maybin and Miller wouldn’t be enough and that the Tigers don’t have enough to offer for both guys.

Okay, he didn’t come out and say who the front runner is, but he did say that he expects it to be one of the Tigers youngers players who are already in the fold.  Jon Paul Morosi mentions Andrew Miller, Yorman Bazardo, Jose Capellan, Chad Durbin and even Macay MacBride in the notes column.

He also talks about how the Tigers have a full 40 man roster so for the first time in a while, they won’t be taking part in the Rule Five draft.  Last year’s pick, Edward Campusano, emerged as a dark horse left handed relief specialist before he was shut down in spring training because of an injury.  Since then, he was given back to the Cubs.

Here’s a cool column by Jason Beck on Curtis Granderson’s work to promote the game overseas.  Last year he was in Europe and this year he’s headed to South Africa.  The deal doesn’t sound like all work and no play because he’s going to get some time to check out the local scene.

It’s almost kind of surreal how in just two seasons, Granderson has turned himself into one of the primary faces of the franchise.  Not too bad for a kid who wasn’t supposed to be able to handle centerfield every day.

While the midnight deadline that a lot of team’s face to offer arbitration to their free agents doesn’t affect the Tigers, they do have five guys who the Tigers have yet to sign and are automatically eligible for arbitration.  As Jason Beck explains, Dave Dombrowski hasn’t let a single player go to the arbitration table and my guess is that the same happens this year.

The biggest name on that list is Nate Robertson, who will be the Tigers fourth strarter next year.  He looked like he was set to breakout with an impressive April this past season but then he fell apart and while he had his share of nice starts, he also had his share of poor ones.  He eventually found his way onto the disabled list and while he started putting it together in the second half, he still finished with a less then stellar 9-13 record.

Marcus Thames is next on the priority list and we’ll see him platoon with Jacque Jones in left field.  Thames is the guy who, if used correctly, can be extremely productive.  Thames has a career .512 slugging percentage against left handed pitchers and that’s how he’ll mostly be used.

Tim Byrdak, Chad Durbin and Bobby Seay are the other three guys and while all three are fringe players, they should all be in the bullpen this year.  Durbin might even get a shot at the fifth spot in the rotation.

My guess is, Robertson gets a three year deal while the other four all sign for one year.  Robertson is in his last year of arbitration so if they don’t lock him up now, he could himself on the open market after the 2008 season.

The Tigers have Kenny Rogers for one more year and that pretty much takes care of four of the five rotation spots.  I haven’t seen the numbers yet so I’ll hold judgement as to how good of a deal it is but having Kenny Rogers in the rotation is a solid option and I’m glad they were able to get the deal done.  The Tigers just need to decide on who their fifth starter will be but that probably won’t happen until spring training.

The Tigers also signed minor league pitcher Francisco Cruceta.  The right hander put up solid numbers last year for the Rangers Triple A affiliate but he’s been lights out in the Dominican Winter League.

To make room, the Tigers made two kind of surprising moves.  They designated both Chris Shelton and Timo Perez for assignment.  Shelton I can see because if he clears waivers the Tigers can push him back down to Toledo but Perez I figured might make a solid fifth outfielder.  They must be set on Ryan Raburn filling the super utility role and that pushes Perez out.  Regardless, I’m sure Dave Dombrowski will try to swing a deal for one or both for a fringe minor leaguer or something.

***UPDATE***

The deal is for $8 million.  A little high but if Rogers can come anywhere close to his 2006 production, it’ll turn into a bargain.  There are some performances bonuses and you’d have to hope if he hits those, the deal will still be worth it.

That leaves on spot in the rotation left.  Andrew Miller could be the guy as could Yorman Bazardo.  It’ll also be interesting to see if there’s a darkhorse candidate who steps up in the spring like Dallas Trahern.  Still, the rotation looks solid heading into 2008.

Listening elf power music and sitting against fireplaces is a great source of amusement. It’s a hobby of so many people to listen to songs in the warm environment of the bedroom with electric fireplace on. Music fans usually do arrange fireplace mantels around their living rooms.

It looks like Latroy Hawkins is that latest player to enter the Tigers sight.  The Tigers have started talking to Hawkins’ agent but it looks like the right hander is interested in coming to Detroit.  He’s a former closer and while he’s not a big strikeout guy anymore, he can still punch them out at about a half strikout per nine inning clip.  He was mediocre for the Orioles in 2006 but then very good for the Rockies in 2007.  Age is a  concern (he’ll be 35 in December) but you’d think the Tigers wouldn’t be signing him to something more then a year or two.  I wouldn’t neccesarily want Hawkins as my number one or two guy out of the pen, but he makes a nice addition to the middle of what was a rough relief corp last year.

You can shop online for chenille bedspreads, or others having teddy bears and rabbits on the cover. Then duvet covers is also available in many different colors and themes, so you can match the colors with your bedding theme or overall theme of your bedroom.

The Winter Meetings kick off next week in Nashville, TN and the Twins and Rays completed their big deal prior to the winter blowout.  A lot of bloggers have gone to past winter meetings but to date, I haven’t had a chance to go down to one.  Hopefully in the next couple of years I can swing a trip and check out the action.  I know it’s going to be in Vegas in the next couple of years and that would be a neat trip.

While the Tigers haven’t signed Kenny Rogers yet, if I were a betting man I’d say he’s going to be back with Detroit.  That puts the focus on getting some bullpen help next week.  I know Octavio Dotel’s name has been thrown around but it looks like, with the way prices have been lately for relief pitchers, that picking one via trade could make more sense.  In a cool column, Jason Beck also provides us with a Tigers Winter Meeting Checklist.

Nowadays, modern furniture can be adjusted inline with the needs and requirements of your daily living. You can google in search of some really cheap furniture stores. Not just the home furniture, office furniture can also be adjusted according to one’s temperament.

Leave it to Jason Beck to fill in a gap in Tigers news with another cool mailbag column.  He talks about why Curtis Granderson didn’t get the respect that Jimmy Rollins got with the MVP voters as well as what he thinks about the Johan Santana sweepstakes.

The Tigers got some bad news yesterday when the Tigers fifth round draft pick, Casey Crosby, found out he was going to need elbow surgery and he’ll likely miss the 2008 season. Crosby was one of those steal picks in the 2007 draft and he dropped all the way to the fifth round because of signability issues.  He tweaked the elbow pitching in the instructional league and there’s a good quote in the story from Dan Lunetta, the team’s director of minor league operations.  He seems to think Crosby will be ready by August but they won’t let him throw just one month of minor league ball.

Also, MiLB.com put out their organizational review for the Tigers.  Jeff Larish and Burke Badenhop were the team’s post season minor league offensive and pitching players of the year.  Brent Clevlen, Kyle Sleeth and Kody Kirkland all were players they have slipping out of “prospect” contention and they have a recap of the Tigers 2007 draft.  There’s a lot of stuff here so be sure to check it out.

I wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. 

Apparantly, being your agent isn’t all that easy and Kenny Rogers is now asking Tiger fans to be patient because he’s getting used to his new job duties as a self represented agent.  Rogers did say he’ll be back in contact with Dave Dombrowski soon though and it’s looking more and more likely that the veteran lefthander is on his way back to Detroit for 2008.

I get requests to help with websites all the time, and the newest one I helped start up is pretty cool.  Tony Tucker has started a blog devoted to his favorite comic book character, Iron Man. If you haven’t seen the trailer for the Iron Man movie, it looks pretty cool (there’s a link on the site to the movie page).  Robert Downey, Jr. looks like he’ll play a pretty cool Tony Stark.  Anyway, I have a friend who was an avid comic collector and I know enough to be dangerous.  My favorite comic was the Fantastic Four with the Thing as my favorite character.

It seems just about anything can upset a Yankees’ fan.  Magglio Ordonez finished a distant second place in the American League MVP race and he even picked up a couple of first place votes.  Of course those votes came from a pair of Detroit writers  and that’s what has everyone all up in arms.  Regardless, Ordonez had a monster season and had it not been for an even bigger year by Alex Rodriguez, he would have walked away with the title.  Kind of like those solid years Albert Pujols had when Barry Bonds was going nuts with some of those seasons he had earlier in the decade.

Jason Beck also did a new mailbag column where he addresses Joel Zumaya’s post-surgery velocity as well as the Scott Boras/Kenny Rogers split.  Good stuff as always from Mr. Beck.

I think this is a positive sign for the Tigers.  Kenny Rogers ended his relationship with Scott Boras and he’s said he’ll represent himself in contract negotiations.  He also reiterated how he’d like to come back to Detroit and that also mirrors the Alex Rodriguez situation, who has all but re-signed with the Yankees.

It’s interesting seeing these players show a little bit of loyalty to the teams that they’d prefer to play for.  Boras’ incentive is to look for the biggest deal but it looks like some players are lashing back in order to play for the teams they want to, not neccesarily the ones who throw around the most money.

Kenny Rogers announced in an email that the Tigers are still his number one choice but that’s still not stopping him from testing the market.  You wonder if this is some backtracking ala Alex Rodriguez.  In the meantime, the Rangers appear to be the team pressing for Rogers the most and it’ll be interesting to see if he heads back to Texas.

In lieu of Rogers, the Tigers have expressed an interest in Livan Hernandez.     I didn’t realize it but Hernandez is only 32. It just seems like he’s been around forever.  The downside of Hernandez is that he’s had some really bad seasons recently.  At times he looks like a potential number two or three starter and at other times he looks like he shouldn’t be pitching at all.  One thing he is good at is eating up innings and if he can do it with quality starts, I think he’d make a solid fifth starter.  I wouldn’t want him at the front of the rotation but to have an innings eater like this on the back end would go a long way towards helping out a shaky bullpen.  Plus, you have the whole Jim Leyland/1997 Marlins connection coming back up.  It’s turning into a reunion of sorts for that team.  And in the Jason Beck piece, the Tigers have apparantly also talked to Carlos Silva.

Former Tiger Tom Brookens got a promotion and he’ll manage the Tigers Double A affiliate in Erie.  He managed the White Caps to a Midwest League title in 2007 and prior to that, he coached the Oneonta Tigers for a couple of years.

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