Archive for the 'Former Tigers' Category

While I can’t argue with many of the guys on this list, I guess I would have thought Al Kaline might have made the cut.  I might have put him in over Koufax but I didn’t think through if there was anyone else off the list that might make more sense then Kaline (and Koufax).

It was close to three years ago that the Marlins and Tigers rocked the winter meetings with their blockbuster deal that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package of six prospects.  Not in back to back days, the Marlins have traded the two cornerstones of at least their end of the deal on back to back days for three relief pitchers.  Cameron Maybin was sent to the Padres for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica.  Andrew Miller was traded to the Red Sox for Dustin Richardson.  Neither prospect has lived up to their hype yet and while the Tigers were saddled with that three year Dontrelle Willis deal, that was actually their own fault because they inked Willis to the contract extension.

The only player who remains on the Marlins from that deal is Burke Badenhop.  He’s pitched in each of the last three years for the Marlins and he’s been a decent but not great long relief option for them out of the pen.  Of course with the addition of three relief pitchers to the system, you wonder how long Badenhop has as well.

Finally some consistency for former Tiger Wil Ledezma.  The left handed pitcher played for six teams since 2007 and he had a weird year for the Pirates last year.  He gave up a lot of hits, but his strikeout to walk ratio showed some promise (22/6 in 19 2/3 innings).  He’s also got a reverse platoon split and was awful against lefties last year.  He just signed a one year worth $700k if he pitches in the majors in 2011.  He turns 30 in January which sounds low because he seems like he’s been around forever.

It wasn’t too long ago that Tigers fans were comparing Ledezma to Johan Santana because they were both Rule 5 guys.  To date, the fact that they’re Rule 5 guys is the only thing that’s similar about them.

With the 2010 season in the books, it’s time to start thinking about the Hall of Fame.  In a pretty detailed analysis, Baseball Reference Blog provides the positives and the negatives to Alan Trammell’s candidacy.  It looks like there’s a large consensus that thinks Tram is deserving (close to 68%) but only 14% of the people think he’ll get in.

My thoughts are, Tram is definitely deserving.  So was Lou Whitaker and he’s off the ballot.  The most deserving though is Bert Blyleven so until he gets, there’s going to be a logjam of players who have been on the ballot for a few years behind him.

Curtis Granderson just went yard with a solo shot in the second inning against Josh Beckett.  It was a no doubter too.

I have the Yankees/Pirates game on and it’s so weird seeing Curtis in a Yankee uniform.  He grounded out to short and they had him hitting second behind Derek Jeter.  Granderson is in center and Gardner is playing in left.

***UPDATE***

It’s the eighth inning and they’re interviewing Curtis.  Now I’m starting to miss him.

If there’s one guy the Tigers regret giving away in the short term, it’s Jair Jurrjens.  He’s had a couple of solid seasons for the Braves and had he replicated his feats in a Tigers uniform, he could have been enough to help the Tigers make the playoffs last year.  Even worse, we ultimately got nothing for him because Edgar Renteria came and went.

Now Jurrjens has some pain in his throwing shoulder and he’s going to have an MRI. He’s has some discomfort in the shoulder while throwing at the Braves spring training facility and the hope is that there’s no structural damage.  He finished strong last year so you wonder if it’s just him getting back into his normal routine.  This is probably a question for the experts but you wonder how many flukish injuries that you see in April and May actually have their roots in the first couple weeks of spring training.

It looks like Curtis Granderson roaming centerfield at Yankee Stadium isn’t a foregone conclusion.  The Yankees have Brett Gardner and with a hold in left field, Granderson is keeping himself open to manning the corner outfield spot.  When Granderson came up through the minors, many thought centerfield was over his head (one of many things people were wrong about) and that he’d eventually end up as a corner outfielder.  Now it looks like he could be pushed in that direction depending on what happens with Garnder.

It’s hard to believe Cameron Maybin is just 22 years old because it seems like he’s been around for ever.  He debuted with the Tigers in 2007 and since being traded to the Marlins, he’s spent most of his time playing in the minors.  He made the team out of spring training last year but he struggled and found himself back in the minors.  This year, the Marlins are expecting big things and he’s expected to his number two in the Marlins lineup.

It’ll be interesting to see how that big trade back in 2007 is going to work out.  So far, it’s looking more like a straight up trade with Maybin going to the Marlins and Miguel Cabrera coming to the Tigers.    Andrew Miller hasn’t done much nor has anyone else that the Tigers sent over.  In fact Mike Rabello is back with Detroit.  Anyway, Cabrera has been effective but the prize (playoffs and the World Series) hasn’t been achieved and some of that money we’re paying Cabrera could have been used to keep Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson and to sign Justin Verlander.  We’ll just have to wait and see if Maybin ever lives up to his potential and breaks out.

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