I have some time I figure to take a look at what the Tigers have surrendered and what the Tigers are getting. Will look not just at the numbers, but at the finances and other potential ramifications. That is done better with a clear head. But first….first there is the grieving.
In 2002 the Tigers drafted a kid out of Chicago in the 3rd round. A hard worker this guy was. He didn’t have the one stand out tool, but he managed to do everything pretty well. For that reason he was always overlooked a little bit on various prospect lists.
After working his way through the Tigers system, improving at every stop he got a September call-up. Due to a variety of roster machinations and injuries he got a chance to show his stuff in 2005. I was there when he got that first 2005 start and I remember sitting with my buddy Russ who was asking about the new guy. I explained he could hit pretty good and he could run pretty good and he was a solid defender. After watching him stroke a triple Russ turned to me and said, “I’ll say he can run pretty good.”
In 2006 Curtis Granderson was the Tigers starting centerfielder on Opening Day in Kansas City. I remember interviews where he talked about his feeling when he was out there for the National Anthem and how he felt he had really made it at that point.
He became a key part of the magical 2006 team that made baseball relevant again in Detroit. For many of you reading this you wouldn’t even be on this site were it not for his contributions. He had a big series against he Yankees in the playoffs, but I mostly remember him for hitting a game-tying homer in the 9th inning against the Reds that year. As the season wore on though he became a regular target for quotes on Fox Sports coverage because he was so well spoken, humble, and affable.
When Tigers fan Brian Bluhm was killed in the Virginia Tech tragic shootings, Granderson who was informed that Bluhm was a big fan of his, made him his his number 1 fan on Myspace. What kind of high profiile athlete does that?
Of course 2007 saw the breakout season. The incredible quad 20 with the gold glove caliber defense in centerfield, including a dramatic wall catch that robbed Wily Mo Pena of a home run and secured a sweep of the Red Sox heading into the All Star break. A star was certainly born and further cemented when he joined TBS coverage for the Post Season and became a true ambassador for the sport of baseball.
The Tigers, the city of Detroit, and the state of Michigan had a favorite son. A guy who’s off the field heroics were at the same All Star level that his on field heroics were. And yet it was a guy who was incredibly accessible, even taking the time to answer a few questions for this humble blogger. People adored Granderson, and rightly so.
There was the work ethic and the personality, and the fact he could actually play the game as well. The city of Detroit for all its struggles has been blessed with a series of stars to be proud of. After Al Kaline, and Alan Trammell, and Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom, and, Joe Dumars. Guys who spent their whole career representing the city of Detroit. Granderson was going to be the next one. The one to carry the torch. Granderson was from Chicago but he became one of ours. It wasn’t any one thing, not the Grand Kids Foundation or the way he took a walk off away from Grady Sizemore or the way he conducted himself in interviews. It was all of those things in one special package.
For those who are upset about the trade, I can’t blame you. There is a baseball reason for what went down. But right now it’s okay to grieve. Granderson was a remarkable player and a source of pride for everyone who flipped on that English D cap in the morning. This is the kind of trade that rips the soul out of a fan. The good news is that for those who have their Granderson jersey and called Granderson THEIR Tiger you don’t need to keep that jersey in the closet. It’s an instant classic.
Thanks billfer, you sum up my feelings about the trade perfectly. I don’t care about the baseball or the finances or anything else right now. Just can’t believe they dealt him, and to the Yankees at that.
Well put sir,
For those asking “is this a good trade?” Whatever the financial reasons are it still doesn’t make any sense. The Tigers are essentially dumping a guy they didn’t have to trade, who makes a reasonable salary for a guy his caliber. Wasn’t Illitch pretty forthcoming saying “finances weren’t an issue” last year? One game away from the playoffs and now it’s a firesale?
And that’s to say nothing of what Curtis has meant to the city of Detroit as so eloquently put above by billfer; you cannot put a price on intangibles that Curtis posessed.. He was a great, community guy in a city that badly needed one, in a time it badly needed one. I don’t buy the prospects issue either. Max Scherzer is only a year younger than Edwin. Austin Jackson is a great prospect but why trade potential for proven commodities (Cameron Maybin, anyone)? So basically they’ve traded two All-Star players with very reasonable salaries for 4 “prospects” who may or may not pan out, while alcoholic Cabrera eats (or drinks) up the rest of the budget. After 2010, Magglio’s contract frees up a shit-ton of space – it doesn’t make sense.
And too the Yankees of all teams? It makes me sick to my stomach.
I pray to God Dombrowski’s right because last time I saw balls this big they were rolling towards Indiana Jones
I might cry after reading this. I feel like a family member just died.
Great post Bill! You summed up a lot of my feelings. He was always fun to watch and I expect great things from him when he plays for the Yankees.
Right now, though, I feel like the Grinch stole the Tigers 2010 season.
A gap also here between head and heart.
In the current day, Curtis is an enigma. While the headlines are filled with me, me, me manufactured athletes, Curtis is actually a person I feel safe telling my kids to emulate. Maybe with a Yankees jersey on, I’ll be more successful…
The Curtis fan in me wishes that he continues to do well and improve. The Tigers fan in me wishes just the opposite – that this will somehow make the balance sheet of the trade more palatable.
For this once, I think the heart is going to rule over the head.
Maybe Grandy is such a team player that he gave a wink-nod to re-sign with the Tigers in the future the next time around.
Or maybe DD is lining up a friendly network to tap into for a future favor now that he is owed one so to speak.
This was terrific writing Bill. It plucked away at the heart strings pretty good. Thank you for writing this, and seemingly quantifying my feelings in a few paragraphs.
Good post Billfer. I share a lot of the same feelings. And Chris, I have the same feeling as if a family member just died. He made the game really fun to watch and even when he underperformed I couldn’t get mad at him. I always had the feeling he hadn’t quite reached his potential. I don’t like the Yankees but I’ll always cheer for Curtis. Of any (former) Tiger, he was the one I always wanted to meet and talk to.
Curtis Granderson. Always 2006. Always a Tiger.
He’ll be very, very missed.
Nice piece, Billfer. I’m still bummed that we traded Edwin Jackson and Grandy for Phil Coke, Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
Agreed on both counts.
Now who’s your Tiger?
This pretty much sums up how I feel. Being from the Toledo area I got to watch him with the Mud Hens in 2005 and knew he would become a favorite of mine in Detroit. I will probably look at the “Baseball” side of things closer to next season, but right now this really sucks. Just a class act in everything he did.
I hate losing Granderson too but it’s a good baseball move.
A Jackson hit .300 in AAA at 22. Granderson hit .286 at Lakeland at 22. Jackson hasn’t shown much power yet but he looks pretty good to me.
E Jackson pitched like a #1 for 3 months. Then he went back to being E Jackson. Buy low, sell high. Scherzer has a higher upside. He’s younger and he’s not arb eligible for two more years. Add in two lefties and take $10+ mil off a bloated payroll and you have a good deal.
obviously the jury is still out until the season unfolds and see how these players play out, but i have to agree with Tim D’s logic.
What if Granderson’s norm for the rest of his career is .240-ish with 140+ strikeouts per year and Edwin Jackson never returns to early 2009 form?…the same people that are damning this trade will be asking the same thing they frequently ask about other dead-ender Tigers (Robertson, Bonderman, Willis, Inge, etc.): ‘why didn’t they trade these guys when they were worth something?’
When it comes to trades, unfortunately the norm is you have to give up talent to receive it – i.e. look at the Matt Joyce for Jackson trade… and you win some and you lose some – and sometimes, both teams win.
I feel like I am going to throw up. I really may give up my seat package. I can’t imagine going to the ballpark now. Happy freakin’ holidays, Dombrowski.
I work in an industry where decisions have to made outside the influence of emotions.
Yet I can’t get past the fact that I almost feel like crying after trading Granderson. He belonged in Detroit. Forever.
I understand this reaction to some degree, but think its a little much. The guys not dead. We’ve known for weeks that he would probably be moved.
I’ll continue cheering for Granderson in New York. When he’s hosting national telecasts after he retires he’ll still be a Tiger to me. It may take some time to get over seeing Granderson wearing the D, but it will happen.
This was a smart baseball move and I’m excited for the future of this team. I’m glad DD didn’t develop the fan-think under some (IMO undeserved) heat. Like Joe Dumars moves with Wallace and Stackhouse, he made the right decision for the franchise’s future.
From an emotional level, this is a killer. With the way the season ended (while my dog was dying), the Yankees (a full team’s payroll above the next highest spenders) winning the Series, and now this? I thought 2009 was going to be another 2006. It’s crushing the fan in me much moreso than the crappy 90s and 2003.
For now, the emotional level is all there is, and it’s a killer.
I don’t know if Dombrowski fully realizes what he’s done, regardless of what we received in return.
This trade just makes me sad.
With all of the known positives on and off the field that Granderson brought to the team, he was a logical piece to keep longterm and build around (it also doesn’t hurt that he wasn’t making an extremely obscene amount of money). Now we trade Jackson AZ, and send Granderson to a team I can’t stand for three largely unproven players and a starter who went 9-11 with an above 4.00 era in the National League (have fun in the AL, friend).
I keep reading about what great “tools” and “potential” all these guys have. Bottom line for me is that we just traded a highly valuable, longterm, known quantity in Granderson for four possibly valuable unknowns (I guess we threw in a guy who is, arguably, still a bit of an unknown quantity himself in Jackson). This doesn’t make much sense to me at all. I’ve never been a fan of trading something you know you have for something that might work out. That to me is the definition of a gamble, and in this case not a very good one.
Maybe this will make more sense when I’ve had time to calm down, but it doesn’t look good to me right now. It also bothers me to think that Detroit wanted Phil Hughes and NY didn’t want to give him up in the original package. So instead of saying thanks, but no thanks DD goes back and gets pushed into taking less than what he originally wanted. Again, at this point I’m failing to see where any part of this looks like I good idea.
Losing Jackson doesn’t bother me and is a move I can understand. Getting rid of Granderson still leaves me baffled. DD better hope these guys pan out for his sake and ours. I can’t help but feel like a door to door salesman just tricked me into paying too much money for something I don’t need. I’m going to go drink.
Good luck in the big apple Curtis. You’ll always be a Tiger to me.
I think this was a good deal for the Tigers. Now the bullpen is set-up very nicely after losing Lyon and Rodney. The pen is probably better now and should be our strength for the next 5+ years.
The only question is whether Austin Jackson can make an immediate impact at CF. Jackson is probably just a year away from being the next Denard Span, but he’s still no Granderson.
Anyway, we plugged up all our holes this week.
Mr. X, we shed three all-stars this week! How is that plugging all the holes?
Perhaps your definition of a hole is different than mine.
I thought there were only 3 holes. Everett fills the void at SS again.. The holes from Lyon and Rodney departing can be filled with Coke and Schlereth.
I thought Sizemore was capable of taking over at 2b anytime during the 2009 season. I was fairly disappointed with Polanco’s performance. I won’t be missing him.
I’ve learned to not let my emotions get the better of me when a Detroit team trades away one of their own because, most of the time, that player fades into obscurity in another market.
But I have this strange sensation that it’s not going to happen with Grandy. Every time he returns to Comerica Park, it’s going to be like seeing your old flame at your family Thanksgiving dinner.
With her husband.
Supremely well-said.
agreed
With her arrogant, richer and better looking husband.
yep. this hurts.
I would just add one more thing. I think the point Billfer makes about how Detroit has had players who have played entire careers in Detroit is an important one. This creates a team that isn’t just this year’s collection of acquisitions. Now this is not to say you can’t make roster moves, but I think you endeavor to keep some core intact. (ex. Detroit Basketball, pre-Billups trade obviously) In this way, you have a recognizable franchise that your fan base identifies with. So, I ask what was the core of the Tigers? Who did you picture when you thought of the Tigers?
for me, Granderson
I don’t know…also if I hear the phrase “baseball reason” or “baseball decision” again today I am going to vomit.
One of the big reasons I wanted the Tigers get to the post-season this year was to see if Grandy could jack up the Yanks again like he did on ’06. This sure feels like a fire sale, although it will be a long while to know what the ramifications end up being.
But he was such a good guy. Thanks for the memories Curtis.
Decisions like this… Keeping a player who places a higher priority on partying ’til dawn than being reading to play at the climax of the season, and trading someone like Granderson…..sorry, it just makes rooting for the Tigers a little less appealing. Winning is great, but winning at all costs doesn’t interest me. I like rooting for guys like Granderson, guys like Miggy? Not so much. With moves like this, Dombrowski is showing me that I made the right move not renewing my season tickets in 2009.
Days like this, I think Seinfeld had it right, we root for laundry.
This trade makes meI feel like I caught Tiger Woods foolin’ around with my wife.
Thanks for a great post. I could not have put it better myself. This trade is just too emotional for me to look at right now in any kind of rational way. I will just miss watching one of my favorite players ever in my adult baseball life. He will be missed by the fans, and the state. I just wish he could be with any other team, but that is just the way the cookie crumbles.
Man, some Yankee fans really don’t like this trade. They’re saying Granderson might be a platooned in the OF and batting 9th.
Yankees fans are just as dumb as any other city’s fans.
Dumber, TSE, becuase reality doesn’t apply to the Yankees. You want a guy? Money’s no object.
Granderson was and probably always will be a class act and a model professional athlete, but having said that everyone has to come to terms with the FACT that baseball is a business and in business, decisions have to be made to make the business better.
Austin Jackson is 22 and many think is the real deal… as for the 3 pitchers the Tigers rec’d, i thought the Tigers could have garnered some better prospects, seeing as none of the three look all that impressive on paper.
Granderson is 29 and for whatever reason his numbers noticeably declined (other than HR’s) from his high-water 2007 season. Until we see what Austin Jackson does and what Granderson does in the coming years, no one can say this is a bad deal for the Tigers.
In the long run, the Tigers may miss Edwin Jackson’s production more than Granderson’s, as good starting pitching is hard to come by – but Jackson’s late season fades over the past two years are reason for concern – AND then again, we’ll see how the 3 pitchers (in return) do.
NOTE: Granderson after $5.5M next year was due $22M over the following 2 years… something else to consider.
This is a fantastic deal for the Tigers. I’m ecstatic.
Grandy’s a great guy and all, but he certainly didn’t make me feel better when I was standing on a ledge after blowing a 7 game lead with just a few weeks to go. In fact, I was regularly cursing his very name as he struck out or grounded out weekly time and time again versus lefties. I don’t care if Mother Theresa suits up on the Old English D. If she can’t play against 1/3 of the opposing pitchers, trade her. Warm and fuzzy is great and all, I’d love it of Grandy remained a Tiger for life, but winning is much, much better.
Austin Jackson has very similar tools to those of Grandy, we get him cheaper and can control him for five. Scherzer, is very similar to E Jax, maybe even better And we got two good solid bullpen guys.
Reducing payroll while arguably getting better. And next year we get to dump the GDP of a small countries. I like it.
Great, great deal. Keith Law agrees (you need insider).
I’m really going to miss Curtis. I just told my 6 year old son and he couldn’t believe Granderson is now a Yankee, he asked how the Tigers were going to score runs without their best player! With all that said I still believe in DD and like what we got in return. I think Max is an upgrade over Jackson and is under control for 2 more years (Jackson would have been gone after 2010). Coke doesn’t do much for me but he will be useful in the tigers pen, Schlereth has a power arm with upside, so i like the idea of him and perry closing games for the Tigers for the next 5 years+. The big question mark to the deal will be how A.jackson develops.If Jackson becomes a star or above average top of the order CF than its a clear win for DD, if he turns into Chad Curtis we lose. Curtis sorry to see you go. hopefully you continue to stink against LHP and leave New York in 3 years when your a Free agent and jump start your career in another city.
I’m not happy about it, but I’m keeping an open mind. Grandy had some holes in his game. He was not untradeable.
Personally, I loved his all-out defense. With two slugs in the outfield flanking him at all times (plug in any corner outfielder we’ve had during his tenure, save Josh Anderson), he had to cover an astonishing amount of groud. And he did. With regularity even.
I beleive his issues with the bat lead to what transpired today. He didn’t have a good enough OBP to be a leadoff hitter, nor was he a great base stealer. His problems hitting lefties will make it tough for him to transition to a 5 or 6 spot in the lineup, where I think he would be a better fit.
Going to a place like the Yankees will help hide his flaws. Rumors are that he will be their 4th outfielder, but if he did play every day, it would be a certainty that he would hit AT LEAST 40 home runs next season. That park is junk and appears to have a jet stream screaming out to right field.
Good luck, Grandy, except against us….. Alright new guys, its time to step up and make your money and stake a claim in Detroit.
OK,
I’m going to be in the minority here, but I like the trade. The Two Diamondback pitchers are really good young pitchers with tremendous upside. Coke still has quite a bit of untapped potential and Austin Jackson will get on base at the top of an order.
-Sam
Detroit reached its peak with this squad. I’d rather we rebuild and try again then sit in mediocrity for the next decade. Granderson was a great person and a good player but he’s not this good. We get an amazing young CF prospect who could become the true leadoff hitter Detroit’s been missing for 15 years. Coke could either be our 4th SP behind Verlander, Porcello and Scherzer or he could solidify the bullpen with Perry, Ni, Fien, Zumaya and Seay.
I’m sorry Nonon but calling Jackson an “all-star” completely invalidates your entire post. Right off the bat I knew you knew nothing about baseball. Yes, he made the all-star team but he’s not an all star. Two years ago his ERA was 4.42, the year before 5.76, the year before about 5.5. He has had 1/2 a good season in his last 3 years! He fell apart the second half of the season and proved his true self. His 161 SO in 214 IP shows he is not a dominating SP.
Everyone needs to get over the Cabrera thing. He made a mistake. It was a one time thing. Move on! At least he can hit better than 200 against LHP.
Trading an overrated 1 year wonder pitcher and an OF that reached his peak is not a fire sale. The Tigers get a boat load of young talent and reduce the payroll, both of which are crucial for rebuilding this team. A fire sale would mean moving numerous players solely based on salary. If the Tigers trade Cabrera or Verlander then it’s a fire sale. Moving 2 players is not close to a fire sale, it’s moving 2 players.
Anyone who thinks we dumped Granderson is a moron. We g0t the Yankees top prospect (5 star according to basball prospectus)and their former top prospect in Coke. Also, all prospects are “unproven”. If they weren’t unproven they would be in the majors and would be untouchable. If we don’t want unproven players then we should never draft a player or sign a young kid because he’s unproven. Porcello was unproven last spring. I think he proved that unproven doesn’t mean talentless. And to the poster who complains that Scherzer was unimpressive in his 2nd season, you clearly picked the stats that you wanted. Overall record tells you more about the team then the pitcher. What about his 174 K’s in 170 IP? A bad pitcher can’t do that? The point about trading Jackson for a kid “only one year younger” is that Jackson needed a new deal. Scherzer has 5 more years before he reaches arbitration! Scherzer had a K/9 of 9.2, Jackson had a 6.8. Scherzer has a WHIP of 1.344, Jackson had a WHIP of 1.262. Scherzer had a HR/9 of 1 and a H/9 of 8.8. Jackson had a HR/9 of 1.1 and a H/9 of 8.4. Scherzer had a SO/BB ratio of 2.76 to 1, Jackson had a SO/BB ratio of 2.30 to 1. All in all Scherzer and Jackson are incredibly similar stat wise. But we need to remember that Scherzer has been in the MLB for 1 1/2 years, Jackson for 3. Scherzer has more untapped potential, costs Detroit less, has 5 more years before arbitration, and comes with another LHP prospect.
Austin Jackson hit .300 in AAA at the age of 22. His OBP (.354), SLG(.405) and his OPS (.759) are all similar to Granderson’s career numbers. Jackson’s power should increase as he adds weight to his skinny frame (6’1 185). Jackson should be up in Detroit in September and taking the CF/leadoff spot in 2011.
No, Jackson’s numbers aren’t, and minor league numbers do not translate to major league numbers directly anyway. 4 minor-league homers are not similar to 30. Granderson’s lowest slugging percentage at any level was .438 as a major league rookie.
Granderson is skinny, but he hit with power. Jackson may “project”
I think we did not get nearly enough. And I hate the trade.
Are you kidding? Not once was Phil Coke ever, Ever, EVER our top prospect. Never even in the top 10. He was always projected as a solid reliever, and that’s exactly what he is. Do you think he would ever be ranked over Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain? Jeez…
A-Jax is a great player, but he was never our top prospect either, that would be Jesus Montero. A-Jax projects to be a good player, and nothing like Granderson, they’re not similar. A-Jax has no power, but he gets on base and has good speed. He’ll be a consistent .300 hitter.
Just stop kidding yourself, you Tigers didn’t come away with uber-prospects, at least not from the Yankees.
NYYfan,
Don’t worry, we don’t think we just got the next Torii Hunter.
Same goes for you though, while he wasn’t your top prospect, A-Jax was your #2 (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090731&content_id=6161780&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb).
As recently as 2008, “Baseball America dubbed him the best talent in the Bronx Bombers’ farm system” (http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/trade-fallout-austin-jackson-to-detroit).
I bet in 4 years Austin Jackson will be the fan favorite of Tiger’s fans. Granderson was not Steve Yzerman. It’s not the end of the world.
The biggest shame of it all, is we never got to see what Grandy could have done … batting lower in the lineup. Let’s face it, for all his triples, he wasn’t a leadoff guy — lack of walks, strikeouts, etc.
And it’s doubly sad that Dombrowski’s loose purse strings (Bonderman/Robertson/Willis) cost us Granderson.
Beyond the fact that Curtis was a “good guy” the Tigers had to make some move. (Too bad Gullien is untradeable.)
Weird, debatable move that we won’t be answered for at least 2-3 seasons.
And as a person that watches a lot of the Yankees, Phil Coke is a borderline younger version of Bobby Seay.
Crap what am I supposed to do with my Granderson Bobblehead?
Curtis will always be my Tiger!
On the other hand, depressing feelings aside, this does seem to be a good baseball move. But that doesn’t keep me from echoing all the above comments about how much this stings…
let see the business end of this baseball game is to make money. ….So you trade your third and fourth best attractions away. Is that supposed to sell more tickets?????
….Both class acts also. “The City of Detroit needed Curtis Granderson more than the Tigers needed him”
Or it’s to win games. For Ilitch it is usually more about winning than making money. Not all fans are so fortunate. But yeah, this won’t help sell tickets and I guess they take a hit of 3k or so on their season ticket base which is about a quarter of a million in attendance right off the top.
I look forward to reading “the trade: the analytical response”.
I look forward to not being too bummed out to write it.
Is this officially a done deal?
ESPN still says it’s “close to” “on the verge”, etc….
The Detroit tigers have lost my support. I refuse to ever watch them again. Why would you trade Granderson? I don’t get it. He is one of your most promising players. How can you get rid of one of the most talented players? Guess you want the Yankees to be the hot team. You throughly disgust me and my family..Shame on you, you let the fans down on this one immensly.
Those of us who are stat-heads, and who care about payroll and the like would do well to remember that the vast majority of fans are going to echo Sharon’s sentiments. Most fans don’t “play GM” like the regulars here like to.
Running a baseball team is an exercise in showmanship, and in getting people to make an emotional attachment to a “brand” (i.e.: The Detroit Tigers). Player personalities are promoted as integral to that brand, and this is spearheaded and encouraged by the teams. Like all branding exercises, is fundamentally an exercise in manipulation. So it is disingenuous for the Tigers to say, after dealing away a guy they worked so hard to get fans attached to, that “it was a business decision”, “baseball is a business”, etc. The team sells entertainment, not wins. Losing a fan favorite like Granderson costs much more, business-wise, than just his production in the field.
Could be a good deal down the road, baseball-wise. But it’s unfortunate that the franchise is in this position, and Dombrowski ought to admit that the money saved in this deal is far less than, say, the extension he prematurely threw at Dontrelle Willis.
I love the Tigers. I really like Grandy and am I sad to see him go? Of course.
Would I have liked him to be a lifetime/longtime Tiger? Yes, but that is going to be very rare in this age.
But am I going to throw away my love for the Tigers over it? No.
Granted I don’t live in Detroit and have season tickets (I wish), but I”m as big a Tiger as there is. I still plan to go see them in Lakeland for a week, and go see them in Seattle and LA this coming season and will get MLB Extra Innings to watch them everyday.
Polly and Grandy were two of my favorites so its going to be odd not to see them out there everyday. I get as emotionally invested as anyone but don’t see this as something to give up on the Tigers over. Who knows maybe Sizemore or Jackson will be a new future favorite. I think we got a lot in return and am excited to have Scherzer.
As for DD and the Tigers wanting the Yankees “to be the hot team.” Come on.
Good luck Curtis and Eddie. Max, Austin, Phil and Dan, welcome to the Tigers.
I love the Tigers. Am I sad that Curtis got traded? Of course.
Would I have liked him to be a longtime Tiger? Yes. But that is going to be very rare anymore.
Am I going to throw away my love of the Tigers over this? No.
I don’t live in Detroit or have season tickets, but I am as big a Tiger fan as there is. I still plan to see them in Lakeland this March, go see them in Seattle and LA this season and purchase MLB Extra innings to watch them every day. I get as emotionally invested as anyone else but I’m not going to throw away my allegiance to the Tigers over the move. I think they got a lot in return and am excited to have Scherzer.
Polly and Grandy were two of my favorite Tigers so it will be strange not to have them out there everyday. But I’ll still root on my Tigs everyday. Who knows, Sizemore or Austin Jackson may become a new favorite.
Good luck Curtis and Eddie. Max, Austin, Phil and Dan, welcome to the Tigers.
The Tigers get my support unconditionally. I loved Granderson, but I’ll love anyone wearing a Tiger uniform, whether it’s Jason Grilli, Renteria, Higginson, Dmitri Young, Pudge, Tony Clark, Sheffield, Rodney, or Willis. They all get my support when they where that old english D.
Austin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Schlereth, and Coke are my new favorites. All 4 might have very good careers with the Tigers, so I’m fine with the trade.
Now what do I do with my Granderson Bobblehead?
IMO, All 3 teams involved are taking gambles.
Granderson and Jackson could flop just as well. Anyone who hits .under .200 vs lefties should probably be platooned. That’s exactly what Granderson did last year when he hit .183 vs lefties. Jackson had a 5.07 ERA post all-star break.
Some people think the Yankees might have gave up too much for Granderson. The package of players they gave up probably could of landed them Roy Halladay instead.
That package would not get you into the Blue Jays suite to talk about Halladay. That package would have to include Hughes.
Even in a platoon situation Grandy still gets the heavy end. Just think what his year end numbers would look like if he didn’t hit lefties.
I said this about the Jackson/Joyce trade, and I’ll say it again: BIG WIN for the Tigers and a fantastic trade. I will miss Granderson as one of the most bighearted, public-spirited athletes I’ve rooted for. That said, if he was truly an elite CF, the Tigers would have played in the postseason this year. Too many K’s in general, too many awful at-bats versus left-handed pitching.
Let’s break it down: We traded Matt Joyce for Max Scherzer (and Edwin Jackson’s 2008 season). That’s a flat steal by Dombrowski – a fungible corner outfielder for a young, cost-controlled, skilled power pitcher. We also gave up Granderson for Austin Jackson. This half of the deal depends on what Jackson can do, and we can only make conjectures now. Then we get two relievers (Schlereth and Coke) who are lottery tickets, but have plus stuff and the potential to replace part of the lost Lyon/Rodney production.
As a Yankee fan, I can only imagine what must be going through your minds about this trade, and I feel your pain. Curtis Granderson has been my favorite [non-Yankee] player for a couple of years now and frankly, I’m ecstatic the he’s going to be wearing pinstripes next year. Having said that, I’d just like to extend my best to all the Detroit fans and the Tigers organization. I wish you the best for the coming season.
Thanks Gabriel – it’s looking like it could be a long year for us here in Detroit. Curtis is now my favorite [non-Tiger] player (at least until they trade Guillen to the Red Sox at the deadline in 2011). While I don’t think you’ll find many of us actually rooting for the Yankees, a lot of us will be very happy for Curtis when he gets his rings over the next few years.
good old tigers getting rid of one of their best player just to get young players. it just shows you where the tigers and lions heads are.
same o same with the tigers and lions.
When I saw this deal I puked in my mouth, dombrowski needs to get the hell outta Michigan, he’s making it worse with mental retardation. Who in the right mind would trade the best player in detroit and the tigers. He was the crowd favorite and now their will b no seats sold. All I have to say is get ready for another 04 and 05 season. I thank the tigers for all the good times I’ve had being a fan, I now will never be
You can call Granderson a fan favorite, but do not call him the best player on the team. Look at the numbers. He has regressed each of the last 2 years and from his 2007 season when he finished 10th in the MVP voting. This past year he was slightly above average at the plate if anything.
He’s not even remotely close to guys like Verlander and Cabrera when it comes to raw production on the field.
I love Curtis Granderson as much as anybody. Great person, great talent. But he was not an elite player last year and the Tigers may have moved up at this peak of value. Most baseball insiders seem to think the Tigers made out quite well in this one and might end up getting the best of all 3 teams in the trade.
Well I don’t think the Tigers made out quite well, yet I still think they might end up getting the best part of the deal. That ‘might” part you talk about sort of exists for all sides of a trade.
And a relevant factor in this deal is that we gave up higher priced players for lower priced ones, that money is a nice asset for us. That money is part of the proceeds we received because we gave up those players. So when you take the value of what we gave away, and you take a slice out to represent that monetary profit, you are then left with player talent that is worth less than what you sent out. So we gave away player value in exchange for money value. A necessary evil? Maybe, but making out quite well? Hardly. I wouldn’t qualify a money-savings strategy at the expense of player resource value to be considered making out well, I consider doing what the Yankees did to be making out well.
All 4 of the guys we received are subject to a possibility of becoming a “bust” whereas Granderson is “bustproof”. Even with Grandy’s terrible year with his huge strikeout rate and failure rate against LHs, he still was a value contributor well above the bust-line. Only time will tell how this trade looks, but that won’t change the fact that today we didn’t get paid in full for what we gave up, and DD has exposed us to some new and fresh types of risk that we didn’t have before and didn’t have to take on.
Ugh. I feel used and abused. This is a worse feeling than the loss to the Twins. At least that was settled on the field.
I hope Sports Illustrated comes to Illitch’s home and burns every copy of that issue from August praising him. Little Caesar’s boycot for the next 28 days anyone?
Yikes, some people think Curtis Granderson is a member (now deceased) of their family…sorry, but he doesn’t feel the same way about you. He’s got plenty of ambition outside of baseball and he’s probably thrilled he’s going to NY instead of being in Detroit. Sure, he will say all the right things, but rest assured, he isn’t ‘losing sleep’, or ‘feeling used and abused’ or ‘throwing up inside’. Don’t waste the energy of your angst and despair on a one-way street.
I would’ve rather us benched Maggs the second half and got rid of his contract. Bad move DD now you better hope all this works out or you will be out.
I would’ve rather us benched Maggs the second half and got rid of his contract. Bad move DD now you better hope all this works out or you will be out.
Thank you Granderson for all the great Tiger memories you gave us.
As a Yankee fan it was a great read, and nice to see all the nice words from true Tiger fans. But know there are many Yankee fans like myself who hated to see Austin Jackson go. He was a player that was mentioned in every trade, and yet the Yanks held onto him until now. I’ve seen Jackson play many times at Trenton AA and followed him last year at Scanton and loved his game. He’s a bit like Granderson without power, speed, hits for average, excellent outfielder. I also saw Coke as a starter in AA and loved how he threw. He hads some ups and downs last year with the Yanks, (too many homers) but I think he has an upside.
Coke will have one less homer to worry about when AJ robs Grandy of one this year. How ironic that would be?
I can only guess that it would be less ironic than your acronym, or one of your predictions coming true.
A couple of things I’d like to note:
Best of luck to Grandy in NY, he’ll have a shot at a Championship again (2006 still hurts!); I think organisationally we’re loaded with pitching now and can fill some holes if need be by dealing some prosects. Finally, I think we could all agree that if Maggs had started the year like he finished the year, nobody would’ve been complaining. While his power numbers have been steadily declining over the years, I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt that his wife’s cancer & the World Cup (wish they never play it again!) hung on his mind. The dude seriously raked from just after the All-Star Break and started hitting his doubles and even homers by the last part of the season. Call me dumb if you want ,I’m sure a few will :), but I have a gut feeling he comes back with .310, 15HR & 100RBI type of season this year.
Magglio would be the last player on the team who’s hitting skill I would worry about. He’s a bonafide high-quality professional hitter.
I don’t see 100 RsBI with this lineup. I think .310 and 15 HR is just about the right place, though.
As for last year, no one will ever, ever, ever convince me that Magglio wasn’t playing through a terrible injury in order to get his option to vest. If all you have to do to make an extra $15 mill is show up to work, you’re gonna show up every day no matter what. I’d do it, you’d do it, Magglio would do it. So I would tend to agree that he’s going to have a “pleasant surprise” kind of year.
Today, I got to thinking about the emotional toll of losing Grandy and started remembering some of my favorite memories about him. That same play you mentioned, billfer, came to mind. I remember it just like it happened yesterday night. That’s when Grandy and Zumaya were still roomates in Detroit. Junior hit that HR and we thought all was lost. The camera focused on one little girl with both her fingers crossed as Grandy went up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and by gosh he hit that homerun. That was when I knew the Tigers were for real, that they were good. He tied the game, and of course the Tigers went on to win. Gosh, we’ll miss him.
The look on that little girl’s face when she saw the home run was priceless – almost as if she was responsible for it by the sheer force of her wishing.
Of course, here’s On the track… it is GONE… no it’s not, Granderson caught it… gotta love those Cleveland announcers.
It’s going to be hard to watch him in pinstripes, such a good guy. I’ve never rooted for a Yankee before, but I will now.