Lee Thomas, special assistant to interim GM Mike Port, was in Atlanta last night, where the Tigers were playing the Braves. Detroit righthander Jeff Weaver, one of the pitchers most often mentioned as likely to be dealt before the trading deadline, was pitching for the Tigers, which almost certainly accounted for Thomas’s presence. Weaver didn’t disappoint, throwing a five-hit shutout …
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Higginson on DL; Ryan Jackson up
Plus Dmitri Young offers to play left while Higgy is out.
Check out Jayson Stark’s Wild Pitches this week. He has a couple paragraphs on Ramon Santiago’s power surge against Boston that are pretty entertaining.
As for bringing back Craig Monroe one more time…. Bobby Higginson isn’t hitting lefties this year, although he has in the past. Neither Rob Fick or Randall Simon are hitting lefties either, and neither have given cause
In a sense, how Maroth, Bernero, Greisinger, and Cornejo have done and will do plays a part in whether or not Dave Dombrowski decides to peddle Weaver. It shouldn’t. With or without Weaver, the Tigers are irrelevant now and for the foreseeable future. The question isn’t whether they can replace Weaver right now; it’s whether somebody will put together the kind of package for Weaver that will help change that.
When the Rangers inquired about Jeff Weaver, they were told it would take third baseman Hank Blalock, right-hander Colby Lewis and another top prospect. The Rangers, on the other hand, are talking about moving salary, hence the Rafael Palmeiro rumors in Atlanta, although 1) Palmeiro has a no-trade clause; 2) says he doesn’t want to leave; and 3) the Braves may have trouble taking on salary.
Tiger Notes:
-Sparks is headed to the bullpen for one or two trips through the rotation
-Danny Patterson is back on the DL, Craig Monroe replaced him on the roster
Greisinger optioned to Toledo for Maroth
It seems like the opportunities players are given on this club are getting smaller and smaller. While I agree with most of the moves that have been made, I worry the Tigers are just churning through players too fast now- looking for that silver bullet. And yet, somehow Jose Lima has remained with the club.
Kalita is a classic Grade C pitching prospect, someone with a decent arm and a decent track record, but who doesn’t stand out or get mentioned much on top prospect lists. He’ll get a shot at some point, but unless he pitches well right away, he isn’t likely to be given much slack by major league organizations. If Tim improves his control from “pretty good” to “excellent,” and fights a tendency to nibble too much, he’d have a chance to be a surprise.
Just when you think this team isn’t completely hopeless, they get swept by Toronto
The Tigers plan to have a pair of veterans back from the disabled list when they return home this weekend. Right-hander Danny Patterson threw what is expected to be his final rehab inning Wednesday for Triple-A Toledo and, barring any aggravation, will be recalled Friday or Saturday. Damion Easley, 1-for-16 through Monday in his rehab stint, went 0-for-3 but scored four times for the Mud Hens Wednesday. He’ll play two more games for Toledo, giving him around 28-30 at-bats before he rejoins the Tigers Saturday.
Okay, so Patterson and Easley are coming back, but who’s going to Toledo?