Category Archives: 2013 Season

Underrating the Overcats

I can’t promise that it’s not just a pleasant dream and that you won’t soon wake up still in 2003 (or the right-side-up version of the above), but for at least the second year in a row the Detroit Tigers aren’t merely contenders, but favorites. In several categories. A very strong team on paper, even stronger than they were going into 2012. Yet they struggled for most of 2012. Even though poor defense was the most persistent leaky faucet, there was no easily identifiable single culprit for the struggles. The team just wasn’t firing on all cylinders for much of the season, and even in the heady days of September and October, it was mostly a case of starting pitching carrying the team on its shoulders, not everything suddenly coming together. All this after so much promise. Were the 2012 Tigers overrated? Maybe a little. Are the 2013 Tigers?

I’m very optimistic about 2013. Great offseason. The team is clearly better for it. Spring has been good. But I’m going to play the role of doubter, complainer, and whiner here. Gonna find some fault and invent more if I have to.

Let’s get negative:

Is the Tigers bullpen overrated? When I think of good bullpens, I think more of Tigers opponents, teams that have those three guys you just dread, and that’s with the Tigers lineups of the past few years. A good bullpen gives you the option of running out a certain 3 pitchers every other day and having a high level of confidence that not of them is going to blow up. (A great bullpen would give you another variation or two on that 3-pitcher lineup.) Who are those 3 Tigers relievers? Do they even have them? I’m not so sure. Yeah, those sub-2.00 ERAs and wonderful K/9s look good on paper. They don’t necessarily add up to a reliable shutdown crew. Key word: Reliable. Not “passable, brilliant, oops,” but “good. good, good.” And speaking of blowing up, it was on display in the recent 12-10 loss to the Nationals.

Is Brayan Pena going to be a defensive liability (I’m basing this unfairly on one early spring game where he had some rubber arm going on a couple successful stolen base attempts against him) and perhaps a liability overall, and was it such a good idea to let Gerald Laird go, and is Jim Leyland going to run Alex Avila into the ground at C again? (Having it both ways with my worrying.) The truth is that I haven’t seen enough of Pena this spring or really zeroed in on him enough to form much of an opinion. But he has looked kind of… sluggish. Not as in “slugging,” though I did see him hit a home run.

The Tigers lineup is seen as solid top to bottom, but is it really? Look at 7-9. Here “solid” seems to rest upon the assumption that both Avila and Jhonny Peralta are intrinsically better than they showed in 2012 and are due to bounce back. But maybe not, and what if Omar Infante’s moribund batting line for the Tigers in 64 games last year proves more rule than exception this season?

The only thing I can find to worry about in the outfield is Andy Dirks’s health and the possibility that Jim Leyland might subject us to long stretches of Jeff Kobernus or Don Kelly in his stead (as opposed to calling up Avisail Garcia or at the very least using the capable but presently sore-kneed Quintin Berry). This despite 3 injured OFs at the moment (Garcia, Dirks, Berry). The joy of having Torii Hunter and Austin Jackson, no doubt.

Despite the return of Prince “2013 AL MVP” Fielder and the addition of Hunter, there’s still a lot riding on the continued health of Victor Martinez. The bats are there for DH by committee, but the subtraction still comes in when you figure who replaces the replacements. There’s really nothing for it, because you can’t just keep a spare Victor Martinez on the bench. So it’s just a worry. Although Garcia and (according to some) maybe even Nick Castellanos could be aces in the hole here (my own opinion is that Castellanos isn’t quite that close to being ready for the majors, but maybe I’ve just seen all the wrong ST games).

Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, and Rick Porcello all have a history of being slow starters. Just sayin’.

OK, that’s all the negativity I can muster at the moment.

In recent news, the Tigers have lost 3 of their last 5 and are now 14-11 in Grapefruit League play. 3 games out and mired in 4th place! In the March 16 shutout of the Cardinals, Shawn Hill had a good start, Bruce Rondon and the rest of the bullpen had good outings, Garcia suffered a heel contusion, Matt Tuiasosopo went 2 for 4 with a HR, and the Tigers were caught stealing 3 times. March 17 against the Nationals, Miguel Cabrera and Infante were back from the WBC, Drew Smyly had his first rough outing of the spring and Danny Worth committed 2 errors, and the Tigers rallied from a 7-1 deficit to take a 9-8 lead, only to have an 8th-inning meltdown from Al Alburquerque cost them the game. Scherzer had a good 5-inning start in the 5-1 win over the Nationals March 18, while the bullpen put on the perfect good bullpen show (3 guys, 4 innings, no runs, 6 strikeouts) and Tigers hitters beat up on Rafael Soriano in the 7th to win it. Losing 11-5 against the Rays March 19, Doug Fister and Kyle Lobstein got hammered, but Fister didn’t actually look as bad as his line suggests, though he often pitched himself out of good counts. Though the damage was done, another good showing by the bullpen (aside from Lobstein) followed. Dirks hurt his knee in a collision with the LF wall. It was fun to see the lower-level minor leaguers late in the game, especially little guy Devon Travis belting a 2-run homer. Last night against the Astros, Justin Verlander went 5 2/3 but allowed an uncharacteristic 3 home runs, Alburquerque couldn’t keep it close, and Tigers bats couldn’t get much going in the 7-2 loss. Berry in LF made yet another great catch. How can anyone not want this guy as the 4th OF?

On Tuesday the Tigers sent 8 players to the minors, most notably LHP Duane Below, but also RHP Jorge Ortega, C Bryan Holaday, IF Hernan Perez, RHP Trevor Bell, IF Argenis Diaz, OF Nick Castellanos, and OF Tyler Collins.

Jason Beck’s guess at a Tigers bench of Ramon Santiago, Kobernus, and Kelly is truly one that I hope proves incorrect. Maybe the Nationals will take Santiago in exchange for Kobernus, who could then be sent to Toledo. Maybe he’s worth holding onto. I don’t see that he’s earned a spot on the opening day roster, myself. It’s clear enough that Lobstein isn’t making the pitching staff, but it’s actually more plausible to me that the Tigers would make a deal to hold onto him in the minors. I see some promise there, even in an outing such as the last one against the Rays. Plus, well, he’s a starting pitcher, and a lefty at that.

Octavio Dotel is back from the WBC.

And finally, gazing into one of my clouded and cracked crystal balls, none of them reliable, in one I see a future where Steven Moya and Tyler Collins are starting outfielders for the Tigers, while Garcia and Castellanos have been traded.

The Ides Of March

The Ides of Boesch is a day on the Roman Calendar corresponding with March 13, a date which has become notorious for Detroit Tigers spring transactions, as illustrated in the prophetic 1798 painting The Unconditional Release of Brennan.

Will the Yankees be able to fix Brennan Boesch? Maybe. But let no one later claim that the Tigers “let him get away,” whatever happens down the road. His time in Detroit was clearly up. Crowded outfield and two more prospects knocking at the door. The release was puzzling at first in that, apparently, no teams had been willing to trade for Boesch, but Dave Dombrowski’s words “I have tried to trade his contract at various times here throughout the spring” made it clear what the obstacle to a deal was.

There have been no other surprising roster moves, just the players assigned to the minors that you knew would be, with many more such moves to follow shortly. The lingering suspense regarding the bench and rounding out the bullpen may not be and probably won’t be resolved for another two weeks.

Decipher this one:

QUOTE: Manager Jim Leyland was asked Friday if it were possible both [Quintin Berry and Jeff Kobernus] might make the team.

“Possible,” Leyland answered. “A longshot, but possible.”

“The two questions you have to ask are: Which guy gives us the best chance to win a game? And which scenario gives us the best chance to win games? One is singular and one is plural,” Leyland added. “That’s what you have to figure out. That comes into play when you’re figuring out your roster. Obviously, you want to win games. Plural. … We’re pretty well set, but there are a couple things at the end that are going to be a little hairy. A manager knows he’s going to break a couple hearts before this is over.” END QUOTE

Bruce Rondon is really good. (And was it not I who just poked fun at Jim Leyland for stating the obvious?) A pitcher, not merely a thrower. He sure looks ready or very close to it. The question is: Would you have him start the season in Toledo anyway, for his own good? Do the Tigers, chock full of bullpen right now, really need him right away? But the answer might be: Why wait? Nice sliders against the Mets. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of the speed thing already. I try to ignore it and concentrate on the location and movement of the pitches, which of course I’d be doing anyway. You can’t readily see speed from the standard camera angle, anyway, aside from what you can read from batter reaction. Or at least I can’t.

It was heartening to see, March 14 against the Mets, two fine defensive plays in a row behind Casey Crosby, first the great catch by Berry and then the nice work of Omar Infante/Matt Tuiasosopo. (For what it’s worth, the Tigers have committed only 11 errors in 21 ST games so far, as opposed to 36 in 28 games or so last spring.) It was also amusing that the Mets broadcasters picked up on the one Valverde-ism in Rondon’s pitching ritual, which I noticed (with some dismay) the first time I saw him this spring.

Who’s your favorite non-Tigers TV broadcast team? Of the ones I’ve encountered so far this spring, I liked Gary Cohen and Ron Darling of the Mets (SNY). I have greater respect for guys that aren’t total homers, who display some depth of knowledge about the opposing team and players and devote some time to discussing them. I think that this can be said of FSD’s Mario Impemba and Rod Allen – what’s your opinion?

It’s good to have a winning record any time of year, isn’t it? The Tigers have now surged to a 12-8 Grapefruit League record (yes, I just like the term “Grapefruit League” and will work it in every chance I get), which makes me feel better than 8-12 would. Statistical standouts on the pitching side include Al Alburquerque, Drew Smyly, Joaquin Benoit, and Brayan Villareal, but nothing tops Rick Porcello’s 18 K in 18 IP with no BB and a 0.78 WHIP. Darin Downs seems to be skating on thin ice every time I see him pitch, and yet he’s compiled a pretty immaculate line. The hitters tearing it up are Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Tyler Collins, Nick Castellanos, Don Kelly (5 of 8 hits for extra bases), and – to an extent – Kevin Russo (38% K rate is ouch).

Around the horn on the recently happened and upcoming: Jhonny had some chowder, Prince had a flat tire, Ramon hit a grand slam off of Roy Halladay, Tuiasosopo (no slouch with the Ks himself at ~33%) hit the loudest home run of spring into a gusting wind, Doug Fister finally pitched more like Doug Fister, Justin hurt Joey but can’t be held accountable for Joey not wearing a cup, prospect Stephen Moya impressed against Florida Southern, Casey Crosby was optioned to Toledo as expected, and minor league RHP Cesar Carrillo (AA Erie) has been suspended 100 games without pay for drug policy violations, as illustrated in the prophetic 1798 painting The Suspension of Cesar. Verlander will be pitching for the Toledo Mud Hens later today. Octavio Dotel remains in the WBC. The Tigers will play the Washington Nationals three times over the upcoming week.

Finally, what about this new all-season interleague play deal? Sensible? Good? Bad? Can much be made of the Tigers ending the regular season deprived of the DH for the last 3 games?  I mean, it’s only the Marlins.

And tell me everything you know about Jose Alvarez, the mystery man with 3 saves in ST. In the Grapefruit League, I mean.

How Time Flies

The Detroit Tigers are 8-7 in Grapefruit League play as of this writing and are having a rather good spring overall, statistically speaking. A few injuries and a few WBC excused absences are the only flies in the ointment at this point. We’re getting to the point where Spring Training starts to get interesting, or as interesting as it can get for a team that came in with the starting lineup settled and the pitching staff largely so. So what’s left to decide?

Closer: I think it was decided as far back as last November that the Tigers would not be looking to the outside for a closer. Current rumors to the contrary are bizarre (which doesn’t rule out the possibility that they’re true.) But as I see it, whatever Bruce Rondon does or does not do over the next few weeks, the most that ST may decide is the prospective closer. (If you saw Al Alburquerque’s inning against the Astros March 4, you might have seen that prospective closer already.) The issue will not be settled until April. Or May. Or June. The good news is that the Tigers have bullpen talent to spare and multiple candidates. I think the “closer question” is really an overhyped non-issue at this time. It must top the list of Jim Leyland’s least favorite day in and day out subjects to address. If the bullpen lives up to expectations, a closer or a series of them will emerge. If the bullpen tanks, then it tanks, though “lack of a closer” might persist as a popular (and false) diagnosis.

Rick Porcello and Drew Smyly: Both doing quite well. Guess what? I think they’re both on the team Opening Day. It should take an offer the Tigers absolutely can’t refuse to pry either of them away in trade. Elvis Andrus is the only such offer I can think of. Are the Rangers that desperate? Flip a coin three times, and if it comes up heads each time, the answer is yes.

The bench: Brayan Pena is a given. It would appear that the three spots left must be for Infield Guy, Outfield Guy, and Versatility Guy. Jeff Kobernus (Rule 5 status) is obviously being given every opportunity to be Versatility Guy and seems to be taking advantage of it. Kobernus has the inside track, but depth in utility is not a bad thing, and I’ve gotten some positive impressions from Kevin Russo, Don Kelly, and Matt Tuiasosopo, Toledo-bound as they may be. I would have said that Outfield Guy was Quintin Berry’s job to lose, but his knee problems are complicating things. This might open the door for Brennan Boesch, whom I might otherwise say just doesn’t fit. But I still think Boesch gets traded, and if things gang a-gley for Berry, Avisail Garcia is Outfield Guy, and the steady ABs at Toledo thing is out the window. Infield Guy is between Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth. I feel that Worth is earning that bench spot, and Santiago’s injury has done nothing to help his own cause, but we all know Leyland’s leanings regarding proven (and in some cases unproven) veterans, so there’s a good chance we’re in for at least half a season of a declining Santiago.

The bullpen: Smyly/Porcello, Octavio Dotel, Joaquin Benoit, Phil Coke, Alburquerque. Two spots left, no? The front-runners to fill them appear to be Rondon, Brayan Villareal, Darin Downs, and Duane Below. Below is getting hit hard, and I think Rondon ought to start the season in Toledo, so there you have my slim-chance-of-accuracy guesses. I’ve heard the idea floated of turning Luke Putkonen and Below back into starters, and it sounds like a good one when you consider that the Tigers’ organizational starting pitching depth appears to consist of Casey Crosby and… um, well… Casey Crosby.

Nick Castellanos’s stance and swing remind me of Delmon Young. Not a criticism, just an observation. He’s putting up good numbers, and clearly the Tigers want his bat above all else, but my does he look ungainly in LF. I haven’t seen him play 3B – chime in if you have – but I have to wonder whether the Tigers are really doing him or themselves a favor by pushing Castellanos to the outfield. It occurs to me that an apprenticeship at the corner infield positions at some point from 2013-2015 might have been another possibility to consider. It’s not a certainty that Miguel Cabrera or Prince Fielder will be asked to slide over to DH in 2015 or 2016 (would they even be willing?), but it is possible. And there’s your open door for Castellanos the non-outfielder.

I’m looking forward to the return of the WBC-playing Tigers. So obviously I’m glad Venezuela has been eliminated, though it looks like the Dominican Republic might be at it for a while yet. Watched WBC highlights for the first time – pretty neat, pretty intense. How ’bout that Canada-Mexico game? If the MLB All-Star Game was played with such intensity, it might be worth paying attention to. That WS home field advantage thing isn’t really a motivator. Maybe if the losing team’s players had to sit out the rest of the season…. Ha ha. Blood sport!

If anyone’s due for a bounceback season, it’s newly slim and trim Jhonny Peralta. However, the stats so far suggest nothing of the kind. But it’s early. Right?

Homework assignment: Those injuries! They’re happening already. Consider some of the more devastating scenarios that would involve two players being on the DL simultaneously for weeks or months and how you see the Tigers dealing with it. Worst cases? Justin Verlander and Doug Fister? Cabrera and Fielder? How about the most likely cases? Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks? Alex Avila and Victor Martinez? Fister and Max Scherzer? Alburquerque and Villareal? I’m not suggesting you create a spreadsheet to cover all the possibilities like someone weirdly obsessed with Tigers baseball, but doing so might give you a more practical understanding of the Tigers’ organizational depth.

 

Rick Porcello Trade Talks

According to ESPN (my Scorecenter App alert, to be precise) – the Rangers have inquired about Rick Porcello.

This makes sense to me for a number of reasons.

1) The Rangers just lost Martin Perez for several months with a fractured forearm. Perez was slated to be their #5. This is a team who has already shelved Neftali Feliz and Colby Lewis to begin the season.

2) As we’ve discussed on here before, Rick Porcello’s peripherals were actually pretty good last year- FIP under 4, increased velocity, and an increased K rate, to name a few. Jon Daniels is just the kind of GM that would value that.

3) Porcello’s fighting for a spot on maybe the deepest rotation in the AL, and the Tigers could use a lefty (Smyly) in the rotation.

Now, the Rangers have one of the best farm systems in the league, and they are also desperately trying to figure out what to do with Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar. They are also frustrated with Ian Kinsler and have discussed moving him to the OF. I doubt we’ll hear Andrus or Profar mentioned…but what about Porcello, Castellanos and Rondon for Andrus and Kinsler?

I’ll keep you guys posted on what I hear down here.

Don’t Ask Dotel (about Miguel Cabrera)

Is there trouble brewing in the clubhouse? Or is there nothing else to talk about?

The fallout from the Yahoo article I posted on Wednesday has been at least measurable, if not significant. Of course, Dotel clumsily backtracked yesterday (think Delmon Young in LF) and apologized to Miggy,

So what do you guys think?

I think that there’s a little something to this. Cabrera isn’t the most mature player out there (White Sox series in ’09 and the DUI come to mind), so perhaps someone calling him out like this will help him to grow up a bit. I have no idea what went on in the locker room last October, but SF wasn’t sweep the Tigers good. There had to be some chaos going on in the clubhouse.

All in all, I think this is a good thing. If the Tigers hadn’t won the AL Pennant, this wouldn’t be national news. It’s kind of nice to be in the spotlight.

First ST game on MLB.tv tomorrow!

Happy 30th, JV.

Here’s a video card! (from MLive)

Not a whole lot going on, other then games of pepper and intrasquad scrimmages, so here are a few links to keep you going until Rondon gets drilled and TSE demands that we resign Valverde for a logical 1 year salary which is not irrationally based on his positive contributions during the acceptable part of his season last year.

– Can Cabrera get any better? I agree with Octavio Dotel that he could be a better leader. This is the first I’ve heard of a player’s only being called for but ignored after game 2 of the WS. In retrospect, it would have been nice.

– To that end, do you guys remember when we were in the WS? Seems unbelievable considering the disappointment and uncertainty regarding the team and skipper all season long. I mean, we were at it all season on the DTW. Sure as heck did make for a lot of fun.

– John Lowe makes an interesting case for why Dirksie (or is it “Dirksy”? – I heard Avila say that on MLB radio last night) could win a batting title.

– 8:1 odds to win the WS…pretty salty. Tor at 7:1.  BP has Detroit running away with the division. As do I. Also on BP – the Tigers’ depth chart is free of charge (along with San Fran). Perk of winning the pennant. I usually subscribe to BP each year, the content is worth it.

Catching Up

Hello Friends –

This PED stuff is really interesting to me. My reaction to the latest reports on Biogenesis was a far cry from the disappointment that I had to similar reports in the (way) past. At this point in time, I’m surprised there weren’t more people on the list. Or any Tigers for that matter (well, none on the big league club, prospect Cesar Carillo was linked). If you were to take a pure economic look at using PEDs (laced with tons of assumptions, but hey, I said “economic”) I think the risk/reward test isn’t so easy. Let’s take a look at Melky Cabrera. Here’s his WAR and OPS+ in each full season:

Year WAR (B-R) OPS+
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2.7
1.2
.2
.9
-.5
4.1
4.7*
95
88
68
93
83
121
158

* suspended for 50 games.

Here’s the same table with an additional column.

Year WAR (B-R) OPS+ Salary
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2.7
1.2
.2
.9
-.5
4.1
4.7*
95
88
68
93
83
121
158
not listed
$432,400
$461,200
$1,400,000
$3,100,000
$1,250,000
$6,000,000

And in case you missed it – he’ll make $9,000,000 in each of 2013 and 2014.

I think we can all hazard a guess as to when he started taking PEDs. Assuming he did start prior to the 2011 season, why wouldn’t everyone in his situation take PEDs? A long vacation and financial security for the rest of your life (I’m ignoring adverse health consequences for the sake of argument); I’ll take it. Sure, he lost $2M or so last year, and his next violation would cost him 100 games, or roughly $6M on his current contract. He’d still have made $16M over 3 years – with 150 games in suspensions.

Now, some will argue that taking PEDs hurt his market value last fall, but what would his market value have been had he never taken them?

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Moving on.

– Great article on the limitations and frustrations of WAR. Notably, the discrepancies between B-R and FanGraphs. I use WAR quite a bit in my analysis, but it’s not perfect. That’s why Baseball is a talking sport.

– King Felix signed for $175M over 7 years is about to sign a huge deal. JV is licking his chops.

– Keith Law unveiled his Tigers top 10 prospects list (you’ll need insider) – here are the top 5: Castellanos, Garcia, Rondon, Tyler Collins, Danny Vasquez.

– P&C report on Tues, full squad on Friday. Why do the pitchers and catchers go 3 days early? What do they do?

Countdown to the 2013 Season

It is getting to be that time of year: TigerFest has reminded the fans that the season is on its way, the pitchers and catchers are starting to pack their bags (they report in only 11 days), the turtle is clearing its throat, and Opening Day is exactly 2 months away.

Here is a scrapbook of highlights from the Tigers’ Winter Caravan and TigerFest.

Well this time last season, the big problem to solve was the loss of Victor Martinez, and the big solution was the unexpected blockbuster deal to sign Prince Fielder.  This season, the offseason issues were less obvious, and as Spring Training approaches the front office has been very quiet.

What does everyone think the Top 5 things to watch are now that Spring Training is around the corner? I’ll throw this list out there:

  1. Who will be the Tiger closer? It looks likely that Bruce Rondon will be given every chance to claim the job. If he does not seem up to the task, the Tigers have other options already on the staff (Octavio Dotel, Phil Coke, Al Alburquerque, Joaquin Benoit), or could look at a late signing.
  2. Who will be the #5 starter? Rick Porcello looks like the odd man out in a very solid starting rotation. The Tigers have shown patience in not biting on any trades for him under his value. With Drew Smyly showing promise and the Tigers without another lefty in the rotation, Porcello is the odd man out.
  3. How well will Victor Martinez come back? Victor was a force in 2011, as he has been routinely throughout his career. But he is 34 and just missed an entire season. What happens if he struggles in his comeback?
  4. Who is in Left? It would seem that the job would be Andy Dirks’ to win or lose. But he is one of those guys who has been stuck with the “not a full-time player?” question mark, deservedly or not. A RHB Left Fielder to platoon with Dirks would seem to make sense, but the Tigers didn’t pick one of them up. Do we see Garcia or Castellanos there, and if so, how soon?
  5. How will Torii fit in?  Newest Tiger Torii Hunter seems to solve a huge problem from 2012, when Tiger Right-Fielders finished dead last in the AL with a .641 OPS. He also gives them a 2-hitter, a spot the Tigers have struggled to fill for a while. Torii does have a habit of making waves with his mouth though, once referring to Latin American players as imposters.

Happy New Year!

Hello Friends – I hope that everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season.

I’ve got a few stories of interest that I plan to post below, but first, I’d like to ask if anyone out there would like to help with the game posts this year. We could use one, maybe two more. Assuming we get the help, that will allow us to put up more than just game posts during the season. If you’re interested – just note it in a comment and I’ll email you off-line.

Secondly, I’d like to raise some money to re-vamp the site. DTW is awesome already, mostly due to the in-depth discussions (seriously, you ever see the comments elsewhere?), but there’s no doubt that a redesign taking advantage of some of the latest technology could improve things a bit. I need to get with billfer on this, so no timetable yet, but hopefully soon. In the meantime, know that an ask is coming. If any of you are developers/designers (it’s a WordPress site), let me know.

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On to our Tigers.

P&Cs hasn’t yet been released, but spring training opens up against the Braves on February 22nd… In the meantime, check out Dan Dickerson’s weekly 1 hour radio show to suppress your excitement for another 7 weeks.

Alan Trammell was my favorite Tiger growing up, and remains in my short list of favorite athletes of all time. I think this is probably the case for many Generation X Tiger fans. I used to get worked up about his HoF credentials, but those had largely subsided, until Matt Snyder of CBS Sports reignited the flame. His article names Trammell and Whitaker as the greatest double play combo of all time (using combined baseball-reference WAR), and it’s not even close; and then points out that they are the only non-active duo on his list where at least one of the tandem is not in the Hall of Fame.

I’m excited about Bruce Rondon, but you know, Brian Wilson is out there. Yeah, Tommy John recovery and all, but for the right price? What do you think? I’m on the fence. I can think of worse ways to spend money, and his gimp prank is legendary, but I think we can go to Dotel or Benoit if Rondon doesn’t work out.

Good luck Bondo. I’m sure you’ll strike out Avisail Garcia with a lefty on the bench in mid-June to clinch a W for the Ms.

Delmon Young = Jeff Francouer?

FanGraphs posted their top 15 organizational prospects last week.

 

Hot Stove Talk – December Edition

Hello DTW Friends –

Considering the hottest story of the past week has been regarding Tom Brookens resurrecting his career at coaching 3B, I think it’s safe to say that we are in a quiet period. Which is the opposite of how Tom Brookens is handling the promotion(?).

That said, I thought I’d put up a new thread to reset the comments, and to pass along a cool offer from AnyDate.com.

And now a word from our sponsor:

AnyDate.com specializes in providing you with unique sports gifts- especially those related to the famed Detroit Tigers. The Detroit Tigers History Newspaper consists of 63-pages of commemorative New York Times headlines, articles & photographs about the Tigers. Celebrate all of the Tigers best plays, games, and series with this Detroit Tigers History Newspaper, which includes a special color section!

The Detroit Tigers History Newspaper is THE birthday or holiday gift for any true Tigers fan!

**************

And by sponsor, I mean that AnyDate.com is going to give away a free Detroit Tigers History Newspaper to DTW in return for the promotion. Thus, here’s how I’d like to select the winner – tell your best Tom Brookens memory – maybe you saw him at a game, maybe there’s a crazy George Brett/Wade Boggs -like story out there about him, or maybe he evokes a great Tigers memory. As everyone posts, chime in and vote for whose you like best, and then we’ll award the winner next week sometime.

By the way, if my wife is reading this, I’d love one of these. I’ll go ahead and give the Pistons a better chance of winning the NBA Championship this year.

Happy Holidays all – I doubt I’ll post again before the New Year unless something substantial happens. But I’ll definitely be reading along and posting when I have something to add (or need to remind TSE to stay on track).

2012 Winter Meetings

Open thread for the Winter Meeting activities…don’t have much time this morning, but I’m sure our community will keep us up to date…check back often.

– Apparently Asdrubal Cabrera has a block on the Tigers, along with the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, Giants and Mets. Interesting company.

– I don’t think the Indians want Peralta, but perhaps the Marlins have something that the Indians want.

– If the Tigers are shopping for a closer, here are some candidates.