I saw a link to this on Primer and apparently there is a group of investors that want to buy the Expos and bring them to Detroit. The plan is that they would play in Tiger stadium.

Who’da figured that the 119 loss Tigers could generate this much local interest in the offseason. Granted, most of the buzz is surrounding the guy they haven’t gotten yet, but believe it or not people give a damn about this team. Attendance at Tigerfest was 11,235 which is pretty incredible considering they failed to draw that many to 14 of their home games last year.

Also surreal is the amount of support that Brandon Inge and his .198 career average has garnered. It all started when Brandon said he was as good defensively as Pudge. Inge received a lot of flack for this, which is to be expected. However, I’ll devote a couple sentences defending him. First, I’m happy to see a player speak his mind. I’m sure it was an uncomfortable situation, and Inge didn’t go looking for reporters to talk about this. Second, he may have a point. He actually threw out runner at a .364 rate last year compared to Pudge’s .333 and that was withh an extremely young and inexperienced staff holding runners on. Also, he had half as many passed balls as Pudge while catching three-quarters as many innings. Third, is that Inge has grown up with this pitching staff and knows the staffs capabilities as well as anyone, so I don’t think Pudge would have an advantage calling pitches and handling pitchers. Fourth, I don’t see anything wrong with a player that has confidence in his abilities, and notice he didn’t try to defend his offensive performance. Now what hurts Inge is that Pudge has 10 more Gold Gloves than Inge does, so his credibility in making those statements isn’t all that great. Since then, his teammates and coaches have been very vocal in support of Inge. (Just to be clear, I’m not implying that Inge is better than Pudge, or that Pudge wouldn’t be a significant upgrade. I just wanted to illuminate the fact that his comments weren’t as crazy as they first appeared. )

Meanwhile, on the Pudge front Boras and his client submitted a counterproposal on Friday, and the rumor is the contract length is still 4 years with the disparity being money.

Unfortunately there’s not any more to report on this situation.

Comerica Changes
I’ve been informed, from a reliable source in the organization that the Tigers do in fact plan to move the bull pens to the left field wasteland and fill in the current right field bullpen area with seats. The plan is to have this completed before the All-Star game. I wasn’t at Tigerfest, so I don’t know if this was talked about there as well, but I haven’t seen it published anywhere. I also don’t know any other details about how things will be layed out exactly, or more detail on the timeline.

So it has been widely reported that the Tigers have made Ivan Rodriguez a very generous offer of 4 years for $40 million and the response has been a resounding silence. Up until Wednesday, I thought this was purely a ploy by Scott Boras, but then with Pudge coming to Detroit for the physical I acutally started to believe the deal might happen. Now, without any response for the I-Rod camp I’m reverting back to ploy concept, especially considering there hasn’t been another team interested. Sure, Boras has talked about a mystery team, but nobody can figure out who this team is. Whether or not you like the Peter Gammons’s, Jayson Stark’s, Ken Rosenthals they are pretty well connected in the sport and nobody has published a hint of another team.

So what does this mean for the Tigers? Could they have done anything differently to seal this deal? I actually think the Tigers played this as well as they could have. Yes, 4 years is too long, and $40 million is too much money, but the Tigers are in a position where they need to play by a different set of rules. All they have to offer is money because they can’t sell players on a good situation. As long as 2-3 years from now we don’t start hearing how the Tigers can’t sign players because so much is invested in Rodriguez it should be okay. I like that they didn’t make a play until the market was completely dry for Pudge. I also like the fact that they tried to keep this fairly quiet, but not totally silent. The Tigers also get additional points for the timing of this “negotiation” that occured the same week that season tickets went on sale hoping to further generate buzz, which it did.

Now the other question is who is the anonymous source that released the terms of the contract? The obvious answer would be Boras to increase the bidding. However, could it be that the Tigers made the offer on Thursday, and when Pudge didn’t accept it by Friday night they leaked it to scare off other bidders (if there are other bidders)? Nobody else is going to offer those years or dollars. Sure, it might make the Tigers look bad to be spurned even though they offered the best contract, but before last week was there anybody that actually thought Pudge would sign here?

The next question is how long do the Tigers leave the offer out there?

Other Stuff
-Over on Tigerscentral there is a pretty good discussion about the impact of Pudge signing.

Sorry about the lack of posting, the flu has been making it’s way through my household (despite the whole family getting shots). I like the Guillen trade. They got something for nothing essentially. True, the Tigers lost their best bunter but I think they will survive. Now it looks like Pudge might be a real possibility. If the Tigers were to add I-Rod they would have a respectable lineup-especially if Munson and Pena can continue to develop.

CF Sanchez
2b Vina
DH Young
C Rodriguez
3B Munson
1B Pena
LF White
RF Higginson
SS Guillen

True it’s not murderer’s row, but it would be a marked improvement over a lineup full of number 7 hitters. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t see anymore innings where 3 consecutive batters bunt.

Of course this isn’t news anymore, but with the holidays and all I didn’t get a chance to write about this pick up. It’s not a bad move, but nothing to get overly excited about it either, pretty much the same way I feel about Vina and White. I share Brian’s concerns about the fact he is 30 and hasn’t had a 200 inning season yet. In 32 starts last year he only made it out of the 7th inning 7 times. This isn’t necessarily a horrible thing in general, but the Tiger brass are targeting him for the top of the rotation and you expect your number one or two guy to be able to eat some innings. But the fact of the matter is, anybody that is going to sign with the Tigers at this point is going to have a major drawback or two.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season, and Tigerfest is just a couple weeks away.

ESPN is reporting that the Tigers have signed outfielder Rondell White to a 2 year $6 million dollar deal. No word yet on Tejada. The News says the Tigers made a 5 year $50 million dollar offer, but that the sides are very far apart. I’ve got some kids to take care of now, and I’ll process this deal a little more later today hopefully.

Contingent on a physical, the Tigers have signed Fernando Vina to a two year contract for $3 million a year. While many have complained about this deal, I don’t mind it…yet. I don’t think you can really evaluate this signing until you see the other moves that the team makes this winter. If the Tigers compliment this signing with 2-3 other signings at key positions like shortstop, catcher and pitcher, then this could be worthwhile. If Vina is it, then it is a horrible move.

What this does signal is that the Tigers are willing to bring people here even if it means overspending. I know they’ve said they’d do it all along, but now they are actually doing it. It also means that free agents are willing to not only consider Detroit, but actually sign here. For that Dombrowski should be applauded.

While the Tigers did overpay, and while Vina might not be a significant offensive upgrade over Warren Morris, it is only a two year contract. I would consider signing to be a step forward (albeit a pretty darn small one). Let’s just hope there is more on the way.

The Free Press is reporting that the Tigers have made an offer to Fernando Vina. Vina is coming off an injury shortened 61 game season. However, he is a career .284 hitter with a .350 OBA. He’s 34 and made $5.3 million last year and it is believed to be a two year offer that the Tigers have made. ESPN is reporting that Vina is leaning towards signing with the Cubs. ESPN also is reporting that the Tigers are interested in Rich Aurilia should he not be offered arbitration by the Giants. The Red Sox may also be pursuing him.

With the Tigers pursuing Aurilia and Vina, it reveals a little bit about what their strategy is (or at least what I think it may be). The Tigers aren’t looking for players who will help them win a World Series. They are targeting veteran players who will help the team improve in the short term, to bridge the gap so to speak. What’s more important is that they are going after players that they feel will be tradeable. Dombrowski was yearning to trade veterans for prospects last summer, but he didn’t have the veterans to trade. His veterans weren’t good enough and made too much money for too long. If the Tigers can sign Aurilia or Vina to a short term contract, even if they have to overpay a little, they could finally have something to offer playoff contenders. Now this strategy isn’t without risk. If the Tigers do get these types of players, and then can’t trade them who do they turn to in two years to take the reins? The Tigers don’t really have any 2B or SS prospects throughout the minors. Of course this is all a bit premature because the Tigers haven’t actually signed these guys yet, and that in itself would be a major coup for Dombrowski.

In other news, Kevin Witt signed a minor league deal with St. Louis and Adam Pettyjohn inked a minor league deal with San Francisco.

Danny Knobler reports that the Tigers are going to go after Vlad and Tejada. They won’t get them, but at least they are going to try.

Warren Morris, Kevin Witt, Danny Klassen, AJ Hinch, and Brian Schmanck were removed from the 40 man roster. Morris, was at least serviceable, which for the Tigers is actually pretty good. He doesn’t have a lot of upside beyond what he did this year, but at least he’s a known commodity. Based on Infante’s performance with the Tigers and Mud Hens this year, it doesn’t appear that he is ready. And after trolling through the farm clubs, I don’t see any other middle infielders north of A ball. Could it be that the Tigers are going to make an actual run at Castillo or Tejada?

Witt showed some skills at the plate, but his OBA was only .301 and he couldn’t hit lefties at all. Also, defensively he was limited to playing first base.

I haven’t written a lot lately, or anything as a matter of fact. There isn’t much left to say about a team spiraling toward infamy that hasn’t already been said countless times. However, when I opened up my newspaper this morning there was actual Tiger “news.” Mike Illitch has finally decided to speak. While I’m not a proponent of the overly involved owner (ie Jerry Jones), Illitch’s refusal to answer for, or even comment on the product he is putting on the field until now is unacceptable. This interview was granted 160 games into the season, and probably should have been done sooner, but at least it has happened.

There are several points in the article, and I’ll comment on each.

First the good news: “I am going to do what I feel is necessary to field a good team,” said Ilitch. “I am going to go out and sign free agents. I am going to operate like other teams because I feel I have a foundation. I understand our youth and it is not real complicated now. We are going to fill the holes and see how it works. Everybody can pass judgment on it.” I’m thrilled to see that Illitch is willing to spend money to improve the team. Unfortunately, this is coming a little too late. After 10 losing seasons, Dombrowski is going to have a tough time marketing this team to impact level free agents. Dombrowski will have to be a tremendous salesman, and probably still overpay. What’s a tad distubring is that Illitch thinks this team has a foundation. While it does have some pieces (Munson, Pena, Young, and some pitching) I don’t really see a foundation yet.

Ilitch believes things would have worked out better if Comerica Park opened two years earlier instead of 2000. The original plan was to build it behind the Fox Theatre and open in the summer of 1998 when fans flocked to new stadiums across the country in droves.

But Ilitch said civic responsibility delayed the opening. I’m not sure how this would have helped. The only advantage I can see is that Palmer would have looked at Comerica’s dimensions and never signed here. This seems like a typical Illitch statement in which he offers something, and then no evidence to support it.

“I know the Lions lost 12 games in a row, and all you heard was about the coach and the president,” Ilitch said. “I have a bad year and all I hear about is Mike Ilitch. I don’t know about that. Does it bother me? It’s just strange what approach people want to take in analyzing situations.” Well Mr. Illitch, Bill Ford Sr. has been a constant source of criticism. Because while the Lions have had numerous presidents/coaches/players the fact is the Lions have still lost on their watch. At the same time under the current NFL labor agreement, there is a salary cap in place and there is much less owner discretion in setting payrolls. Now let’s look at the Tigers. Since Illitch has owned the team, they get impossibly worse each year. The fans were told that the team needs a new stadium to compete. That worked for a year, and then because of the cost of the stadium, it was necessary to cut payroll. Furthermore, Illitch’s silence only adds to the speculation and criticism. By answering for the team, Illitch could have staved off some of the criticism.

So in summary, I’m happy that Illitch has spoken, and I’m happy he’s committed to making the team better. However, he is still a little delusional.

I’ll be back this week with a season long wrap up and a look into the future as well.

Just a quick note to say I was still here and still paying attention to the Tig’s. Work has been really hopping lately. Plus, football season is in full swing (Go Blue) so my Tiger blogging time has been significantly cut into.

As a die-hard Tiger fan (die hard seems especially appropriate this year) I found this article comforting: For Tigers true Fans, miracle on horizon