2010 Roster 1.1

OK, the Granderson deal obviously shuffled things. Did the addition of Robinson Diaz change things? I would leave that to spring training!
Here is my 2010 Detroit Tigers roster:
Bats
Starters
C Gerald Laird
1b Miguel Cabrera
2b Scott Sizemore
SS Adam Everett
3b Brandon "Charlie" Inge
LF Carlos Guillen
CF Austin Jackson
RF Magglio Ordonez

Reserves (and 1 of these guys is your DH)
C Alex Avila / Robinson Diaz
OF Clete Thomas
IF Ramon Santiago
IF/OF Ryan Raburn
1B/OF Ryan Strieby


Pitchers
Starters
Justin Verlander
Rick Porcello

Max Scherzer

Jeremy Bonderman
Nate Robertson/Eddie Bonine/Alfredo Figaro/Dontrelle Willis/Phil Coke
Relief
Nate Robertson/Eddie Bonine/Phil Coke
Zach Miner
Fu Te Ni
Bobby Seay

Daniel Schlereth

Joel Zumaya
Ryan Perry

Well, that's the thoughts! I may be the eternal optimist but, it's not that bad! Of course, I want Granderson in CF but, this is what we got! I would like a fallback in CF this year. Is that Clete? What about going out and getting Jonny Gomes for DH/LF?

Why don't we ....

OK ... just thinking outloud. There are a few things I believe the Tigers are just plain not thinking about at this point ... and they should!

1) Look at Chris Capuano! An All-Star in 2006, the left hander has a career record of 124-116 with a 4.39 ERA. The record is completely dismissable as he pitched for the Brewers!. Capuano was solid before his 2008 injury. OK, he is coming off serious injury but, why not offer a 1 year deal? We did it with Freddy Garcia. If it works, great! If not, no loss if it is incentive laden!

2) Trade Dontrele Willis and/or Nate Robertson. DON'T EVEN SAY IT!!!! I KNOW! We have to pay these guys anyway, why not put it out there that we will suck up 80-90% of this years contract for a low-A ball prospect? It wouldn't hurt! Maybe get out of $1 mil. The Rangers are lookin hard for SPs that will sign a 1 year deal.

As per usual .... I'm just sayin!

Tigers sign C Robinson Diaz

Tigers kept the roster juggle machine on high by adding 26 year old catcher Robinson Diaz. Robinson played for the Pirates last year and has a career average of .281 in 139 MLB ABs. We had interest in him last year after Treanor went down. I don't think that he is going to threaten Alex Avila as the back-up but, maybe they feel Avila needs more time in the minors. Diaz has just over 2500 career minor league ABs and has a minor league career AVG of .301. So, I like the signing as of right now, we'll see if it is a major or minor league contract.

Jackson and Granderson gone!!!!! WOW!

Wow! Tigers are changing the face of the team but quick! Polly gone, Rodney gone, Lyon gone now, Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson are also gone!

It is arguable that Curtis was the face/leader of this Tigers team! Now ... he is a Yankee. I understand the business part of this deal, you save $10 million this year and possibly double that in 2010 when we have another $55 mil comin off (Ordonez, Robertson, Willis, Bonderman and Inge) . So, we'll have 4 solid prospects with a solid year under their belt and up to $75 mil to spend, we'll need it to extend Verlander!

OK, here it is, the final deal:

Arizona gets:
Edwin Jackson
Ian Kennedy

Yankees get:
Curtis Granderson

Tigers get:
Max Scherzer
Daniel Schlereth
Austin Jackson
Phil Coke

The new player I didn't cover is:
Daniel Schlereth RP, from Arizona, 23 years old
AA/AAA - 0.98 ERA, 22 G, 27 IP, 17 BB, 40 K
2008 1st round pick for the D'Backs, out of Arizona, he pitched with Ryan Perry when they made it to the NCAA Super Regionals. Schlereth was just a beast in the minors.

Here is the info from my previous post:
Max Scherzer SP, from Arizona, 25 years old
D'Backs - 9-11, 4.12 ERA, 170 IP, 166 H, 63 BB, 174 Ks
Max had a great season last year. His W-L is a little misleading. Max pitched almost 200 innings and managed a solid 9.2 K/9. Edwin had a better ERA but in all reality Max and his additional 2 years of team control may have actually been a smart move.
Austin Jackson CF, from Yankees, 22 years old
AAA - Scranton Yankees - .300 avg, 23 2B, 40 bb, 123 Ks and 24 SBs
Austin Jackson is a top notch prospect (who knew the Yankees had any left). He has averaged about .290 since being drafted in the 8th round of the 2005 draft fresh out of high school.
Phil Coke RP, from Yankees, 27 years old
Yankees - 4-3, 4.50 ERA, 60 IP, 44 H, 20 bb, 49 K's
Phil was on his way up through the minor league ranks as a starter, and a good one. In 2008, Phil had started 20 games for the Yankees AA affiliate and posted a 9-4 record with a 2.51 era. When he was brought up in late 2008 (debuting against your Detroit Tigers) he was brought in as a bullpen guy. He was a little wreckless last year (blowing 5 saves) but, overall looks like a solid middle relief type.

Lloyd McClendon and Curtis

OK ... before Curtis is gone, I just wanna say ... Lloyd McClendon sucks. He cannot take all of the blame but, take a good look. Who has improved under his tutelage? Inge is arguable, he did have a great first half after Lloyd helped him change his swing. To that note though, Rod Allen could have fixed his swing he only talked about it every at bat of '08 Look at everyone else in the starting lineup!
'08 '09
Curtis 280 249
Polanco 307 285
Ordonez 317 310 --- and 50% less HR production
Cabrera 292 324
Guillen 286 242 --- after increasing his AVG for the prev 7 seasons
Everett 213 238
Inge 205 230
Laird 276 225
Thames 241 252
Clete 284 240
Rayburn 236 291

Numbers don't lie. The decrease in Polly, Maggs, Guillen, Laird and Curtis are huge. I know Rayburn increased but ... I'm just sayin!

Almost a Blockbuster by Detroit Last Night

Wow! we almost really made a deal last night. A 3-way deal with the Yankees and D'backs. We would have parted ways with Curtis and Edwin but, we would have really picked up some propects (including Austin Jackson, who is Curtis's look-alike). I really don't like the concept of giving up a home grown talent like Curtis not an All-Star starter but, if you were going to do it, this may have been the move to make. Either the Yankees or the Tigers halted the talks on this. Here's the info:

Detroit would have given up:
Curtis Granderson
Edwin Jackson

Detroit would have received:
Max Scherzer SP, from Arizona, 25 years old
D'Backs - 9-11, 4.12 ERA, 170 IP, 166 H, 63 BB, 174 Ks
Max had a great season last year. His W-L is a little misleading. Max pitched almost 200 innings and managed a solid 9.2 K/9. Edwin had a better ERA but in all reality Max and his additional 2 years of team control may have actually been a smart move.
Austin Jackson CF, from Yankees, 22 years old
AAA - Scranton Yankees - .300 avg, 23 2B, 40 bb, 123 Ks and 24 SBs
Austin Jackson is a top notch prospect (who knew the Yankees had any left). He has averaged about .290 since being drafted in the 8th round of the 2005 draft fresh out of high school.
Michael Dunn RP, from Yankees, 25 years old
AA-AAA - 4-3, 3.15 ERA, 73 IP, 58 H, 46 BB, 99 K's
Michael Dunn is a power pitcher! He spent the season between AA & AAA last year. He actually improved as he moved up. Dunn maintained an amazing 12.2 K/9 average but, his 5.6 BB/9 was a little high.
Phil Coke RP, from Yankees, 27 years old
Yankees - 4-3, 4.50 ERA, 60 IP, 44 H, 20 bb, 49 K's
Phil was on his way up through the minor league ranks as a starter, and a good one. In 2008, Phil had started 20 games for the Yankees AA affiliate and posted a 9-4 record with a 2.51 era. When he was brought up in late 2008 (debuting against your Detroit Tigers) he was brought in as a bullpen guy. He was a little wreckless last year (blowing 5 saves) but, overall looks like a solid middle relief type.

Edwin trade in the works?

Multiple sources say that the Tigers are close to dealing Edwin Jackson! I am not too keen on this. I get it, they are trying to sell high on a converted SS turned SP that had a career year. In the end it would be just like dealing Matt Joyce for whatever we ger for Edwin. I just don't know what the plan is. If you trade him and get a major league ready SP AND a prospect then I guess that is OK. But, in all reality who is going to deal a prospect and a SP with more team control (Edwin has 2 years left) for a guy with such a drop off in the second half last year? Yeah, he was All-Star caliber in the first half but, the second was Nate Robertson-ish.

Oh, yeah. If we don't get a SP in return .... WHO IS STARTING? Justin, Porcello, Bondo (healthy?) .... then who? Please dont say Dontrelle, Nate or Miner. Even though, I do believe you'll see Nate anyhow.

Tigers sign Adam Everett

Tigers took care of 1 need today by signing Adam Everett to a 1-year deal. At this time the financials are not available, I will post as soon as I hear them. I am guessing 2.25-2.75 mil-ish! I am not terribly excited nor terribly upset by this move. We need a SS, Everett has a great glove. I would like to think that Brent Dlugach could one day be a solid SS (he did hit .294 with 36 doubles last year in the GCL) but, A) we aren't sure how he will progress and B) there is no way you go with a rookie SS and rookie 2B in 2010.

Everett was just tough to watch at the plate last year, we all know this! He was the opposite of clutch but, his glove is very good! That is totally why they signed him. I just hope that we get some batting average from 2B & 3B so we aren't all D!

2010 Roster

OK, speculation time #1. It's time for the Free Agent frenzy! I know we will have nothing to do with paying big bucks for a free agent, so, at this time .... What is our roster going to look like? Here is my guess, at this point!

Bats
Starters
C Gerald Laird
1b Miguel Cabrera
2b Scott Sizemore
SS Ramon Santiago
3b Brandon Inge
LF Carlos Guillen
CF Curtis Granderson
RF Magglio Ordonez

Reserves (and 1 of these guys is your DH)
C Alex Avila
OF Clete Thomas
IO Ryan Rayburn
1B/OF Ryan Strieby

... we have room for 1 more ...

Pitchers
Starters
Justin Verlander
Rick Porcello
Edwin Jackson
Jeremy Bonderman
Nate Robertson

Relief
Zach Miner
Fu Te Ni
Bobby Seay
Joel Zumaya
Ryan Perry

... room for 2 more ...

What do you think? I am about to sift through our minor league system (at least what is left of it) to show what we have

Injury updates

OK ... everyone hold your breath! Joel Zumaya is throwin again! At this point they are just workin him like he was never injured, strength and conditioning and not rehabbing. OK, JZ is my favorite Tiger but, I have realistic expectations. The wind blows and he falls apart, I KNOW!!!!! But, with our bullpen, we can only HOPE that he is somewhat back to form. I would gladly accept his career average at this point in the setup or closer role. Start bitchin ..... go ahead! I know "CLOSER?" but, name someone better and don't say Ryan Perry! Perry may be the future but currently is lacking the cajones! For the record, Zumaya career numbers (3.15 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 5.4 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9 and 7.2 H/9) are still good even thought the rough outings the last 2 years.

Scott Sizemore could be off crutches as soon as tomorrow! Any progress will be helpful! I don't like having to put too much thought into a rookie but, he IS our 2B next year. Anyone havee Omar Infante's phone number for a lil backup cuz you know "Omar can hit a fastball" ... oh, wait we already talked about that :)

Bye-Bye Placido! Polly Signs with Phillies

Placido Polanco is no longer a Tiger! Polanco, pending physical, signed a 2 year/$12 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies to be their 3B (with an option for a third year also at 6 mil). Over paid? you can argue that but, I don't think so. I understand that we couldn't afford 6 mil per year at this point and the demand for multiple years would be blocking our best prospect (that is at least close to ready for the majors).

Polly was amazing in a Tigers uniform. When was the last time that you saw a Tigers 2B make such an impact? Lou? Polanco is the epitome of Dave Dombrowski's genius. On June 2, 2005 the Tigers dealt Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Martinez (who? haha) for Polanco. Placido flourished when he reached the Motor City. Prior to coming here, his career batting average was a respectable .296. All Polanco did was manage to hit .311 in a Tigers jersey, not to mention win 2 Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger award.

P.S. Urbina managed to pitch 52 games for Philly in 2005 before going to jail for whackin fools with a machete in Venezuela. Don't know if he'll ever see the light of day!