Travis

Another bad outing from Bruce Bruce.

Talent wasn't a part of the criteria for the question. No doubt, Kane is a great hockey player - though whether or not he's better than Crosby is arguable at best - but he is a total clown. Assaulting cabbies with your brother? Showing up at college parties and getting fall down drunk? Yep. Definitely a clown. He's certainly my choice.

I was discussing this last night, and I honestly think that the brass is trying not to hurt the Griffins too much. Their two leading scorers are Nyquist and Tatar and I don't think it's necessarily coincidence that they're never up at the same time. Obviously, there are roster restrictions in Detroit; but having a competitive Griffins team for the first time in years is good for the kids, good for the team, good for revenue, etc. Glad they earned the point back that they gave up by allowing Friday night's game to slip away. They skated circles around the Monsters for the first 20 minutes and then let their collective foot off the gas the rest of the way.

So it's official now that Tuiasosopo will be Dirks' platoon partner, though I imagine he cools off and is sent down to the minors by mid-May. I would love to see Casper Wells DFA'ed and back in a Tigers uniform, hell, I'll even send one of Detroit's many relievers to Seattle for him. He'd be a perfect compliment to Dirks - plus defense, good speed, some pop - in that LF spot. I don't know if Berry impressed enough to stay up with the big club. I think the final spot goes to Kelly. He's got lots of versatility and he's been tearing the cover off the ball this spring, putting an exclamation point on it all by going 4-4 today with 2 doubles and a home run. I'd agree that Santiago's time is just about up. I think there is a team out there that would like what he has to offer and I imagine that before too long the Tigers will give him up to someone. Worth has earned his role with the team, he's just a victim of circumstance that will end up in Toledo because he has an option left. Edit: No sooner do I post that than Buster Olney comes through with this — @Buster_ESPN: Tigers have indicated to other teams that Ramon Santiago is available. So I guess the Tigers might be looking at Worth off the bench, which I think everyone is ready for. Neither guy can hit their way out of a wet paper bag, though I always loved Ramon's "sneaky power". It's time for Worth to get his due, though. Rondon had another good outing today, but it's coming off a pair of poor ones - so I guess we're in for a roller coaster ride. I imagine the bullpen arms that go up north are Smyly, Villarreal, Alburquerque, Coke, Benoit, Dotel, and Rondon with any one of the last four working in a sort of committee closer role to get Rondon comfortable. He has the stuff, he just has to be sure to put it together when he gets out on the mound. I for one am ready for the real games to start.

That's my favorite part of the whole night, honestly. I wish there was a photograph of he and Roy colliding in mid air.

I wouldn't be so sure. I think it's just principle at this point. Remember Holland going through Tampa Bay to land Quincey last year.

Versteeg had season-ending knee surgery two weeks ago. Smid interests me a lot. Honestly, Yandle does, too, if the Coyotes decide they're out of it. All depends on the asking price, of course. Myself, I'd rather see the team spread trade chips around and maybe bring in a pair of defensemen and a winger as opposed to giving up a lot for 1 rental.

5th in the conference.

OBV SAM JOSE IS BLOWING IT UP GIVE DET UR PFS But for real, might Detroit be able to pry a fellow or two from a Sharks team that could very well be heading in a new direction?

Now, I could be totally off-base because I don't know how long the tournament overseas lasts, but would he be at all eligible for the Griffins playoff run?

The hockey equivalent of, "can he play second base?!"

Where's the call on the bear hug Ericsson got in front of the net?

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!

KRONWAAAAAALLL

I'm going to be that guy and reply to myself here, but the Tigers are on FSD today with their Opening Day line-up behind Doug Fister. Game starts in a few minutes so I thought I'd throw that out there.

I know it's off topic, but I was irritated by this during the Edmonton game, too. Mickey seemed especially hard on Brunner for no particular reason. It's not like he's getting some established super star getting paid big bucks and not lighting the lamp. He basically just got to the NHL, no need to single him out in such a way.

. It seems like Tuiasosopo is turning some heads with the bat and also hits from the right side of the plate, so I could certainly see him joining Dirks. Kobernus is a 2B by trade so he could be earn a spot over Berry simply because of his versatility - assuming he progresses in the outfield. I agree that Santiago makes the team over Worth if for no other reason than Worth's remaining option. If I had to wager a guess right now I'd say that Tuiasosopo, Kobernus, Pena, and Santiago are the team's Opening Day bench players and Smyly starts the year in long relief. I agree with you 100% on Boesch, too. I think his attitude last year was the real nail in the coffin to his Tigers career. Lack of production, bad defense, and a poor outlook is a perfect recipe to find yourself cut. He went 0-3 in his Yankees debut.

Probably. His value was at his highest then, wasn't it?

Surprising move, but there must simply not have been a trade market for him any longer. Seemed obvious that he'd be elsewhere this year, despite re-tooling his swing, but his atrocious defense and poor history did him in.

Has there been any discussion of the teams who will be right up against the new $64M salary cap for next year?

I would compare it to RBIs in that its somewhat circumstantial. Both are based, in part, on overall team performance and situational play.

I think the AL East will be the most interesting division in baseball this year. If I had to guess, I would put the Tigers in the mid-90s as far as wins go. Capable of 100, sure. Especially in the Central, but I don't think it'll happen. Especially with the season-long interleague play and what that means for Martinez in the line-up.

Hasn't he been bench riding? Or is he hurt? Feels like more of a welcome back move than anything.