Airborn

Another day, another s***ty start by a Tigers starting pitcher. I don't know about you guys, but this is getting really old with me.

FINALLY!!! The losing streak ends at 5 games. With Rodney and Jones dominating the 8th and 9th, it felt like it was 2006. Hopefully this get the guys going.

Also, I would consider Gagne twice the pitcher Cordero is and he didn't even fetch that kind of deal, so it would have been crazy to pay that much for Cordero.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with trading either Tata or Vasquez (or both), especially considering the young pitching we already have, the probability we'll sign Porcello, and it sounds like Jurrjens is coming into his own: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=511 I just think we could get more if we wait. In the offseason, once teams are priced out of the FA market they'll be desperate and Tata and Vasquez will have more value (similar to how we couldn't move Sanchez last year to get a bat at the deadline, but we were able to use him later to get Sheffield). If we wait, we'll get a lot more than a reserve SS. If Wilson were a reliever who could help, I'd be more inclined to overpay, but he's not, so why do it?

No it would be Vasquez or Tata. Miller is untouchable.

Eckstein would be a great addition, although I like him in the 9-hole more than leadoff. Perfect type of player for a team like the Tigers who already have a bunch of sluggers. The sad thing is he'll probably end up costing half as much as Wilson. One more shocking part of this potential trade. If you believe this report, we're willing to part with two of our top 6 prospects for Wilson. The only holdup is how much of Wilson's salary the Pirates will assume. http://postgazette.com/pg/07214/806335-63.stm I'd assumed this was just a salary dump, but would Dombrowski really give up two of our better prospects for a backup shortstop? This just can't be right!

I reluctantly agree, especially if the only available option is Jack Wilson. Why in the world is Dombrowski pursuing this (reports indicate he still is)? Wilson is owed a ton of money (14.5 million over the next 2 years) and he: 1. Strikes out twice as much as he walks 2. Doesn't hit for average 3. Doesn't hit for power 4. Is good defensively Sure he might be an upgrade defensively, but at most he's late inning replacement. However, with the struggles lately to score runs late in games (increasing pressure on the already fragile bullpen), I don't want to lose Casey's or Guillen's bat in favor of a guy who provides nothing at the plate. I'd much rather use the money we'd end up owing this guy to address the situation in the offseason.

Teams could just be leery of dealing with Dombrowski, as it seems he wins every deal he makes

You are of course right, which explains why Dombrowski was trying to get a SS at the deadline. I do think Omar would be an upgrade until Guillen get his knee feeling right.

Leyland lit into the club a little bit in the press last night, something in my opinion is a couple days late. Way too many errors lately, especially from the SS. Guillen's error last night turned the game around for the A's: Something that has been happening way to frequently as of late. I can deal with errors every once in a while, but right now he's a huge defensive liability. If he's not healthy enough to play the field (he indicated as much in the press), then by all means have him DH and have Sheff play the OF. One thing I know, we won't miss Monroe's bat. Also, the entire pitching staff needs to start throwing strikes. It's an epidemic. Verlander needed over 100 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings. With his stuff, there's no excuse for that. I don't know if the guys are tired or what, but their play of late has been horrendus. If anything, I would have like to see some deals yesterday, just to provide a spark.

I'm with you and drinking away. I can't help but be excited to think about what our offense can do this year.

You could have said the same thing last year. There's no way we go into the post season without a big bat in the middle of the lineup, yet we passed on Abreu and Soriano because teams wanted too much. I don't see us mortgaging the future for a guy like Lidge or Gagne. If anything, he'll make a deal for a guy under the radar, similar to what he did with Casey last year.

Interesting. The more I think about this, the more I can see this story becoming the largest sports scandal we've ever seen. If the Mob has their hooks into one ref, there could be more. Take into account, the general "crappiness" of NBA officiating (make NHL refs look like gods) and can you ever trust the NBA again? As Simmons stated, every time a bad or strange call happens, in the back of your mind you'll be wondering if it's something more than incompetence. Also, this is not like other sports. Officiating CAN decide the outcome of games and many times does. If this is bigger than one guy, it will set the NBA back for decades.

Funny, I read this article last night, and think Simmons hit it right on the head. When the story broke about a corrupt NBA official, it registered no surprise to me, and I immediately began a making a list of a dozen or so possible officials it could be. Anyone who watched any of the 2006 NBA finals knows exactly what Simmons is refering to in his article. That was the most sickening display of one-sided officiating I've ever seen.

I think the Willis rumor has to be that - just a rumor. It's probably being propagated because we offered something like Verlander and another prospect for him last year. I think our interest in him has passed and If we trade for anything, it'll be bullpen help. The problem is all the main guys out there have question marks. Lidge - confidence, Gagne - injury risk, Dotel injuries/performance, and Cordero - stuff. Take into account what opposing GMs are asking for these guys, and I wouldn't be surprised if Dombrowski stands pat.

I didn't see the game last night, but we got 4 more good innings out of the pen, although it looked liked Leyland, once again, had to pull a circus act to get the job done. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...351/1004/SPORTS That's now 1 earned run in about 24 innings. I'm not sure who gets the boot when Rodney comes back. My bet is either McBride or Grilli. McBride but he's been pitching well (ERA in the 2s), but he still walks way too many guys. With everyone looking for relief help, I wonder if Grilli has any trade value. His numbers aren't great this year, but he's got good stuff. Honestly, that's who I'd like to see go.

Quietly the bullpen has put together about 20 innings of scoreless relief. I think a lot of this has to do with Leyland's management. He's done a really good job of putting these guys in the right situations. It makes me wonder now if Rodney coming back is a good thing. I don't want anything to upset the balance we now have.

Exelby's was restricted, so it's apples and oranges, but I hear you. I want Markov back badly as well. I keep hoping to come to this site and see a thread: "Official: Markov Re-signs."

Depends on what you mean by "make a difference." From what I saw last year he looks like he'll be a solid # 5 or 6 defenceman. He skates pretty well, handles the forecheck nicely, and makes a good first pass. He's not nearly as physical as he was billed to be, but maybe that'll come later. If you're expecting more than that, I'd agree with your assessment. Personally, I thought he was better than Lebda in the playoffs., and wouldn't mind seeing him get a shot at some of Lebda's minutes if he doesn't pick his game up next year.

Keep in mind the salary cap is rising like crazy, so he'll only be the highest paid DT until the next franchise type DT negotiates a new deal. If he'd hit the open market, I guarantee another team would have paid him this type of money. I look at it this way. We only have a few proven pro-bowler level players on the team. Redding is one of them, so there's no way we could afford to lose him or, just as bad, hold out. The Lions have to make significant progress this year under Marinelli. Otherwise the team begins to lose faith and the message wears thin. Just look at what happened to Mariucci. IMO, Millen had to get this deal done, and he did.

Good point. I think Parker also went on record saying the Tigers should hire Bob Watson as GM over Dombrowski. Apparently there is no shame anymore. Otherwise Parker would have retired or changed identities by now.

I've been thinking about that deal the past couple of weeks. When he made it. Dombrowski got ripped by the press (mainly Rob Parker and Drew Sharp) because they felt he was throwing in the towel too early. Now Miner is one of our best bullpen arms, and there was no way Farnsworth would have re-signed here.

Keep in mind, whoever pairs with Lidstrom is going to do the bulk of the corner work, because teams will try and dump the puck aways from Lids. I wouldn't want to subject Kronwall to that kind of pounding knowing his injury history. If the season started today, I'd pair Lids with Lilja or Chelios. I like Chelios better, but you also don't want to wear him down before the playoffs. He's in his mid 40s afterall.

If we have to start the season with Lilja pairing with Lids, I'm OK with that. However, we have to make a move before the playoffs. There is no way Lilja should be matched up aginst the other teams top line on a regular basis. Lilja did good in the playoffs, because he was in the 2nd pairing (playing against the other teams 2nd and 3rd lines), and he was playing with Scheids who helped him out. He definitely fell off in the Anaheim series (even before the terrible giveaway) when the talent got better and he lost his partner.

Who takes Markov's spot against the other teams top line with Lidstrom? Please tell me you're not advocating Kronwall. I'm certainly not comfortable that based on last years play, not to mention his injury history. Kronwall is not a better defenseman than Markov right now. He might be in the future, but not now. At some point, Chelios is going to begin to show his age. It might not be this year, but you never know. Lilja had somewhat of a resurrection in the playoffs last year, but you'll notice his play dropped considerably after Scheider's injury. I definitely wouldn't count on him. Quincey, Meech, and Lebda are not top prospects. Realistically, they're 6th or 7th career d-men. Kindl has more upside, but he's playing in Grand Rapids next year. While, Kronwall is replacable, I don't think it's by anyone in our current lineup. At least, not if you want to advance in the playoffs.