February 2010
What’s Up With That?
It has not been a typical off-season in Detroit. There hasn’t been much snow. It hasn’t been consistently really cold. The Redwings aren’t playing up to their usual standard. The Tigers have traded their “face of the franchise” prompting many to believe that it was time for a fire sale. Then they turned around and signed Valverde and shelled out the big bucks for Verlander. As I said, it has not been a typical off-season in Detroit.
However, it is the most recent news that has caught my attention as being most unusual. The Tigers have, apparently, convinced Andres Galarraga to become Miggy Cabrera’s mentor for the spring training season. Sure, on the surface this seems like it might be a good move. The Big Cat was known as an excellent defender and has the gold gloves to prove it. He also was an offensive weapon that received mvp consideration on more than one occasion. He would probably have received more votes for the Hall of Fame if it wasn’t for the suspicion that he had used steroids. But all things considered, why wouldn’t he be a good mentor for Miggy?
They both play firstbase. They both hit the heck out of the ball. They both come from Venezuala. They both had issues involving alcohol, their wives, and the local police at the end of last season. Yes, this is where I raise my eyebrows. I am not saying that the two are going to tear up Lakeland, Florida on some massive bender where they beat up puppies but, at the same time, I am completely convinced that this is the greatest idea. Maybe the two will be good for each other. Maybe Lakeland had better look out. I know I can’t wait to see how things turn out.
Torrealba To The Padres….Hahahahaha
Mlbtraderumors.com is reporting that Yorvit Torrealba is going to sign with the San Diego Padres for $1.25 million. Not really a huge deal but he will be a nice addition to the Padres. This deal is also another failing on the part of the Mets who have failed to sign anyone of significance besides Jason Bay this year. All off-season the Mets have been said to have had their eyes on Torrealba and now, once again, they have lost out.
I am not saying that Torrealba is a great catcher in the majors…but this leaves the Mets with a bunch of supporting cast-style catchers this season. What is this team doing? Not a bad lineup but their rotation and their catching leaves a lot to be desired.
Johan Santana is great but he can’t carry a whole pitching staff. When your pitching staff is weak one of the best ways to get it over the hump is to get a good catcher. I don’t know if Torrealba was that catcher but the Mets sure haven’t filled the need.
Now they are stuck with a second class rotation and catching. This coupled with the fact that Beltran just had surgery and will be out for a while (the Mets only put a bandaid on this with the acquisition of Matthew) leaves them in a similar position as last year…fighting for fourth place in the NL East.
State of the Union Address
Alright…I am laying it all out on the line Tiger fans. Detroit is not quite ready for the upcoming season. Unlike most of the people I know who are Tiger fans, I don’t think that the season is over already (much like I didn’t think that the season was over last year in late September.) However, the Tigers ARE a few moves away from contention.
First, they need to make a signing. I believe that Johnny Damon is available. This gun for hire brings experience and a real clubhouse presence with him whereever he goes. The D needs to jump on this guy and his price tag has come down. Just call him Discount Damon because his options have become very limited. I believe that this is a realistic goal and there is a good possibility that it will happen.
Second, maybe a thirdbaseman might be in order. I know that Inge has been filling that role for the last few years but it is time for a change. I am not overly impressed with his defensive work and I am certainly not impressed with his bat. There is a guy still out there that will come cheap but I am not sure if he is healthy enough. If he is, this is the guy. He has power, he has grit, and he probably won’t cost that much. His name is Joe Crede. Get him.
Third, and I know this may not be popular, but let’s get rid of Leyland. I like old school but this may be too much. I am tired of big time game decisions being decided because this guy had a gut feeling. It’s time to manage the ballgame. There is no time for Jimmy to decide whether he is going to pull his starter or it is just indigestion anymore.
That’s it. It’s not much but three key moves will move the Tigers that much closer to October glory and I am not even sure if they have to go through with the third move but last season left a bad taste in my mouth and I know that the manager has to take on some of the responsibility for a finish like that.
Out Of The Closet…Into The Fire
I have a confession. I want to be honest and come clean. But first…my intro. I spent the younger years of my life moving around from town to town across Canada. Throughout all of my moving about I was lucky enough to have a home base…Windsor, Ontario. Windsor is where my grandparents lived and where my Aunt and my cousin lived. Because of this transient lifestyle that my father chose for me I never really had a favorite baseball team. I was always a baseball fan but never had a childhood team that I was able to fall in love with. In time, as a ten year old through my teenage years, I found my teams due to the players that played with them. Because of Dale Murphy I loved the Braves. I rooted for them through the eighties when they finished last more often than not. In 1985 I fell in love with the hapless Redsox and Wade Boggs and a rookie named Roger Clemens. Also in the eighties I rooted for the Athletics with their dynamic duo of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. The Mariners also became a favorite in the mid-eighties with players like Harold Reynolds, Ken Phelps, and Jay Buhner. As you can tell…I love baseball and a lot of the teams that come with it. BUT here is where things get a little difficult for me to talk about. I think that I am a Tigers fan.
I know…I know. My friends know too. I am often their harshest critic. Living across the river from Detroit since I was in grade 8 has given me constant exposure to the Detroit Tigers. They are the favorite team of most of my family members and most of my friends. Due to my difficulty with conforming to authority and basically everything, I fought as hard as I could against rooting for the Tigers. I give up. I have given up before. In fact, in my life I have owned three Tiger hats…two of them as an adult.
This time, however, I am not giving up because of peer pressure or the fact that they reside so close to where I live. This time I give up because the Tigers need me. They need me to root as hard as I can so that they will win. They need me to criticize, not harshly like before, in order to help them improve. AND THIS WILL HAPPEN.
Don’t get me wrong. I am still cheering for the Sox with all my heart. Ichiro and the Mariners will get my love too. I will still watch TBS when the Braves are on. I am just taking on a new lost puppy by the name of the Detroit Tigers. 
I already listen to at least 50 Tiger games a year. I already listen (almost daily) to Detroit sports radio listing their rants and raves about the Tigers. This transition should not be hard. This year I am taking on (AGAIN) the Detroit Tigers. FAIR WARNING…I am no slappy. I will call ‘em as I see ‘em.
I guess this is also a good time to say that I feel that my blog has lacked focus. I have been blogging since October and have been trying to find myself. It’s hard for me to blog from the perspective of my other favorite teams (the Sox, Braves, Mariners) because I don’t live in or near the cities they reside in and I can’t get an accurate feel for how the general public feels at any given time.
I am revamping my blog and I am revamping my own baseball experience. I am going to root for and blog for the team that I know best…THE DETROIT TIGERS. So this is it. I am not going to give up on my other teams but I am going to root, root, root for the home team and I am going to blog about it.
STRAP ON YOUR SEATBELTS.
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