The resignation email was simply a formality, I’m sure. But needless to say, Mr. Stewart still has not responded. In fact the only response to the rather honest post I wrote was to take down the post (which is why I haven’t linked to it). After everything I wrote about him and his site, he didn’t even send me an email. Again, not shocking.

That brings us to yesterday morning. I spent the morning at work trying to decide if I really wanted to back out of the deal I had with them, but decided they had long since backed out on me. I wrote a piece here and then sent the email to Mr. Stewart.  Not 10 minutes later I received an email.

The email came from Wally Fish, Editor at Kings of Kauffman and MLB Director for the FanSided network. His letter informed me that Joe Dexter of Motor City Bengals was stepping into a new role within the site and they were offering yours truly the lead blogger position covering the Tigers.  After several emails back and forth we agreed, and the next post you read from me will be found there.

And that’s the bitter pill.

Tigers Tracks has only been on the scene for seven months and this site has already grown bigger than I ever imagined it would. But stand-alone blogs just don’t have the access to the major outlets that networked blogs have. I will be sacrificing some design control for increased exposure and access. The clincher was getting the go ahead to transfer my archives over to MCB. Doing so will allow me to continue the By The Numbers series I have enjoyed writing so much.

As far as I know, Joe will continue to do the fine work he does on his podcast, and he’ll still post once in a while, too. I will be doing the Lion’s share of the writing, however. With camp opening in just a couple weeks, expect a renewed effort as I bring you the best I got. After all, I’ll need to impress the network.

So that’s it, then. I’ll be spending the next several hours sleeping, and I’ll get started on the big switch tomorrow. But I do want to personally thank each and every one of you who has ever stopped by to read what I had to say. I know I have bounced around a bit within the blogoshere, this will be my third “permanant” home since May of last year. So I’m asking you all one more time, and hopefully I won’t ever have to ask again. I look forward to building on the solid foundation that Joe has layed for me, won’t you all stop on by and check out the new Motor City Bengals?

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“I can make the Detroit Tigers a winner” Boras quoted Damon to Lynn Henning. Boras then went on to detail how before signing his last two free agent deals, Damon had said the same thing about Boston and New York. Of course, it wasn’t until his third year in Boston, and fourth in New York, that Damon actually did make each of those teams a winner. At age 36, Damon and the Tigers don’t have the luxury of waiting for it to happen.

The fact is the Tigers are not Damon’s first choice. The Yankees were his first choice, they didn’t feel he was worth the money. The A’s are probably his second choice, or maybe Atlanta or Tampa, or even Cincinnati, all of whom have been linked to Damon in various rumors.

Early in the offseason, Damon apparently turned down a two year, $14 MM contract offer from New York, now the offers have dried up and he’ll likely have to settle for one year at around $4 MM. At that price, Damon is a good value and the Tigers will likely pounce, but if he signs with Detroit, you can bet it won’t be because he really wanted to play here. At this point, he’ll be happy just to find work.

While having Damon at the top of the lineup would make the Tigers a significantly more potent offense, he would present a roadblock of sorts to either the development of Austin Jackson or more likely the playing time of Ryan Raburn.  Dave Dombrowski has already stated that the club is prepping Raburn for full-time duty this season and I figure he has the inside track to handle the lead-off duties in 2010. Damon joining the roster would put a stop to all that noise and Raburn would be left to wait for Carlos Guillen to hit the DL. At least he won’t have to wait long.

Outfield depth still is not the problem. The Tigers figure to use Guillen, Raburn, Jackson, and Magglio Ordonez to fill the outfield and DH spots. They also have an accomplished defender in Clete Thomas who can play all three spots. While Damon’s bat would help, the Tigers would be better suited to find another infielder.

The offseason is about setting up your club for success. Part of that process is having depth available in case of injury or poor performance. The outfield not only has five ML caliber players already in house, but Wilkin Ramirez and Casper Wells are not far behind. The infield, however, is lacking in quality depth. An injury to Brandon Inge would spell doom for Detroit. And it sure would be nice to have someone who can hit playing shortstop, at least occasionally. Which brings me to Felipe Lopez.

Lopez is a switch hitter who has a history of success in the National League. He can play second base and shortstop, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he could play third as well. He’s been a solid top-of-the-order hitter throughout his career and while he might struggles with the glove at times, it wouldn’t be as noticeable in a utility role. Think of him like Ramon Santiago, but with a much better bat.

Lopez split last season between the Diamondbacks and Brewers and had another fine year, yet he has remained unsigned. Like Damon, I’m sure Lopez is getting antsy with Spring Training now just weeks away, so his asking price will continue to drop as camp grows near.

The addition of Lopez would solidify the roster and fortify the offense. Thomas could continue as the clubs fifth outfielder and the Tigers would have insurance against in case Scott Sizemore or Adam Everett struggles to hit big league pitching. Lopez wouldn’t be given a starting job, but I bet it wouldn’t take long for him to hit his way into the lineup on a regular basis, eventually taking Everett’s job.

Given that the money is likely to be no worse that even between the two, in my estimation, Lopez would be the player the Tigers should be targeting, not Damon. No matter what Scott Boars says.

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Last year, about this time, there was a free agent on the market that had a history of great success versus the Tigers. Minnesota engaged that free agent in contract talks and eventually outbid the Giants for his services. And while Joe Crede certainly did not have a stellar year for Minnesota, hampered with lingering back issues, he did perform when it came to facing the Tigers once again.

Mid-season, the Twins did it again, nabbing another player with a history of dominance over Detroit. This time it was Carl Pavano, aquired in a trade with Cleveland. Pavano had been 4-0 against the Tigers in 2009 before the trade, and although the Tigers did eventually hand a loss on him, he too helped the Twins to surpass Detroit for the divisional crown.

Now, Minnesota has struck once more.

The Twins reportedly have agreed to a one year $1.5 million deal with free agent DH Jim Thome, perhaps the most notorious Tiger Killer of them all. Thome’s days of playing first base are behind him, and Jason Kubel does most of the DHing in the Twins Cities, but rest assured that Thome will be in the lineup whenever the opponent is Detroit. Maybe they’d like to kick our dogs while they’re at it, too.

In 191 games against the Tigers, Thome has an OPS of 1.075, his highest mark against any AL team. He has 60 career home runs against Detroit, his best mark versus any team, and his .636 slugging percentage is also the highest. Not even the powers of Justin Verlander can suppress the mighty Thome, as he has taken JV deep seven times in only 41 at bats.

Translation: we’re screwed.

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At this point, how that affects his performance on the field is anyone’s guess, but if he can come back and just be healthy enough to compete, I would view it as a victory for Willis. Let’s hope that translates to victories for the Tigers.

If you would all indulge me for a moment, I am going to step away from unbiased analysis for a moment. I know the arguments, there is no cure for Steve Blass disease, the Tigers should cut him loose, we cannot afford any charity starts for a guy who can’t find the plate. If only for this few minutes as I write this, I am choosing to reject those arguments. I want Dontrelle on this team. I want him to succeed, or at least be given every opportunity to fail.

It has nothing to do with money for me, only my own selfish joy that I get watching great pitchers pitch. Make no mistake, Willis was great. From watching even his worst efforts last season, you could see the stuff was still there. If somehow he can find a way to harness that, he can be at least good again. And I would be pulling for him no matter what uniform he wears.

And speaking of comebacks, Brandon Inge has been cleared to resume baseball activities following surgery on both knees. He is said to be ahead of schedule, so he should be ready to play in game by the final couple of weeks of Spring Training. Hopefully he can regain his pre-all star break form of 2009. In a lineup with so many question marks, a strong start by Inge would help smooth the transition of Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore to their major league roles.

In other news, Billfer passed along a tweet saying that Jeff Larish was outrighted to AAA. The Tigers are now safely back to 40 on the roster after adding Jose Valverde last week. Jason Beck confirmed in a tweet of his own.

Let me finish up by wishing a very happy 92nd birthday to Mr. Ernie Harwell. The unquestioned voice of the Tigers is turning out articles for the Free Press again, and while his battle with inoperable cancer won’t end in victory, I’m glad he was able to have another birthday. It is my hope that his final days are filled with comfort and happiness. God bless you, Ernie. And thank you for filling my childhood with memories. There will never be another like him.

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Seriously, that’s what he said.

Nevermind that this is the same Jenkins, who is Canadian, that in 1980 was arrested at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium when officials discovered cocaine and marijuana in his suitcase. He was convicted on drug possession charges later that year, only to see the conviction immediately erased by a Canadian judge who cited his “exemplary conduct”. It should be noted that Jenkins is/was a national hero in Canada at the time.

So much the same as Jack Clark and Carlton Fisk, Jenkins feels that McGwire owes more than he has given. If it were up to these men, I’m sure McGwire would have to walk door-to-door, personally apologizing to each and every human on the planet for his past transgressions. Jenkins would have Mac visiting mental hospitals, where he would meet with all the former pitchers who have been driven to the asylum after their own lack of success in keeping McGwire in the yard.

Except that’s not the way it works.

Jenkins asserts that there were many pitchers whose careers, lives in fact, were significantly altered when McGwire took them deep. “How many pitchers do you think he ended their careers by hitting numbers of home runs of them?” Jenkins asked in a telephone interview with the AP.

My guess: Probably not very many.

In fact, I can’t recall a single pitcher leaving baseball, either by his own choice or his teams, immediately upon allowing a McGwire home run.

I also find it entertaining that ESPN.com’s article on the matter listed several prominent pitchers who allowed a home run to McGwire in what turned out to be their final season. Among them, Bert Blyleven (who was in his 22nd season), Orel Hershiser (who was well past his own prime), and Donnie Moore. Moore certainly had his life altered by allowing home runs, but it wasn’t the one he gave up to McGwire, I don’t think. The Moore family has Dave Henderson and Don Baylor to thank for that.

But since ESPN has such a wonderful history of turning their analysts into the story (see James, Craig), why not have Hershiser make an appearance on Outside the Lines where he can talk about the effects of McGwire’s home run on his own life. Perhaps Hershiser can detail the years of counseling he has had to undergo, show us the bills from his psychiatrist. I’m sure Jenkins will tell you that Hershiser would have fared better as the Rangers’ pitching coach if not for having to face a juiced up McGwire.

In all seriousness though, this is just plain dumb.

Jenkins has done what Clark and Fisk have already done, cast the spotlight upon themselves one last time. Anything to get another 15 minutes I guess.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. McGwire doesn’t owe me anything, nor does he owe anything to Jenkins, or any of the pitchers he took deep. How many pitchers, I wonder, were using steroids when they faced McGwire? The answer is probably more than anyone would guess.

It’s time to quit whining. Jenkins and people of his ilk are just bitter. The steroid era happened, no amount of bellyaching is going to change that. Accept it, and move on.

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As I approached number 11 on my list, I knew I would have a tough choice to make. There have been only three prominent Tigers to don the number 11, but narrowing the list to one was a tougher choice than I expected. In the end, another catcher gets the call, joining Rudy York and Pudge Rodriguez on the list so far. So with apologies to Dizzy Trout (P, 1939-52, 3x All-Star), and Sparky Anderson (Mgr, 1979-95, 1 WS, 2x Manager of the Year) I present No. 11: Bill Freehan

Bill Freehan was born in Detroit in 1941 and attended Royal Oak High School. He followed by enrolling at the University of Michigan where he played football as well as baseball. In 1961, Freehan set the all-time single season Big Ten record with a .585 batting average.

The Tigers signed him as a free agent that summer, and he spent all of 77 games in the minor leagues over two stops that year. He performed well enough (.312 average, .512 slg) that the Tigers brought him up to join the final road trip of the year. He made his big league debut in Kansas City on September 26, 1961, just months after catching collegiate pitchers at U-M.

In the top of the second, the Tigers trailed the Athletics 2-0, runners were at the corners when Freehan came to the plate with two outs. After falling behind Norm Bass 0-2, Freehan found a mistake and lined a single to center field, scoring Rocky Colavito. It was the first hit and RBI of Freehan’s career. He finished the day 2 for 4 but failed to catch the two runners that stole against him. The Tigers lost 8-5. Freehan would catch the final two games of the year in Minnesota as well, finishing the 1961 season with four hits and a walk in 11 plate appearances, he drove in four in his three starts.

Freehan spent the entire 1962 season catching for AAA Denver as a 20 year old. He did well with a .283 average and nine home runs in 113 games. By the time spring training rolled around in 1963, Freehan was poised to make the big club. He shared time with Gus Triandos, a former all-star who’s best days were behind him, in 1963, and hit nine home runs in 300 at bats. Triandos was traded away following the year.

1964 marked the true arrival of Freehan to the Tigers regular lineup. All he did was make his first all-star team and bat a career best .300 to place him sixth in the league. He also belted 18 home runs and drove in 80. He earned a seventh place finish in the MVP vote that year. He was just 22 years old.

Starting in 1964 through 1973, Freehan made the all-star team every year. The Tigers enjoyed a run at or near the top of the league for much of that time, as well. It was an era of pitching, which makes his numbers much better than they look on paper.

1967 may have been his best season. Boston’s Carl Yaztremski was the only American Leaguer to hit .300 and Freehan’s .282 average was ninth best in the league. He set career highs with 20 home runs and 23 doubles and also lead the league in HBP and intentional walks.

If ‘67 wasn’t his best, 1968 was. Freehan lead a pitching staff that finished third in the league in ERA on the way to the World Series. Denny McLain famously won 31 games for Detroit that season, Mickey Lolich won 17 as well. Freehan set new career highs in home runs (25), RBI (84), and doubles (24). He once again was the leader in being hit by pitches, getting plunked 24 times. Freehan broke his own record, set the previous year, with 971 putouts and 1050 total chances. The records would stand until 1997.

1968 also marked Freehan’s fourth consecutive Gold Glove, an award he would win again in 1969. Freehan followed his third place finish in the 1967 MVP vote with a second place finish in 1968.

The 1968 World Series ended up being a legendary one, but not for Freehan, at least with the bat. Facing a stellar Cardinals pitching staff that featured Bob Gibson and his 1.12 ERA, Freehan managed only two hits in 24 series at bats.

Gibson dominated the Tigers and Freehan in Games One and Four, each time beating McLain. With the Tigers trailing the series 3 games to 1, manager Mayo Smith decided to push the issue. After staying alive behind a complete game by Lolich in Game Five, Smith gave the ball to McLain on two days rest for Game Six.

McLain beat the Cardinals to force a Game Seven and Lolich came back on two days rest to face Gibson. With the game still scoreless in the seventh, Gibson sat down the first two Tigers of the inning. Norm Cash then singled, and Willie Horton followed with another. Jim Northrup then hit a long fly ball to deep centerfield that got over the head of Curt Flood and scored both runners. Freehan came to the plate and delivered his biggest hit of the series, a double to the gap in left center, scoring Northrup and giving the Tigers a three run lead. Lolich completed the game and the Tigers won their third world championship.

For the rest of his career, Freehan remained one of the best in the game. By the time he left baseball following the 1976 season, Freehan had amassed 200 home runs and 1591 hits. He cemented his legacy by retiring as the all-time leader is put outs and total chances by a catcher. His career .993 fielding percentage was also a record, which stood until 2002.

Freehan was named to 11 all-star teams in total, a number unmatched by any player who is not in the Hall of Fame. Freehan appeared on only one ballot, garnering just 0.5% of the 1976 vote. The fact that the Veteran’s Committee has yet to rectify that mistake is almost as big a blunder as the original vote.

In the annuls of great catchers, Freehan’s contemporaries Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra are often considered two of the best, but Freehan’s numbers, and his defense, were on par with either of them. For whatever reason, and I can’t think of a good one, the BBWAA has steadfastly refused to acknowledge a few former Tigers as Hall-worthy. Freehan and Lou Whitaker both fell quickly off the ballot, and Alan Trammell is nowhere near induction.

To make matters worse, the Tigers organization has yet to do Freehan the honor he certainly deserves, as his number 11 is not yet hanging on the outfield wall. Of course, that number could also be retired for Sparky Anderson. I’d recommend both.

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Mark Anderson of TigsTown noted in a tweet to MLB.com’s Jason Beck that he’s hearing Don Kelly would likely be the guy DFA’d.

I hope this isn’t the case.

There is an argument to be made that Kelly is the weakest link on the roster, but he also has several points in his favor. Namely, he hits left handed and can play literally anywhere on the field. Kelly also has good speed and a good enough glove that he can provide spot duty at the big league level. He also is nearing 30 years old and has little chance to improve his game at this point.

So the Tigers will likely send him through the waiver process, just as they did mid-season last year. He cleared waivers that time and he may again, but he does have value so I’d expect another club will put a claim in on him. If not, he could be released, but more likely would be re-assigned to the minor leagues.

If it were up to me, I’d try like hell to work a trade of Bobby Seay.

The Tigers have far too many lefty relievers at this point, and Seay is due a raise through arbitration. Even if they only received cash considerations for Seay, his salary coming off the books would be a welcome relief for this team. Plus his replacements (Fu-Te Ni, Brad Thomas, Daniel Schlereth, Phil Coke) are all making significantly less money than Seay will. Seems like a win-win to me.

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On the heels of agreeing to a contract with closer Jose Valverde, the Tigers are now reportedly engaged in talks with Johnny Damon and his agent Scott Boras. From MLB.com’s Jason Beck:

The pending arrival of Valverde had barely settled in when SI.com’s Jon Heyman suggested via Twitter that the Tigers could be “in play” for Damon, then said on MLB Network that the two sides are talking.

The question in most fans minds right now has got to be one asking where all this money is all of a sudden coming from. The national media had painted the trade of Granderson and Jackson as a sign of surrender. The words “fire sale” were thrown about frequently. But as MLive’s Scott Warheit pointed out, those words didn’t come from Jim Leyland nor Dave Dombrowski. Perhaps, as Warheit mentions, the Tigers knew what they had in Granderson and Jackson, and saw an opportunity to “sell high” and maximize their return. More from Warheit:

What the signing of Jose Valverde, and the interest the Tigers are showing in Johnny Damon tells me, is that the trade of Granderson, and all the other moves the Tigers have made this offseason were never about the money.  

Dombrowski just was not as sold on Curtis Granderson, the baseball player, as most Detroit fans were. So, he sold high, received a lot in return and started to rebuild his team.

After my initial outrage over the signing of Valverde subsided, I began to recall thinking much the same thing that Warheit says here. When the trade went down, this is what I had to say:

We all know of Grandy’s “quad 20? season of 2007, but since then he has taken a major step backward at the plate.  Look, I love Granderson, but the guy really struggles against lefties.  I think he has the talent to yet become the complete player that he should be, maybe a change of scenery will help.  Well, that and the very short porch in right field in New York.

As for the Tigers, Dave Dombrowski did better than I think most people will give him credit for here.  He traded an erratic pitcher who has had only one great half of a season in his career and a centerfielder who really can only hit righties for four very talented, young, major league ready pieces.

That’s not to say that I am suddenly on board with Dombrowski’s tossing of money at Valverde, but if there really is enough cash to still augment the offense, the signing of Valverde looks better. Adding a left handed bat in Damon, one that can hit for extra bases and can bat at the top of the lineup is almost exactly what this lineup needs. If Damon were a middle infielder I would like it more, but having Damon, Carlos Guillen, and Magglio Ordonez rotating the corner outfield and DH spots would, in theory, allow all of them to stay fresher and healthier throughout the season. That’s important because Maggs and Damon are not young, and Guillen body is about 10 years older than his age.

I’ll remind you, if only because I need to remind myself, that the season is still a long ways off, and there is time to assemble the finished project. The addition of Valverde, and possibly Damon, would mean that one or two players will have to be removed from the roster. It’s my hope that Dombrowski has talks in the works for trading someone instead of losing those players to waiver claims. If he could move Bobby Seay, for example, he would free up the $2-3 MM Seay will likely earn next year, which would go a long way towards softening the blow of Valverde (and Damon) on the payroll.

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If you haven’t already read my thoughts on this matter, please refer to my post, written yesterday, at the Detroit Tigers Den. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

If you are too lazy to click over there, I’ll sum up my feelings here: DAMMIT!!!

Don’t misunderstand, I think Valverde is a fine reliever, and I’m glad the Tigers feel they are in a position to add to the payroll and solidify the bullpen. Make no mistake, Valverde is as good as it gets for a closer not named Nathan or Rivera (Career Numbers- 1.168 WHIP, 11 K/9, 3:1 K:BB). That said, I hate losing the draft pick, and I hate that the Tigers seemed to have switched horses mid-stream, so to speak.

Wasn’t it just a month ago that Dave Dombrowski traded two young stars in order to clear some payroll? If this is how he planned on using the spare cash, I’m a bit disappointed. Sure, the pitching staff appears to be set for a while, but where exactly, do they think the runs are going to come from?

If there was a spare $7 MM laying around, I sure would have liked to see them try to add a veteran LH hitter to use when Carlos Guillen breaks down again, and he will.

As it stands, If Austin Jackson can hit big league pitching, you are looking at a center field combo of Ryan Raburn and Clete Thomas. Thomas isn’t a good hitter and Raburn can’t handle center defensively. Heck he can barely handle left. Not to mention that the 40-man roster was already full, so in addition to losing the draft pick, the Tigers will also have to designate a player for assignment and open up the very real possibility of losing said player to a waiver claim.

But, it appears the deal is done, so I guess I’ll try to focus on the bright side of life. Valverde is a significant upgrade to Fernando Rodney. He’s much better than Joel Zumaya or Ryan Perry in the ninth. As I said before, he’s better than just about anyone in baseball in the closer’s role. So hopefully, after years of Todd Jones and Rodney, Tigers fans can finally stop riding the ninth inning roller coaster. Which would be nice, for a change.

Here’s hoping for a whole host of 2-1 and 3-2 games, ’cause the Tigers are gonna have trouble scoring runs.

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Pudge Rodriguez was the unquestioned starter and still a force both offensively and defensively. The backup was again slated to be Vance Wilson, a veteran with a solid bat and strong arm.

But when Wilson went down with elbow troubles, the Tigers had to turn to a rookie to fill the void. Enter Mike Rabelo, a switch hitting youngster who had only one at bat in the big leagues before that.

But as Wilson injury proved to be more serious, it became apparent that Rabelo would have to take on a greater share of the work at the big league level. Rabelo, then 27 years old, stayed with the Tigers all year and held his own quite nicely. He posted one home run and 18 RBI while hitting a respectable .256 in 168 at bats.

Following the season, the Tigers dealt Rabelo, along with four others, to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

Rabelo struggled in his first season with the Fish, batting just .202 in 109 at bats. He was sent to the minor leagues and didn’t make it back to the Show at all in 2009.

Now Rabelo has come back to Detroit. The Tigers announced today that Rabelo is one of 17 minor leaguers inked to contracts for the 2010 season.

Don’t expect to find his name on the Opening Day roster, though. Rabelo will likely play in Toledo alongside Robinzon Diaz. But it’s nice to know that if something should happen to either Gerald Laird or Alex Avila, the Tigers have two guys waiting in the minors that have proven they can handle the duties of catching in the big leagues.

Welcome home, Mike.

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