You gotta hand it to Tigers' Prez and GM Dave Dombrowski. Lately, he's been pretty shrewd in filling some needs for the pizza man's ball club.
Signing free agent closer Joe Nathan was quite a coup. Few would doubt the closer role for the Tigers has pretty much been a clusterXXXX in recent years. See former manager Jim Leyland summon his closer flavor of the month, or week, or day, to protect a slim lead. See Tiger fans close their eyes and say a prayer. Not exactly the best scenario. If Nathan still has the same stuff he used to, never a guarantee, this was a very smart move.
Shedding the salary cap/dismal playoff performance albatross that Prince Fielder had become for the likes of Ian Kinsler was a no-brainer. Kinsler might well be the best all-around 2nd baseman in the league not named Robinson Cano, though Dustin Pedroia might take issue with that. At any rate, Kinsler does everything fairly well, including adding a little much needed speed to the Tiger line-up. Another nice move by DD. Though one is left to wonder -- what could they possibly be thinking down in Texas to agree to this deal? Oil wells, rodeos, bimbos, and a couple ex-Presidents only go so far. Earth to Nolan Ryan. Detroit thanks you, but are you nuts?
Then again, it was the same DD that put a serious dent in the pizza man's wallet when he signed the albatross to a ridiculous long-term contract to begin with. That resulted in Miguel Cabrera being made a 3rd baseman, because Fielder couldn't play any other position besides first. Cabrera at third base might be summed up by a boxing analogy of yore. Still hit like Mike Tyson. But defensively, more like Roberto Duran. Hands of stone. But hey, nobody gets them all right.
Just recently, the D man signed free agent outfielder Rajai Davis to help plug another hole -- left field. No disrespect to Andy Dirks, but he was sporadic with his play, and had a hard time staying healthy to boot. At 33, Davis is no youngster, and he's certainly been around the block a few times, having had stints with Pittsburgh, San Fran, Oakland, and recently in Toronto. Hitting-wise, he's no big deal, with a career average of .268. But he fields his position very well and, more importantly, brings even more speed into the Tigers' line-up. While not exactly Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson, Davis stole a very respectable 45 bases last year. That was 10 more than all the rest of the Tigers had -- combined. In 2013, the Tigers could hit, and they had a pretty decent starting pitching staff. But when it came to speed on the basepaths -- oftentimes a difference maker in a close game -- the Tigers more closely resembled molasses in the Yukon.
A couple closing thoughts......
So far, it appears Dombrowski, which is exactly the same name a former flame of mine would refer to me as when I did something dumb (which was often, but go figure), has made all the right moves to better the Tigers as a ball club.
Because as close as the Tigers were last year, they should be much better in 2014. "Prohibitive favorites" is a term that really doesn't apply to major league baseball. When the playoffs start, any team can beat another in a 5 or 7 game series. But if there's a "better" team going into 2014 than the Tigers, yours truly is at a loss as to who they are.
Secondly, given these transactions, I'm thinking somewhere Jim Leyland is also reflecting on whether he should have stuck around for just one more year. It was there for the taking -- but he quit. And how do you think the Marlboro Man will feel if a former back-up catcher and rookie manager (Brad Ausmus) winds up leading the Tigers to their first World Series championship in 30 years?
Arrgh. If the press thought Leyland was a tough interview before, good luck with the ornery old coot if THAT happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment