Kuzul

The Detroit Tigers have already made a big splash in the 2010 offseason. Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit were key signings for Detroit. 

Detroit has said it would like to have a lower payroll than it had in 2010. After adding $29 million in new contracts (Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Martinez and Benoit), Detroit still has room to add another contract or two and still remain under the $60 million it dropped.

As it stands right now, Ryan Raburn is being viewed as the everyday left fielder, which eliminates Carl Crawford from coming to Motown. Dave Dombrowski said this week the only opening currently was in right field.

The right field opening brings up two predominant names: Jayson Werth and Magglio Ordonez.

Tigers fans are familiar with what Magglio brings to the table. Ordonez was having a resurgent year before his ankle injury prematurely ended his season. Werth has been a late bloomer but has rounded into a solid outfield power bat. 

I believe the Tigers should try to add Werth. Last season Werth batted .296 with 27 home runs and 46 doubles. He’s a career .272 hitter, but I would guess he’ll end up in the mid .280s for the duration of his next contract. If he plays in Detroit, I would expect him to hit 40-50 doubles and 20-25 home runs while driving in 90-100 runs. 

Magglio, who is a career .312 hitter, would provide leadership as well as some pop and at a much cheaper price. Maggs was on pace to hit 16 home runs and have over 100 RBI. The biggest question Ordonez faces is the health of his ankle. If he is 100 percent healthy, he will be a nice addition to whichever team signs him. 

One of the side effects of a possible Werth signing would be the availability of Brennan Boesch, Casper Wells and Clete Thomas as trade bait, which could land the Tigers another reliever or starter, draft picks or minor league talent.

There is a possibility Tigers owner Mike Ilitch will push Dombrowski to throw a boatload of money at Carl Crawford. While that is not a likely scenario, it would push Raburn to right field and would give the Tigers one of baseball’s best defensive outfields and a very, very strong top of the lineup. 

If Werth or Crawford is signed, the Tigers would have their outfield pretty well set for the next five to seven years.

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The Detroit Tigers have signed free agent catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez to a four-year, $50 million deal.

Martinez spent last season as a Boston Red Sox and had a productive year swinging the bat. He hit .302 with 20 home runs and finished with 79 RBI in 127 games.

Detroit had high expectations heading into the season, but they didn’t pan out, as the Tigers finished third in the AL Central with an 81-81 mark.

The signing of Martinez is going to bolster the lineup and give Miguel Cabrera some much-needed help. But will it be enough in a division the Minnesota Twins seem to have a firm hold of year in and year out?

That’s something to be discussed for another time. One thing is for sure, and that is Martinez can swing the bat. The problem is his defense. He’s 31 years old and has never been very good behind the plate. If he starts more games at DH and first base, then his value takes a hit.

The length and dollar amount of this deal aren’t a problem. Martinez should be a productive hitter over the next four years, and he’s been relatively healthy for most of his career. The problem with this deal, more than anything, is the Tigers’ mindset. 

They gave up the ninth most runs last season and scored the 11th most. Common logic would say to invest in help for the starting rotation or bullpen. But instead, they’ve chosen to spend their money on a guy who, near the end of this deal, will primarily be used as a DH or at first base.

All of that’s fine except Cabrera is already locked in at first base and the DH spot, which means this deal ultimately hinges on how effective V-Mart is behind the plate. Martinez’s numbers look good among catchers, but when put up next to DHs and other first basemen, they aren’t nearly as eye-popping.

The other catcher on the roster is Alex Avila, who hit .228 last year and is a superior defender to Martinez. Unless Avila drastically raises his average and becomes a much more productive offensive catcher, the Tigers are going to have to rely on Martinez to carry the load as the backstop. 

Once again, the length and dollar amount of this deal seem about right, but does this move propel the Tigers to the top of the AL Central?

Probably not.

If anything, it’s going to be the pitching staff that turns things around for Detroit and not the offense.

Tiger fans can rejoice at management’s commitment to spending money to improve the team. Fans now just have to ask how much better their team is with this latest signing. 

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It appears as though Victor Martinez is ready to sign a four year deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $50 million.

A reporter from Venezuela, Ignacio Serrano, reported the deal on his blog. Serrano also notified his readers that Martinez was offered a four year, $48 million deal by the Baltimore Orioles and a three year, $48 million deal by the Chicago White Sox. 

That means that he’s passing up $16 million a year with the White Sox to be paid $12.5 million a year by the Tigers.

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has since confirmed that this deal will happen.

In honor of the new deal, let’s take a look back at Victor Martinez’s stellar career. 

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The No. 11 on the back of the Tigers jersey he wore may as well have stood for No. 1 twice.

The No. 11 was a Detroit baseball staple, worn by a man who was as closely identified with the Tigers organization as any, including fellow Detroiter Willie Horton.

The 11 was also the number of All-Star games he went to, in addition to the World Series and ALCS he appeared in.

Yes sir, the Tigers should retire No. 11, and erect a statue of the man who wore that number proudly.

Why haven’t the Tigers so honored Bill Freehan?

Excuse me—did you think I was speaking of someone else?

In the wake of the sad news of Sparky Anderson’s passing, there’s been a call to retire Sparky’s No. 11. The dispute between Sparky and the Ilitches aside, I can see where a case could be made to formally ensure that no Tiger ever again slips on No. 11, even by accident.

But that number shouldn’t have been available to Sparky to begin with. So says me.

Freehan, a Tiger (and ONLY a Tiger) from 1961-76, was the best catcher of the 1960s—American or National League, Earth or any other planet you got. Period.

The decade wasn’t filled with great backstops, but that’s not Freehan’s fault. You could run Johnny Bench’s career parallel to Bill’s and I’d still take Freehan.

Freehan, defensively, was about as perfect as a catcher could be. He handled nearly 11,000 chances and made 72 errors in 16 seasons, for a lifetime fielding percentage of .993.

Mathematics 101 tells us that Freehan’s fielding pct. means that for every 100 chances handled, Bill screwed up on 0.7 of them.

Freehan was an Adonis behind the plate—6′3″, 200 pounds of sinew and muscle. A player trying to crash through Freehan at the plate was like a car hitting a deer, with the car losing.

They weren’t as anal about keeping stats on catchers throwing out would-be base-stealers in Freehan’s day, but I don’t need numbers to tell me that you ran on Freehan at your own risk. His arm was golden, with a quick-as-a-whip release.

Freehan gets a lot of notoriety—as well he should—for the play he combined with left fielder Horton to make in Game 5 of the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium. You know the one.

The St. Louis Cardinals were leading the series, 3-1, and were ahead 3-2 in the fifth inning. Roadrunner Lou Brock was at second base, and then Julian Javier singled. Everyone knew Brock would try to score, and would probably make it, for Brock was a gazelle disguised as a human being.

Horton bobbled the ball briefly after fielding it on one hop, then he fired it homeward.

The throw was dead solid perfect, arriving in Freehan’s glove after a short hop. Brock arrived at virtually the same time, eschewing a slide for an attempt to plow through Freehan.

Lou got this one wrong.

Freehan denied Brock access to the plate, Lou’s cleat missing the dish by mere inches.

Brock was out, the lead stayed at one run, and the Tigers rallied to win the game and eventually the series.

Freehan was a miserable 2-for-24 in the ‘68 World Series, but his pillar of a body kept Brock from scoring a run that might have sent the Cards on their way to a series-clinching victory. It was oh-so-fitting that Freehan caught the final out that made the Tigers world champs.

Freehan could hit, too, with a career batting average of .262 and 200 home runs. At age 22 and in his second full season as Tigers catcher, Freehan batted an even .300 with 18 homers and 80 RBI. Solid, just like his entire career.

As if Freehan didn’t suffer enough physical abuse as a catcher, he also was annually among the American League’s leaders in times hit by a pitch. Freehan was plunked 114 times, with highs of 20 in 1967 and 24 in 1968. He was the league’s milk bottle at that carnival midway game, with the pitchers paying a buck for three throws at him.

All this, and Freehan was a Detroit kid, born and reared. After he stopped playing, he stayed close to home, working as a manufacturer’s rep and then becoming the baseball coach for years at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

Freehan was the backbone of the Tigers. There was the slugging Willie Horton, the comical Norm Cash, the smooth Al Kaline, the portly Mickey Lolich. With the exception of Lolich, none of them was as durable as Freehan, who’d routinely catch 130+ games a year, before his back started to give out on him in the early 1970s.

Yes sir, I’d say the Tigers should retire No. 11. But I’m willing to compromise and combine Freehan and Sparky in one massive ceremony.

Even though Sparky shouldn’t have been able to wear No. 11 in the first place.

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Two weeks ago, Bleacher Report’s MLB Featured Columnists began releasing the results of our end-of-season awards vote. Over the last fortnight, we’ve debated our picks for Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, Comeback Players, and Rolaids Relief Men of the Year.

Today we begin covering the major awards with the AL Rookie of the Year award. At 2 p.m. EST next Monday, the BBWAA will release their choice for the Junior Circuit’s best newbie; until then, you’re stuck with ours.

This was the closest race we had, with just one first-place vote separating the top two finishers, and we had a tie for fifth place. The top six finishers are featured here, with the full results at the end.

So read on, see how we did and be sure to let us know what we got wrong!

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I was saddened to learn the news today that former Tigers/Reds manager Sparky Anderson had died at the age of 76. He brought a lot of baseball excitement to the city of Detroit in the 1980s. 

The news seems to have spawned a lot of animosity toward Tigers owner Mike Ilitch and why he didn’t honor the manager who owns more wins while wearing the old English D. The man is, after all, in Cooperstown. If not a statue, then at least retire his number. 

I recall my parents taking my sister and me to the first Little Caesars Pizzeria in Garden City, back in the 1960s. While I can’t confirm it, I imagine it was Mike Ilitch in the kitchen making the pies back then. 

I’ve a lot of respect for the man. He’s done a lot for the city of Detroit. In the aftermath of the limo accident in the mid ’90s that ended the career of Red Wing Vladimir Konstantinov, he took care of “my boys.” He’s honored Steve Yzerman and has acknowledged other Red Wing greats for their contribution to the game of hockey.

Ilitch even allowed Westland native Mike Modano to call Joe Louis Arena “home ice” for one more season at the end of his Hall of Fame career.

Yet I’m saddened that he didn’t honor Sparky Anderson as the Tigers’ all-time greatest manager when it mattered to Sparky. We may never know the real reason; but it’s speculated that it has to do with Sparky’s reluctance to manage replacement players as the 1995 baseball campaign edged nearer. 

If this indeed is what started the rift, Ilitch no doubt felt, as the boss, that Anderson should do as he was told; he was, after all, under Ilitch’s employ. On the other hand, Anderson believed that he was being asked to do something that was an affront to the integrity of game, and he held true to that ideal.

Whether Mike Ilitch or I agree with that credo is immaterial. I’ve disagreed with a lot of people over the years, but I’d fight for anyone’s right to opine a differing point of view. 

Whatever Mr. Ilitch’s reasons—and it’s been suggested that Anderson’s choice to enter Cooperstown as a Cincinnati Red is among them—he has to live with them and himself. The game is bigger than owners, managers and players, even if they can’t see that. If you don’t believe me, well, I can show you where Ruth and Cobb are buried. 

If Mr. Ilitch won’t honor George Anderson, the next Tigers owner likely will.

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The Tigers did pretty much as expected in 2010. Maybe not the way it was expected or with the intangibles (*cough* UMPIRES *cough*). 

Looking ahead to 2011, it is very promising. Millions and millions of dollars are being freed up and we could have a lot of fun these coming months.

This is a preview of the 2011 Offseason tied in with my prediction for it. The format will go as follows…

Page 1: Introduction

Page 2: Payroll Check

Pages 3 – 13: A look at each position and it’s 2011 preview

Page 14: Payroll Check

Pages 15 – 20: Free Agent and Trade possibilities for each position of need

Page 21: 2011 Offseason Predictions and Explanations

Page 22: 2011 Opening Day Predictions

Page 23: Final Payroll Check

Page 24: Conclusion

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Cross another would-be free agent off the list.

The other day, we saw free agent LHP Ted Lilly re-sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and on Thursday we saw a third baseman re-sign with his current club and not test the free agent waters.

Brandon Inge, a free agent to be, decided to re-sign with the Detroit Tigers. Inge signed a two-year, $11.5 million contract with a $6 million club option for 2013 according to MLB.com’s John Beck.

Inge, 33, hit .237/.307/.394 with 13 HRs in 144 games with the Tigers. Inge’s .718 OPS ranked 15th amongst Major League third basemen in 2010.

I like Inge; I really do. I think despite his numbers not landing him in the positive column for sabermetricians, he is a very good guy to have on a team and in a clubhouse.

Every team needs a glue guy on their roster. Inge is the Tigers’ glue guy.

That being said (cue Larry David), I don’t think I would have given Inge a two-year deal. It’s a very simple question. Would Inge have gotten a two-year deal on the open market?

The answer is no.

I think $5.5 million for Inge is a fair deal. He’s been around that value during the course of his career. However, in this day and age of veterans being phased out of baseball, Inge would have only gotten a one-year this offseason.

This year’s crop of third base free agents is weak, so perhaps the Tigers didn’t want to spend $10-15 million a year on Adrian Beltre and will spend their budget—all $60 million of it—on someone else like Adam Dunn or Cliff Lee.

If that’s their plan, then that’s their prerogative. I just wouldn’t have guaranteed Inge a second year.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga missed out on a perfect game against the Indians on June 2, 2010 due to a blown call by first-base umpire Jim Joyce with two outs in the ninth inning. Galarraga was perfect through 8.2 innings and coaxed a grounder to first base out of nine-spot hitter Jason Donald. The throw from Miguel Cabrera was on time, but Joyce missed the call and ruled Donald safe.

The perfecto appeared meant to be, as Austin Jackson had potentially made the play of the year for the first out in the ninth by reeling in an over-the-shoulder catch on the warning track.

Galarraga didn’t even make his 2010 Tigers debut until May 16, but he was dominant in his fourth start of the season. He struck out only three, but needed just 88 pitches to complete the game. Jim Joyce immediately apologized, realizing he had blown the call.

Commissioner Bug Selig plans to examine major league baseball’s umpiring system and possible use of expanded instant replay, but will not correct Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base, which prevented Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga from completing a perfect game. His statement read, in part:

“As Jim Joyce said in his postgame comments, there is no dispute that last night’s game should have ended differently. While the human element has always been an integral part of baseball, it is vital that mistakes on the field be addressed. Given last night’s call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features. Before I announce any decisions, I will consult with all appropriate parties, including our two unions and the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which consists of field managers, general managers, club owners and presidents.”

There was no doubt that Donald was out at first—easily by at least half a step—but the fact remains that you cannot go back in time and undo what was done. While Joyce feels regret for blowing the call, it wouldn’t be right for the MLB to go back and change the call. The call was made as a judgment call and cannot be reversed—this is baseball, and human error is a part of the game, and a part of what makes sports so great. Just as umpires make mistakes on balls/strikes, outs, etc., so do managers and players. The same goes for every sport.

There’s no doubt that Galarraga deserves the perfect game. It would’ve been the first of his career and the third of the MLB season—in fact, the third in one month, as A’s RHP Dallas Braden and Phillies RHP Roy Halladay had done it just prior.

I’m glad that the MLB has chosen not to reverse the call—if it’s done now, where does it end? Would all blown calls from the past be under review? It was a terrible call, plain and simple—it isn’t the first and it won’t be the last.

While this circumstance is not commonplace—it is, after all, the 21st perfect game in MLB history—you cannot make an exception to the rule for one case and not for everyone else. Everybody will be crying to have plays reviewed, and before you know it, challenge flags will be issued just like the NFL, and everything will go to instant replay booths like the NHL. Some will argue, “We can’t go back and re-do all blown calls in history, but it has to start now.” While true, the question arises, “Where does it end?” How far back can you go? How can you totally rectify all blown calls in order to right the wrongs?

Many sports have undergone changes over time to improve the game. Tennis has introduced HawkEye, the NFL and NHL have started instant replay and soccer is working on a sensor in the ball to determine if it crosses the goal line. I’m a sports traditionalist and a baseball purist, so I don’t believe that this call should be reversed, or that instant replay should ever be introduced. I understand that sometimes, subjective calls cost games to teams and players, but baseball remains one of the truest sports being played, and I want to keep it that way.

All of that said, Galarraga deserves the perfect game, not just for himself, but for baseball history. Lord knows if he’ll ever come close to throwing another one again. Jim Joyce regrets the decision, he’s aware that he made a bad call. If there was going to ever be a change in a past game, this would be the one here.

Had I been Jim Joyce at that time, I probably would’ve called the runner out even if it was remotely close, just to be a part of MLB history. In addition, a game like this can be totally rectified—since it was the 27th out of the game, all that would need to be done was to call the runner out, give Galarraga the perfecto and have the last batter of the game’s (No. 28) official at-bat removed. This way, all the bases are covered, so to speak.

I realize that I’ve contradicted myself on this, but the truth is that there is no clear-cut right or wrong answer. I believe in human error in every sport, but I believe that this specific circumstance needs to be reviewed. In umpiring school, umpires are told to treat every call like that first one of the game. So let’s say that instead, the blown call was on batter No. 1—this entire ordeal would not have escalated to the level it has now.

If the MLB decides to implement instant replay, it needs to be done with surgical precision. They can’t monitor every baseball game on every day of the schedule, and calls cannot be challenged left and right. There needs to be a perfect balance, and MLB will need to introduce a complex rule that has no loopholes in order for this to work.

Otherwise, leave it be as umpire/human error. It’s gotten us this far. In all likelihood, we will see MLB introduce some form of instant replay over the next five years, much to my dismay.

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Probably not, but I figured someone owed Paul Konerko some publicity since ESPN often either forgets to do actual reporting and research or simply forgets to be logical.

As of Wednesday, Miguel Cabrera is out for the season due to a sprained ankle, so his numbers are concrete at .328 BA, .420 OBP, .622 SLG, and a 1.042 OPS to go along with 38 home runs, 126 RBI, 111 runs, and three stolen bases in 150 games played.

On the other side, Josh Hamilton is set to return Friday, meaning he will finish with, at most, 133 games played. He is currently hitting .361 with a .414 OBP, a .635 SLG, and a 1.049 OPS to go along with 31 home runs, 97 RBI, 94 runs, and eight stolen bases.

Let us not forget we ran Carlos Quentin out of the MVP race two seasons ago because he missed the final month of the season after punching his bat when the Chicago White Sox were in the heat of a pennant race, thus handing the award to Dustin Pedroia, although Kevin Youkilis deserved it. Quentin finished with 130 games played.

Are we going to judge the MVP by an injury or when it occurs? If Quentin was hurt in the first month of the season rather than the last month, would he have been MVP?

Konerko being a top MVP candidate is no laughing matter.

Konerko currently is hitting .310 with a .390 OBP, a .581 SLG, and a .971 OPS to go along with 38 home runs, 107 RBI, and 88 runs.

Konerko has Hamilton in all the eye-appealing stats and one could point to the 16 more games played and 32 more at-bats as reason for the massive difference in the percentage numbers. 

But then again, one could point to the more at-bats as being the reason for the difference in home runs and RBI.

Robinson Cano is a dark horse in this whole thing, only because the above players have played on a different planet.

Cano is hitting .316, with a .376 OBP, a 528 SLG, and a .904 OPS to go along with 28 home runs, 106 RBI, 100 runs, and two stolen bases.

It looks as though, unless something drastic changes, Cabrera’s numbers hold up for the MVP. But with Cabrera being done for the year and Hamilton having three games tops to add to his resume, a hot streak for Konerko or Cano could completely change the race.

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