By Matt Pelc
I was talking with a fellow Floridian Tiger fan over the weekend and I told him that I still have not gotten over last month’s swoon.
I told him that game was my biggest bummer sports moment since the Anointed One found Sterling Sharpe for a touchdown to pull a win out of the clutches of defeat in a playoff game following the 1993 season at the Silverdome.
The fact that the Tigers, in all reported cases but denied by Dave Dombrowski, are looking to have a fire sale does not shock me as much as it may others.
I am willing to bet almost all of their free agents, such as Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, Brandon Lyon, Aubrey Huff, Jarrod Washburn, Marcus Thames and Adam Everett will be playing on other teams this season as probably all of them, with the exception of Everett will get much higher contracts than any of them deserve on the open market–and that is baseball.
Which is precisely why the Tigers are looking to decrease payroll. They tried to compete with the big boys and failed. They have had the third and fourth highest payroll in baseball over the past two years and have nothing to show for it, especially after pissing away a chance to win MLB’s weakest division in ‘09.
I figured that this year was the teams last real chance at getting back to the World Series with the current core. Owner Mike Ilitch, GM Dombrowski and the Tigers brass have traded away promising pieces over the years, such as Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Jair Jurjens, to just name a few.
2009 was it. The core was not getting any younger and at some point the team needs to start replenishing their farm system which is why some trades have been specutlated such as Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson.
I am not happy about Jackson. Yes he struggled the second half of the season (but really who didn’t wearing the Olde English D), but he gave the Tigers one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball along with Justin Verlander and if he goes, the pitching staff sinks back to 2008, worst ERA in the league.
But the trading of Granderson truly vexes me. From a baseball standpoint, he has a large and ballooning contract over the next four years. He had steadily gotten better since his 2006 rookie year, but had a disappointing season in 2009. So perhaps you would like to trade him while his trade value is high and not risk having two sub-standard years in a row.
But Curtis has become the face of the franchise. He is always positive, always gives credit to the fans, is wonderful in the community and a terrific ambassador from the Detroit franchise to MLB and its media outlets, which sometimes forgets there are teams outside of the East Coast.
Since being in Pudge Rodriguez in 2004, Illich has done everything right. It is natural he would need to tighten the belt in the horrible economic times of Detroit, but to trade the face of your franchise is a mistake.
Ask a Cleveland Indians fan how that feels.
Please don’t stumble here, Tigers. You already have a fan base incredible disappointed and a move, or moves, like this would be catastrophic.
Curtis Granderson is My Tiger, don’t trade him.
Posted 8:44 a.m.
