Eight years, about $135 million
That’s what the Cubs are going to pay for Alfonso Soriano to bat leadoff and play center field — an average of $17 million a year until he’s 38 years old. I’m not blogging this saying the Tigers missed out; they were out of it pretty early before trading for Gary Sheffield. I’m blogging it to show this is where the market is now set. J.D. Drew, Carlos Lee, Aubrey Huff and the like can fall in line from here.
Give the Cubs credit for at least being aggressive. They knew they were going to have to hit the market to boost their offense, they saw where the prices were heading, and they pounced early. As much as Detroit gave up in prospects and money for Sheffield, the $41 million they’ll owe for three years on him doesn’t look quite as high now after a few free-agent signings.
Soriano isn’t the signing the Tigers have to worry about. Instead, the going rate on middle relief is going up in the wake of the Jamie Walker deal. Now it’s four years and $18 million for Justin Speier from the Angels and two years for lefty Mike Stanton, who will turn 40 years old by the midway point of his first season for the Reds.
Jason Beck
Jason–why pay anything extra for a “situational” lefty? One can use what we have now and be much further ahead.
Save the money for something more important.
I’m reposting part of my comment from the previous thread:
I also want to add Soriano’s stats. 46 HR for only 95 RBI, a .351 OBP and a .277 BA.
Is this what we wanted to pay for him?
And I think those prices for a “situational” lefty are ridiculous. I’ve also seen plenty of Stanton here the past two years, and you don’t want to go there, although I’ve always liked him. I suggest either using the lefthanders you’ve got, or give up on that piece of strategy altogether. I’d rather use my best available pitcher rather than carry some guy on the roster for only one hitter. These managers need to get outside that box they think in. JL is just the guy for that, too.
40 40 40 — the magic number is most definitely 40.
Soriano was the first person in the history of the game to hit 40 homers, 40 doubles and steal 40 bases.
40 – 40 million dollars is about how much we will have paid ordonez by April next year.
40 – 40 is how old Sheffield will be in the last year of his contract.
I don’t understand why this is seen as so much money by today’s standards? There is a blindness, understandable but still unfortunate that Tiger fans seem to have with Ordonez. He was signed for almost the exact same deal here only he isn’t nearly the ballplayer Soriano is.
Rich, how can say that Soriano “only” has 95 RBI when he batted leadoff for a National League team? The two guys directly in front of him in the order are fundamentally never on base and 25% of his at-bats are leading off a game. He hit twice as many HRs as Ordonez did last year — in fact he hit 50% more homers last season than Ordonez did in his first 2 years in Detroit put together. He slugged 100 points higher than our right fielder and stole 45 more bases.
Man, would he have been fun to see back in old Tiger Stadium. But in Wrigley, he could hit 60 next year. With all of the money wasted in baseball at least what you spend on Alfonso is going to get you something.
I’ve been saying since last June that Soriano wants a home, a place to call his own for the duration of his career. He has exactly the kind of values we say we want in our Tigers. He wanted fair money and a long-term deal. And everyone was saying if we traded for him he’d only be a rental. Well it was as dead wrong then as it is now. That never had to be the case. Its a real shame they couldn’t make it happen. But if we traded for Soriano we never would have gotten Sean Casey so I guess it’s alright.
Congratulations to the Cubbies though, they are going to have some kind of excitement happening at Wrigley. Wish Jack brickhouse was around to say hey-hey all 60 times next year. This is huge for cub fans, probably the second biggest story of the year after actually finding a team that would pay Neifi 2.5. Really when it comes down to it the Cubs got the 2 best bargains of the season.
Why compare Soriano with Ordonez? In February of 2005, Soriano wasn’t out there. But okay, if you ask me, here’s my stock hitter comparison: game on the line, who you want up there, Ordonez or Soriano? I take Maggs. Call me crazy.
Sheffield is a much better hitter than Soriano, and when we replace him, we’ll probably get yet another hitter that’s better than Soriano.
Soriano had a nice salary drive type year. Now we’ll see the real deal.
I still want to know what position this guy would have played in Detroit.
Barring a trade, it seems that there are 4 roster spots available for next spring– 1 pitcher and 3 position players. Here’s my list:
- Starting Pitchers: Maroth, Verlander, Bonderman, Rogers, Robertson
- Bullpen: Zumaya, Ledezma, Rodney, Jones, Miner, Grilli, and TBA.
- Starters: Pudge, Casey, Polanco, Guillen, Inge, Monroe, Granderson, Ordonez, and Sheffield.
- Bench: Vance Wilson and 3 of the following: Perez, Infante, Santiago, Clevlen, Thames, Gomez, and Shelton.
Here’s my question: who would you keep? Here’s my best guess: Infante, Santiago, and Thames. Pay Perez and hope he never visits Detroit again. Clevlen is tempting but raw so send him down. I love Gomez but think you have to hope he clears waivers. Shelton is the future at first but you send him down until Casey gets injured (I can’t believe he’ll go all year without getting hurt.) Any thoughts?
Hey Rich, the Ordonez comparison was my idea though it is hard not to make based on the contracts. People were upset by the amount of money in Sorianos contract in the last section and I wanted to remind everyone we’re already paying that money to our right fielder.
But it was your disparaging reference to Soriano’s RBI total I wanted to discuss.
You want Ordonez up with the game on the line, not Soriano? Well, I always have tremendous respect for your opinion and I learn a lot from you and I won’t call you crazy but here, I guess we have to agree to disagree.
You have a tremendous amount of cynicism where Soriano is concerned but it is streching the truth to call last year a contract year surge. He’s been hitting the cover off the ball since his first game.
Soriano would have played left field With Monroe in right with Ordonez getting a start or two a week in the field but spending the majority of his time at DH. But it is probably time I got over that would have and that the Tigers should have have won the Series and look to the future. I’m clearly battling cynicism issues of my own.
IF ANYONE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE TIGERS SHOULD HAVE WENT FOR SORIANNO[A YOUNG MAN ]VS. SHEFFIELD THEY MUST ONLY FOLLOW THE AMERICAN LEAGUE.SORIANNO HAS PLAYED 2 POSITIONS SINCE STARTING THE MAJORS,HAS 4 ALL STAR APPEARANCES,WON THE ”SILVER BAT AWARD” FOR THE NATIONAL LEAGUE,HAS PLAYED IN BOTH LEAGUES POUNDING BOTH AND HAS BASE STEALING ABILITY,OUTFIELD SPEED,GOOD ARM ETC.IF THE TIGERS WERE TO GET HIM FOR SHEFFIELD MONEY,NO GIVING UP MINOR LEAGUE TALENT,AND HAVE SORRIANNO,GRANDERSEN AND CLEVLEN IN THE OUTFIELD WE WOULD HAVE SPEED, SPEED,SPEED,TWO EXCELLANT ARMS AND ONE GOOD ONE.I THINK THAT SPELLS PLAYOFFS.AS FAR AS PEOPLE SAYING GIVE CLEVLEN MORE TIME IN THE MINORS-WHY?HE HIT THE COVER OFF THE BALL UNTIL LEYLAND BENCHED HIM AFTER HITTING THE BALL OUT OF BOSTON-THINK ABOUT IT-HIS HITTING DIDN’T SLIDE UNTIL LEYLAND STARTED PLAYING WITH HIS TIME ON THE FIELD,HE SHOWED SPEED,DEFENSE,ARM STRENGTH AND ACCURACEY.I’M NOT THE BRAINTRUST OF THIS TEAM BUT THIS LINEUP IS BETTER THAN ANYTHING THEY HAVE COME UP WITH.
Rube, Rich:
I agree with Rube on this as Soriano is a huge talent. No comparison to Ordonez in my opinion. Ordonez is, at most, a two dimensional ballplayer. Soriano has it all. you can criticize his defesnive abilities but the guy CAN play anywhere. You can put him in at 2B or SS if you wanted to accept that liability–the thing is he can play those positions. He did actually very well in LF this year. He is not my ideal leadoff hitter but he adds another dynamic on the base paths wherever he hits in the lineup (read #3 or #4).
My point was the size of the contract and Rube–yes Ordonez has a pretty nifty deal going on but that doesn’t make it right. In my world (even though I don’t think any ballplayer is worth this kind of money) Soriano was attractive but only if you divest yourself of Ordonez–in terms of playing time and contract $$$.
I don’t think we are going to see any more deals at this point other than a possible swap of major position players. Nobody else is stupid enough to take Ordonez’s contract so I can see a trade of Thames or Shelton for a LHB of similar stature.
I like Shelton a lot. Not sure of the history of his conversion from catcher but I wonder if he has enough ability there to consider him as a #2 guy at that position if the Tigers continue to go with a diminishing Pudge? Wilson is a solid guy but how much playing time will he get and what he may be worth on the market could be considered.
We still need a a leadoff man and a closer.
Hi Rube. There’s nothing wrong with disagreeing, that’s what we’re here for. I do like to push the other side of a question, I admit.
I’m not looking down on Soriano as much as it seems. In a previous post, I was marveling over a homer I saw him hit at RFK this summer. I just think he’s slightly overrated. Too many strikeouts, which is the last thing the Tigers need to add. Not having a position that he can play well. He’s a great kid, and everybody in Washington loved him, so that wouldn’t have been a problem. I just don’t think he’s what the Tigers need at this point in time.
I also like to deal with the realities of a situation. Ordonez is not going to DH, he’s going to play rightfield, so we just have to deal with that fact. I never ever thought Soriano was coming to Detroit, so I didn’t want to get excited about the possibility.
Hayes, I’ve seen Soriano plenty this year, as the Nats play only 40 miles from here. Like I’ve said, he’s a good ballplayer but doesn’t fit in Detroit.
Brent, hi, good analysis of the roster. Myself, I keep Santiago for his glove and Infante for his bat, which leaves Perez as the odd man out. Dealing with realities, however, I’m not sure that happens. The main point in selecting next year’s 25 is what happens in spring training. Any one of the guys you mentioned could impress enough to make the team, or fail to make the team as the case may be. My guess is Clevlen is at least a year away. He will have to adjust to the adjustments pitchers make. That was Shelton’s downfall, if you can even call it a downfall.
Dan, I’ve wondered the same thing myself, Shelton catching. I have no idea if he’s any good at it. Good point about having to move Ordonez to sign a Soriano. It makes me remember that Bonderman has to be signed, and that will cost.
I’m pretty sure that Jones will close up until the time he hands the ball over to Zumaya. As they sing in “The Lion King,” be prepared.
Who can we get to lead off, Dan? Who’s a good one? Got your eye on anyone? Juan Pierre? Johnny Damon?
I wouldn’t mind getting Grady Sizemore, if we’re doing a wish list.
Carl Crawford for me Rich.
Oronez even up? You bet.
IMHO, Soriano is worth every penny, and this deal will look like a steal at the end of it.
Rube, your point about Ordonez’s contract and how it compares is beyond valid. Who would we rather have? I don’t think there is a GM out there who wouldn’t trade Maggs for Soriano given the chance. No one would do the opposite.
Lead-off hitter? This is not the time to give up on Grandy, I don’t think. One full season in the show, and he showed many signs of being a future All-Star. Let’s leave him there again.
I’m not giving up on Granderson–quite the opposite. I think his talents are being limited and jeopardized by pressuring him with a role he is not suited too.
I would much rather see him batting in the midle of the lineup somewhere.
The only way yu would ever get a GM to give you Soriano for Ordonez would be if you threw in Verlander and Zumaya!! He’ll be Cub–and a fan favorite in the Windy City for a long time.
Mr.Illich will keep payroll around $80-$95 million dollars during the next couple of years. He most likely would even consider raising payroll if the Tigers are winning, and bringing fans into Comerica.
Next year Rogers,Jones, and Casey’s contracts are up. The following year Guillen, Pudge, and Inge’s contracts are up. Then the next year Ordonez and Sheff’s contracts are up. Some of them will retire, or Dave will either re-sign them for less, or let them go. That will take $58 million dollars off of the payroll in 3 years.
Follow that up with bringing up Miller,Tata,Vasquez, Cruz, Maybin, and Clevlen taking some of those players roster spots the Tigers will be able to address the most important thing they have going for them, thier starting rotation.
In 3 years the probable starting rotation with their age would be Verlander 26, Bonderman 26, Miller 24, Robertson 30, and Maroth if he stays at 32. And Having a 24 year old dominant closer in Zumaya, and 31 year old setup man of Rodney looks pretty awesome. Saving payroll for these players is the most important thing that Dave knows he needs to do.
Position players are easier to find then great pitching. Our outfield is set for 2010 with Clevlen, Granderson, and Maybin, so even Monroe will most likely be gone. I’m not saying that Soriano would not have been great. But lets remember that Pudge and Ordonez came to the Tigers when no one else would, and that is likely to change with our starting 5 and closer in tack for along time. With the pitching contacts that will be needed to be extended, and positon players coming up Dave has set this team up as a legitamate contender for the next decade. So making a splashy signing for a position player would have been stupid.
Who would you want anyway in 3 years, what will be close to the most dominant and youngest pitching staff in baseball, with an outfielder in Maybin that will be 22, or another aging player taking up a large chunk of payroll letting one or two of our 24-26 year old starting pitchers go to another team?
Hoot, that was a very well thought out post.
We only have need for a leadoff hitter until Maybin is ready. If Granderson isn’t the one, why not Polanco? I know he’s the “prototypical” number two man, but without that number one hitter, Polly would be valuable in the leadoff spot. Leyland can go with that idea he likes so much, having power in the two hole. I’m not sure it’s wise to go after an expensive leadoff man when we have one in the making.
Been poking around re Big Red’s defensive abilities as a catcher. Found a couple of things tht explain why he was converted.
The thing about Chris is he can hit and has a pretty nice swing. He is still young so I think the Tigers are gonna stick with him and he will have to suffer through another season of indignity.
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/story/2006/4/17/222224/147
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Chris-Shelton.shtml
We all get caught up in “what ifs” and “should have beens”‘ and “how to do things better” but I noticed something conspicuous by it absence today—CARLOS GUILLEN in NOT really being considered as a candidate for MVP. That’s ludicrous. He was the best player on a team that had one of the best records in baseball. The guy played the most critical position on the diamond and hit .320, scored 100 runs, stole 20 bases, had 85 RBIs and an OBP of .400
Sure, no one expects him to win it, but to not even being mentioned is downright foolish.
I wish we had a couple more heady ballplayers on our club like this gentleman!
Looks like Carlos came in tenth. I think he should have been higher, but those big sticks always pull in the votes in this thing. He probably should have come in ahead of Thomas, Hafner, and maybe Guerrro. I see Verlander got the second highest vote total among pitchers, trailing only Santana. More than Rogers, even.
You know, a lot of folks, including some of us, said that Guillen was the MVP on a team that didn’t have an MVP. Oh well, we’ve managed to keep a number of our little secrets.
Here’s a fun question: has Guillen been the most complete ballplayer the Tigers have had since Kaline? Or would you also put Trammell in there? I think I would.
The Canuck took the MVP!!! Nice job Justin. He was an absolute force for the Twins this year. They have got some pretty exciting players over there in Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer and Hunter.
Speaking of Canadians, one has to wonder if Morneau will be able to match Larry Walker when his career is over. My guess is no but that is because larry Walker was a very special player. He is not the only Canadian to dominate in his time. Let’s not forget Ferguson Jenkins from little old Chatam Ontario who won close to 300 games and won 20 games 7 times in his career.
He is a Hall of Famer as will Larry Walker be with his >.300 lifetime average and almost 400 homers.
maybe the Tigers should look to the Great White North for a LHB slugger! We sure produce ‘em up here. The Canadian World team (which beat the US this spring) had a lineup of 8 LHB out of 9. One would like a little more balanced attack than that.
Well there’s always Jason Bay.
Hey Dan, while you’re on the Great White North slugger search you shouldn’t forget about Matt Stairs who, by all accounts is tearing it up in the Dominican Bush League Softball Tournament. My guess is that Wockenfuss will probably take the batting title as usual but the Home Run Crown will probably end up on Stairs’ mantle in the living room below that 10-pound buck. But he will have to move some of those beer cans out of the way.
Beauty, eh? Get da backbacon and a cold Molson and pull dat tuke down over de ears. Yah.
Is it true that Matt Stairs set the record for penalty minutes when he played for Thunder Bay?
Hey Rube, did you mean a 10 point buck or did Matt shoot Bambi shortly after he was born? I know… nobody likes a wise guy.
Hoot, that was a heady post with some interesting data. I agree, pay those young pitchers what they’ve earned and keep them around for a while. Develop the young players. Keep Shelton.
I was never much of an Atlanta Braves fan but they did have the right formula and plan.
I was looking up contract information on our divison rivals and found out some intresting info. Sizemore signed a deal last year that would be considered a steal in this years market for 6 years, around $24 million. I bet that he is kicking himself in certain areas real hard right now.
Then I looked up the Twins and saw that Mauer and Morneau are up for extensions this year, and free agentcy next year. If I was them I would not go for the home team discount like Sizemore. The Twins in the following weeks will probably re-sign Hunter to a long-term deal that will give them flexabilty to try and re-sign them both. But why sign?
Looking at the deals Crawford,Baldelli, and Sizemore signed if I was Mauer or Morneau I would test free-agent waters. Why sign for $100 million less then what you are worth! Both of them should ask, what do the Twins have going for them?
They do have a good farm-system, but most of the Twins talent is in the majors now.
The Twins do have Santana, then who? Radke = retired, Lirano is still up in the air. Lirano is having Tommy John surgery, so will he be as dominant when he comes back? The rest of the starters, well right. They do have a great bullpen, but don’t you need staters to get to them? The Twins are getting a new stadium, but how much will the team be able to spend on payroll?
It won’t be enough to sign both of them, and place enough talent around them to contend with Chicago, Detroit, and even Cleveland on a nightly bases.
So why re-sign this next year and not test free agentcy?
I tell them both to test the waters! It will be plenty warm for 25 year old, all-star, MVP player-types, and you will get a huge chunk of change to go along with it. I also tell them both, especailly Mauer,( wink,wink, to Dave) to come and check out the city in south-east Michigan. Where you will not only get paid, but not have to worry that the rest of the team won’t.
Hoot,
great post about the Tigers three years from now, but it takes a LOT for granted, no?
I mean, to expect BOTH Clevlen and Maybin to be good/great, and Granderson to continue to improve…might be expecting a little too much. Also, to expect Bonderman and Miller and Verlander and Maroth and Robertson and Zumaya and Rodney to all stay healthy, is WAY too much to expect.
There’s that old saying: A bird in the hand, is worth two in the bush. While I agree that we should NOT trade either Maybin nor Clevlen, I see nothing wrong with signing a proven producer like Soriano either. If the young’uns tear it up in AAA, we’ll find a place for ‘em. Of course, there is an “if” in that sentence. There is NO “if” when speaking of Soriano.
As an adult, I have seen one team “come up” together, and win a championship…..and that would be the ’84 Tigers(looking back, is it heresy to say that that team actually under-achieved?). It is doggone rare for so many young players to mature all at the same time, not get injured, stick together, AND win. Particularly now, when players move so freely from team to team. I can see Verlander now, licking cocky chops at the thought of pitching for the Yankees, can’t you? I’m not saying he is not loyal, just saying this is a baseball reality.
I have posted in Jason’s blog before this thought, and will again here.
The Tigers probably will need to spend the majority of their cash on this pitching group, and will fill out their roster with “B” type poistion players(speaking of 3 to 5 years from now, when all these pitchers will be up to sign for real money), just like the Atlanta Braves did. Remember Bream, Jordan, Lemke, etc? The Jones duo has stayed, but the rest of the team is a revolving door of players that the GM perceived to have “value”. I see that happening here, as well.
Sean Casey is a erfect example. The contract he just signed represents a true “value”, and while he is not an All-Star, he is productive enough. As the Tigers continue to contend, these type of players will continue to accept a little less to have the opportunity to win, and we’ll see this type of player filling out our roster in the coming years.
Personally, I like it. This pitching staff will give the Tigers a chance for many years to come, and a fan can only ask for that……a chance.
Mescratch, well done.
I will always remember the 91′ world series between the Twins and Braves for the two pitchers that pitched game 7, Morris and Smoltz. The once frontline pitcher and promising pitching prospect for the Tigers. That year the tigers finished in second place to Toronto without either of them on the Tigers. But I also hate “what if” or “if” statements. To look at the past or future rather than right now would be foolish.
I agree with the Braves analogy. This years Tigers are alot like the 91′ Braves. The aging lefty-veteran, Liebrant and the Three young studs of Smoltz,Glavine, and Avery. After 91′ Liebrant’s career was over, Smoltz and Glavine both went on to win a Cy young, but Avery got hurt. Avery was suppose to be the best of the three, however the injury bug got to him.
If 3, 4, or 5 of the Tigers pitchers can pan out,stay away from injuries, sign long term deals, we do look great. If Clevlen can live up to his potential. If, If , If , did I mention I hate IF statements?
The one thing that I can see the Tigers doing better then the Braves is spending money on payroll. I don’t see Tiger fans growing old of winning like the worst fans in baseball located in Atlanta. I mean not selling out 10 straight play-off games? Thats bad. I can’t predicted what is going to happen, but it always easier and more fun to imagine the best.
The only thing that I can say that is 100%, Maybin is going to win an MVP as a Tiger. He isn’t another one of Sparky’s great looking rookies, who will be a great major leaguer. ( I do miss those quotes from Sparky though ). And don’t even compare him to Higgy or Tony. Those two played the game with no heart. Higgy got the money and gave up playing hard once he got the money.
Maybin is for real. I mean I saw him catch a ball he had no right running down, let alone catching. He hit two doubles and had a steal at the one game I saw him play in. I would say Griffey before Cincy. I might be wrong, but this kid is for real. I guarentee that he will be an MVP, if he of course stays healthy. In which is the most important thing when talking about the future of the Tigers.
Having the chance to win, is indeed all a Tiger’s fan can ask for. But imagining all of the young talent panning out with the Tigers, would be to good to be true.
Kind of off topic but I watched the Lions game today.
Makes one appreciate how good a TEAM the Tigers are.
The Lions are a hapless bunch to be sure. Both offensive and defensive lines look hopeless. It’s a bit hard to gauge a QB if the line is that bad but what I saw in Kitna was just another name to throw in the lineup while the last and next draft picks don’t work out. I thought he looked less than very average.
Bring back Greg Landry!
Harrington looked pretty good and other than the bad throw at the end of the first half I suspect this kid has turned the corner and will become a good QB in the league.
I think Ordonez could play QB and then we could use his salary for a closer or leadoff hitter!
Couldn’t you just see Maggs on a quarterback sneak and going for the first down, no linebacker in sight, and he hook slides short of the first down marker?
No Scratch, it is not heresy to think that the ’84 team underachieved in subsequent years. Where was Wockenfuss when they needed him?
Hi Scratch. The 1968 Tigers also came up together. Off the top of my head, Freehan, Oyler, Wert, Horton, Northrup, Stanley, McLain, Lolich, Sparma, Hiller, Dobson (who died just today), Patterson, and Warden. I know that’s before your time, but I thought I’d mention that it’s happened both times before. The ’68 squad also featured a lot of players from Michigan, which was really cool. There are many comparisons to be made between the last three Tiger winners.
Gary Matthews Jr for five years, looks like Carlos Lee for six years, there’s a definite pattern here. So far, the Tigers have the short ones, three and one year contracts. Interesting.
Although the money is insane, I like the longer deals. Less players jumping from team to team, you get more stability. More like it was back in the day.
Do We Need a Closer?
Mike Gonzales 24 saves – 64 Ks – 2.17
Trevor Hoffman 46 – 50 – 2.14
Joe Nathan 36 – 95 – 1.58
Jon Papelbon 35 – 75 – 0.92
JJ Putz 36 – 101 – 2.30
Mariano Rivera 34 – 55 – 1.80
Francisco Rodriguez 47 – 98 – 1.73
BJ Ryan 38 – 86 – 1.37
Todd Jones: 37 — 28Ks — 3.94
What do think guys?
Blown saves. Blown saves, I think, is the key. The strikouts are good, but I’m more interested in how Jones compares in BS, especially after he was through pitching over an injury early on.
A new closer, even if one was available, would come at a great cost. My opinion is to leave the job to Jones until Zumaya proves ready.
Jones’ Ks are good? Not really. He had 6 blown saves and 6 losses. RHB hit .284 against him and LHB hit .264
He gave up ~ a run every 2 innings pitched.
His strikeout ration was less than 1 every 2 innings.
He also gave me 3 heart attacks during the season which don’t show up in the stats.
All in all it boils down to whether the team can afford to support a closer who gets the job done the majority of the time as opposed to one who get the job done virtual all the time. How many games can we afford not to win when you are in a position to?
I was referring to the other closers having good strikeout numbers.
Okay, I’m not overly big on stats, but I’m listing the top closers with number of saves and number of save opportunities. I left out losses because it’s either included in a blown save or the closer had to work an extra inning. I can’t address your three heart attacks, Dan.
Make of this what you will. My question is, of the closers listed, who is available? Sure, everybody would love to have Joe Nathan.
SV SVO
F Rodriguez 47 51
T Hoffman 46 51
B Jenks 41 45
B Wagner 40 45
B Ryan 38 42
T Jones 37 43
H Street 37 48
J Borowski 36 43
J Nathan 36 38
J Putz 36 43
J Papelbon 35 41
T Gordon 34 39
M Rivera 34 37
J Isringhausen 33 43
C Ray 33 38
B Lidge 32 38
Who is available? Well, personally, I hope Jones is. I think we dodged a bullet with himlast year and though he has had success and deserves our appreciation, I think he is far more available to us as a commodity we can offer to someone else than he is out of the bullpen.
Interesting personality but we won’t see 37 saves from him next year methinks.
Dave Dombrowski, let’s package up Ordonez (and his salary) with Jones and go after Carl Crawford and a minor leaguer by the name of Jeff Niemann.
No way Tampa Bay does a deal like that, unless someone has his Kool-Aid spiked. Maggs is here to stay.
We now interrupt this hot stove league report with a public service announcement:
Do NOT buy the World Series DVD unless you’re a huge Cardinals fan. I have purchased these in the past and was always treated to a pretty even handed presentation. Not this time. The Tigers hardly make an appearance in this thing, and they played in it. Don’t waste your time or money. Sorry, MLB, but you need to put out a better product than this.
Isn’t there going to be a Tigers DVD for this great season?
Thanx, Rich. You have saved me some ducats, and that makes you aces in my book.
Right now, I can’t believe the number of folks in the “Tigers forum”(I know, I shouldn’t venture there…..it is a place for the silly, and desperate)who are saying that Clevlen will patrol center field next year for the Tigers.
What else does Curtis have to do?? Brilliant in the field(center in Comerica, I mean, is there a more difficult center field in the majors???), very steady with the bat, walked plenty, showed flashes of power that will only increase, and generally was everything(and more) than this Tiger fan could have hoped for. Curtis, you are too good!
Meanwhile, isn’t it fun that the Tigers are looking for situational lefties at the winter meetings?? I mean, really, situational lefties!?!?!? That is our biggest need?!?!? Ya gotta love it.
I remember a time when we needed, oh………….just about EVERYTHING!(and yes, that included a right fielder, despite what all those Higgy lovers thought………lol).
We need a situational lefty. WOW, how times have changed, and this fan is appreciative.
Here’s hoping Clevlen(although, I doubt it) and Maybin are more than advertised, and two years from now, we have NO idea what we are going to do with Sheff and Maggs.
It is a seriously good time to be a Tigers fan. We’ve suffered enough, I say. We deserve it.
Answering my own question from above, I see there is going to be a Tiger DVD. The problem, however, is that it’s only sold at Meijers in the Detroit/Toledo metro areas. I guess I’ll have to call in a favor to get one of my old buds to pick that up for me. In other video news, you can get a free download from MLB.com for the Tigers clinching games with New York and Oakland, in their entirety, including commercials. I’d already forgotten that Josh Lewin did that Yankee series. You can also get the playoff clincher which I guess is the game in Kansas City.
I agree with what you’re saying, Scratch. A situational lefty as our biggest need. I remember being thrilled when we signed Fernando Vina. Anway, why wouldn’t we just give Bobby Seay or someone a shot at that job? Why pay for it? Or as Jason has written, with Rodney and Zumaya, is it even necessary?
Jason, where are you!!! Please blog once a week or so.
Steve, even though it appears from this side of the ‘puter, that Jason doesn’t really have a “job”(who here wouldn’t trade places with him, in a New York minute??), I am sure he could use some time off, and is probably doing just that.
I say, give the man a break. Putting up with us, alone, calls for “combat pay”.