Cabrera, Seay agree to one-year deals

Just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cabrera wanted to play through at least one April in Detroit before he signs up for a bunch of them...

matt

I guess that I am stupid, I thought that we had him regardless through the 2009 season???? If someone can explain this to me then please do. Thanks

GK, hi. You're hardly stupid. I'm admittedly very poor on this contract business, but the fact seems to be that Cabrera is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season. My guess is that the one year deal puts off arbitration for a year? Hopefully someone can explain this quickly and painlessly. At any rate, he made $7.4 mil for 2007, and I think he was down for $10 mil this season, so he's getting good raises. :-)

Thanks for your vote of support. I do understand that they want to lock him up in a long team deal soon, but I guess I just don't understand the reasoning behind a 1 year deal and this arbitration business???

Coach, don't make it too complicated. The only team MCab can play for in 2008 is the Tigers. The only team he can play for in 2009 is, the Tigers. After that he is a free agent and can sign with anyone.

After a certain amount of time in service, if a player thinks he's underpaid he can ask for arbitration. Often once that is done, the player/team agree on a new salary figure and arbitration is avoided. The impetus is that both parties are afraid of the unknown figure that the arbitrator might come up with.

I speculate that for the Tigers this was strategic. They wanted to appear positive to both MCab and his agent so negotiations for a longer term deal would start off on a positive note. Hope this helps clear up some of the mystery.

In response to a previous question raised by Jason,(who would a team rather have Inge or Crede?),I thought, how lucky we are to have Inge under contract instead of the one-dimensional Crede. I think Inge is going to be a big part of the Tigers in 2008, especially if he will catch, and can have a bounce-back offensive year. He is a talented enough athlete that I don't see why the latter can't happen. With this line-up, no reason he has to think longball. If he can get his obp near .400, he will score 100 runs. Even with the incredibly tough AL, anyone who stays on Woodward Ave. the next five years is going to play October baseball three times and win two rings.

Without exception, all ball players say that is what they want "I want to win rings" so here's a new question, "Brandon, what would you rather do, start in Philly for perennial losers, or pack a couple more gloves in your bag, go to Lakeland, win Rings and continue your run as a Tiger ICON.

I agree that the Tigers want to show Cabrera they are serious about wanting him to stay in Detroit. When he starts to show how good he really is, then I think management will offer him a long term deal.

Also great for Seay. I really like him and he is a team player.

As for Inge, he was in Grand Rapids for a Griffins Hockey game. He signed autographs but there were to be no interviews.

I remember in little league playing left field and pitcher and when our regular catcher wasn't there, Coach asked me to catch. I didn't really like it but I did it for the team and coach said the catcher is like being the quarterback. So Brandon, maybe you could replace Pudge and get 5 or 6 rings!!!

Anyway, Jason, I read in the GR press this morning that you talked with Inge at the Griffins game. Anything you want to share with us?

Thanks,

Dave

Wonder what Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson think of this?

"Tulowitski Extension Close

Today, January 20, 2008, 19 minutes ago | Tim Dierkes

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are nearing a record six-year, $30MM deal. This beats Grady Sizemore's $23.45MM contract as the largest for a player with less than two years of service time. The deal also has a seventh-year option.

Renck says Tulo would be a Rockie through 2014; it seems like he is counting the option year in that statement. Seems like a wise move by Colorado; the Indians certainly aren't regretting Sizemore's contract. It's nice to have cost certainty with your star players.

"

The bullpen situation will prove critical this year. Right now I would say they will take 7 relievers north.
Cruceta seems to be a lock along with Rodney and Jones. Seay too.

I have my hopes and doubts regarding Cruceta. He walks a ton of hitters though his K/IP is above 1.0. I think he may drive us hardcore fans nuts with the free passes.

I like Bazardo's chances of sticking too. Not a big strike out guy but he has realy sweet stuff and very decent command. He's only 23 or 24. Looks even better with our infield.

That leaves Grilli, Miner and Bautista and Byrdak. Grilli has good stuff but has times of complete breakdown. Composure problems. Bautista is intimidating and improving. Miner has an option left.

If JL does not have a 2 lefty bullpen mindset I think Byrdak will be the odd man out along with Bautista since I think JL is keen on Jason.

If they are still intent on shipping Inge they should consider a package with Grilli.

Dboone, with all due respect, you are among the many, many people that seem "high" on Cruseta. Naturally, I hope you are all right. However, he's pushing 27 and has performed poorly in very, very limited MLB action. The acquisition basically amounted to a FA signing of a minor leaguer. At 27 shouldn't someone have "discovered" him by now. People get very impressed by performance in off-season leagues full of guys who will never play an inning in MLB. As I said, I hope everyone's right but I see no reason he should be a "lock" to make the team. I'd rather have almost any of the BP guys who proved themselves last year. There is probably as good or better of a chance that Grilli suddenly "get's it" as Cruceta blossoming. If Zumaya wasn't so stupid we might not even have signed the guy and for sure he'd be headed for Toledo.

Not much to share about the Inge apperance, really. I saw the account of it in the Grand Rapids Press. I wasn't going to mention it, because I know a lot of fans hate media whining. As far as I'm concerned, I don't blame Inge so much as I blame the people with the minor-league hockey team for trying to handle him.

We all knew the instructions ahead of time, that Inge was not to be made available to the media. However, knowing Inge for the last six years, I know that when he sees reporters that he knows in person, he usually talks. There's a difference between chatting with a couple beat writers you know and talking into a bunch of microphones and cameras from TV stations in Grand Rapids or wherever. And after talking with the media relations director for the minor-league hockey team, everyone agreed that if Inge talked to us on his own initiative, that was fine.

As he was walking back to the autograph room, he saw us and said, "You guys are still here?" We asked if we were waiting in vain, or if he might have a couple minutes to talk when he was done signing. Before he could answer, the officials with the minor-league hockey team freaked out. Some guy with the club barked out, "No media tonight!" He then rushed Inge back to the autograph table, while some security guy told us we had to move away and down the hall, even though it was a public area. It was a laughable scene, made moreso by the fact that the security people had their faces painted for some reason.

I went back down to the same spot after a few minutes. The security people didn't ask me to move. Instead, they closed the doors to the room, forcing fans to open the doors themselves to get out, and later led Inge out a different door once he was finished signing for the fans who were still there.

If Brandon had told us he didn't want to comment, that would've been fine, and we would've gone away. But for these personnel to not even let him continue a conversation, well, that's the problem I have. The irony of it all is that Inge stayed to sign more autographs on his own time because they let more people in line than could've possibly gotten autographs in the scheduled time.

JT. I don't think Cruceta should be a lock. I think the club does though. They seem to be touting his virtues and I frankly am sceptical (due to his control problems).

My man is Yorman. I think his control and his pitch selection lends itself well to a late inning dependable guy. Quite likely though he will fill in a starting role at some point during the season.

With all the hulaballoo over Cabrera/Willis--let's not forget how significant the deal for Renteria is. He will be a key ingredient for success this year.

Good story about the Grand Rapids thing, Jason. Tom Gage had touched upon this in his coverage too, and it sounds like their security folks were feeling their oats, behaving like they were secret service. I guess you guys would have had better access by getting in the autograph line! :-)

I don't think Inge is guaranteed any kind of starting job with anybody, and leaving Detroit could be a huge mistake for him, as he may end up in the same situation with a lesser ballclub and fans that aren't nearly so friendly. You can guess the cities where that might happen.

Regarding Cruceta, it appears the hulaballoo is coming from the scouts who saw him pitch recently. I usually place great confidence in the Tiger scouting system, right up until they said that Maybin was ready right now. I suppose we'll see for ourselves about Cruceta.

The mention of Renteria makes me think of the batting order. If it's true that JL intends to keep Grandy at leadoff followed by Polanco, with Maggs in the cleanup spot, you get a traffic jam in the lower half. Jones would need to be separated from Granderson, so it looks like Pudge or Renteria in the nine hole. Pudge is the quick choice, I'm sure (a HOFer hitting ninth!), but we should bear in mind that it's the nine hitter who turns the lineup over. I wouldn't complain if Renteria was in that spot. I'm also taking a wait and see attitude with him after his one season in the AL with Boston. Hopefully that was an anomaly and not a statement on how he may hit AL pitching.

--Rich

Jason,
Thanks for the "inside" information on Inge. Rich had a great idea about getting in the autograph line. I have been at the Van Andel arena many times, not for hockey but for concerts. The security people probably have full times factory jobs and this is a part time job for them so they want to act like big shots.

Anyway, Inge has been my Tiger as I have seen so many of the guys play for the Whitecaps. I think he just had a bad year. Do you think he went to the plate thinking I hope I don't strike out?

When he was catching for the Tigers he was struggling at the plate but his defense was great. He told everyone he could hit and the next year I think he was hovering around the .300 mark for a while. I just hope he stays with the Tigers.

I can't wait for opening day, especially after being outside today!

--Dave

The more I hear from or about Nate Raobertson the more I think of him as a good human being.

From Jason's mailbag:

"I don't have a question, rather a statement. My daughter, myself, my brother-in-law and my father-in-law went to TigerFest. We met the players and enjoyed the kids activities in the stadium. After TigerFest, we left the stadium, and due to the economy, there were homeless asking for handouts. My family went to Johnny Rockets across from the stadium to get a bite to eat before our 250-mile ride north. While we were sitting there, a gentleman in a very nice suit came in with one of those homeless people and bought them dinner. That person was Robertson. You hear about what the players do for the community, but you don't realize it sometimes till you see it first-hand. As my family left Johnny Rockets, we passed the Fox Theatre, where there is another restaurant where we saw Robertson with his wife. He took time away from his dinner and his wife to help this person who did not know who he was. Makes me proud to be a Tiger fan. -- Dan H., Leroy, Mich.

Thank you for sharing that. It's a nice way to close the mailbag. I don't think I need to add anything.

"

Hey Dan, Rich, Jason, guys, I was in the middle of a Brandon Inge installment (stay with us Brandon, you'd be the 6th infielder off the bench, kind of like John Havlechek, and we need ya)and Dan's blog popped up. Had to stop and say this. This is who Nate Robertson is. He lives his Faith, he walks the walk, no pun intended, and this is why he is so valuable to this team and baseball for that matter. Way to go Nate! Way to be real in one man's life and a true inspiration in ours.

Yeah, thanks for sharing that Jason. GK, JT, David, Matt, Ty, and everyone, I've enjoyed your installments, and frankly I'm just sitting back and locked in learning mode. But I'm still here....Whatever happened to our friend Rube?

Marty, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Rube had taken up residence on Tahiti. That guy sure could write.

The Tigers have a number of quality individuals which makes it very easy to root for them. Nate is certainly one of them.

Speaking of quality individuals, I've been watching selected highlights from last season and I just witnessed Sean Casey getting his 6th hit in 11 pinch hit ABs. I guess no one has heard what's up with him? I thought of him as still being a valuable contributor.

Rich, I have been wondering about Casey as well. Perhaps Jason can shed some light on this for us?

Class-A move by Nate, indeed.

Dan, I agree, we definitely can't forget about Ren Tin Tin. I think he will be a valuable peice of the lineup this year.

I can't wait for Spring Training to start and watch all the new and existing players take shape into a team. I think we are in for a very exciting year in 2008.

I couldn't afford playoff tickets in 2006, but WHEN the Tigs get back this year - I will not be denied this time.

Go Tigers!

Casey is still unsigned, as far as I can tell. There was a question in the Reds mailbag a week or two ago about whether they might have any interest in re-signing him, the beat writer thought no.

I really enjoyed having Casey on the team and will miss him everywhere but on the base paths. ;-)

matt

To the best of my knowledge, Casey remains unsigned. When I talked to him last October, he had every intention of playing this year. At this point, however, it looks like he might have to take a minor-league contract and a non-roster invite from somebody

Well, that worked out for Dimitri Young. It's just hard to believe no one can use a slick fielding veteran who hits .295. You'd think an NL club would want him as a LH pinch hitter if nothing else. And late inning defense?

I suppose him ever getting back with Detroit is too much to hope for. Since Guillen can play other positions, there is still flexibility there.

--Rich

Hello All,
Yea, where is Rube and Scratch?

Hey Davidtiger from Virginia and Jason, in the GR Press today on the whole back page of the sports section were write ins from people that ripped David Mayo for making Inge look like the bad guy for not granting any interviews. Like I daid before, i watched Inge play for the Whitecaps in 1999 and have loved him ever since. Brandon, please stay with the Tigers.

Marty, that is why I like Nate also. He believes.

I wish this snow would go away!

The fact that both our starting slick-fielding corner infielders can't attract as much attention as John Edwards in a candidate debate, speaks volumes. This club has improved som much from last year it's scary--at leat in the lineup department. No Inge to kill rallies or Casey to clog up the bases. Funny thing is I love both of those guys. But reality speaks--if you are gonna win you have to have excellence at the corners- not mediocrity.
Casey will get picked up. He's a bargain and a positive presence in the clubhouse.

Inge is painting himself into a corner (and not the hot corner he so dearly wants).

Wondering where Guzman and Perez fit in this year.

Looks like this is gonna be a big year for Brent Clevlen too. He really needs to impress.

Renteria is going to have to have a good year this next kick at the can in the AL. Tigers have too many good young shortstops chomping at the bit.

Raburn's fate is hanging in the balance with the conundrum over Inge.

I think it would be a mistake to think they could go without Santiago and think they could fill the SS hole with Inge. Too much time to think out there for Brandon---

Though they could argue if Renteria goes down then they can replace him with Guillen and pencil in Thames or move Cabrera to 1st and Inge to 3rd.

Marcus really needs to learn how to play first this year--very important for him.

We're not gonna get anything of value for Brandon anyway--so I hope he stays and is willing to catch. Wilson's areer is dicey right now.

Good point about Santiago. I had a couple questions in the mailbag inbox suggesting they drop Santiago in order to keep Thames, Raburn and Inge on the roster. I was going to answer one of them but didn't have the room this week. To brush off Santiago totally overlooks his defensive value. He's somebody you can plug in late in a game and depend on to make a play. If you're going to complain about Renteria's defense at his age, you can't jab at Santiago at the same time.