One went down, a little. The other went up, a lot. But both of the Tigers’ top two prospects — pitcher Jacob Turner and third baseman Nick Castellanos — had respectable showings Thursday, when ESPN’s Keith Law unveiled his annual top-100 prospects list. Turner, the favorite to be the Tigers’ fifth starter this season, checked … Continue Reading →
The Tigers rarely get rave reviews for the talent level in their minor league system, mostly because they’re not afraid to spin off top prospects for major league-ready stars. See Miguel Cabrera, Doug Fister, etc. So, today’s unveiling of Keith Law’s organizational rankings by ESPN hardly triggered shockwaves in the Comerica Park front offices. He … Continue Reading →
Here’s a big, fat “what if” for ya to chew on. Before the Tigers shipped their star center fielder, Curtis Granderson, to the Yankees in a three-team trade in December 2009, Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski was considering trading Granderson to Boston. And here’s who he asked for: Jacoby Ellsbury. And Clay Buchholz. Now, sure, the … Continue Reading →
42,800,000. That’s how many hot-and-ready pizzas Little Caesars would have to sell to bring in enough money to pay new Tigers slugger Prince Fielder’s $214 million contract. Yowza! Let that sink in for just a minute. That should put into perspective just how much money that is, if the mere figure somehow didn’t already impress … Continue Reading →
With Tuesday’s news that Prince Fielder appears headed to Detroit, here’s one look at how the Tigers’ lineup could shake out in 2012: 1. Austin Jackson, CF: Strikes out way too much, but the Tigers don’t have a better option at leadoff. Especially since the Prince Fielder signing probably means they are out of the … Continue Reading →
Prince Fielder is the most intriguing story line left this offseason. Part of me thinks that at this point, he’d make the most money playing for Bob’s Chicken Coop in the Wauwatosa beer league. Top story line 1B: Yoenis Cespedes. The five-tool Cuban outfielder has no fewer than six dead-serious suitors, the Tigers definitely among … Continue Reading →
The folks at ESPN released a preliminary “Sunday Night Baseball” schedule Wednesday, and not surprisingly, the Yankees lead the way with three appearances so far. A little more surprising, and disappointing: The Tigers didn’t make the cut. And that’s despite having early season Sunday games against some pretty high-profile opponents, like the Yankees, Red Sox … Continue Reading →
Some interesting developments in the American League Central the last 24 hours. The biggest move was a serious head-scratcher. The White Sox have extended the contract for left-handed starting pitcher John Danks, who was strongly believed to be on the trading block as GM Kenny Williams tries to rebuild the franchise. Guess we were mistaken, … Continue Reading →
Major league executives and agents are shuffling out of the swanky Hilton Anatole this afternoon, the winter meetings have come to a close. And what a finish it was. The Angels decided to do some late souvenir shopping before heading back west. Early this morning, they added massive huge contracts to their books — a … Continue Reading →
The winter meetings are quickly coming to a close, and it’s a near-certainty we’ll be flying away from Dallas tomorrow afternoon without the Tigers making any official announcement regarding reliever Octavio Dotel. It appears down to Detroit and St. Louis. I wouldn’t be stunned if Dotel is choosing between a one-year offer from the Cardinals … Continue Reading →