Verlander's grinning so much because he'll now make more money wiping his ass than he did in his first 5 years of pro ball

Forget everything I said before -- The Tigers will ink their flame throwing ace to a longterm deal as early as Thursday.  80 second dance party, starting now.

Via Freep:

A person familiar with the negations says the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander have agreed to an $80-million, five-year contract.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity tonight because the deal had not been announced. The person said the contract could be completed as soon as Thursday.

Verlander won a career-high 19 games with a career-best 3.45 ERA last season. He is 65-43 with a 3.92 ERA in four full seasons with the Tigers.

That means the Tigers will have a formidable 1-2-3 for many years to come.  Porcello and Scherzer are still on their rookie contracts and will not be eligible for free agency until they have been in the league for six years.  If their talents come into fruition, and it's more likely than not that they will (especially Porcello), the Tigers could essentially have three aces taking the ball every fifth day, three days in a row, for the next 4-5 years.  SCARY.

Verlander earns $2 million more than the deal Felix Hernandez just signed, so the Tigers didn't extend too far at all beyond the market value.  If you consider how great Verlander has been since he entered the bigs, and that he's made $7.6 M in his first five years since being drafted, this (significant raise) is well deserved and worth it for the Tigers.  No word on how the money will be distributed over the years, but I assume it'll be ascending similar to Felix's.

Now the Tigers can start negotiating with Johnny Damon... and I think they should.

Granderson said his final farewell to Detroit on Sunday at my fiance's alma mater for his annual Grand Kids Foundation basketball game.  Long-time Fox Reporter, Jennifer Hammond interviews him at the end of the day about his time in Detroit and how weird it will be for him to be in the Yankees pinstripes (not quite like him in referee pinstripes). Granderson also stole her post-interview hug virginity, which should tell you how much Granderson meant (and still means) to Detroiters.

Tears and incoherent puffery around the two minute mark will make a grown man's eyes well up.

Even as a proponent of this trade, I still think Curtis is a class act and a good ball-player.  The Yankees are very lucky to be getting this guy to represent their team and that city with whatever he does.

As for his return to Detroit in May, I don't think it will be get quite the ovation Chauncey's did, but Curtis will definitely get a nice, well deserved, standing-O from the crowd.  I know I'll stand and cheer.

Best of luck, Curtis.

[via Fox Detroit]

Diagnosed with terminal cancer mere months ago, Ernie was not given long to live.  In fact, he said himself that he did not expect to live to this day, his 92nd birthday.  If Detroit were so lucky, he'd live on forever.  One thing is for sure, his legend will.   Happy Birthday, Ernie  ... the greatest announcer of all-time in all of our eyes.   Detroit loves you.

Miguel Cabrera is a man.  Roughly a .310 BA, 30 HRs, 110 RBIs per year for the past six seasons? 400+ foot HRs? All man.

In a baseball sense, that is.

Off the field there have been questions regarding his "manliness."  He was tabbed as immature and a party goer during his time in Florida.  What else would you expect from a 20-21-year old who has made it in the big time in America?  Lots of money, all the fame, and in Miami, Florida of all places.

Then he was traded to Detroit before the 2008 season.  None of his off-the-field habits seemed to carry over with him, at least in terms of acknowledgment from the press.  Cabrera was a franchise player in Detroit, who definitely appeared to have lots of fun on the field and that was it.  He'd hit 400 foot line drive home runs, jump hip-bump his teammates, clown with runners when they got on first base, and that's it. Cabera was a man amongst boys and Detroit's one-man offensive machine.

Then that one fateful October morning, news broke that Cabrera had been arrested and picked up by Dave Dombrowski at the station.  Rumors swirled all day about what happened -- he getting into a bar fight being the most popular.  Eventually it all came out: Cabrera was partying with some White Sox players, after a loss, until the early hours of the morning.  He came home to an angry wife, who he proceeded to argue with.  But she proceeded to scratch and bruise the shit out of his face and call the police.  Cabrera was then arrested and picked up later at the station by the Tigers General Manager, Dave Dombrowski.  Cabrera was drunk when he was arrested, but not just drunk, 0.26 BAC drunk.  It was close to 7 in the morning and the Tigers had one of the biggest games of the year less than 12 hours later.  Cabrera played in the game, but he went 0-fer.

The whole "when it rains, it pours" cliche applied in this case.  After the arrest and drunk talk, news then surfaced that Cabrera had been involved in a dispute at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham no longer than a couple months prior.  In that issue, he apparently called a teenage kid fat and insinuated he had guns in his car, which he said he'd retrieve if the argument got to that point.  Of course, the kid complained and Police checked his car, but didn't find any guns.  There were no charges or arrests made, but Cabrera was told by the Tigers to stay away from the hotel.   Well, guess where he was the night he was arrested, getting drunk before returning home and fighting with his wife?

At the Townsend Hotel.

Cabrera wound up playing very well in the Tigers losing effort against the Twins for the right to play in the playoffs.  And the game was a nice distraction for Cabrera and his troubles, but the questions lingered.  What will become of Miguel Cabrera?  Does he have a drinking problem? Will he get help?  What will the Tigers do in response to his blatant disobediance of the team's requests?

Well, those questions for the most part have been answered today.

Cabrera said today that he hasn’t had a drink since the well-publicized Oct. 3 incident — hours before a crucial game against the White Sox.

He spent three months in a treatment program in Miami, and Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said that the program will continue into spring training and the regular season.

Cabrera said he feels like he let down his teammates with the incident -- in which police say he got drunk enough between Friday night’s game and Saturday morning to have what police said was a 0.26 blood-alcohol reading (three times above Michigan’s legal limit for driving) and a bruised and cut left cheek -- and that he intends to make up for it in the 2010 season.

Cabrera also said in his interviews with reporters today that he feels, "like a new man."

A sober, totally focused, Cabrera might not put up numbers any gaudier than they already are, but this is for sure:  It takes a big man to admit he has a problem and to seek help.  And assuming Cabrera is being sincere, it's a much bigger man than someone who has MVP numbers.  You put the two together, though, and you might see one of the best hitters to play the game in 2010 and beyond.  That's all man stuff.

Right now the Tigers are trying to get their roster in order by signing those eligible for arbitration.  On Tuesday, they got Gerald Laird, Bobby Seay, and Zach Miner out of the way.  Now all they need to worry about is the more difficult, and pricier, Justin Verlander.

JV has set his arbitration price at $9.5 million and the Tigers have countered with roughly $6.9 million.  Ideally, the Tigers and JV will settle on a price in the middle of those two ballparks, so an arbitration hearing is not necessary (arbitration hearings can only bring messiness).  It's being reported that a mutual agreement will indeed happen.

Some are probably wondering why the Tigers aren't shelling out the big bucks and committing to Verlander4lyfe.  The reason is because the Tigers think it's best to wait:

Via MLIVE:

So, for now, expect Verlander to settle for a one-year deal, possibly in the $7.5 million  to $8 million range. 

It seems very unlikely Dombrowski would ink Verlander, who filed for arbitration Friday, to a long-term deal before the arbitration hearings, which are scheduled for the first week of February. Dombrowski recognizes the added cost of signing Verlander to a multi-year contract this year -- with two more, seemingly less expensive, arbitration-eligible years remaining before he becomes a free agent.

As the quote suggests, it's in the Tigers best interests to hold off on extending him when arbitration is still available.  At the very worst, the Tigers go to a hearing where someone determines JV's fair value based on his actual performance, as opposed to guaranteeing him a lot of money no matter how well he pitches (and it's going to take a lot of money to keep Verlander tied down to Detroit for a long time).

That means the Tigers probably won't try to extend JV until after this season once he is about to enter his final season before free agency.  At that point, Verlander (and his agent) will decide if his value is at its max before that season or if he wants to pitch one more year to try and play for even more dollar signs.  Presumably, the Tigers will offer him something long-term before the 2011 season.  However, if JV does not agree to that and decides he wants to test the FA no matter what, or wait until he can have another solid year on his side of negotiations, there's a chance the Tigers might not be involved in the 2011 winter bidding war, one that's sure to involve the never-ending bank account of the Yankees.

Why might the Tigers not get themselves involved?

Consider the Tigers rotation that winter of 2011 when Verlander becomes eligible for free agency.  Forbid any injuries, the Tigers' Porcello & Max Scherzer will be further experienced at that point, both of whom harness ace stuff as is.  If that playoff play-in game is any indication of how good Porcello is going to be for the years to come, I don't think there's any question that he will be a top pitcher in all of baseball.

Scherzer also has the potential to reach that status.  He came up through the Diamondbacks system touted as a top prospect and he has a filthy slider and the velocity to deserve the praise.  If Rick Knapp can somehow find a way to help hone his control, he's going to be a very scary pitcher not only to face every fifth day in 2010, but for many years to come.

Then don't forget that the Tigers have two top pitching prospects waiting in the wings in the Minor Leagues.  One is lefty Casey Crosby, who missed the 2008 season with Tommy John surgery, but rebounded in 2009 with a 10-4 record and a 2.41 ERA in Single-A ball (he also fanned 117 batters in just 104 innings).  By the winter of 2011, the Tigers should have a pretty good idea if he's capable of being a solid addition to the big club's rotation.   If he is, that gives the Tigers three very good pitchers in Porcello, Scherzer, and Crosby.

Then there is Jacob Turner, the 9th overall pick from the 2009 draft.  If all goes according to plan, he may only require the single year of Minor League ball that Verlander needed before entering the Tigers' rotation.  However, a safe bet is that he'd be ready by the 2012 season.  It's all speculative at this point considering Turner hasn't even thrown an inning in the minors, but if he's as good as they imagine he is (hence the 9th overall pick and the Porcello-money thrown at him), he's going to be an MLB pitcher for a long time, as well.

And if that's the case, the Tigers will have a core of four young and very, very good pitchers (and all for relatively cheap still).  The Tigers will more than likely have the financial means to offer Verlander a lucrative extension when his time comes, but if these four pitchers are supposed to be the next best thing by Opening Day in 2012, it may not be completely necessary to sign the, at that time, 29-year old Verlander, who will have roughly 1300 Major League innings under his belt, for an unthinkable amount of money.  It might not be necessary and it might not even be the smart thing to do money-wise.

Don't get me wrong, Dave Dombrowski has gone on record as saying JV is the type of pitcher that you build a franchise around and lock up for as long as you can.  I have no reason to not believe that myself-- JV has proven to be the real deal.   But all I'm saying is, don't be surprised if DD looks at his options in the winter of 2011 and, assuming he honestly believed Porcello and Scherzer were ace material, and that Crosby and Turner would be ready to take on big roles, decides to pass on giving the, sometimes stubborn, ace Verlander a payroll crippling contract.   (And you don't need me to remind you that DD's been burned by big contracts before, so maybe it's just not his thing).

Ideally, if the Tigers weren't going to offer a contract to JV long-term, then they would be smart enough to trade him before the 2011 deadline for the best prospects available in someone's farm system.  I'm usually not a fan of trading proven talent for prospys, but if it's even close that Porcello, Scherzer, Turner, and Crosby are ready to take the MLB by storm as the best four-man rotation the Tigers have ever had (thus don't plan on bidding on JV), then I wouldn't just encourage the trade-off of Verlander for oodles of top prospects, I'd openly demand it as a fan.

But hey, it's 2010, a lot can happen in a month, let alone two years.  So just deposit this in your distant memory banks and when the winter of 2011 (or the trade deadline of 2011) rolls around, maybe this will still be relevant.  If not, then hopefully that means Verlander threw 10 no-hitters in 2010 en route to a Tigers pennant and we extended him until 2025 for $500 million.  The End.

With baseball's spring training only a month away, I'm really starting to get the itch...to start playing baseball video games again.  Just as the sports seasons come and go, so do the video games for their respective sports. I feel bad for EA's NCAA Football franchise, which is only relevant for about a month because  everyone forgets about it when Madden comes out. And with the baseball season nearing, my video game A.D.D. will shift my focus to either MLB the Show or MLB 2K10.

Probably 2K10, thanks to Justin Verlander.

Don't show 'em any respect, JV.

This is part three of a four-part series introducing the Tigers' four new players to readers who may not know much about them. Part 1 (Max Scherzer) can be found here, while part 2 (Phil Coke) is here. Unfortunately, there's not a ton of information out there on these guys, but we'll share whatever we dig up. Part 4 will come later.

So far, the most we know about LHP Daniel Schlereth is that he is the son of ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth. Daddy is very supportive of young Daniel, as seen in the videos below.

He screwed up a bit (it's the Old English D, Mark) but he gets points for trying.

Schlereth has been in the minor leagues for most of his career so far, and understandably so. In 18.1 innings of Big League work last year, Schlereth sported a 5.89 ERA. He gave up 15 hits and walked 15 batters for a not-so-low WHIP of 1.636. However, there is a silver lining. Schlereth struck out 22 batters in those 18.1 innings, an average of nearly 11 per 9 innings. [stats via Baseball-Reference.com]

Billfer from the Detroit Tiger Weblog has a more general take on Schlereth:

In addition to grabbing the Diamondbacks 2006 top draft pick, they also got their 1st rounder from 2008 in Daniel Schlereth. Schlereth has a 93-94 mph fastball and a 79 mph curveball and the lefty will be pitching exclusively out of the pen. He’ll strike out a lot of guys, but he’ll also walk way too many. He appeared in 21 games and pitched 18.1 innings in 2009.

Kevin Goldstein rated him as a 4 star prospect after the 2008 season. Baseball America releases their Diamondback’s Top 10 on Wednesday, but Schlereth rated as the 3rd best prospect in their system last year.

Fox's Dayn Perry has a brief but glowing tidbit on Schlereth in his article of five worst offseason moves across the MLB. (Check out all the former Tigers on the list. Looks like Dombrowski might know what he's doing.)

Schlereth, meanwhile, has a dominating minor-league dossier and the makings of a shutdown reliever at the highest level.

From what I've gathered, Schlereth has a very high ceiling but isn't quite ready for the Major Leagues. He'll have plenty of time to develop, as the Tigers now have an abundance of left-handed pitchers in their bullpen. Bobby Seay is a lock to be back in Detroit while Fu-Te Ni, Schlereth, and Phil Coke will compete for one or two other roster spots this Spring. Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis could also possibly be in the bullpen if neither is impressive enough for a starting gig (highly likely), and each will take a roster spot over a more deserving reliever due to their bulky contracts.

If I were to guess right now, I'd say that Schlereth spends this year in the minors (probably at Double-A Erie) with the possibility of a September call-up, especially if the Tigers are in the playoff race. From what I've seen, it looks like Schlereth has the stuff to be a dominant reliever and could be on the short list for future Tigers closers.

What leads the Free Press to publish this garbo?  First of all, they spelled "targeting" in the headline wrong (as 'targetting').  Second of all, they don't even put an author to the story and simply call it a group effort.  Really? It took the entire Free Press staff to put together a single line of (pseudo) substance and several lines of fluff?  If I was on the Free Press staff, I wouldn't be happy that my name was lumped in with this.  I don't know, maybe the Free Press is desperate during a down time for Tigers baseball or maybe they're putting a lot of stock into Bleacher Report nowadays.  I'm mostly knee jerkin' at how vague and uninformative it is, so I'm going to do what they should have done and analyze it a little bit.

It received the attention of NBC's Circling the Bases, who dismiss the "report," but not entirely:

According to the Detroit Free Press, "reports have said" the Tigers are interested in having free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson replace Placido Polanco, who signed with Philadelphia last month

[snip, snip]

It's an unlikely scenario anyway, as the Tigers have top prospect Scott Sizemore at the ready. Sizemore, who turns 24 on Monday, batted .308/.389/.500 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo last season. He underwent surgery to repair a fractured left ankle in October, but there have been no reported setbacks in his recovery.

[snip, snip]

It's very possible that Hudson could find himself signing another one-year contract. If his price drops far enough, the Tigers can't be dismissed entirely.

OK, on the surface, because the Tigers just lost Polanco to the Phillies, it doesn't seem crazy.  However, the Tigers just re-signed Adam Everett ($1.55 million) and Ramon Santiago ($1.25 million), and as the quote explains, they are expecting Scott Sizemore to take over at 2B for Polanco in the spring.  Signing Hudson would essentially guarantee that Sizemore would be playing in the bus leagues in 2010 before receiving a chance (or the Tigers would have to decide and eat one of the contracts they just inked).  Also, perhaps most notably, it would make the Tigers decision to not offer Polanco arbitration in the first place even dumber.

Hudson made $3.4 million with the Dodgers last season and I'm guessing, if he winds up signing another one-year deal, he'll require something along those lines again.  Polanco made $4.6 million last year and just signed a deal with the Phillies for three years worth $18 million ($5 million in 2010).  It probably would have been worth the extra million or two it would have cost to keep him around, especially with the money that could have been saved by ending the Ramon Santiago, or the Everett, era.  I don't see the Tigers further admitting any mistakes by pursuing Hudson unless, as NBC suggests, his price drops far enough (Dombrowski has already admitted the mistake to not offer Polanco arbitration once and that was because they could have received a draft pick).  To me, it would have to be a very significant drop off to the point it would be almost crazy not to offer him something.  But I can't think of any MLB egos that would be/have been willing to take a 60-70% pay cut for the love of the game.

Hudson is not bad, by any means.  He's been particularly healthy throughout his career, aside from a wrist injury in 2008 that prevented him from reaching 500 ABs for the first time in his career since his rookie season.  He's been to two All-Star Games (more than Polanco) and has four Gold Gloves (also more than Polanco).  Their offensive numbers aren't too different, although Hudson's numbers drop off when you look at his AL numbers compared to his NL numbers (albeit it was earlier in his career) while Polanco has been steady in both leagues.  Ultimately, it doesn't really come down to the Tigers opinion as to what Hudson can bring to the team as a player; it just doesn't make sense contractually and with the bodies they already have up the middle.  I think if there is any truth to the Tigers mentioning Hudson, I think it was the Tigers simply throwing around names remaining on the FA list, someone heard it out of context, and they took it to the Freep.

In short, and making everything I've said moot, nothing to see here.

Probably what his mug shot looked like...

It has been a downward spiral for the Tigers ever since September.  First they lost a seven game lead in the AL Central, Miguel Cabrera was arrested half a day before one of the biggest games of the season (while still insanely drunk), they went on to lose the playoff play-in game, traded the face of their franchise, and now their rarely hitting catcher has been arrested in Phoenix for... possibly hitting a security guard:

Two professional baseball players and another man were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct after Wednedsay's Phoenix Suns game at U.S. Airways Arena following a brawl at an arena lounge, according to Phoenix police.

Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird, 30, was cited for assault. His brother Brandon Laird, 22, was cited for disorderly conduct, police said. The younger brother is a top prospect in the New York Yankees minor league system....

....“While (security guards) were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the (Laird brothers) interfered and assaulted the security guards,” Hill said.

Gerald is a real straight shooter, so this doesn't surprise me entirely.  If he doesn't like something, he'll let you know.  During the season, he was seen on ESPN engaging in a very animated argument with Justin Verlander after JV had a rough inning.  Teammates had to hold the two players back.

The Freep doesn't mention if alcohol played any role, but that would not surprise me, either.  I met Laird at a bar over the summer, as he was ripping shots with his buddies, talking smack to random people.  He started the 1 PM game the next day.

Laird hit .225 for the Tigers in 2009.

Let's hope for a better 2010 for the Tigers and their organization, on and off the field.

[Freep]

This is part two of a four-part series introducing the Tigers' four new players to readers who may not know much about them. Part 1 (Max Scherzer) can be found here. Unfortunately, there's not a ton of information out there on these guys, but we'll share whatever we dig up. Parts 3 & 4 will come later.

Of the four players the Tigers got in their 3-way trade, Phil Coke is probably the guy I'm least excited about. It's not a knock against Mr. Coke, but there's only so much excitement that comes with a lefty reliever without the potential that Daniel Schlereth has. Coke will probably have a difficult time breaking into the Tigers' bullpen with Bobby Seay currently holding the #1 LOOGY role.

That being said, Coke had a decent year for the Satans Yankees last year. He pitched 60 innings in 72 appearances with a 4.50 ERA (not awful for a reliever). He had 49 strikeouts to 20 walks. Lefties hit .197 while righties didn't fare much better at just .202. However, he held lefties to a .221 on-base percentage while that number jumped to .310 against right-handed hitters. That OBP saw a huge jump because he walked 16 righties compared to just 6 lefties despite 36 more left-handed opponent plate appearances. He dialed his game up during the stretch run, holding opponents to a .137 batting average with just one earned run in September and October. [stats via Baseball-Reference.com]