Author: Mike McClary

Upbeat guy.

The Top 10 Tigers Stories of 2008: #8 – The Tigers Trade Pudge

Number8.jpgIt’s hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez signed with the Tigers as a free agent — only a few months after winning the World Series with the Marlins. I tuned in to ESPNEWS on Feb. 6, 2004, to see if they were going to broadcast Pudge’s introductory press conference from Comerica Park. And they did.

My first thoughts were that his body language and tone of voice didn’t align with someone who just signed up for four-plus years in The D. Rather, he looked more like a guy who was thinking “After all I’ve accomplished in my career, this is what I get?” Thankfully, his attitude improved modestly over the seasons that followed (somewhat less, of course, near the end of the Alan Trammell Era).

We’ve read all about the Baseball Renaissance that Pudge fueled in 2004, and it’s all true. I was a huge Pudge fan and marveled at the effect he had on the Tigers. (And his performance during the 2005 Home Run Derby at Comerica Park was remarkable.) Despite the good times, I knew Pudge would leave Detroit and it wouldn’t be a entirely pleasant.

Nevertheless, I was stunned when, on July 30, he was traded to the Yankees — the Yankees! — for Kyle Farnsworth. Talk about déjà vu.

At the same time, I was relieved that a decision had been made on the future of Detroit’s catching spot, specifically that it would not be Rodriguez’s in 2009. Still, it seemed asymmetrical that a future Hall of Famer would arrive with much fanfare and depart at the trade deadline in what amounted to a lose-lose trade for both teams.

The Top 10 Tigers Stories of 2008: #9 – Edgar Renteria Can’t Play

Number 9Sure, it hurt when the Tigers sent Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez to the Braves for Edgar Renteria. There was some — i.e., a tad — concern about Jurrjens’ durability and, well, to get a player of Renteria’s caliber at such a vital position you have to part with some value.

We know how that worked out.

In 2007, Edgar Renteria hit .332 with 12 homers and a .390 on-base percentage. The most glaring part of the Failed Renteria Experiment was his .977 fielding percentage; but that tells only half the story. His fielding percentage was virtually .000 on balls he should’ve had. He and Miguel Cabrera and then Carlos Guillen helped give the Tigers one of the most ineffective left-sides of the infield in the majors.

If not for a strong second-half of the year, Renteria would’ve finished nearly 80 points below his ’07 average. (He batted .254 before the All Star Game, .296 after.)

Now he’s the Giants problem — maybe for two years. For Tigers fans, it only felt like two years that Renteria played in Detroit.

Discuss.

Happy Birthday, Jeff Robinson

Today is the 47th birthday of Jeff Robinson, a once-promising starting pitcher for the Tigers and one of my favorite short-timers.

Jeff Robinson

The 6 ft. 6 in. Robinson broke in with the Tigers on April 12, 1987 with a brilliant performance against the White Sox at old Comiskey Park. Robinson went seven innings scattering just six hits, giving up one run (earned), three walks and striking out five.

Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Jeff Robinson” →

Joyce Goes Home, Tigers Fans Go “Huh?”

Meet your new number-three starter: Edwin Jackson. Or maybe he’s number two. Who knows? All we do know is that the Tigers made the most curious trade since…since…Dickie Noles-for-Dickie Noles?

While the Mets, Mariners and Indians were swingin’ a 12-player trade (with J.J. Putz as the centerpiece) the Tigers were not zeroing in on a closer, instead they were dealing for a starting pitcher.

The 25-year-old Jackson won a career-high 14 games in 2008 at the back end of the rotation during Tampa Bay’s breakout season. He posted a 4.42 ERA to go with his 14-11 record, pitching 183 1/3 innings, allowing 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 108. Jackson’s arrival adds some more certainty to a rotation that faced major question marks at the back end. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only certainties from last year, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to be back to full strength after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.

Ian offers some hefty analysis of the deal here.

Lynn Henning suggests that this deal could be a signal that the Tigers’ are concerned with Jeremy Bonderman‘s progress. That or the Tigers are hedging their bets against another poor season by Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis.

Or both. What do you make of this trade?

Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson

I really want to give Dave Dombrowski the benefit of the doubt on this one. I really do. But I am not seeing it.

Matt Joyce is a lefthanded power bat, something the Tigers have needed for a while, who could take over at either of the corner OF spots once Sheffield was gone and either Maggs or Guillen could move to DH. I guess the Tigers think Jeff Larish can play outfield, too.

While the Tigers needed an influx of major-league ready arms, closer was the most pressing need. Edwin Jackson has a great arm, but he’s had plenty of problems finding the plate. Granted, he’s young and could come around.

Someone want to talk me down on this one? I’m all ears.

Tigers Get Their Catcher

Well, the Tigers once again barely set the suitcases down in the hotel room before getting down to business. Moving quickly to fill a hole, they acquired catcher Gerald Laird for pitching prospects Guillermo Moscoso and  Carlos Melo.

Laird is a quality catcher who can hit, and he’ll give Dusty Ryan time to grow into the starting job in a couple years. All in all, a nice pick-up for the Tigers.

It did come at a price, however. Moscoso was considered a top prospect, and close to reaching the majors. The worst news is that he’s been compared to Jair Jurrjens by some.

It is good to see them addressing one of their main offseason needs so soon. Hopefully just the start of a very productive week

Randy Smith’s Losing Bet

Nine years ago today the Tigers swung a blockbuster trade for the ages — one Tigers fans are trying to forget.

On Nov. 2, 1999, the Rangers sent outfielder Juan Gonzalez, pitcher Danny Patterson and catcher Gregg Zaun to the Tigers for pitchers Justin Thompson, Alan Webb and Francisco Cordero, outfielder Gabe Kapler, catcher Bill Haselman, and infielder Frank Catalanotto.

Sound like a ripoff? That’s not the half of it.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see how that worked out for both teams since the day of the trade:

Detroit

Gonzalez

  • 2000 (Detroit): 115 G, .289, 22 HR, 67 RBI
  • 2001-05 (CLE, TEX, KC): .302, 72 HR, 262 RBI

Zaun

He never played in Detroit. On March 7, 2000, the Tigers sent him to the Royals as part of a conditional deal. Think the Tigers could’ve used him behind the plate during those pre-Pudge seasons? Me too.

  • 2000-2008 (KC, HOU, COL, TOR): .254, 62 HR, 336 RBI

Patterson

  • 2000-04 (Detroit): 10-11, 6.17 ERA*, 5 saves (*Bloated by a 15.00 ERA in just three innings pitched in 2002. Without it, his Detroit ERA would be 3.97.)

Texas

Thompson

Poor J.T. He never could rebound from shoulder injuries that began to plague him in Detroit. He didn’t pitch in Texas until 2005 when he appeared in two games, surrendered four earned runs and two homers. He signed with the Brewers after that season and retired on June 20, 2006.

  • Career line: Five seasons, 36-43, 4.02 ERA, 428 K

Webb: According to Baseball-Reference.com, Webb never appeared in the majors.

Cordero: 2000-08 (TEX, MIL, CIN): 31-31, 211 saves, 4.00 ERA

Kapler: 2000-06, ’08 (TEX, COL, BOS, MIL) .279, 54 HR, 291 RBI

Haselman: By the time of this trade, Haselman was nearing the end of his 13-year career. He broke in with the Rangers in 1990, played three seasons (’92-’94) with the Mariners, three with Boston, a return engagement with the Rangers, one year in Detroit, back to Texas, and then his final season in 2003 with the Red Sox. 2000-03 (TEX, BOS): .265, 12 HR, 69 RBI

Catalanotto : 2000-08 (TEX, TOR): .295, 66 HR, 384 RBI

From the moment I saw this trade announced on ESPN’s crawl I knew it was not going to work out well. How could it?

First, the Tigers were giving up far too much youth for essentially one player: Gonzalez who, on his best day, was a moody enigma.

Second, as Ian reminded me, then-GM Randy Smith was allegedly shaping the Comerica Park Tigers to be a pitching-defense-and-speed club.

Acquiring a plodding slugger doesn’t fit into that scheme — particularly when CoPa was dubbed Comerica National Park for its expansive dimensions.

And third, everything in the universe had to align with unrealistic precision for Gonzalez to even half-consider signing with the Tigers after the 2000 season.

It’s painful to see how the kids Detroit traded away blossomed in the Texas heat. Personally, the one player that hurt the most was Catalanatto. If ever a hitter were designed for Comerica Park, it was Cat.

Kapler could’ve been a good role player throughout this decade, Cordero could’ve been they type of closer the Tigers now seek via trade or free agency.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Perhaps those are the three words that best sum up this trade.

What do you think?

Kip Young, It’s Your Birthday

Happy 54th birthday to the pride of Bowling Green State University, Kip Young.
KipYoung.jpg
Young made his major-league debut on July 21, 1978 against the Angels at Tiger Stadium. He took the loss in the 11-inning game, surrendering two earned runs in the 11th. For the rest of the ’78 season Young (wearing number 44) was a starter, earning a 6-6 record — with seven complete games — and a 2.81 ERA.

In his sophomore season, Young, now wearing number 37, compiled a 2-2 record with a 6.39 ERA in 13 appearances, seven of them starts. Most notable in an otherwise unremarkable year, Young had a 2-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio.

On Nov. 21, 1979, the Mariners purchased Young’s contract but he never pitched in a game for Seattle…or anyone else for that matter.

Other Tigers birthdays today include: