freep: Johnny Damon likes Yzerman, Tigers

Yes...but will he like Rybarczyk’s line change?

“Johnny came to me about Detroit,” Boras said in a telephone interview. “He told me, ‘If I can’t play for the Yankees, I want you to let the Tigers know I want to play for them. I can make that team a winner.’ “

Although Damon, 36, has been a free agent since November, Boras said the market for him really didn’t develop until it became clear the Yankees wouldn’t re-sign him. Then, said Boras, “We got four or five offers right away.”

Boras declined to identify which clubs made offers or how much interest they have subsequently shown.

Boras addressed one aspect of Damon’s performance last season. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Damon hit 15 of his 24 homers to a place where the ball carried notoriously well, rightfield in the new Yankee Stadium.

“It’s no secret that Johnny Damon purposely hooks the ball in Yankee Stadium and changes his swing on the road,” Boras said. He added that Damon, a left-handed hitter, is a “strong guy” whose Yankee Stadium homers would have cleared the rightfield fence at Comerica Park.

Report: Yankees sign OF Marcus Thames

Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Yankees have signed outfielder Marcus Thames.

Terms of the contract are not yet known. Thames could enter a left field platoon with Randy Winn. Generally considered a poor defensive outfielder, Thames has value in his .845 career OPS against left-handed pitching. The Yankees will also benefit from having an extra right-handed bat in the outfield. Thames, originally drafted by the Yankees in 1996, batted .252/.323/.453 with 13 home runs in 258 at-bats last season.

Morosi: The Tigers prove they can afford Justin Verlander’s immense ego

The Morosi you, the less I want to read you.

I have known Verlander for four years. He might be the most confident athlete I have ever been around. He has a very big, very forceful, very well-placed ego. And the Tigers had little choice but to indulge it with truckloads of cash.

In the end, Verlander’s self-assuredness resulted in a good deal for him — and the Tigers. And yes, he was right to ask for more money than Felix.

Verlander is too smart to declare publicly that he’s the best pitcher in baseball. But he’s probably too proud to admit that anyone else is better. Hence the need to receive the biggest contract of any pitcher in an arbitration class that also includes Hernandez and Josh Johnson of Florida.

...Sure, Hernandez has the better career ERA. And he is younger. But Verlander has won more games, posted more seasons of 15 victories or more, made more appearances in the All-Star Game.

He has the no-hitter. He has two starts in the World Series. He has the Rookie of the Year award. There is no denying that — so far — Verlander has accomplished more than Hernandez in the major leagues.

MLB: Galarraga ready to be Cabrera’s mentor

Galarraga, rock. Cabrera seems batish.

“Detroit wants me to be with Miguel during Spring Training and that’s where we are,” said Galarraga, who was at the Caribbean Series working as a broadcaster for Venezuelan television. “If it’s for Spring Training, I think I will accept, but if it’s for the season, I don’t want to be away from my home for eight months. I hope they accept that it’s only for Spring Training because to be there for six weeks is perfect.”

As a coach for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic, Galarraga worked with Cabrera on the transition from third base to first base. He also served as a mentor during the tournament.

“Maybe it’s one of those things that Miguel is interested in me continuing to help him,” Galarraga said. “It seems [general manager] Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland think it’s a good idea.”

Galarraga believes he can be a good influence on Cabrera.

“Miguelito is preparing himself. After the rehabilitation, he’s coming in the best condition,” he said. “Miguelito has been a superstar since he started and now he’s prepared mentally and physically. I believe he’s going to have an explosive year.”

Remington: Can Granderson solve his lefty pitcher problems?

Future Waldling: “100 Granderson Bar now has 48 HR’s this season at Yankee Stadium! Isn’t that amazing, Suzyn!?”

Granderson will be 29 in a month, and is in his physical prime. The odds are good that he’ll have a field day with that short right field wall. He wasn’t overly lucky last year, according to Hit Tracker Online, which means that he’s not due for the kind of rude awakening Jimmy Rollins received after he hit 30 homers. He has legitimate 25-30 homer power in his bat and he’s moving to a park that will make it easier for him to hit them.

The Forecast for 2010: Last year, Granderson showed two things: he could murder right-handers and hit a ton of homers off them, and he couldn’t hit lefties if you gave him a bat the size of John Kruk. The new Yankee Stadium likely won’t help him hit lefties — the short porch in right field will only help him if he can pull the ball, and he can’t get around on lefties. What’s more, the Yankees have a homegrown solution to the problem: Brett Gardner is defensively similar to Granderson, and has an OPS over .700 against southpaws in the majors and in the minors. Any time a lefty’s on the mound, they can rest Granderson and let him lurk as a potent pinch-hitting weapon any time a right-handed reliever comes in. Granderson doesn’t seem like a platoon player, but the more often the Yankees realize it, the better.

Fanhouse: Verlander Agrees to $80M Extension With Tigers

The Tigers and Justin Verlander have agreed to a five-year, $80 million extension, a source told the Associated Press. Though not officially announced, the deal is expected to be completed before the end of the week. The deal both avoids arbitration and keeps Verlander in Detroit three years into his free agency.

While the extension was being negotiated, it was expected that Verlander would use Felix Hernandez’s five-year, $78 million contract as a template for what he wanted from Detroit. In the end, the Tigers went beyond the deal Seattle gave to Hernandez by $2 million to lock their ace up long-term.

That’s really the most surprising aspect of the signing; Hernandez is younger than Verlander (24 compared to Verlander’s 27) with a slight edge in every career stat except for won-loss record and a dominant 2009 season by Hernandez that was better than any Verlander’s put up to this point in his career. If anything, it seemed likely that Verlander’s deal would come in just under the $78 million that the Mariners gave Hernandez.

Thanks to The Barfoot Contessa.

Henning: Agent: Damon wants to play for Tigers

Yeah...and I want to play for Pill Wonder. So what of it?

Johnny Damon, the free-agent outfielder who helped the Yankees to a world championship in 2009, would be happy to talk with the Tigers.

“Johnny believes the addition of him to Detroit’s lineup would make the Tigers a winner,” Scott Boras, Damon’s agent, said during a Monday phone conversation.

“He’s batted .363 at Comerica Park, he has a .412 on-base percentage at Comerica,” Boras said.

Boras added, quoting Damon before Damon signed earlier contracts with the Yankees and Boston Red Sox: “I told you I could make the Yankees a winner, and I told you before I left Oakland (where he played in 2001) I could make a Boston a winner.”

Boras says Damon has the same disposition toward the Tigers in 2010: “I can make the Detroit Tigers a winner,” Boras said, citing Damon’s words to him in December.

Damon, 36, has a career .288 batting average, 207 home runs, and needs only four more RBIs to reach the 1,000 mark. His career on-base average is a robust .355.

Keith Law: Top 100 prospects

NO.  PLAYER
1 Jason Heyward, OF, ATL
2 Stephen Strasburg, RHP, WAS
3 Carlos Santana, C, CLE
4 Buster Posey, C, SFO
5 Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
6 Desmond Jennings, OF, TAM
7 Martin Perez, LHP, TEX
8 Dustin Ackley, CF, SEA
9 Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
10 Jesus Montero, C, NYY
11 Brian Matusz, LHP, BAL
12 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC
13 Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX
14 Domonic Brown, RF, PHI
15 Wade Davis, RHP, TAM
16 Aroldis Chapman, LHP, CIN
17 Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, TAM
18 Casey Kelly, RHP, BOS
19 Aaron Hicks, RHP, MIN
20 Brett Wallace, 1B, TOR
21 Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
22 Tyler Matzek, LHP, COL
23 Jenrry Mejia, RHP, NYM
24 Michael Taylor, OF, OAK
25 Zach Britton, LHP, BAL

Scouting reports for the top 25 should be free, I think.

Daily Star: Tigers leaving Oneonta

Sellers’ remorse?

You can’t blame Sam Nader and Sid Levine for having a lot of that now.

Nader and Levine said they received calls from Prentice on Wednesday, notifying them that the minor-league franchise they started in 1966 and ran through 2008 was leaving to play at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn., this summer.

“I have great memories and they can’t take those away from me,” said Nader, who along with Levine and eight other investors pooled $10,000 together to form the Oneonta Athletic Corp. in 1966 to bring minor league baseball to Damaschke Field.

Asked if he knew then what he knows now about Prentice and his ownership group, if he’d have had second thoughts about selling the team, Nader said, “Absolutely.”

...Levine said he thought there might be a penalty for breaking the clause.

But, Levine added, “They bought the team and we can’t tell them what to do with it. We thought we had an agreement that they would stay, but you can’t trust anyone anymore.”

Thanks to Barnald.

Sources: Yankees, (Randy) Winn agree to deal

Will “Winn” be one of those Ryan Church type of names, or one of those Frank White type of names?…

The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Randy Winn on a one-year contract, pending a physical, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.

The contract is worth in the neighborhood of $2 million.

The deal, in all likelihood, ends any chance that Johnny Damon will return to the Yankees… Damon and his agent Scott Boras are trying to engage the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds as possible alternatives, a baseball source told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick.

“Igor” Gonzalez asked to be reinstated to play Double A

Former major leaguer Juan “Igor” Gonzalez asked the Baseball Federation of Puerto Rico be reinstated to play in the upcoming season of Double A ball

Tras cuatro años en el retiro profesional, González viene de jugar en el torneo Clase A. After four years in retirement career, Gonzalez has played in the tournament Class A.

El anuncio fue hecho durante la convención de la Federación, en la que se discutió el tema de los profesionales y reinstalados en el torneo. The announcement was made during the convention of the Federation, which discussed the issue of professionals and reinstated in the tournament.

Baseball Picture of the Day: Ernie Harwell Statue

Well, while ESPN has started the countdown to the Super Bowl, we are more concerned with another countdown: It’s 24 days until the beginning of Pitchers and Catchers!

Today is Ernie Harwell’s 92nd birthday. Given his ill health, it very well may be the last year this Baseball Treasure will grace this Earth with his presence. But no matter what happens, he will be honored at Detroit’s Comerica Park forever:

Creative Commons:

Tomorrow: Caption a Image

Dombrowski stands by leap of faith to go with Austin Jackson, Scott Sizemore

Dombrowski didn’t hedge on his decisions Saturday during TigerFest at Comerica Park. During an hour-long Q&A session with announcers Dan Dickerson and Mike Stone and fans, he was asked who would replace Granderson in the leadoff position.

“You know,” Dombrowski began, “we didn’t really have a leadoff hitter last year.”

The fans grew restless. A few said in hushed tones, “Wow.”

He picked up on the negative reaction, adding, “I’m not taking anything away from Curtis Granderson.” He quickly complimented Granderson’s many abilites, most notably his power.

But he did hit .249 and had the second-most strikeouts on the team with 141. Those are not leadoff hitter numbers.

Thanks to Pound that Brideweser. 

Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera says he hasn’t had a drink since incident

Another tiger in treatment center story.

Cabrera told reporters at Comerica Park today that he has undergone treatment the last three months for an alcohol problem and that he has stopped drinking completely.

“I feel happy,” Cabrera said, and he looked it. He laughed and smiled with the media far more than he did during group interviews in his first two seasons in Detroit.

“I feel more comfortable,” Cabrera said. “I feel more comfortable with you guys, talking. I think it’s going to be a new season, a new life for me. I’m going to be a better dad, better person, better player, better with the fans.”

...Cabrera said he has met with a doctor regularly since the season ended to discuss his problems. Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said the doctor visits “in the beginning were three, four days a week—two and a half, three hours a session. So he had a lot of talking to do, a lot of digging to do. It’s an ongoing thing.

“I’ve known Miguel since he’s been 16 years old. Probably, at this point, he’s been more open. I would have always described him as a very shy person, and some of that has to do with the language barrier, too. He’s opened up about a lot of his problems, which is a way that you correct them.”

MLB: Valverde, Tigers agree to terms

The Tigers are poised to sign the veteran closer they hoped to add, reportedly agreeing to terms Thursday with Jose Valverde on a two-year, $14 million contract with an option for a third season.

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal, which includes a $9 million option for 2012. It wasn’t immediately known if that option is up to the team, the player, or both to pick up.

Tigers officials didn’t immediately respond to calls for comment.

By signing the Type A free agent, the Tigers would give up their first-round pick in this summer’s First-Year Player Draft, which would be the 19th overall selection. It would mark the first time since 1991, after the Tigers signed Rob Deer, that Detroit has given up its first-round Draft pick. However, the Tigers have two compensation picks coming at the end of the first round for losing relievers Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon to free agency.

For the Tigers, whose most experienced closer was Joel Zumaya and his four career saves, the first-round pick was a fair price to pay for Valverde, the National League saves leader in 2007 and 2008 who is regarded as one of the top closers in the game and just turns 30 years old this year.

Tigers sign Joel Zumaya, avoid arbitration

The Detroit Tigers today agreed to terms on a contract for the 2010 season with right-handed pitcher Joel Zumaya, thus avoiding arbitration.

Terms were not immediately disclosed.

Zumaya, who was not a free agent, compiled a 3-3 record, 4.94 ERA, one save and 30 strikeouts in 29 appearances for the Tigers last season.

In four seasons at the major league level, he is 11-11 with a 3.15 ERA, four saves and 176 strikeouts.

The Tigers now have 14 players on the club’s 40-man roster under contract for the 2010 season.

Thanks to Ghh.

Kepner: Gillick on Morris: ‘He Just Found a Way to Win’

Hey...I once found a way to win at the plastic ducks in moving water game. Made the Jackshit HOF because of it too!

But let’s get back to Morris, who has been on the Hall ballot a decade and peaked at 44 percent of the vote last year. The baseball writers have not elected a starting pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1999, and if they do this year, it will probably be Bert Blyleven, not Morris. With 3,701 strikeouts, 60 shutouts and 287 victories, Blyleven makes a convincing case.

But so does Morris. A lot of statistically minded voters dismiss the reasons many people vote for him. But it’s worth listening to Gillick, as sharp a talent evaluator as baseball has seen, on Morris’s reputation:

“Jack was one of those guys that just found some way to win. If he had to pitch a 1-0 game, or 2-1 or 3-2, he’d do it. On the other hand, Jack would go out there and win 8-7 or 7-6 or 6-5. He always found a way to win.”

But I just don’t accept it when so many people knock Morris as a candidate because of his 3.90 earned run average. When a person as savvy as Gillick believes so strongly that a pitcher like Morris was a winner, and that winning trumps everything else, it means a lot.

Sickels: Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects for 2010

As President of the Leslie Tanona Fan Club...little Scottie (now 54-years old) still holds out hope.

1) Casey Crosby, LHP, Grade B+: Has some of the best southpaw stuff in the minors and seems fully recovered from Tommy John. Further command refinements in 2010 would move him into the A- and maybe a pure A category.

2) Jacob Turner, RHP, Grade B+: Outstanding high school pitcher, but I want to see some pro numbers before giving him a higher grade. Even a B+ is aggressive in my grading scheme, but I like him a lot. Like Crosby, he has A-/A potential if all goes well.

3) Austin Jackson, OF, Grade B: I like him more than the numbers say I should.

4) Alex Avila, C, Grade B: Won’t slug .590 in a full season, but I expect him to have a long and solid career. I was thinking B+ earlier but am backing off that now. . .a B is still a strong grade remember.

5) Dan Schlereth, LHP, Grade B: Excellent relief prospect, needs to sharpen command but was rushed by Arizona.

...There are no sure-fire stars on the hitting side, but Jackson, Avila, and Sizemore all look like solid regulars to me. I like Jackson more than the numbers say I should, but sometimes you have to go with your gut. Strieby and Wells also have the potential to play regularly, although I’d like to see some Triple-A data for both. Wilkin Ramirez is the toolsiest of the bunch but also the least refined. Daniel Fields has a huge ceiling but we need some solid performance data about him.

Overall, this system has a lot going for it, but they could use more depth in position players. They love the high ceiling high school arms, and it will be interesting to see if they keep that focus on the ‘10 draft.

2 pro baseball players arrested after Phoenix Suns game

I am sure alcohol was not involved.

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 Center 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 prospect in the New York Yankees minor league system.
...
Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said a fourth man “inappropriately touched a female” at the lounge on level 3 of the arena, though he was not arrested because the female victim “did not want to get involved or provide us with any information and declined prosecution.”

MLB: Laird brothers arrested

Shumate to cellmates…

Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother, Brandon, a prospect in the Yankees’ Minor League system, were arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct on Wednesday in Phoenix, according to Phoenix police.

The two ballplayers, plus another man, were arrested following a brawl after a Phoenix Suns game at U.S. Airways Arena. The incident took place at an arena lounge.

Gerald Laird, 30, was cited for assault, while Brandon, 22, was cited for disorderly conduct, police said in an Associated Press report.

Also arrested was Gregory Scott Collins, 51, on suspicion of assault after the Suns beat the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

“While [security guards] were trying to arrest the suspect for disorderly conduct, the [Laird brothers] interfered and assaulted the security guards,” Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill told the AP.

Ernie Harwell’s Christmas card to all of Detroit

Bless Ernie Harwell.

Christmastime in the Harwell household always has meant that my wife, Lulu, did the heavy lifting and my job was the sending of the greeting cards. These cards were to express our thanks for the loyalty and support of our friends.

This year, I’m not sending cards. Last July, doctors gave me only six months (more or less) to live. That was five months ago. I am still hanging around. But, while getting ready for my new adventure, I’m not dying to send out cards.

However, my friends at the Free Press are allowing me use of this space to thank all of you who have reached out to me and my family since the announcement of my illness. I can’t answer 10,000 cards and letters with a personal note, so I have to do it the easy way.

Robert Browning was a great poet but didn’t know much about baseball. He once wrote, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” That’s a great outlook on life, but I’m sure Jim Leyland would rather see his outfielder catch and hold onto a fly ball than have his reach exceed his grasp.

Anyway, you folks have reached out to me in so many ways. Your encouraging words, your prayers and your gifts have touched my heart. You’ve certainly discovered “what’s a heaven for.”

NY Times Magazine: Mark Fidrych: Crazy Stuff

From the year-end issue of the NY Times Magazine, The Lives They Lived, devoted to some of the notable names who died in the past calendar year.

[After his career ended, Fidrych] went home to a farm in Massachusetts and hauled gravel and graded roads for his friend Joseph Amorello’s construction company. Amorello says that, far from regrets, there was “always a smile” on Fidrych’s face. “The rain, the snow — he was the first one on the job every day.” Life just seemed to satisfy him. While Amorello reports that “he didn’t talk to his shovel,” Fidrych remained a guy in a flannel shirt who was happy “chasing dogs and kids around the living room.”

We had sensed how well he understood childhood. I was not the only self-conscious adolescent who on a sad day decided to tell a baseball about it. Seeing an adult acting like a boy also made the promise of growing up seem attractive. That a man could behave strangely and be applauded led you to think that eccentricity might be a virtue.

Any great athlete’s career represents a life span in miniature, an early lesson in mortality. Fidrych’s allotted days were as evanescent as his baseball career. Last spring, at 54, while he was repairing his dump truck, his shirt got caught in the drive shaft and he suffocated. There is something particularly brutal about the pitcher who publicly played with dirt being killed by the vehicle he used to carry it, as there is about a man who died young twice.

Bless You Boys/Casselberry: Was Curtis Granderson a Victim of Bad Coaching?

I wondered when someone might notice that the guy’s track record isn’t exactly that of Charlie Lau:

several inside the Tigers’ organization think the problem wasn’t Leyland, but rather with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon.

...Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez eventually refused to work with McClendon, following the lead of Placido Polanco. This lines up nicely with what Bill Ferris mentioned at The Detroit Tigers Weblog, about Granderson and several other Tigers hitters making the trek down to Toledo to work with Mud Hens’ batting coach Leon Durham.

That prompts two obvious questions: 1) Why is McClendon still the hitting coach? And 2) Why isn’t Durham in Detroit?

Det News: The Lynn Henning HOF Ballot

Roberto Alomar
Bert Blyleven
Andre Dawson
Barry Larkin
Edgar Martinez
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell

• Trammell: I’ve always been compelled by ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer’s study that Trammell is one of the 12 best shortstops in baseball’s annals. And it’s no surprise—seven seasons hitting .300 or better, 2,365 hits, four Gold Gloves, three times finished in the top 10 of MVP balloting (and should have won in 1987). Next to Dawson, he is my toughest vote to justify. But he makes it, just as he always made the play or got the hit, season after season.

Conspicuous by his absence is Jack Morris.

I understand those who vote for him. And if ever the audience needs to know that personal feelings don’t matter in these votes, Morris is Exhibit A. He was a personal favorite. But he misses by a stitch—and only a stitch.

Carig: Analyst: NY Yankees score ‘big win’ in Curtis Granderson trade

From a person that “worked in the statistical analysis department of a major league club”..... Hmmm, I wonder.

Granderson, 29, has played in the major leagues for long enough that we have a good handle on what he is: an-above average defender who can hit right handed pitching. Granderson’s UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) per 150 defensive games is +5 runs in over 660 career games. This is a significant upgrade over Melky Cabrera, who’s UZR/150 is -6 runs in 361 career games. In statistical analysis, 10 runs is equivalent to approximately one win, meaning that switching from Cabrera to Granderson in center field is likely worth approximately one win. That may not sound like a lot, but remember: we are only evaluating their defensive prowess, and a one-win defensive upgrade is huge.

...Although Granderson’s batting average slumped to .249 in 2009, his walk and strikeout rates remained the same. It appears that the primary cause of this low batting average for a low batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Granderson’s BABIP in 2009 was .277, much lower than his career .323 BABIP. If his BABIP rebounds in 2010, his batting average should as well.

One interesting note about Granderson is that in 2009 he hit far more fly balls than he ever had before. It’s possible that his 49% fly ball rate was a fluke – his career rate is 43% and his fly ball rate has fluctuated from year to year – but if he can maintain this fly ball rate, it should serve him very well in Yankee Stadium. Remember, 17 of the 24 homers swatted by fellow left handed batter Johnny Damon came in Yankee Stadium.

Birmingham News: 5 Questions: Former major leaguer Virgil Trucks

Favorite “Mountain Jam” side off “Eat a Peach”, two or four?

What’s the first thing you would do if you were baseball commissioner?

Oh, so many things. I wouldn’t let catchers go to the mound more than once an inning. I’d make the pitcher throw a pitch in 30 seconds, or I’d call a ball. And I wouldn’t let batters step (away from) the plate more than once and I would never let them tighten their batting gloves.

Who was the greatest hitter you ever faced?

Ted Williams. You knew that without asking me. He was the greatest hitter ever. He had great eyesight and great hand-eye coordination. He knew what every pitcher had and what was coming. When I faced him, I might as well give him the sign ahead of time.

How hard did you throw at your peak?

I was timed with an Army radar gun at 105 miles an hour. Ted Williams wrote that if any of those modern guys actually threw 105, then I threw it 110.

Should you be in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Yes. If I played my entire career with the Yankees, I’d be in there already.

Albom: Is Granderson trade about feeling vs. fact for Tigers?

Tuesdays with Murray Chass...and he’d be voting for whoever the hell Murray told him to.

What did we know about Curtis Granderson? He had a great smile. He had a foundation. He made a few highlight plays in centerfield and had a good first half and a not-so-good second half in 2009.

He’ll also be 29 years old. Been an All-Star once. Only once has he hit 30 home runs or batted .300. He hit .095 in his lone World Series. Last year, he was benched occasionally against left-handers.

And yet, when he was traded last week, it was as if the Red Sox had shipped Babe Ruth to the Yankees. “How could they?” we asked. This says a lot about our relationship with today’s Tigers.

Granderson was as close to a star in this town as the franchise had, mostly because Justin Verlander is too low key (and plays once every five games), and guys with flashier numbers - like Miguel Cabrera or the 2007 Magglio Ordonez - seem eminently distant. They bolt town the minute the season is over. They seem ... rented.

They are a long way from Gibby, Tram or Lance, guys you thought you knew. They are miles from a Steve Yzerman, who lives here, raises his kids here. They are not close to a Joe Dumars, who went from rookie to champion to front office without leaving.

Scouts: Tigers got best of three-team deal with Yankees, Diamondbacks

Two major league scouts and two national baseball writers interviewed by Booth Newspapers said the Tigers got the best of the deal, obtaining center fielder Austin Jackson, starter Max Scherzer, reliever Daniel Schlereth and reliever-starter Phil Coke. Each requested anonymity.

“I’d say Detroit did the best,” one veteran scout said. “I believe the Yankees are going to see that they are not getting what they think in (Curtis) Granderson. I changed my mind on his defense this year. He turned routine plays into ‘Web Gems’ because he got bad jumps. And he struck out too much and couldn’t hit left-handers.

“He’s a real good kid and all. But I just don’t think he’s a great player, even with all of his homers.”

and from (even though he usually got his dandruffian horsehead handed to him on GL) super-slueth Roc Hoover!

“On this day, I would like to decree that I am no longer and Arizona Diamondbacks fan,” Schlereth said Thursday on Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio. “Now, I have become a Detroit Tigers fan. Long live the Detroit Tigers and the old English ‘D’.”

Schlereth was presented a Detroit Tigers cap and the ESPN football analyst professed his allegiance by replacing his D’backs cap with the Tigers hat.

“It feels good,” Schlereth said while donning the Tigers cap.

Reuters.com: Taiwanese fans miss injured pitcher Wang

Unlike Wang, a starting pitcher usually responsible for winning or losing games, Ni and Kuo are relief pitchers who come in almost at random when starters do poorly or get tired, making television coverage hard to plan.

“To say that Wang Chien-ming will be replaced by these other two because he was injured, I wouldn’t go that far, but Taiwan’s Yankees viewership has been affected,” said Kang Cheng-nan, a physical education teacher at National Taiwan University.

Ni, 26, ended the 2009 season, his first in the U.S. major leagues, with a respectable earned run average (ERA) of 2.61.

“I never expected that after being kicked up to the majors I could get into these games so fast,” Ni told a news conference after returning to Taiwan. “I don’t think I can improve any further on my actual ball-throwing speed.”

Kuo, 28, has a reputation for staying in play after five seasons despite four shoulder operations. He finished the 2009 season for the Dodgers with a solid ERA of 3.0.

Asked about the prospects of a salary raise at a recent Taiwan media event, Kuo answered with characteristic deadpan humor that “the more the better.”

When either player appears on television, Taiwan fans watch with open minds.

“I personally think no one can replace Wang and I hope he can come back,” said Yang Chi-hsiang, a second-year university student and softball player in Taipei. “But the other two are Taiwan players, so we’ll support them.”

Piecoro: Byrnes unfazed by criticism of trade

Byrnes credo: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today...except for the risky long term.

The Diamondbacks’ blockbuster three-team trade has been a trending topic this week at baseball’s winter meetings, and though much of the talk might not be considered flattering from General Manager Josh Byrnes’ perspective, he didn’t seem particularly bothered when asked about the knee-jerk criticisms that have accompanied the deal.

“In general, the immediate reaction of the trade is not often a predictor of the outcome,” Byrnes said shortly after the finalization of his acquisition of right-handers Edwin Jackson (via Detroit) and Ian Kennedy (via New York) on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’re always balancing short term and long term. I think this was pretty clear in the short term that it strengthened us, and long term we realized there was some degree of risk.”

...Many people in the game seem to consider Kennedy a low-ceiling, run-of-the-mill right-hander, a view the Diamondbacks do not share.

“He’s 89-93 (mph),” Byrnes said. “He has four pitches. He has a sub-2.00 ERA in the minors. He was a Friday night starter at USC. His first stint in the big leagues was dominant. He pitched well in the (Arizona) Fall League.

“If that’s a generic talent,” he concluded, “there’s more pitching out there than I realized.”