I’m sorry, but this made me laugh. Don’t know about in the past, but Renteria has been a significant liability in the field and his offensive skills appear to be in decline.

I’d be slightly surprised to see him back next year. DD made one mistake, hopefully Dombrowski doesn’t make two simply because he’s too proud to admit it.

I think they should move Inge to SS…and 3B…at the same time. He’s got the range. Now they just need to find a catcher that can keep the ball in front of him. Oh sure, you’ll ask, “but Dr Dre, what do we do with the left over position player?” Glad you asked. We play 2 LFs. That should halve Thames errors, right? Or, does that just create more opportunities for collisions?

(#6 = classic, thanks Chief)

My initial reply to you was meant to be more directed about the coaching staff’s role in handling player injuries, I realize now that it didn’t come off that way. Even so, my plan B argument doesn’t necessitate looking outside the organization when big contract players aren’t living up to expectations, even if only temporarily. Giving prospects a chance is essential when your starters don’t produce or aren’t healthy. I wasn’t suggesting that the organization go into a rebuilding mode, but I didn’t understand why guys like Sheff (who was injured) and Renteria (who sucked) kept starting ahead of the likes of the Rayburns, Joyces and Santiagos of the world.

I we had the talent that KC had, I wouldn’t be one of the “few unhappy Tigers fans”. The problem is that we’re in 4th place with a team that you think will “realistically” win the World Series next year if it just stays healthy. I think the “if” in that last sentence is way bigger than you do. I don’t want the Tigers to clean house, I just want to see something from management that points to them being able to make the right adjustments…specifically that they realize next season hinges on the shaky track record concerning the health of certain players who figure to be big pieces of the puzzle.

On the other hand, they had my blessing this year to win the World Series and score 1000 runs, so maybe withholding that is just what they need

Edit: what makes you think they’ll bring back the one +$10mil guy who didn’t produce that they can get rid of?

If you don’t like the Tigers roster as is, then it’s just tough luck. The Tigers will just have to win the World Series next season without your blessing.

BTW, Renteria is surely back next season.

Only where freak injuries are concerned. You couldn’t see Bondo’s blood clot coming. You could see Guillen’s knees giving out…its why they moved him to the corners. They knew Sheff was coming off surgery…you know, cause he had surgery. So if you know there’s a pre-existing issue, you need to contemplate the possibility of it worsening.

I’m not pretending like you can move Sheff, Nate, Guillen or Willis. Their contracts and age make it extremely unlikely (I think there’s reason to be “hopeful” for Sheff being productive though). They can buy out Renteria…and they should. The rest, they might have to eat those contracts for the most part.

Regardless of the size of the contract though, you have to have a plan B. Now, that doesn’t mean that you sign two $10mil guys for every position…but it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to keep running a guy out there who isn’t producing, for the sole reason of justifying his contract. He’s going to cost you $10mil either way, let him ride pine and give somebody else a chance.

I can’t be sure, but I thought Chief was in the “optimist” camp, that along with the second to last paragraph led me to take his post at face value…although the section you note does seem to fit the extreme sarcasm mold taken out of context.

Sorry if Chief was being serious with his assessment of the rotation going into next year. I’m now conditioned to err on the side of caution, and of the six pitchers he lists, I’d only consider Verlander and Galarraga as good bets (or above). It remains to be seen if Bonderman will recover fully (it seems “hopeful”…but i’ve been disappointed applying that word to the Tigers before), and I think a realistic look at Willis, Nate and even Miner leaves at least some uncertainty as far as future production.

The lineup is no shorter on question marks either. Sheff stands a better chance of contributing next year seeing as it’ll be the first time in a long time he’s actually able to work out and not rehab during the summer. Guillen poses lots of injury questions: if he’s knees go completely does he DH?; is his production drop off permanent?; if so do we DH him or cut?. With all the talk of salary dumping I find it hard to believe Renteria is around next year, even if he hits the cover off the ball for the rest of the season. I really would like to see effort put into finding a catcher, SS and 3B that will at least excel defensively. I think Inge would fit in nicely at third-basement (that’s right, the top basement in the league) or SS, so that really leaves finding a natural catcher along with whatever infield spot Inge isn’t occupying.

Above all, I’d like to see a move away from retreading players to different positions. I think the Tigers got lucky with Cabrera at 1B, and partly because he’s a great big target and even if he doesn’t have diving range, he has a good span when stretching to pick a ball. In general though, this stop-gap crap needs to go. Either find somebody you KNOW can play a position well, or gamble on a kid with upside. I’m so tired of watching them move pieces around where you know that, at best, the guy switching positions mid-season is going to be mediocre on defense.

You can’t assume that players won’t be healthy either. Every team is in the same boat with health concerns.

I’m just being realistic. You guys think it’s so easy to move players or to eat contracts, but it really isn’t.

I almost went with your approach as a response to Chief’s post, but I guessed that he was being sarcastic, and thus you see my response.

However, I agree with you.

Frankly, the “if” you mention (health) is pretty big and may well be too much to ask for. I’m assuming here that most players desire health and the ability to play on a daily basis. There’s no doubt in my mind that Sheff, Guillen, Bonderman, Willis, Zumaya, Rodney and every other Tiger that’s been hurt this year would have rather been healthy and productive.

The problem with health is that the player has a limited say in its continuation. If you look at the Tigers in question, there are varying degrees to which we can expect health to be (or not to be!) a concern, age and history being the largest factors. If I had to venture a guess as to players mentioned above likely to have health concerns next year, Bonderman would be on the low end vs Guillen at the high end. Young players with histories, like Zumaya, are crap-shoots.

Point is, we can’t just assume health with some of these guys and contingency plans are in order. You can’t reasonably count on Sheff and Guillen to be healthy for the entire season, and Zumaya and Rodney are only slightly more likely to be healthy…but mostly that’s a trick their age plays on us.

More than anything, I wish the organization would drop hints to the fans that they’re addressing the situation. You know, something like Leyland or DD saying, “The health of our players has been somewhat of an issue this year and we’re going to look at this closely in the offseason.” I mean, I know Leyland isn’t the kind of guy to hang people to dry, or call them out but, to quote another Dr., “throw us a freakin’ bone here.”

Usually these things even out, but not this year. I do think any players who aren’t hustling should be dumped, but even then how many are playing injured, but don’t want to say to give the other team an edge?

Verlander, Bonderman, Galarraga, Willis, Minor, and Nate should take care of business and be one of the best staffs in baseball. Not many teams have 6 SP’s.

I think I’m starting to catch on to the satire on this site. This is satire, right?

Bullpen should be better with Zumaya and Rodney at 100% for a full season. Seay, Dolsi, and Lopez should be back.

Verlander, Bonderman, Galarraga, Willis, Minor, and Nate should take care of business and be one of the best staffs in baseball. Not many teams have 6 SP’s.

Inge, Cabrera, Polanco, Guillen, Renteria, Magglio, Granderson, Joyce, and Sheff could still be one of the highest scoring offenses. You just got to give them another chance.

After next season, changes will be made regardless because big contracts will expire. You just have to let this play out before jumping to conclusions.

This team doesn’t need to be restructured radically. The players just got to stay healthy and do their jobs. That’s not too much to ask for.