AWFUL!

If they cannot afford to pay for one partial year of Renteria (he would have been traded – someone would have paid) then they might as well start to rebuild.

HORRIBLE!!!

W/E they do, I hope they do not shift him around like a utility player again

IMO that was a BIGGGGGG MISTAKE

The only spot I’d like to see him is DH

Yes, David. Except for the starting pitching, which I don’t think the Tigers can afford too much of (beyond Garcia and similar question marks).

I like the idea of giving (inexpensive) Santiago another chance (2003 was a long time ago), and getting another strong defender (stronger than Santiago) as the fail-safe. Greene isn’t the worst idea, and neither is Wilson, really, but frankly, I’d sooner see Guillen back at SS than eiiher of those guys (because of the LF situation, not because I wouldn’t prefer better defense at SS).

If you don’t think Lugo or Greene is the answer (and do you include Wilson and/or Orlando Cabrera in that?)…then I take it your stance is “Use Santiago”. “He’ll be an adequate SS defensively and not too below offensively what we could pick up in a one or two year deal – but much cheaper”

“Spend the money elsewhere (most likely on starting pitching and pen possibly catcher) ”

Is that basically your stance?

If I got it right, and I think I did, then I’d have a few things to say

1) Rentaria was paid $10 million last year, he was coming off a career year offensively

2) Greene/Wilson are coming off of terrible years OFFENSIVELY – so probably wouldn’t cost too much in terms of cash or prospects or current players

3) Both seem to be pretty darn good defensively from what the fans had to say, significantly better than Santiago

http://tangotiger.net/scouting/pos2008_SS.html

Maybe it would work, but a lot of people seem to think Santiago did well last year as he backed up SECOND SHORT STOP AND THIRD

I guess I have no way of knowing… until I saw it again, maybe he has improved since 2003 when he played full-time

If he could post a 129 OPS+ next year(like he did in 2008), or heck even an OPS+ of 90 and was close defensively over the course of playing 150 games I’d take that

I just don’t know if we’d get anything close to that

If we got what he gave us in 2003, I say go hurry up and get a good defensive SS ASAP

As evidenced by the humor of Chris and Mark above, Edgar Renteria has inspired a lot of funny conversation here. Brandon Inge is another player who has inspired a lot of discussion, maybe out of all proportion to his importance to the team. I sarcastically suggest that Ramon Santiago would have to be very disappointing indeed at SS to match our disappointment with Renteria in 2008. I imply that acquiring Khalil Greene, or Julio Lugo, et al, could be a repeat of the Renteria experience with guys who have already disappointed, and recently. The last sentence is a joke that refers to the illustrated blog Roar of the Tigers, Dave Dombrowski, Chris’s Mr. Concrete nickname for Renteria, and (indirectly) the metaphor “big shoes to fill” in associating the Tigers’ search for a SS with the story of Cinderella.

—It is like you’re out in left field (pun intended)—

I’m envisioning a Samara cartoon where handsome Prince Dave travels the kingdom searching for the maiden SS who’s a match for the tiny concrete slipper.

I’d find the links but I’m a little tied up at moment.

Jair Jurjjens… did I get it? The next step will be to learn to pronounce it. One thing about that trade that was brilliant – all players involved had/have name pronounce-ability issues. Gorkies? Gorkiss? Oh, never mind.

Good one, Steve. But the subject of Renteria is a dangerous path, strewn with discarded ham sandwiches and tangents. I’ll go out on a limb and offer the following wildly controversial opinion, because I just can’t help being brash and outspoken:

I’m sure Renteria will sign with another team and probably have a good 2009 in the NL. I’m sure the Tigers will be OK without him, and those 2 draft picks could in time yield something better than Renteria, Gorkys, or that guy whose name I so easily forget how to spell.

http://tangotiger.net/scouting.....s2008.html

If the rumors about Wilson are true…well I wonder what “young SS” we have to give up…

Personally the more I ponder on it, the more I want to get Khalil Greene, especially if it’s him or Wilson

And Rentaria’s signing with the Giants have been said to be false by MLB.com