Comments on: Tigers trade James Skelton for Brooks Brown

By: Dylan

Dylan — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:15:05 +0000

Sheff to the Mets
http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin.....artner=rss

By: Coach Jim

Coach Jim — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:31:35 +0000

I wouldn’t count out Skelton. If he were a second baseman, nobody would be talking about his size.

Like I said…he could be the next Craig Biggio.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:52:34 +0000

Neither of the guys in this trade will likely make the Majors.

By: Coach Jim

Coach Jim — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:06:25 +0000

Yes, DD does get into patterns. So when was Brown in the Marlins system?

By: Dave T.

Dave T. — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:52:51 +0000

If we took Skelton back wouldn’t we just lose him again next year if we didn’t put him on the 40 man?
Is there any player who was a rule 5 pick who was then returned to his team which did well?
Plus Brown was a first rounder. DD gets a pattern and its tough for him to break it. Jackson looks like he might be working out so now he takes a flyer on another 1st rounder.

By: Rick G

Rick G — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:14:20 +0000

Thanks Billfer, I was getting my info from the Tigers’ web site “roster / minor league affiliates,” which must be out of date. Good to know he’s already a step closer…

By: billfer

billfer — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:06:48 +0000

@Rick G – Avila has been assigned to Erie, skipping Lakeland.

@Mr. X – I wouldn’t factor Dane Sardhina into any discussion about depth.

By: Mr. X

Mr. X — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:42:10 +0000

I don’t think it was dumb. We already have Laird and Treanor. Plus we have Dane Sardinha and Dusty Ryan in Toledo. Alex Avila is likely our catcher of the future.
I think the Tigers did not only what was best for the club, but also what was best for the player. Skelton probably wasn’t ever going to get a decent opportunity in a Detroit uniform. It was a fairly even trade too. We got Brooks Brown who was Arizona’s #15 prospect, for Skelton, who was Detroit’s #20 prospect.

I wish the little guy luck. I hope he continues to be the freak show that he has been for all us stat geeks.

By: Rick G

Rick G — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:55:20 +0000

Too bad they let him go, time will tell if this is a good move or not. They sure seem to view Alex Avila as their catcher of the future (he’s currently assigned to West Michigan), with Dusty Ryan also in the mix.

By: Chief

Chief — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:52:48 +0000

If you take it with a grain of salt that we were boxed in by bad moves in previous seasons, I think the Tigs did about as well as they could to plug holes and be proactive.

By: JAYRC

JAYRC — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:53:53 +0000

Dumb move!

Boy did i enjoy watching the kid play in Lakeland last season!
I am so tired of hearing there reasoning of hes to small. We have Laird and Treanor which are basically stop gate catchers. This kid Skelton has had an OB% of over .400 at all levels with more walks than strikeouts! He has wheels on the basepaths and great defensive play. I normaly bite my lip when DD makes a move I dont approve of…Afterall he does know a bit more than me. It was unacceptable to let Skelton go into the Rule 5 Draft. It was simply stupid to take a mid level reliever in exchange for him when they offered him back!
Good luck James! I hope u shove it up DDs arse!

By: Coach Jim

Coach Jim — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:25:41 +0000

It seems like a drop in the bucket compared to a major-league budget, but it accounts for about 8 family annual incomes on my block.

Good luck to Skelton. He could be the next Craig Biggio.

By: Mr. X

Mr. X — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 20:18:21 +0000

Good week for Illich’s financial books. The Tigers saved themselves $25k in the meantime by not taking Skelton back. They’ll also save another $400k by dropping Sheff. Saved another 150k+ by not needing to pay for Sheff’s medical expenses anymore. Saved another 50k in PR expenses because Sheff is gone.

That’s $725k so far.
Any others that I didn’t think of?