- Lee Panas, who runs a great Tigers blog and comments here from time to time, ran some numbers on the low offensive output in the AL thus far this year, and reasons for it.

- Lincecum had some real gems on baseball playoff expansion.  His contention that adding a team or two means that Selig doesn’t “worry about [players] as human beings or players” has a CSR that is off the charts.  Teixeira isn’t much better, introducing the idea of doing it “American Idol” style.  I’m not sure what this means.  Personally, I think it would be great for the game.  An article from Friday on FanGraphs proposed an alternative solution, but ultimately concluded that baseball will add a 1 game playoff  for the two wild-card teams (long post, but a good read).

- JV’s WHIP this year is .97, and his K/9 is 8.75.

- An Indians fan and pretty sharp freshman wrote a blog the other day charting payroll correlation to wins.  To conclude, there is a definite correlation, but it is far from 1.

- The week ahead – King Felix v. Coke on Tues, Bedard v. JV on Wed, Pineda v. Penny on Thurs, Scherzer at TBD on Friday.

- Finally, the good folks at www.anydate.com have agreed to give out a Tigers History Newspaper as a way to get their name out.  So what we’ll do is have some sort of contest tomorrow centered on the game.  Check back around 3 hours before opening pitch for the deets.

Lots of chatter out there concerning our Tigers, here are a few good reasons to procrastinate today:

- Lynn Henning gives his player by player projections.

- Freep writers predict anywhere from a 1st to 3rd place finish for 2011.

- Brad Penny had this to say about Verlander – “That might be the best spring I’ve ever seen out of a pitcher,” Penny said.  (As reported by Tom Gage.)  This got picked up by Buster Olney on ESPN insider today.

- stltoday.com had a great, in-depth article about Scherzer yesterday.  At least one Czar thinks Scherzer is poised to become an All-Star this year.

Remember to like our posts on Facebook, let’s get the word out.

Three more days.

- In case you are not following along, Cabrera is mashing to the tune of .357/.391/.714 for an OPS of 1.105.  I’m guessing his OBP could be higher, but he’s swinging to get into shape.

- Benoit has looked very good with a .71 WHIP and 10Ks in 7 IP.

- Valverde has 4 BBs in 7 IP.  Not good.  Perry has 5 in 8 IP.  Schlereth had 4 in 4 batters.  That beard can’t be helping.

- Coke has looked pretty good this spring, but he’s concerned about the velocity on his fastball.  So am I.

- After the Porcello and Perry regressions, it looks like the Tigers are going to take it slow with Jacob Turner.  Good plan.

- Leyland has decided that Guillen and Zumaya will stay in Florida for the start of the season.  Anyone want to take the under on May 15 as the first date that either will appear?

- That’s two days in a row now that young Tiger hitters have come up to the plate in the bottom of the 9th as the tying or go ahead run, both times with the bases loaded, and then watched 3 straight called strikes hum by.  (Worth on Tues, Sizemore on Wed).

- Fangraphs had an interesting post on the Tigers’ rotation a few days ago.   The author, Ben Nicholson-Smith, questions DD’s decision to add depth to the starting rotation.

- 40 IPs for Zumaya might be a little much, as it looks like he won’t be ready for the opener.  We’ve seen this before.  Beck posted some of Leyland’s thoughts about heading into the season without Zumaya in the pen.

- The Cabrera video has been released.  I’m staying away from it, but it’s big news today.

- Can you play 2B?  GIve it a shot.

- At least someone thinks 2010 1st half Brennan Boesch is the real BB.

- Check out this interview with Patrick Leyland, son of Ol’ Smokey.  I really enjoyed the part about Paws being a better manager than JL (it may have been removed by the time you get to it).

- Henning’s column title today caught my eye – the Tigers need a big bat?  I’m pretty sure the boys are aware of several other pressing needs.  But a full read reveals that Henning is looking for one of the guys we already have to step up.

- I’m really, really into this Michael Young thing.  Full post on him coming tomorrow.

- Dombrowski stated yesterday that neither Bondo nor Vlad Guerrero would be pursued any further (if they were at all).  Looks like Bondo is going to end up in…Cleveland, according to MLB.com.

- Lynn Henning put together his list of the top 50 prospects within the organizations.  Jacob Turner is #1.

- The 2011 predictions are starting to roll in, and while most outlets think the Central will be a tight race, most of them have the Tigers losing out to the White Sox and Twins.

- Great article on Fangraphs last week discussing Galarraga and his (slim) chances of success in the NL.

- FYI – Don Kelly and Brad Thomas are out of options.

- Keith Law wasn’t very complimentary of the Tigers’ farm system, ranking it 25th in the majors. (here’s the link to the ESPN article – you’ll need insider)

- Here’s a good (free) article on ESPN about the boys.

- Some spare on ESPN’s Page 2 writes that the Tigers lacked “bang for the buck” in 2010.  Not news to anyone.  That ESPN has a Page 2 is really the news here.

- What do you guys think about Galarraga and Jim Joyce co-authoring a book?

- Does Vlad do anything for you?  Apparently the Orioles are doing a good job of driving down his value, offering $3M for a year.  What about Bondo as a spot starter?

- If you haven’t seen it already, MLBTradeRumors really has the best free agent news around, despite their utter disregard for design.

Happy New Year all.  I hope that everyone is enjoying the bowl season.  A few things that I’ve compiled over the last few days.

- Bless You Boys posted a great note today which makes a case to put Trammell in the Hall of Fame.  Citing an article by Joe Posnanski, the crux of the argument is that Trammell excelled relative to his position, and should not be compared to today’s “slugging” shortstops.  Unfortunately, I don’t see it.  I see the argument, but I don’t see the votes.  And this is coming from a guy who uses Trammell references liberally in his password combos.

- Higginson isn’t really in the running.

- Yanks show interest in Bonderman.  Take it for what it’s worth.

- A Miami columnist weighs in on the 3 team race in the central.  Nothing of note here, other than it must have been a slow news day in Miami.

- The USA Today ran a great organizational report yesterday, check it out here.

- Is Bryce Harper the next Al Kaline?

Not a lot going on over here, hopefully everyone is enjoying the holidays.

- Thanks Coleman.

- John Lowe analyzes offseason moves, and gives the Tigers a comfortable edge over the Twins.

- Do you have energy?  Do you like fun?  Do you like the Tigers?  Apply here.

- Brad Penny as a challenger for the 5th spot?  I could go for that.

- Danny Knobler of CBS goes out on a limb and eliminates the Indians and Royals from the 2011 Central race.

- The imperfect Perfect Game was SI’s 2nd best story of the 2010 season.

- Jacob Turner was a hot topic at the winter meetings, so says Captain Smokey.

- DD’s latest interview infers that a big bat is top priority now.

- Ni was sent down, and Alberto Alburquerque (not to be confused with “Albuquerque”) signed to minor league deal and added to the 40.

- Ordonez news – Boras is already doing his thing, and Jason Beck thinks this means that Maggs will sit deep into free agency before making a decision.

- Heyman furthered the notion of a Grienke deal, and ponders - why not Soria too?  Interestingly, Soria has a limited no-trade clause that gives him the right to veto deals to the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees.

- Apparently, no trade to the Tigers clauses are popular these days.

Welcome to the Hot Stove - the GM meetings began today.

AJax has a nice showing in Rookie of the Year voting, but hats off to Feliz.  Feliz took 20 of the first place votes, with Jackson receiving the other 8.

Casper Wells gets hot in the Dominican Winter League, then tweaks his knee.

If anything, the Tigers are at least talking to the Marlins about Uggla.

In other news:

Kirk Gibson’s bat that took Eckersly long and created a legend sold yesterday for a measly $576k.

River Ave Blues takes a look at the long term implications for the Yankees if they sign Lee.

Ken Rosenthal writes that the Brewers may be putting their infield on the block (including Prince Fielder), and expresses concern that 4 years would be too much for Victor Martinez.

Jon Heyman just tweeted that Kuroda signed a 1 year deal with the Dodgers for $12M.

• Tigers reliever Phil Coke’s ‘take that’ style rubs manager Jim Leyland the right way | – MLive.com
  Jim Leyland compliments Phil Coke’s cojones. How do I not link to this?
• Magglio Ordonez and the Guaranteed Option That Won’t Go Away : Baseball Daily Digest
  For all the hand wringing over the Tigers letting Magglio Ordonez’s option vest, if you look at the top 15 paid players this season he is second only to Miguel Cabrera in terms of WAR.
• Four rookies with 300 ABs would tie ’54 Tigers mark | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  Jackson and Boesch appear to be locks for 300 at-bats, and Alex Avila is likely on his way. However I don’t know that Danny Worth becomes the 4th.
• Jim Joyce behind the plate as no-no nears | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  This time no controversy.
• Bagged! Hall of Fame to get base, spikes of Armando Galarraga gem | – MLive.com
  This game had to find a place at Cooperstown.

Some news and notes in the aftermath of the Armando-Galarraga-perfect-game-that-wasn’t-due-to-Jim-Joyce-blown-call-heard-round-the-world.

• Fox Sports has the post game reaction videos. I believe collectively the team is dripping with class
• Jim Leyland is asking Detroit fans to exhibit the behavior modeled by Galarraga. Come on Tigers fans. Don’t let me down.
• Armando Galarraga is taking out the lineup card to home plate umpire Jim Joyce today. Some may view this as a stunt. I just view it as remarkable. Happy to be sappy about it.
• MLB is considering reviewing the call. What this really means is they are considering overturning the call, or at least they haven’t ruled it out. There isn’t anything to review.
• Jim Joyce had the option to not work today’s game but is going to “take what I’ve got coming”
• Matt Sussman on the Zen of Armando Galarraga
• Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew on the whole affair.
• And finally, Joe Posnanski. Because in times of baseball strife it’s who we turn to to feel better.

• Twitter / Jason Beck: Wells to Toledo. Raburn ca …
  No surprise as Raburn’s time in Toledo was more procedural than anything else. The fact he got some regular reps and had success is certainly a nice bonus though
• Tigers pitcher Zach Miner to meet with orthopedic surgeon | detnews.com | The Detroit News
  Miner is headed to meet with Dr. Lewis Yocum for another opinion on his elbow.
• Re-Defining “Good at Everything” (thanks to community feedback) – Beyond the Box Score
  Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell make a fairly select list of players who were good at everything.
• Graph of the Day: Top 20 Active WAR Leaders, by Seasonal Age – Beyond the Box Score
  I was a little surprised to see Johnny Damon among the top 20 in WAR.
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: Whitecaps ace Jacob Turner not moving up anytime soon | – MLive.com
  The Tigers are content to have Jacob Turner continue to work for the Whitecaps for the time being.
• Tiger Tales: A Detroit Tigers Blog: Swingin’ Brennan Boesch
  Lee Panas examines Brennan Boesch’s swinging ways.
• The Growing Role Of Video For MLB Scouts: MLB Rumors – MLBTradeRumors.com
  Looking at the tools that scouts carry with them and it includes some quotes from David Chadd

• Bob Uecker & The Voice of Your Franchise
  Ultra cool graphic showing legendary baseball announcers, including Ernie Harwell.
• Tigers blog: Brandon Inge helped rookies celebrate their big night | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  Kind of a cool story about Inge getting bottles of champagne for rookies when they hit their first homer. It’s a tradition that Lance Parrish started when he was a coach. It would be cool to see that continue over the years. Oh yeah, and Brennan Boesch’s little league coach was Kurt Russell.
• Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive » Austin Jackson’s Hot Start
  Only 12 players have had 12 or more multi-hit games in their first 25 games. Austin Jackson is one of them.
• Yankees lose game, former Tiger Curtis Granderson (groin) | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
  Granderson will likely need a couple weeks of rest. It means he’ll miss the series in Detroit and most likely he won’t make the trip. If he isn’t close to returning and participating in baseball activities, he’ll probably stay back in NY for rest and treatment.
• Exploring Jim Leyland’s bullpen usage – Bless You Boys
  Mike Rogers beat me to this. It is a look at who Jim Leyland calls on in the most crucial situations. For the most part I think Leyland has done a pretty good job with the pen this year, and this study bears that out. Of course the pen performing well helps make the manager look smart as well.
• Interview: Fox Sports Detroit’s Mario Impemba talks about ‘Operation Opening Day’ and his thoughts on the Detroit Tigers season so far | – MLive.com
  Mario Impemba is once again making a special DVD available to military personnel. The DVD features the Opening Day game and ceremonies. This is the second year Impemba has done this.