FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Don Ehrke I admit it; I was fooled. Like almost everyone else I thought the Detroit Tigers were going to win their division in 2008. After all, the Tigers were going to score 1,000 runs; forget the 1927 Yankees, this was to be a new Murderers??? Row for the 21st Century. Detroit was going to win at least 110 games, march through the playoffs, sweep the World Series, discover a cure for cancer and usher in a new Age of Enlightenment. The Tigers won 74 games, finished last in the American League Central and we???re still waiting for a cure for cancer. What most experts and casual fans alike failed to consider was defense. The Tigers were going to win with Carlos Guillen at first, Placido Polanco and Edgar Renteria at second and short, Miguel Cabrera at third and an outfield of Jacque Jones and Marcus Thames in left, Curtis Granderson in center and Magglio Ordonez in right. Pudge Rodriguez was behind the plate. Long-time Tiger Brandon Inge began the season in centerfield for the injured Granderson, but was deemed extra baggage; the Tigers tried unsuccessfully to trade him all spring. After opening the season with a seven-game losing streak the Tigers quickly realized that they were in trouble. Manager Jim Leyland noticed that his third baseman looked a lot better at first; Cabrera played his last game at the hot corner April 19. After playing the always reliable Inge for a few games at third, the opening day first baseman, Guillen, was handed the job. The shakeups continued. Left fielder Jacque Jones looked an old 33 at the bat. The Tigers responded by moving an even older man ??? Gary Sheffield ??? to the position. After a few games Leyland recognized that Granderson couldn???t cover 90% of the outfield sandwiched perilously between Sheffield and Ordonez; Thames and youngster Matthew Joyce joined to form a platoon situation in left. There were more disappointments. Renteria, the much-heralded acquisition at short, demonstrated why he was five years removed from his last Gold Glove. Perennial Gold Glove winner Ivan Rodriguez was shipped to New York for Kyle Farnsworth (ouch) and suddenly Brandon Inge, the unwanted spring castoff with a good glove, became the starting catcher (later filling in at third, as well). The Tigers??? ERA ??? 3.84 in 2006 and 4.57 in 2007 ??? continued to balloon to 4.91 in 2008. Although falling well short of scoring 1,000 runs, the Tigers did score 821 times ??? good for fourth in the league. The problem is they also surrendered a generous 857 runs to the opposition. I ran down some of Detroit???s lineup woes to make sense of their two off-season moves. The Tigers have acquired catcher Gerald Laird and shortstop Adam Everett. Neither player owns much of an offensive pedigree but both are sound defensively. The moves also allow Inge to return to third base and Guillen to become the everyday left fielder now that the quickly developing Joyce has been traded to the Rays for much needed pitching help (Edwin Jackson). Defensively, Detroit will be much improved. Perhaps the moves are motivated by payroll concerns; in an uncertain economy (especially in Detroit) expensive players at catcher and short have been replaced by less expensive options. Although everyone likes to trim payroll, the Tigers??? moves really serve as an admission of guilt. Detroit collected expensive veteran players (under the assumption that they are more reliable) and chose to ignore the possibility that team defense could derail them. The club also didn???t consider the possibility that some of these veterans might suddenly grow old together, creating a sluggish team on the bases (the Tigers were last in the A.L. in steals) and in the field. The Tigers??? crash hasn???t gone unnoticed. Watching the winter meetings I see that the Astros are looking to move Miguel Tejada, but there aren???t many takers. Manny Ramirez wants a long-term deal but teams aren???t exactly knocking each other over to make him an offer. Does anyone want Jason Giambi? How about Gary Sheffield? Jason Varitek? Even Adam Dunn? Except for Mark Teixeira and maybe Rafael Furcal and Raul Ibanez, interest (and dollars) seems to be on pitching. One of the most curious changes I???ve seen over the past several decades is the number of older players securing lucrative contracts. While I like not having to say good-bye to yesterday???s stars, it???s probably not a good way to win games. The economy is probably causing teams to shy away from acquiring expensive veterans; it certainly has to be at least part of the equation. Or maybe it was the sight of the floundering Tigers that???s convincing clubs to seek younger, faster players. Maybe watching the energetic Tampa Bay Rays (who picked up yet another ???young gun??? in the aforementioned Matt Joyce) run circles around the American League East is also leading some people to rethink how to construct a winning team. I sense that a shift is occurring. In the 1990s baseball drifted away from speed and defense towards increased power. The emphasis on power made it possible for veterans to remain in the game even as their other skills diminished. I believe that teams are shifting back to a more balanced attack; there???ll probably always be some room somewhere for the aging slugger but teams are recognizing that speed and defense are very valuable assets as well ??? particularly as home runs return to more normal levels in the post-steroid era. Instead of ???cashing in??? many veterans will find themselves accepting less attractive contracts ??? if they???re offered one at all. The refusal to offer big salaries this winter to veteran players isn???t evidence of collusion or even entirely the result of a struggling economy. It???s the return of common sense. The new Age of Enlightenment is upon us ??? and it promises to be exciting. Of course, I???ve been fooled before.