(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
It's amazing how quickly fans get spoiled.
The calls for manager Jim Leyland's ouster have faded since Tuesday, but even with his unorthodox style they were unfounded in the first place. Beloved Tiger legend Alan Trammell was the latest in a long line of Tiger skippers to fail miserably prior to Leyland's hiring, and in his first season he inflated the team's win total by 24.
In Leyland's four seasons in Detroit the Tigers have averaged 86 wins. The last time they won that many games in a single season was 1988, and while they still haven't won a division title since parting ways with then-prospect John Smoltz, Leyland guided them to their first playoff appearance since 1987.
Likewise, it isn't time to remove team dictator Dave Dombrowski. Nevermind the $24.5 million the 2010 Tigers will spend on pitchers Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, and Dontrelle Willis, and never mind the roughly $88 million already committed to next year's payroll before arbitration hearings with Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Joel Zumaya, Zach Miner, Gerald Laird, Ramon Santiago, and Marcus Thames.
Let's not forget where this team came from. Previous GM Randy Smith is the guy that signed Bobby Higginson and Damion Easley to awful contracts, traded for Juan Gonzalez, and traded away Luis Gonzalez, Travis Fryman, David Wells, Cecil Fielder and Brad Ausmus twice. He drafted Matt Anderson. His greatest accomplishment was giving Juan Gonzalez an offer he could, and did, refuse.
Dombrowski has done some similar things. There are the aforementioned bad contracts, and Jair Jurrjens would be nice to have right now. The draft busts aren't there, at least not yet, but Dombroski's tenure hasn't been all roses.
Nonetheless, the Tigers have done their fair share of winning while DD has made these mistakes, and he did take over during the 2003 season, you know, when the Tigers set the American League record for losses. He took chances on players like Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, giving them money no one else would, and by doing so he returned this franchise to legitimacy.
Dombrowski has vastly improved the product on the field.
Even so, Dave has put himself between a rock and a hard place. His team overachieved this season in a poor division, and they have little to no money to spend to keep up with the Joneses.
Let's start with the obvious. Many fans weren't sure Aubrey Huff and Jarrod Washburn were on the team at all this season. They will definitely not be here next season. Likewise, the crop of available shortstops is dismal, and there is supposedly interest from Adam Everett in returning to Detroit, likely related to his wife being a Michigan native. Expect Everett to return for a modest price.
In reality, there are only three free agents the Tigers will have to make decisions on. Most years, that would be an enviable position, but given their financial situation, Detroit will likely only be able to retain one, if any, of the trio. Let's examine the cases for Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, and Brandon Lyon.
Placido Polanco, 2B - 153 GP, .285 AVG, 10 HR, 72 RBI, Age: 34
Of all the players that have made the Tigers competitive over the past four seasons, perhaps none is more overlooked than Placido Polanco. The guy's $4.6 million annual salary has been a bargain for the Tigers since he was acquired in a mutually-beneficial trade with the Philadelphia Phillies (the Tigers got Polanco and the Phillies got to showcase Chase Utley full time).
The decision on Polanco will be an agonizing one. Early in the season, it looked as though Polanco may no longer be the player he had been for the Tigers, as his offensive numbers dipped and his range at second base was clearly diminished. However, his late-season surge probably increased his value on the open market, making resigning him a dicey proposition for Detroit.
The Tigers must ask themselves, now that the cracks have appeared, is Placido Polanco worth what he can get on the open market?
The Tigers don't have a wealth of prospects in their system, but one of the more promising players on the farm is Scott Sizemore, a second baseman that split his 2009 season between AA Erie and AAA Toledo and hit .300 at each level. Sizemore will be 25 next season, and the time has come to see whether this kid can play at the major league level.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete