Detroit Tigers: Dave Dombrowski To Give Up or Give Away Farm?

At the time of this writing, there are approximately 21 hours left for Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski to pick up a past-his-prime player whilst simultaneously giving away our last four first-round picks, all in an attempt to give fans a reason to attend games after the All-Star break. But while rumors fly around from every team in the country, the Tigers have remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Why?

My guess is this: Either for the first time ever, Dombrowski is just calling it a season and planning for the onslaught of big-name free agents the 2010 offseason will have to offer, or he is plotting something so diabolical, so painstakingly damaging to the farm system, that he dare not leak it, not even to his closest of advisers. Which is more likely? To be honest, I'm not sure.

Here are the reasons it could go both ways.

On the stand-pat side of things, there are several reasons why it wouldn't make sense to make a move now. First and foremost, the White Sox. To say they are on a tear is an understatement. They have won 17 of 24 games and show no signs of stopping. Even if the Tigers start winning, the Sox have to start losing for it to mean anything.

Why give up prospects when winning alone won't get you to the playoffs?

And who do we really have to give? Thanks to our top-notch training staff, our injury situation has created a "who's who" of our farm system taking the field nine times a day. It's going to be hard to trade guys away if we need them at the stadium and in uniform by 7. 

Let's not forget that we can't seem to buy a win at this point.

Now on the other side of the spectrum, the reasons he might be buying seem just as convincing. The most glaring is the fact that the Tigers snuck Jhonny Peralta in under the radar.

As I was watching the Tigers get bamboozled by the Rays again on Wednesday, I notice the ESPN ticker go by, saying something about Tigers...Peralta. Thankfully, my DVR never lets me down.

So why would they do that if they weren't making something happen?

Sure, it could simply be because our infield is completely made up of rookie second basemen (save Miguel Cabrera, of course), and Ol' Davie doesn't want a complete embarrassment every defensive half. But I think he's got something up his sleeve.

I think Peralta is meant to be a distraction from the real destruction.

Because that's the other reason a big deal is possible, Dombrowski ALWAYS does something that makes you scratch your head, and it rarely ever works.

Last year, with solid pitching and no offense he made a big move for...LHP Jarrod Washburn? Yep, a pitcher, and not even that great of a pitcher. Sure, he was having an OK year before the trade, but we didn't need a pitcher, nor did we need his resulting 7.00+ ERA.

In 2006, with a seemingly unbeatable streak and needing just a little help at first base, the Tigers traded for Sean Casey, a pretty good guy who was definitely great at making friends, but not the big offensive catalyst everyone had hoped for.

And don't forget Dontrelle Willis's massive contract-for-no-reason

So my point is this: While all the signs point to throwing in the towel and expanding on next year, Dombrowski and his sidekick Jim Leyland really never know when to quit. And that, my friends, is why all of our minor league teams are in last place.

We are not going to win this season.

So let's cut our losses, build up our prospects, go out to the ballpark, and root for our teenage starting lineup. And hey, maybe you'll even find time to drink a $9 beer while you're there.