24 hours later, I'm still flabbergasted by the Marlins/Tigers trade. I'm really interested to know what Tiger fans, and baseball for that matter, think of the trade. I can't imagine Detroit fans would have anything negative to say on the subject. I have a few thoughts and questions about the trade, teams and the state of baseball. Please, if anyone still reads this blog, respond.
- I give major propers to Dave Dombrowski for having the stones to pull off what the Angels and others were afraid to - namely trade a bunch of young talent. I'm not going to say he gave up the farm system because it's much larger than six guys. However, Maybin, Miller, de la Cruz, and the others are major prospects not mid-level.
- How will Dontrelle Willis do in the varsity league? He's a tremendous talent, but I foresee a lengthy acclamation period. It simply takes pitchers time to adjust to new hitters (i.e. Beckett).
- Meanwhile, as Willis adjusts Cabrera will be mashing in the middle of the best line-up in the majors. The thought of Tribe pitchers facing this murderers row 19 times next season makes my stomach hurt. The projected line-up: Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Cabrera, Ordonez, Guillen, Renteria, Rodriguez, and Jones. Disgusting!
- Shouldn't the Marlins be contracted? They're a day care center for major league talent! Teams send their youngsters to Miami for about three seasons. They go through growing pains and mature against average competition. Eventually they're ready for school (the AL), and the Marlins ship them north in exchange for more babies. Soon Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, and Anibel Sanchez will be ready for first grade and will need to leave the comfort of the Florida child rearing service. Welcome Camryn Maybin! Now go play with some blocks.
2 comments:
Hi Dan,
No doubt, the Tigers got the better end of this deal - in the short term, anyway. But then again, they've made a statement over the last few years that they're willing to spend, so the farm system isn't the same kind of priority it would be if they were solidly small-market. In any case, they've put a championship-caliber team on the field for next year and probably the next year after that. Which is never a bad thing. Unless you're an Indians fan. That lineup is ridiculous.
Interestingly, this team to me looks a lot like the Yankees of recent years but with better pitching. There are no holes in the lineup. A couple of guys are aging and will likely be less productive next year (Shef, Pudge), but they'll still be competent veterans and meanwhile everyone around them is grade-a.
Will the Tigers miss Maybin and Miller? Maybe in a few years. Miller showed he was ready for the majors last year, but Detroit isn't exactly starved for pitching at the moment. Even in the worst-case scenario, if Willis struggles and Rogers is truly at the end of his line, they still have three good starters. I think the toughest piece for them to let go in terms of the near future was Jurrjens. With Zumaya already out for the first half of the year, they'll be thin on the back end.
This is the key area where I'm hoping the Tribe still has a decisive advantage in what is becoming a fantastic rivalry. On paper, our bullpen looks way better than Detroit's.
But it's also definitely the case that Detroit has now upped the offensive ante. I'm not sure what kind of options we have at the moment. Perhaps a package of Lee and a couple of top prospects could entice a slugger of some kind. I'm sort of inclined to wait and see what Gutz and AstroCab do next year, but I realize that either or both are really young and could struggle in a long season. But I would hate to see either of them traded for a rental.
As far as the Marlins, I'm perfectly happy to see them wallowing in pointlessness and fanlessness, after the shit they pulled in 97.
B
The sad thing is the Marlins are allegedly pretty profitable... if so, the team isn't pointless for Loria.
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