Super Sunday Links: 40 Man, Central Roundup, Polanco and Arbitration

It’s Sunday and that means only one thing! My fantasy football team sucks, so I could care less about the Inactive list or games being played (The Lions already sucked it up on Thursday). I only have one thing on my mind lately and that is off-season baseball. To help feed my hunger I present to you Super Sunday Links. Every Sunday I’ll round up the best links of the week for the Detroit Tigers, The A.L. Central and of course Major League Baseball.

Without Further Ado, he is the first installment of the Super Sunday Links:

[A.L. Central Proccessing] Wally Fish and I have had our debates before over the CY Young (Yo Yo Yo Wally You were right and I’m going to let you finish, but Justin Verlander should of been in the top three!), but in all honesty this guy knows what he is talking about. Over at his blog, Kings of Kauffman, Wally has broken down the 40 man roster of every team in the Central. Though the forty mans will change due to free agency, trades and rule V draftees, Wally did a nice job of gathering the information about every player currently in the Central. This is a piece definitely worth reading and bookmarking. Did you know that the Tigers forty man is produce mostly of drafted talent (55%). Only three players were free agent signings, while four were international signings. Nine players on the forty man have been acquired via trade. Thanks to Wally Fish over at Kauffman’s Finest for putting the time in on this. Thank god he isn’t a White Sox blogger. It actually excites me that he is writing about a team that is rebuilding and trying to work it’s way up. It’s a good fit for a guy with as much passion as Wally has. It’s good to see it’s not going to waste. Make sure you keep up to date with Wally’s work on twitter.

[Arbitration Talk] Tuesday will be the telling day for Placido Polanco fans in Detroit. We will really see if the Tigers have any interest in bringing back Polanco if they offer him a one year arbitration deal at the deadline on Tuesday. If offered a deal, Polanco can either accept it and play out the year with the salary offered, or he can bring the offer to arbitration to sweeten the pot. If the Tigers offer Polanco a one year deal, it is with the understanding that he will make more in a Tigers uniform than he did last season. Arbitration will factor in his rebound offensively, his second gold glove, and yes–his veteran presence. It will be interesting to see what the Tigers decide here. There will be cheaper options in the market you would think, but the second base position is lacking talent in the free agent pool. That makes a name such as Felipe Lopez so valuable. With the recent injury to Scott Sizemore, many scenarios have to be floating in the heads of Tigers management. We will see which thoughts sink and where the Tigers plan on going at second base in 2010 on Tuesday. Kurt at Mack Avenue Tigers has all the media reaction to the upcoming arbitration decisions.

[Hall of Fame] When the 2010 hall of fame inductees are announced by the Baseball Writers in early January, all Tigers fans will be hoping that it’s greatest shortstop in history will get a 75% support vote and make his way into Cooperstown. Alan Trammell is one of the two former Tigers holdovers that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Tigers fans have always made it clear their feeling on Tram’s ability and comparison to Ozzie Smith and other shortstops in the hall. I have always been on this bandwagon, and without a doubt he deserves in. But this year, my hopes are on the best pitcher of the 1980’s. Rumor has it that Jack Morris is making steam in the Hall of Fame circle. Talk about not being recognized for accomplishments. Morris might not of had the best numbers of all-time, but character and guts on the field can tell a lot about the player. For anyone too young or who didn’t catch Morris’ 10 inning performance on the mound against John Smoltz in 1991, or his 9-1 start in 1984, I recommend finding them. What a bulldog.

[Draft History 2004-1998] Our Pal Matt Wallace at Take 75 North breaks down the drafts the Tigers have had between the years of 1998-2004. 2002-1998 was horrid for the Tigers. As Matt states, 1999 and 2000 have nobody in the organization from those years. Kenny Baugh was the future ace of the staff when drafted in 2002, and now he is out of baseball. It makes me sick thinking about the drafts Randy Smith put together. I guess this holiday season us Tigers fans can be thankful for David Chadd.

[Selig to Retire] Did anyone else spill their coffee down their shirt when they read that Bud Selig is going to retire from being the MLB Commissioner in 2012? I can’t wait for baseball to move on from this era and that all starts with the change at the top of Major League Baseball. On the other hand, Selig would like to teach history when he is done being the commish. How awesome would it be if he taught at your local college. How would he avoid the topic of steroids in baseball, like he so eloquently does right now? Too many questions, with not enough answers. I guess i’ll just have to enroll in Bud Selig History 101 in the fall of 2012.

Well that’s going to do it for this weeks Super Sunday Links! Hope you enjoy all the football action and the leftover turkey sandwiches.