Motor City Bengals » Curtis Granderson

Q&A with Erie SeaWolves GM Greg Coleman

James R. Chipman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:30:46 +0000

Last weekend Erie SeaWolves GM Greg Coleman was kind enough to participate in a Q&A with us here at MCB. The 2012 season will be his 15th year in professional baseball. Prior to joining the AA-Erie Seawolves, Coleman spent time with the Rays, Yankees, Athletics and Cubs.

Q&A with Erie SeaWolves GM Greg Coleman, after the jump

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Q&A with Erie SeaWolves GM Greg Coleman - Motor City Bengals - Motor City Bengals - A Detroit Tigers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

A Long Overdue Thank You To Greg Smith

John Verburg — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:14:51 +0000

A lot of work goes into building a winning baseball team. Often, by the time the major league club is winning, the people that were working behind the scenes unnoticed that helped accomplish that task are long gone. They were either given their pink slip, or promoted/demoted to another position. Often they move on to another organization. This is the life of professional baseball scouts. They are the faceless men that work in the shadows, traveling from city to city, doing the grunt work that they aren’t likely to get recognized for. Their careers depends on the ability to find future baseball players in the swing or arm of a high school or college kid. If their selections work out, they become directors. If they don’t, they become unemployed.

Greg Smith held the position of scouting director for the Tigers from 1997-2004. While that era of baseball isn’t exactly fondly remembered by Tigers fans, that is in large part due to the ineptitude of GM Randy Smith. Greg Smith however, should be fondly remembered for Tigers fans, because before he walked out the door to move on to the Pittsburgh organization, he made perhaps the best draft pick in Tigers history.

And it almost didn’t happen.

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A Long Overdue Thank You To Greg Smith - Motor City Bengals - Motor City Bengals - A Detroit Tigers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Center Field Battle Royale: How Austin Jackson Stacks Up

Garret Craig — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:30:20 +0000

Curtis Granderson entered his prime this year. In doing so, he became a legitimate candidate for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, eventually finishing fourth, just ahead of Miguel Cabrera, in the voting. Cameron Maybin, this year, had the best offensive campaign of his career as well. As he made strides towards finally reaching his vast potential, he established himself as a productive, full-time player. Those athletic outfielders, both former draft picks of the Detroit Tigers, produced their recent success as members of the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres respectively. This begs the question; would the Tigers prefer either of these two players to their center field incumbent?

This isn’t another addition to the long list of trade evaluation columns, attempting to assess the talent that changed hands in either of the deals that sent Granderson and Maybin out of town. I don’t intend to prove which team won each trade. Rather, I want to focus on how the much-maligned Austin Jackson compares to the players who, had it not been for the Winter Meetings, could conceivably have his job right now.

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Center Field Battle Royale: How Austin Jackson Stacks Up - Motor City Bengals - Motor City Bengals - A Detroit Tigers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More