Tiger Bites 12/15/08: Everett, Dickerson, The Motor City Top 30

You know that a team is desperate to find relief help, especially at the closer position when rumors are not swirling. It seems that the Tigers’ talks have just died off. Maybe I am overacting, because I want to see this situation resolved. Who knows, maybe we will get a christmas present. Anyways, here is what I am brewing on this Monday.

The Bullpen situation-

• Why in the name has it come to a situation like this? Kerry Wood, who many considered our top relief option, went to our bitter rivals. It hurt a bit, but it is ok to move on. Rumors began to swirl that Detroit was talking to Seattle about Trenton, MI native J.J. Putz. But no, the big bad boys of Queens had to steal him from right beneath us. Of course, it ended up being a good thing. The Mariners got a really good deal for a reliever and a future starter.

• Next in the reliever timeline, good ol’ Danny Knobler, the former MLive reporter, hit us with an article that the Tigers, “probably won’t add a closer.” Wait what? Oh, I’m not surprised, Dave Dombrowski told the world that he is ok with Fernando Rodney as his closer. Could it Get Worse? Sure it can. The Tigers are linked to Derrick Turnbow now as a viable closer. Did anyone see his breakdown before being demoted last season? It was plain ugly. I could almost compare it to the Chuck Knoblauch meltdown in New York. It was that bad. I just don’t understand where the Tigers are going with this one. Allowing Ryan Perry to take over in the pen if he is ready is another thing. Rushing him to the Major Leagues is another.

• There are many options still available that could help out this pen (even if it isn’t as a closer). A name that hasn’t been talked about much is Dennys Reyes. You have to believe that former Twin Minor league pitching coordinator, Rick Knapp and the staff have discussed him. It seems you have to count him out though, considering he is left handed. To be quite frank, all the names available aren’t very exciting. One idea I like is setting up a trade with the Nationals. Like us, their system is weak, so they could be willing to part with a Saul Rivera. He posted a pretty solid 3.96 ERA and was durable, once pitching in 22 consecutive games. Just what we could use at the front end of the pen. (I have added a new poll to the sidebar, dealing with the closing situation.)

Ramon Santiago to see ‘short’ time in the infield-

• According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Free Press, Dave Dombowski told reporters today that Adam Everett will recieve the majority of the starts at shortstop in 2009. Many thought the playing time at the shortstop position would be split between Everett and Ramon Santiago. Dave Dombrowski believes that Adam Everett is,

“one of the premier defensive shortstops in the game.”

Everett is also familiar with Michigan through his wife, who was raised in Birmingham. Should be interesting to see how long the Tigers can hold out, before getting frustrated with the offensive output. I hope that Everett’s glove is louder than his bat. I honestly can say I haven’t seen him in action since his Houston days. It should be “fun.”

– A love for Dan D.

• As a media and broadcast student, I have a tendancy of putting too much stock in the broadcast tandems that call the sporting events I enjoy. I can’t help it. As an aspiring play-by-play or color commentator, I look up to two or three Michigan broadcasters. First and foremost, Ernie Harwell comes to mind. Of course, Georgia’s finest makes the list. A No doubter. He is the reason I went to broadcast school. I own both of his books and his audio scrapbook (A great Christmas gift).  But Today I wanted to give a shout to current Detroit Tiger play by play man, Dan Dickerson. He sure has shown his versatility this off-season.  Beyond his weekly “Tiger Town” show on the ticket, I recently found out that he announced the division 6 state championship finals in football between Leslie, and my hometown Montague Wildcats. He did a wonderful job. He is one of the more versatile announcers in the business, and watching that game gave me the itch to hear him again this upcoming season.

The MCB Top 30-

Coming up in the next few weeks, be ready for the MCB top 30 Prospect release. We will be releasing 1-2 a day counting down from 30 to 1 in the organization. Should be an interesting time, considering we have lost a good amount of our top prospects already (Carlos Moscoso, James Skelton). But stay tuned for it. Including number 30 today.