By now, everybody knows that Magglio will be due $18million next season if he reaches 1080 plate appearances ('08 and '09 seasons combined). To date, he's at 1004. With 43 games remaining, Magglio should have no trouble getting reaching that goal. For a guy who was a crowd favorite a few months ago, some fans can't send him packing soon enough.
The Tigers were an awful team when they signed Magglio back in '04, so they had to overpay. The marriage benefited both parties. Magglio made a ton of cash, and the Tigers ascended from bottom-feeder to occasional contender. Now that Magglio has slowed down, the fans don't think he's worth the cash. But baseball ain't like the NFL. You can't just cut a player. Well, I suppose you could, but you'd get sued. For instance, if the Tigers cut Magglio today, his agent (Steve Boras) would file a grievance. The arbiter would see that Magglio is hitting a respectable .277, and a decent .281 with RISP (better than everyone but Cabrera and Polanco). The Tigers would have to prove that his release was strictly baseball-related, and the stats don't back that up. So, they're stuck with each other.
I also believe it would kill morale if the Tigers cut Maggs. He's a pretty popular guy in the clubhouse, and Cabrera, especially, looks up to him as a trail-blazing Venezuelan. Now that Maggs is swinging a better bat, Leyland should suck it up and play him as the regular right fielder. The $18million guaranteed next season is a way better investment than Bonderman's $12.5M, D-train's $12M, and Nate's $10M. Those dudes aren't even on the friggin' roster! Those awful contracts will likely kill the Tigers chances of pursuing any free agent. And Verlander and Edwin Jackson will likely get massive pay increases next season too, so the payroll will be going up. For poor Mike Ilitch, the end is nowhere in sight.
But all will be forgiven if they keep winning.
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Granderson's troubles continue. In the month of August, Curtis is hitting .246 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs. He's hitless in the last three games. Inge is no better. Since July 1, Inge is a dreadful .181, with 5 HR and 13 RBIs. In the last ten games, ol' Brandon notched a meager 3 hits. And then there's Laird. Gerald has 7 hits in the entire month of August, good for a .184 average. No homers and 1 measly RBI. Only 25 RBIs for the season. Folks, that's some awful hitting.
How the heck are they in first? Not only are they in first, but they've maintained first place for over 3 months! Crazy.
They're first because they are in a weak division. None of the teams in the central Division would even get a Wild Card sniff.
ReplyDeleteYou have good players but the teams aren't getting it done.
You're right. The Tigers record against the AL East is atrocious (8-17).
ReplyDeleteI guess it's still surprising to me. The Central's been weak for a few years now, and yet the Tigers finished LAST in '08.