Mike Maroth Retires

Former Tigers starting pitcher Mike Maroth has announced his retirement. Tigers fan remember Mike as a starter in the rotation during the rough seasons of the Tigers rebuilding process. He will be remember in the record books for his 9-21 record during the dreaded 2003 season with the Tigers.

I hope Tigers fans and baseball fans alike remember Maroth for his hard work and determination both on and off the field. Maroth, a left handed pitcher was a touch and feel type pitcher using his great off speed pitches to keep hitters at bay. He never had a power fastball and had to really work the corners and change speeds to compete. Maroth had some very solid outings for Detroit, in fact was a major part in the 2006 run until he was injured. He then was left off the post season roster and the Tigers made it all the way to the World Series. I always felt a little bad for Maroth not being able to play with the team that year due to the injury. He made it through the bumps and bruises with the Tigers organization and was really just hang out to dry during the 2003 season, when the Tigers pitching depth was nothing.

Mike Maroth once and always a Tiger.

Who will play 2nd base in 2011?

The Tigers has an interesting decision to make this year when it comes to the 2nd base position.

The Tigers have four players that can play 2nd base this year.

• Carlos Gullien
• Will Rhymes
• Scott Sizemore
• Danny Worth

All of the players above could handle the load in my opinion but each have their own downfalls. Carlos if he could only stay healthy would be a very solid option both defensively and at the plate. I feel that Carlos would be the choice for just about every Tigers fan out there if only he can stay in the lineup. Will Rhymes is a guy that I really like, he brings a lot of intangibles and I feel could really spark the line up at times. Sizemore and Worth both could help out but I feel they are better used if they really need them or as subs.

Chime in and let me know what you think about the Tigers 2011 situation at 2nd Base.

Tigers Top Minor League Prospects

I just recently was over at the great Baseball Prospectus website and the annual top prospects list has been released for the Tigers.


Tigers Top Prospects List

• My thoughts on the list are pretty much what expected. The Tigers farm system has a few bright spots but then it dims quickly.

• I love the way BP sums the farm system up into 20 words or less and they really hit the nail on the head when saying, "Jacob Turner is great, Nick Castellanos might be, and then... man does it get bad quickly."

Well the once loaded farm system of the Tigers has been depleted a little through trades and also players moving up and maybe some lack of performance. It will really be exciting to see how Jacob Turner develops over the next few seasons, all reports say he could be a top notch pitcher someday.

Tigers ink flame throwing Zumaya for another year

According to reports on Yahoo.com the Detroit Tigers and Joel Zumaya has agreed to a 1 year 1.4 million dollar contract. This is another case in which Dave Dombrowski has shown that he loves to avoid salary arbitration as must as he can.

We all know the potential that Joel can have when he's on the mound and healthy yet the past few years injuries has really gotten the best of him.

It was very painful to watch Joel when he had to leave the field last season after firing a pitch to home plate. I hope this year bring good health and numbers to Joel because the bullpen could really use the lift.

This may be the last year we see Zumaya in Detroit if the injury bug is caught by Joel again. Let's hope things turn around this season for him and please Joel no Guitar Hero.

Brad Penny Chooses Detroit

It looks like the Tigers starting pitching rotation has just gotten a little deeper. Veteran pitcher Brad Penny will ink a one year deal with Detroit. The deal also includes performance incentives as well

• Detroit Tigers Sign Brad Penny to a 1 yr, 3 million dollar deal.
• Penny has struggled with injuries in his past 2 seasons.
• Brad has played for the Marlins, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cardinals & Giants before coming to Detroit in 2011

Here is a useful link to the Brad Penny Baseball Reference Page

Your New & Improved Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have been back making noise this off-season by making some big signings. Who would have thought the Tigers would make some bigger off season moves than the Yanks?

The Tigers wasted little time making their move by quickly signing former Devil Rays setup man Joaquin Benoit. The Tigers gave Benoit a 3 year, $16.5 million dollar deal. This really helps fill a need for Detroit with the constant injury struggles of flame thrower Joel Zumaya. Zumaya couldn't be counted on again and I feel this played some part in this offer given to Benoit. I hope this sign pays off yet there are some things that raises some concerns to me with this signing.

• Benoit is coming of a career year in Tampa
• Has a career ERA of 4.46
• 3 Years at 16.5 Million (Lets hope this isn't going to be a bad contract they'll be waiting to clear aka Nate Robertson & Willis deal ect.)

The Tigers didn't stop there they needed to fill their catching void left when the Tigers clearly didn't want to resign Gerald Larid. Larid was solid defensively but lets face it, he couldn't hit a lick and was sort of a hot head a little on and mainly off the field. The Tigers signed the best avaiable Catcher on the market by snagging Victor Martinez formerly of the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers gave Victor a 4 Year, $50 million dollar contract to lure him to Detroit. He will play DH and catcher and will give the Tigers some solid protection behind Cabrera.

The most recent move the Tigers made was to sign Magglio Ordonez to a 1 year, $10 million dollar deal to sure up the outfield and batting lineup for at least 1 more year. I always thought Magglio was going to be coming back to Detroit and if he can stay healthy the Tigers have a solid 3,4,5 lineup with Cabrera, Ordonez, & Martinez. 


The Tigers may just not be done yet and after these signings the Tigers could easily stand still and not make anymore moves.