I thought that it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and put up a side-by-side-by of the rosters from this years’ squad and compare them to the rosters of the 1998 & 2001 dreaded Tiger teams:
Catcher:
‘98 - Paul Bako ‘01 - Brandon Inge ‘08 - Pudge/Inge
Analysis - A young Bako or rookie Brandon Inge? Or…the backstopping capabilities of two super-defensive machines? Bako is a fantasy stud and all, and Inge showed some promise 7 long years ago; however, with Pudge & Inge seemingly taking turns at this point of the season, it may make both of their stats better than if one was to carry the load.
Advantage: 2008 Tigers
1st Base:
‘98 & ‘01 - Tony Clark ‘08 - Miguel Cabrera
Analysis - Does anything even have to be said, or compared? At 25 Miggy has achieved a boatload more of achievements (and $$’s for that matter) than the under-achieving prematurely grey-haired gentle giant. Cabrera is only 91 hits away from his first 1,000 in his extraordinary blossoming career.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
2nd Base:
‘98 & ‘01 - Damian Easley ’08 - Placido Polanco
Analysis - While Easley had a few decent years in Detroit and even represented them at the All-Star game, he is still a step behind the slap hitting specialist of the Tigers. Polanco is a rally starter, and has great range defensively. He has provided steady and solid play each day he has suited up in the D.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
Shortstop:
‘98 & ‘01 - Deivi Cruz ‘08 - Edgar Renteria
Analysis - Ah, so much was credited to Deivi Cruz, and so much let down to a career that never really got off of the ground. It’s hard to imagine how he lasted so long in Detroit, before bringing in Guillen. Fortunately, Renteria is a solid SS, with average range, a good glove and a steady bat. He provides the Tigers with another bat that can get the big hit.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
3rd Base:
‘98 - Joe Randa ‘01 - Jose Macias ‘08 - Guillen/Inge
Analysis - Randa has turned into a decent bench player. Macias…Does anyone even remember him in the old English D? Considering the backlog of disappointing hot cornermen, since the trading of Travis Fryman to the Tribe (anyone remember the Dean Palmer experiment) the Tigers have a solid choice at third, although defensively, there are none better on this team than Brandon. Regardless, with either of these two, or even Cabrera who was originally brought in to take over, the Tigers are set at third.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
Left Field:
‘98 - Luis Gonzalez ‘01 - Bobby Higginson ‘08 - Guillen/Thames & Company
Analysis - Gonzalez had yet to really hit his mark until putting on the uniform of another squad. Considered an underachiever at times. As was Higgy after signing his big deal. Coming off his biggest season in 2000, Bobby disappointed and was on the downswing of an average career. Leyland has really mixed it up in LF this year, with AB’s being provided to several players. Defensively, this has been somewhat of a weakness, with the exception of Brent Clevlen; however, the bat of either of these two trumps previous teams.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers (by a smidge)
Centre Field:
‘98 - Brian Hunter ‘01 - Roger Cedeno ‘08 - Curtis Granderson
Analysis - What can you say about either of the two being compared to Curtis. Struggling with the bat or not, Curtis is head and shoulders…heck, he’s waist up better than either Hunter or Cedeno ever were. I feel guilty even having to write anything about any comparison. .240 BA or not, Curtis will get back on track.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
Right Field:
‘98 - Bobby Higginson ‘01 - Juan Encarnacion ‘08 - Magglio Ordonez
Analysis - Bobby was coming into his own in 1998. Pretty much was the only Tiger that earned respect outside of Tiger Stadium. The Tigers had big plans for Encarnacion, but it seemed like he could never get it all together and get over that hump. He has since turned in a decent statistical career. Maggs coming off of an MVP type season seems to have picked up where he left off. The numbers aren’t exactly there, but it appears that Magglio will again top a .300 BA and drive in 100+ runs, while providing 25+ HR’s. His glove is also very under-rated in my opinion.
Analysis : ‘08 Tigers
Does anyone see a trend here? Now, onto the pitching staff.
Starting Pitchers:
‘98 - Frank Castillo, Bryce Florie, Seth Griesinger, Brian Moehler, Justin Thompson
‘01 - Jeff Weaver, Jose Lima, Dave Mlicki, Steve Sparks, Chris Holt
‘08 - Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman/Armando Galarraga, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis/?
Analysis - How exactly did either of the ‘98 or ‘08 teams win that many games with that make-shift rotation? My goodness! With the exception of sub-par careers from Weaver, Lima and Moehler, this group is enough to cause some serious indigestion with every trip to the hill.
Now, this years squad has had its’ struggles, that is for certain. However, things seem to be turning a bend and the quality starts are finally occurring with more frequency. With the loss of Bonderman for what appears to be the remainder of the season, and the struggles of Dontrelle and his attempts to re-acquaint himself with the strike zone, this team still is a much better collection than the scary starting staff of previous editions.
Advantage : ‘08 Tigers
Bullpen (Key Members):
‘98 - Matt Anderson, Doug Brocail, Sean Runyan, AJ Sager
‘01 - Todd Jones, CJ Nitkowski, Danny Patterson, Victor Santos
‘08 - Freddy Dolsi, Bobby Seay, Zach Miner, Denny Bautista
Analysis - It is difficult to determine any strengths from this trio of sub-standard bullpens. Although, this years ‘pen should be upgraded greatly with the soon to be return of both Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya. Checking through this list of names, the performances have been roller-coaster like. All that can be said is that they are full of spurts, both tremendous and disastrous. The Tigers have struggled to maintain a decent ‘pen (with the exception of their shut-down relievers in ‘06 since the mid-to-late ’80’s.
Advantage : Push (until Rodney & Zumaya return, all three editions can be considered average at best)
Closer:
‘98 - Todd Jones ‘01 - Matt Anderson ‘08 - Todd Jones
Analysis - All pokes at Jonesy aside, for him being the most exciting closer (unfortunately for all the wrong reasons) in baseball, he has been somewhat serviceable. He holds the Tigers record for saves in a season and career and has been a joy…alright, he’s closed out a lot of games, and while many have been a true adventure, he has for the most part gotten the job done. Anderson was a 1st overall draft pick that was a pure flame-thrower but struggled with location and burned his arm out in a hurry trying to throw through everyone.
Advantage : Push (again, while ‘98 Jones was probably at a better stage of his career, this years’ Jones is 11-11 in save opps., Anderson always failed to impress me)
Totals:
‘98 Tigers - 0-9-2
‘01 Tigers - 0-9-2
‘08 Tigers - 9-0-2
So, why is this team setting the same trends that the previous teams have?
Look up and down the rosters, there is no real reason whatsoever that says this team should underachieve as greatly as they have. But yet, on the surface they could go down in history right alongside one another.
Scary to think that a team that drew the pre-season attention from baseball insiders and pundits that the the Tigers did, they could come out of the gate so sluggish and become one of the history of the games biggest disappointment.
It is what it is though and truth be told, I really feel bad for Mike Illitch. HUH? The same pizza-mogul that has turned a $5 “Hot & Ready” pizza ($7.55 in CANADA???? What’s up with that anyway?) into a zillion dollars Mike Illitch? The same Mike Illitch that was celebrating yet another Stanley Cup victory (drunken slurs and all) along with his prized Detroit Red Wings to which he is also an owner of? The same Mike Illitch that owns any of the worthy property in the Michigan area? Yeah, that Mike Illitch!
Why you ask? Because he could’ve saved the $137.3 million contracts (which just so happens to be #3 in the majors) this year and filled the roster with the same have-nots as in previous years and ended up with the same results. That’s why.
I’d like to dedicate this article to the true Tigers fans that had to sit through those horrendous years, and stayed on board. Watching, waiting and hoping for better things to come. And when they appear to finally arrive like they did in the great run of the 2006 season. And then in turn, instead of building on that, lets’ just settle for mediocrity. Let’s get a bunch of guys that are content with taking a paycheck and being satisfied with just showing up instead of playing with passion and love for the game?
In closing, I just want to ask, where has this passion disappeared to? Where is the never say die effort so emblematic of the 2006 Tigers team? Where is the magic of “Gum Time”? Where are the clutch hits in the late innings that allowed the Tigers to overcome any deficit, pulling out wins from nowhere when a game seemed out of reach?
It’s obvious that to this point, this team is satisfied with accepting their situation. Somewhere along the line, injuries aside, this team has lost that spark. The spark that drives teams to achieve their goals, to not accept failure and the drive to win a championship. Can a team get complacent by almost winning? I think that that is just downright crazy, but with the performance that I see on the field that may be the case. Ultimately, I just don’t know what is missing.
I do know one thing though, and that is that I for one am tired of making up excuses for this team. I suppose that you can call me Jim Leyland.
