Detroit Tigers

We’re in the thick of baseball’s Hot Stove League right now, and I must say, I love the Tigers’ chances in 2010.

Yes sir, I think they’ll do just fine. All they have to do is have every starter pitch a complete game every outing and oh yeah, hold the other guys to no more than two runs per pop.

That’s all.

by Caesar Cliffius

Dontrelle Willis had one of the most promising baseball careers of anyone in MLB when he was the National League's Rookie of the Year in 2003.

He helped lead the Florida Marlins to their second World Series Championship in 10 years. He was 14-6 with a 3.30 ERA and averaged eight strikeouts every nine innings. He also threw two shutouts in his rookie year.

On Monday, I pondered if Jose Valverde was going to be this year's Orlando Hudson. Just three days later, the number of teams who could potentially be interested in Valverde continues to wane. Two teams I thought could have interest in Valverde seem to have moved in different directions.

It has been a while since I have written anything for Bleacher Report; let’s hope college has benefited my writing.

It was a forgone conclusion that the Tigers would trade Curtis Granderson. He was an expensive commodity that we could get good value for in return. The Tigers have long been looking to get younger, and cheaper, and Granderson and Placido Polanco were the casualties of a tight budget.

Ladies and gentleman, the return of JAYRC. He is a permanent writer here at the site and will start shouldering a huge chunk of the load once a computer issue is resolved...

On Sunday, Billfer of Detroit Tigers Weblog had a link suggesting that the recently non-tendered Kelly Johnson would be getting a healthy amount of consideration from teams.

In the article, Dan Wade of Baseball Daily Digest had this to say:

The Winter Meetings are over and winter itself officially starts next week. While some of the Tigers are home in the tropics or enjoying 18 holes in Florida, The Hammer Toss will keep you warm with the hot stove!

Stop celebrating. This is no time for a high-five. The Tigers' offseason is quickly heading toward the toilet, as we are left to reap what has been sown in years past. 

Failure begets failure. So much more the same. Tiger nation is left to "stay the course."

I come from a family who takes their sports very seriously. I'm from a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. I'm a Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Pistons, and University of Michigan fan.

By reading off that list alone, you can venture to guess that the past several years—with the exception of a Red Wings Stanley Cup two years ago—ave not been the best to be a fan of those teams.

Curtis Granderson is now officially a New York Yankee. 

More importantly, he is now an ex-Tiger.  Granderson came up through the ranks in Detroit and debuted way back in 2004 and has been a fixture in center field since that magical 2006 season.

Now that he’s gone, where does Granderson rank in team history? 

His time in Detroit was relatively short lived, but here are a few facts about Granderson that helps make some sense about where he falls in Tigers history:

One of 31 Tigers to hit at least 100 homers in a Detroit uniform.

At first glance, it seems like the Yankees get the best part of today's three-team trade because of Curtis Granderson's name, experience, and All-Star potential.  Let's look at this trade from each team's perspective a little closer:

New York Yankees

Yankees receive 28-year-old Curtis Granderson.

When I saw the trade yesterday that sent Clay Rapada from the Detroit Tigers to the Texas Rangers, I thought it might have been the start of something.  It was like the calm before the storm.

And sure enough, today the storm came through as Detroit sent Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson their separate ways, in a three-team blockbuster deal.  Granderson was sent to the New York Yankees, while Edwin Jackson was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks.