Answering Daily Fungo Mike’s Questions: Day 2
posted in 2008 season |- Can Dontrelle Willis bounce back?
Yes! I think we’re already seeing him bounce back. I think he’ll be in the majors again by the end of the season, and I predict we’ll see a solid start. If the question meant, “Can Dontrelle get back to where he was two or three years ago?” … well I have no clue there. We can only hope, but I find it unlikely.
But getting back to contributing to the Tigers? For sure. He only walked two in his last start, in six innings. And I think we can all agree, the issues with Willis were his control and his injury status. He’s been pitching deep into games and has walked only two or three per start most of the time.
- Can the Tigers deal Carlos Guillen?
While I do think Guillen may be going a bit downhill, a bit too fast, I’m not sure if you want to deal him. Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m not sure how much value you’d get if you did trade him. He’s owed 36 million over three years. If we, as fans, think his contributions are going down, why on earth would a living, breathing general manager trade for that contract? Answer is: he probably wouldn’t now that Bill Bavasi was fired in Seattle. And if he did, the Tigers would be paying a decent portion of it. And maybe not get much in return. So my answer is “no.” Not worth while. So, fact is, he’s a Tiger for awhile. But I’m OK with that.
- If the Tigers can get a catcher, do they — and do they move Brandon Inge back to third?
A qualified “Yes.” I don’t like Inge catching, personally. But despite having great defensive skills at third base, I don’t really like his batting for a third baseman.
Ultimately, this question is going to be answered by whether they can move Carlos Guillen to shortstop by finding an exit stategy for Gary Sheffield. If Sheffield is a Tiger, then Guillen is a third baseman, and Inge is (probably) the catcher.
But like I said, I don’t like Inge’s catching all that much and I’d rather he move back to the field. So I hope they move Sheffield and find a viable catcher to fill the role.
- Does Vance Wilson return at long last?
No. I suspect he’ll retire, actually. But I don’t think he’ll be a Tiger.
- Who’s the shortstop?
I have no idea. Whatsoever. Rafeal Furcal? Ramon Santiago? Probably Santiago if the team is going to be cost-conscious and think about 2010. Then again, depending on how much money they’re getting, maybe Edgar Renteria remains shortstop after all. He hasn’t been doing too bad lately at the plate. Compared to Edgar Renteria anyway. But he still can’t field.
Sphere It
I think:
1) Inge stays at catcher. He’s adequate defensively, and his batting numbers look more like catcher numbers than third baseman numbers.
2) They have to find a way to move Sheffield–even if it means eating 90% of his salary–to get him out of the clubhouse and free up DH at bats for Guillen and Ordonez.
How about this for next year’s lineup?
Granderson CF
Polanco 2B
Ordonez RF
Cabrera 1B
Guillen DH
Raburn 3B
Joyce LF
Inge C
Santiago SS
Doesn’t cost anything in terms of acquiring new players. Spend the money freed up from Rogers/Renteria/Jones/Jones on K-Rod to re-excite the fan base and keep season ticket sales up.
I am wholeheartedly against signing a closer, even one of Frankie Rodriguez’s ability. I think that’s spending way too much money for a guy to pitch one inning, when your team has the lead. I’d rather see the Tigers upgrade several relievers across the board for the same amount of money K-Rod wants per season.
I agree it’s a bad investment from a baseball perspective.
I think it may be a good investment from an economic perspective, as the fan base needs to be reassured that next season won’t be a repeat of this one in terms of the bullpen blowing late-inning leads.
Upgrading several relievers may make sense, but it’s very hard to tell which relievers are reliable from season to season once you get past the elite closers.
I don’t know why people are constantly begging to remove Guillen from the field. He’s been just fine at third base. I am not at all excited about Brandon Inge as a third baseman, and I am even less excited about Ryan Raburn doing it.
Frankly, I think their lineup is fine next year, for the most part. If you can improve at SS or catcher, great, but I can live with Inge and Santiago there. Pitching is going to make or break the Tigers for the next couple seasons.
What about questions about this SITE for ‘09?
More graphics?
Upgrades?
Booze meet ups?
The mind boggles….then it cools out for a bit….then it boggles some more.
i’d like to change the look of the site again. I’ll do it in the offseason. I don’t like this ‘3 column’ format as much as I used to. plus I need to make a new logo. more graphics would’nt be a bad idea, actually.
no booze meetups though!