Hopefully this marks the year that Ilitch achieves his goal of bringing a WS title back to Detroit! He has the money. He has the will. He has the GM. He almost has the team. A rich owner with a sense of urgency is a fan's dream come true. As it is with the Yankees model, spending more money won't necessarily mean that they lose it. The fan interest and support in Detroit next year will be historic.
Rumors and news roundup from the last few weeks: - Sanchez wants $90M. - Tigers taking a look at Bonderman to possibly give him a minor league contract after his TJ surgery. - Tigers considering also giving Zumaya a similar long shot to see if he can make a comeback. - Taking a hard look at Justin Upton for one of our need positions- corner outfield. Doing "due diligence" right now. - Some speculation that Detroit might buy Hamilton to play left field? This is the screw the future strategy, pick off 2 straight WS strategy. - Nick Swisher? - Melky? Switch hitting, all-star, corner outfielder... with some juice withdrawal risk. It wouldn't be much fun having to face back to back Cabreras in a lineup. - Closer- Looks like they are going to take a shot at incorporating Randon. Dude can throw 103 and has a 90 mph change up! Forecasted lineup: 1) Jackson- C 2) Cabrera or Upton or Swisher- RF 3) Cabrera- 3B 4) Fielder- 1B 5) Martinez- DH 6) Peralta- SS 7) Dirks/ Garcia- LF 8) Avila- C 9) Infante- 2B Bench: Berry Boesch Worth Garcia Castellanos? Holladay Santiago Rotation 1) Verlander 2) Scherzer 3) Fister 4) Sanchez or Grienke 5) Smyly/ Porcello Pen - Albequerque - Porcello - Benoit - Coke - Dotel - Villereal Closer - Rondon! or committee of dudes Could potentially be the best hitting and best pitching team that we will see in our lifetimes if we lock down 1 of those 3 FA prospects for RF and get Sanchez or Grienke to complete our rotation.
Mr. Ilitch did not look very good during that ceremony. Dombrowski and Leyland were practically holding him up. Let's hope Mr. I has good health and he can live to hoist the real trophy up a couple of times.
Agreed, he's never been a big man.... but it was really shocking how frail he looked during that ceremony. Hope he's just getting old and there isn't a health issue that we don't know about.
I hadn't seen him in a while and was shocked at how he looked. I guess the last time I saw him on TV was when he was being interviewed about potentially buying the Pistons a couple years ago. He looks like a completely different man now. I REALLY want a WS victory for this guy. I can't imagine any owner in any league who is more deserving.
Illich is well over 80. Maybe 83, or 86. I'm 77, but I don't look that bad. I take 6 medications and read PF.com for amusement. I don't know how much that extends my life span. Maybe, if Frank would quit playing JJ at PF, that might help.
The fact that he himself was a player should not be underestimated when assessing his determination. He seems completely past the financial restrictions. Would have been interesting to see what he might have done with the Pistons if he was 10 years younger and could have reeled that purchase in.
When I first saw him being presented the trophy, I thought he was Dombrowski or leyland's mother and wonder what a nice gesture to bring their mother up to stage during the trophy celebration. Then when I realized it was Illitch, I thought maybe he was wearing a wig or something.
Hunter signs.... So our top 5 is deadly... now if the bottom 4 can just hold there heads above water.... our offense gets crazy good.
Pretty hard not to like this move. If V-Mart bounces back decently, this could be a potent lineup. I wonder who will hit second in the lineup.
38 years old, but a health freak. It gives Garcia and Castellanos 2 years to get ready to replace him. I'm reading more and more articles about how keeping Sanchez seems very unlikely. Smyly is so young that he may just progress right into that solid 4th spot anyway.
