Thomas Would Have Looked Good With The Old English D; Plan B May Have To Be Employed
I sort of wish the Tigers would have gotten Hurt. It would have been an appropriate person to add to the roster, considering all the injuries they've had to withstand in April.
I'm talking about Frank Thomas, The Big Hurt. Dispatched by the Toronto Blue Jays in rather ugly fashion, Thomas sat unemployed for three days before one of his former teams, the Oakland A's, snatched him up yesterday for an obscene price tag of about $330,000 -- the pro-rated MLB minimum.
With Gary Sheffield's shoulder "not firing", how nice and menacing would Thomas look in a Tigers uniform right about now?
No sense crying over spilled milk, I suppose, but Sheff's shoulder is making me nervous. I wonder, frankly, if he'll EVER be back to normal. It still wouldn't surprise me if he retired before the end of the season. I just get that sense. Male intuition.
Do not talk to me about Barry Bonds. I know he's tempting to consider, but it would be far more trouble than it's worth. Trust me.
It's been frustrating, that the Tigers cannot seem to get their prized 1-thru-9 order into the same game at the same time. Back comes Curtis Granderson, out goes Sheff and Placido Polanco. In comes Polanco, out goes Jacque Jones and Carlos Guillen. And on and on.
"We can't catch a break," Leyland lamented to the papers yesterday about all the hurts.
The biggest Hurt is in Oakland; too bad the Tigers didn't get in on some of that action.
The truth is, the Tigers should have enough firepower to overcome most opponents with Sheffield recuperating. But I look at how the team struggled so much while he missed time last season, and I can only wonder how much he could help this star-studded lineup when healthy. In other words, it's not so much that Sheffield should have to stir this drink; but he definitely adds some fizz.
It's easy to defend GM Dave Dombrowski on the Frank Thomas thing. If you get him, and Sheffield ends up being OK, then you have a crowded roster. And Thomas's beef with the Jays was a lack of playing time. So I'm not blasting DD here; I think it was just a matter of bad timing. Had Thomas become available with Sheff on the DL or worse, then I'm confident DD would have made a play.
That said, Sheffield's absence is rather significant, no matter how you cut it. There still may be a roster move this summer; chances are, the Tigers' next DH is currently playing for another big league team.
**************************************
Just wanted to mention a symposium on race and integration (as it pertains to baseball) that is going on this weekend in Detroit. The symposium focuses on the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, and their rather late jump into the interracial waters. There's a tour of historical baseball sites around Detroit planned on the docket, along with a brunch and some panel discussions.
You can find out more by clicking here.
I'm talking about Frank Thomas, The Big Hurt. Dispatched by the Toronto Blue Jays in rather ugly fashion, Thomas sat unemployed for three days before one of his former teams, the Oakland A's, snatched him up yesterday for an obscene price tag of about $330,000 -- the pro-rated MLB minimum.
With Gary Sheffield's shoulder "not firing", how nice and menacing would Thomas look in a Tigers uniform right about now?
No sense crying over spilled milk, I suppose, but Sheff's shoulder is making me nervous. I wonder, frankly, if he'll EVER be back to normal. It still wouldn't surprise me if he retired before the end of the season. I just get that sense. Male intuition.
Do not talk to me about Barry Bonds. I know he's tempting to consider, but it would be far more trouble than it's worth. Trust me.
It's been frustrating, that the Tigers cannot seem to get their prized 1-thru-9 order into the same game at the same time. Back comes Curtis Granderson, out goes Sheff and Placido Polanco. In comes Polanco, out goes Jacque Jones and Carlos Guillen. And on and on.
"We can't catch a break," Leyland lamented to the papers yesterday about all the hurts.
The biggest Hurt is in Oakland; too bad the Tigers didn't get in on some of that action.
The truth is, the Tigers should have enough firepower to overcome most opponents with Sheffield recuperating. But I look at how the team struggled so much while he missed time last season, and I can only wonder how much he could help this star-studded lineup when healthy. In other words, it's not so much that Sheffield should have to stir this drink; but he definitely adds some fizz.
It's easy to defend GM Dave Dombrowski on the Frank Thomas thing. If you get him, and Sheffield ends up being OK, then you have a crowded roster. And Thomas's beef with the Jays was a lack of playing time. So I'm not blasting DD here; I think it was just a matter of bad timing. Had Thomas become available with Sheff on the DL or worse, then I'm confident DD would have made a play.
That said, Sheffield's absence is rather significant, no matter how you cut it. There still may be a roster move this summer; chances are, the Tigers' next DH is currently playing for another big league team.
**************************************
Just wanted to mention a symposium on race and integration (as it pertains to baseball) that is going on this weekend in Detroit. The symposium focuses on the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox, and their rather late jump into the interracial waters. There's a tour of historical baseball sites around Detroit planned on the docket, along with a brunch and some panel discussions.
You can find out more by clicking here.
posted by Greg Eno at 12:36 PM
Proud Member of DIBS
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