Is Detroit the Best Team in Baseball Now?

I never saw this coming.  We’ve all heard the rumors that Florida was desperately shopping Miguel Cabrera and Donrelle Willis around the league, but I had serious doubts about their motivation to get a deal done.  There were no expiring contracts, no one was asking for a trade, and besides, every year around this time reports would leak out of their camp about how they wanted to move their ace, yet nothing ever happened.  Willis was on the trading block for what, two years?  So, when it was announced that Cabrera would be joining him on the block, I kind of shrugged it off and focused my attention on something more tangible… like the Johan Santana rumors.  When news broke that the pair of superstars were Motown bound, I was shocked.  Not just because the Marlins actually made a move or because the Tigers were never mentioned in any possible scenarios.  No, I was in awe over how potent their line-up is going to be.  There like the Yankees of two years ago:  All-Stars top to bottom.  Except these guys are actually still in their prime.

The Tigers didn’t just get better with this move.  They leaped over everybody, saw that they could do it, then went back and did it again.  To date, they have added three All-Stars without giving up a single player from their opening day roster.  How does that happen?  In one, unexpected move, they just went from being a possible Wild Card contender to the hands down favorite to win the World Series.  At least for the moment. 

They already had one of the most potent offenses in baseball, ranking second last season behind the Yankees in runs.  Prior to this recent development they picked up Edgar Renteria from the Braves to address their pressing need at shortstop, which alone would have made them a more formidable contender. But now, with the addition of Cabrera they have become a superpower.  Who do you pitch too?  This offense could legitimately score 1,000 runs next season.  Their 6-9 guys will probably have a higher out-put then most teams in the NL West. 

They’ll have to shake things up a little to make it work but they have plenty of depth and versatility.  Cabrera and Renteria will replace Sean Casey and Brandon Inge in the line-up, with Carlos Guillen moving to first. There’s also the possibility of putting Cabrera in left and letting Inge play third, or playing Cabrera at first and Guillen at third.  It doesn’t really matter, as long as these guys find their way into the line-up.  Defensively Cabrera might be a downgrade, but his offense is such an improvement it shouldn’t matter.  In case you need evidence, take a look at the numbers.

This clearly will allow them to improve upon the 887 runs they put up last season, and it should also help them to vastly improve upon on their 88 wins.  Jim Leyland has a number of options with his new toys, but his lineup will likely look something like this:

1.     Curtis Granderson, CF
2.    Placido Polanco, 2B
3.    Magglio Ordonez, RF
4.    Miguel Cabrera, 3B
5.    Gary Sheffield, DH
6.    Carlos Guillen, 1B
7.    Edgar Renteria, SS
8.    Jacque Jones, LF
9.    Ivan Rodriguez, C

When you’re scoring ten runs a night it doesn’t really matter who’s on the mound, unfortunately Willis may need that kind of support to succeed in the American League.  He’s only three years removed from his stellar 2005 season (22-10, 2.36 ERA, 236.3 IP, 170 K, 55 BB)  in which he finished second in Cy Young voting, but he’s no longer the beast that he once was.  Last season he went over 200 innings for the third straight year and struck out 146 batters but his 5.17 ERA left a lot to desire.  This may just be a mere aberration, he could have been suffering through injuries or a flaw in his strange mechanics, but the scouts aren’t so sure.  Keith Law of Scouts Inc. fears that his strongest asset has become his worst enemy.  

“The same aspects of his delivery that give him so much deception also make his delivery hard to repeat and put more stress on his arm.  As a result, he’s not the same.”

I’m not so sure about this.  Willis doesn’t even have to turn it all the way back to 2006.  If he can manage to pitch like he did in 2006 when he posted a 3.87 ERA, he would be a great asset to this staff.  I don’t expect him to be their ace, and they don’t need him to be one. That’s what Justin Verlander is for.

If nothing else this ends the speculation over Santana’s fate.  If there were any lingering questions about the Twins ability to compete next season with their pair of aces, that’s over.  This move changes the entire dynamic of the Central division.  The Indians have the pitching to compete, but everyone else is devoid of the offensive pop that’s going to be needed to slug it out with the Tigers.  They’re built to run with the big dogs in the AL East, and they have the price tag to prove it.

They’ve come a long way from the faltering franchise they once were prior to the 2006 season.  Way back when they finished below .500 for 12 straight years.  It goes to show that the revenue sharing system can work when teams employ the resources given to them back into the product on the field.  It seems like decades ago, but as recently as the 2004 season the Tigers payroll was $46 million.  Next season they will log in around $120 million, with $6 million of that going to their new utility player, Brandon Inge.  That’s more than they used to spend on their entire outfield.  Score one for baseball…  Well at least the American League.