Welcome to Detroit Dontrelle and Miguel
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by AWeiner18
The only thing I wanted to do was steal Dick Vitale’s voice and scream, “Are you serious!” after receiving a call yesterday regarding a trade from my friend Zack. It is unimaginable that the Tigers had just completed a trade that will send Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Robello, and three pitching prospects (including Eduardo de la Cruz) to the Marlins for third baseman Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis.
The answer is simple—both teams.
The Marlins finished the regular season with a 71-91 record, suggesting that they will not be in the postseason for quite some time, whereas the Tigers just missed the playoffs. Because of their current standings in Major League Baseball, both teams entered this off-season with the mind-set that they need to make changes to move them up respectively. The Marlins, who are known for acquiring and grooming future stars and winning with them until they become fully-grown stars, have consistently maintained a low salary cap. Cabrera and Willis, two stars who four years ago were not known, will soon have the opportunity to seek a mega deal, thus forcing the team to ditch the stars and breed new ones.
With that said, the Marlins have just gotten two players in Miller and Maybin who have the real potential to become superstars.
Meanwhile, the Tigers now have added two more threats to their already dangerous lineup. Prior to this trade and off-season acquisitions, the Tigers had an already great lineup that featured both power and contact:
C-Ivan Rodriguez (contact) 1B-Sean Casey (contact) 2B-Placido Polanco (contact) SS-Carlos Guillen (contact/power) 3B-Brandon Inge (contact) LF-Marcus Thames (power)/Cameron Maybin (contact) CF-Curtis Granderson (contact/power) RF-Magglio Ordonez (contact/power) DH-Gary Sheffield (power)
However, even though this lineup possesses a balance with power and contact, the Tigers now have not only a balanced lineup but a dangerous lineup that can destroy any pitcher that takes the mound:
C-Rodriguez (c) 1B-Guillen (c/p) 2B-Polanco (c) SS-Edgar Renteria (c) 3B-Miguel Cabrerra (c/p) LF-Thames (p)/Jacque Jones (c) CF-Granderson (c/p) RF-Ordonez (c/p) DH-Sheffield (p)
Prior to this mega-deal, the acquisitions of Jones and Renteria would have slightly upgraded their lineup. With Cabrera, you are talking about a very consistent hitter who will add an additional 30 home runs and 100 runs-batted-in to an already threatening lineup. Out of the nine batting positions, five of the positions possess players that have both balance and power (1B, 3B, LF, CF, RF).
Looking at the newest lineup, the third-base position had been occupied by Brandon Inge, a player who has accomplished great athletic achievements such as hitting a golf ball more than 300 yards and touching the rim of a standard basketball hoop. While Inge may be a gifted athlete, it is evident he has not performed well when it comes to hitting (.236 BA/14 HR/71 RBI). Now that Cabrera is on board, Dombrowski should immediately place Inge on the trading block to seek either a fifth starter or a quality bullpen pitcher. Regardless to whatever happens to Inge, this trade alone addressed a major Tigers’ weakness.
Speaking of weaknesses, the Tigers last year had one consistent problem: pitching. The pitching lacked consistency thanks to numerous injuries of key contributors such as Joel Zumaya and Kenny Rogers as well as bullpen issues. Because of this, the Tigers attempted to address this issue by bringing in Willis as well as Denny Batista.
Yes, I am well aware of Willis’ mediocre statistics he had last season, but compare the team he pitched for in 2007 to the 2005 Marlins’ squad. The difference—12 victories. My overall philosophy on the stylistic, attention-grabbing pitcher is simple: his statistics will improve if you give him a team that can support him both offensively and defensively.
Dombrowski has made sure Willis is well supported.
With that stated, a bold prediction can be made: the Tigers will find themselves in the World Series.
Despite the great acquisitions of Willis, Cabrera, Renteria, and Jones, the Tigers lost great potential in Maybin, Miller, De La Cruz, and Jair Jurrjens (traded to Atlanta for Renteria).
However, great potential does not mean that player will become a superstar, which is why I am confident this trade will benefit both the Tigers in their pursuit to win a World Series and the Marlins in their pursuit to rebuild their team yet again.
