Thoughts on the Casey deal...

First of all, we didn't give up much. Everything we had two days ago we still have today. We have Humberto Sanchez. We have Cameron Maybin. We have Jair Jurgens. We have Jordan Tata. We even still have Nook Logan. And, come to think of it, we have Chris Shelton.

Shelton is slumping. Sure, his batting average is coming up, but he is not hitting for power. When he tries to hit for power, his batting average drops. He doesn't walk, and though he hasn't made too many errors, his errors have cost the team two games this year at least. A month in Toledo, a call-up in September, and he may be ready. The issue is that he has been putting too much pressure on himself. Add October pressure, and he is not ready to play in the postseason at this point.

Casey is a career .300 hitter. That's not going to change. For the next month or two, he will get hits when needed more than Shelton would. He hasn't made an error this season, and he won't cost his team the game, like Dmitri Young may have last night. He will be steady, which is what Detroit needs down the stretch. Add a rejuvinated Shelton in September, and we may have something.

Secondly, to be upset because we got a slow guy with no power is meaningless. Shelton is a slow guy with no power as well lately. Since April, he has exactly six home runs in 262 at bats. Carlos Zambrano, the pitcher for the Cubs has better power numbers over this stretch, with four home runs this season. Shelton may not ground into as many double plays as Casey, but he also doesn't foul pitches off. He pops out to end threats more than Casey grounds out. A lot of those Shelton pop outs, by the way, are when he swings at balls. Casey won't do that.

Let's go to on-base percentage. Casey's gets on base about 38% of the time over his career. Shelton doesn't walk. Casey has walked 23 times in just over 210 at bats. The Tigers need a non-free-swinger somewhere in their lineup. The only other guy they have that doesn't strike out too much in Polanco, but he doesn't walk either. We need a two-strike-hitter.

Moving on, Casey struggled with injuries from April 14th and didn't get back into the lineup until June. With all his issues, he is still hitting .296, but he's not coming back from soreness like Dmitri Young, he's coming back from broken bones. Even healed, it is going to take a little power away. In the deep confines of Comerica Park, look for Casey to hit a lot more doubles than he is used to.

Sure, Shelton got some big hits for the Tigers, especially the double against Chicago to win the game after the take out slide at 2nd, but the Tigers have been relying too much for too long on big hits. It is starting to wear on them. A run here and a run there add up, and can mean wins. The Tigers have had a lot of big innings since the break, but they almost lose leads by not getting the small ones where they manufacture runs.

Did I forget to mention the left-handed bat? The thing that everyone wanted a month ago before there were any thoughts of Alfonso Soriano? Well, we got it in Sean Casey. Casey's OBP against right-handed pitching is .391 this season. He will help out in a bigger way than anyone expects.

Look to next year. The Tigers didn't spend any extra money this season. If they were to get Bobby Abreu, they wouldn't have anything extra in the budget. They still have all their young pitchers, and their payroll is still relatively low. What if they get to or even win the World Series with this team? They should have everyone back, and the money to spend to get someone like Soriano next season--for a whole season, and years to come.

Soriano would have helped this year, but the pieces are in place to actually end up the team of this decade when it is all said and done. No one expected the Tigers to make the playoffs this year, and they are a .500 month of August away from all but clinching it. If they even just make the postseason this year, it is supposed to be a triumph. I want them to win the series as much as the next fan, just as I did in 1987. But this time, I'm looking to 2007, and I'm saying "Bravo, Dave Dombrowski" whereas back then I had no idea what the repercussinons were going to be.

Heck, I was only 13 years old...