I don't get this at all. All of a sudden the 2006 Tigers look a lot like the 1996 Tigers, a bunch of old players who are trying to get one last hurrah.
I guess we can take solace in the fact that this time, we didn't give up anything to get Doyle Alexander like we did in 1987, but at the same time, what's the point? The Tigers have now replaced Dmitri Young with an older, slower, worse-hitting player. Why? Because Young was a clubhouse cancer. Well, there are many people living productive lives with cancer in this day and age. Why can't the Tigers?
Secondly, think about what this team has done. Signed Sean Casey, Neifi Perez and Matt (expletive) Stairs. What are they trying to accomplish? Were they trying to sign a bunch of veteran leadership? Then at least sign someone who has won something at this level. I think Stairs may have gotten to the World Series with Oakland about a million years ago, but get real.
The Tigers have to go 9-7 in their last 16 games to make the playoffs. Everyone is worried about the fatigue factor in a long season because these players have never done it before. Well, Casey looks tired. Perez does not look, nor has he ever looked, good, and Stairs was hitting .210 in Texas. Do these guys look like they are ready for a stretch run?
If fatigue is the worry, I'll take youth. I'll take a 23 year old over a 38 year old any day of the week. Sure, Verlander has never pitched this many innings and Granderson has never played this many games and Shelton struggled for the better part of three months, but they have one thing in common: They're all under 30. They can bounce back better. I'm 32 and played two games of softball last nigh and I have been ready for bed since I woke up this morning. The 24-year-olds on the team were raring to go after the game and have been running circles around me today.
The point is there is no quick fix. The Tigers would have the same record, if not a better one if they would have stuck with Shelton, Infante and Young instead of going to Casey, Perez and now Stairs. If he can hit a three run homer to win a game for us against the Sox, all will be forgotten, but the first time this slow, old man hits a gapper and ends up on first base (or even worse) gets thrown out at second, we will regret this one.
