The Tigers announced today Rick Knapp — formerly of the Minnesota Twins’ organization — will take over the duties of pitching coach. I’m a bit mixed on this.

First the positive — If you’re gonna grab a coach out of another organization for a job promotion, you could do a lot worse than plucking a Minnesota Twin. A franchise that knows how to win consistently on a shoe string does so because it has a solid staff top to bottom. It’s not just the GM or the manager. It’s a strong system of scouts and coaches they have in Minnesota, and they never lack for strong pitching. So, while I know little about Knapp other than the fact he was a minor league pitching coordinator for the Twins, I am going into this move having confidence in his ability to step into Detroit and help make an improvement. Maybe his set of eyes can help the Tigers find some underpriced relief pitching, whether they sign a minor league deal with a guy or find someone with major league experience. I think he’s a good hire.

But could they have done better?

That’s the negative — Leo Mazzone is unemployed and you don’t go for him? Mazzone is best known for being the pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves during the glory years, and though good talent can make a coach look better, the talented hurlers for the Braves gave Mazzone a lot of credit. When he went to Baltimore, I think we saw what happens when there’s just not as much natural talent. But take nothing away from Mazzone, he’s a heck of a coach. The Freep reports he was even interested in the job.

So, I’m excited going forward. You don’t always need to make the biggest name hire. It’s about finding talented people who fit the organization. I’ll just trust that’s what Dave Dombrowski did. But I continue to find it curious that Mazzone did not rate even an interview.

Additional reading: (hat tip Ian)

• Lip Service
• Baseball America

I know this isn’t technically a blog post, but I did a blog interview with a local sports blogger who works at the Northern Michigan University college newspaper, so there’s an assortment of Tigerrific thoughts if you’re interested.

To be fair, I haven’t heard a lot of call by Tigers fans or the media for them to sign CC Sabathia. But I’d just like to get the opinion out there: don’t even think about it. Yes, the Tigers have a few rotation questions to sort out this off season. But much like the Tigers should not sign Frankie Rodriguez despite needing a closer, this would be an incredibly short-sighted idea to chase Sabathia.

Why? In short, his arm is gonna fall off! Well, maybe not quite that bad. But he saw a substantial jump in innings over the past few years. In 2006, he tossed 192. In 2007, he threw 256 when you include the Indians’ long playoff run. In 2008, he threw 256-2/3 when you include the Brewers’ playoff run. Ten of his games were complete games. Both years he led baseball in innings pitched. So that’s nearly 513 innings in two years. I don’t doubt that Sabathia can take a higher pitching load than the average guy. And I know there are pitchers out there — very rare, but they exist — who can pitch a load like that without showing some dropoff.

And then there’s the whole American League/National League thing. The A.L. might be the junior circuit, but it’s senior when it comes to talent. Any AL fans looking at Sabathia’s final three months and projecting it back to their teams are making a mistake. Sabathia’s ERA in Cleveland was 3.80 this year. One can only surmise he’s going to pay the piper in some form for all the inning he has thrown. I don’t know if he could be looking at Justin Verlander’s 2008 numbers (PUKE) but he will regress, I am sure.

Add to that he’s looking for a nine-figure contract, that likely pays him $20M pers season for five to seven years, and you see the risk that the “winner” of the Sabathia sweepstakes it taking on.

The Tigers don’t need to add that kind of risk. They’ve got enough risks. And like I said, I don’t think the Tigers would even enter the running, so this post is all academic. The Yankees are said to be looking to make a big push for Sabathia. I say, let them have him.

One of the crazier announcements in the waning days of the season was that 2009’s starting outfielder will be Carlos Guillen.

WHAT?!

Guillen. The guy who couldn’t play shortstop, so they moved him to first. He butchered any semblance of fielding at first base, and fortunately for Guillen, Miguel Cabrera did likewise at third base, so the switcheroo made sense. And now Guillen is playing in left.

It’s not totally unheard of. Teams aren’t putting their best athletes in left field (see: Barry Bonds, Craig Monroe, Marcus Thames, Manny Ramirez, et. al.) But can a guy with a couple of bum wheels and an arm that can’t always direct the baseball to the center of a teammate’s mitt be expected to last the whole season out there? I just don’t think so.

The reasoning is pretty simple, I’m guessing, from the Tigers’ point of view.

Guillen has to play baseball. He’s paid a lot to do that. Brandon Inge is a better third baseman and can’t play catcher worth phooey. Some player-to-be-acquired is a better shortstop than Edgar Renteria. And the home-run hitting Cabbage has put down his claim to first base for the next seven or so years. Oh, and there’s three designated hitters on the team but only one DH slot in the American League.  Unless the Tigers find a way to move Gary Sheffield to another team (or unless Sheffield comes back with a shoulder healthy enough to play left field, which to me remains the better solution), Guillen’s gotta play somewhere. Left field appears to be the position of least resistance.

That is, if his body survives the wear and tear. I seriously wonder if this aging, injured club isn’t just setting itself up to lose a left fielder to the disabled list.

So you can put me down in the category of “don’t like it, but don’t see a real great alternative as this team is currently composed.” Hopefully some things change this offseason.

First off, a big thanks to everyone who congratulated me, whether by blogposts or dropping by to comment or on facebook or by e-mail or whatever. It all means a lot to me. For those who don’t now what I’m talking about, I just buried the lede. I won first place in the sports columns category for my work at Marquette’s newspaper, The Mining Journal, from the Michigan Press Association. It’s nice to win something, but I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. But thanks again to everyone for their kind words. Here’s my latest column if you’d like a sample.

Second off, anyone who visits the site to read it will notice a substantial cleanup of the sidebars. I’m not going ad-free. I’m happy to accept text ads. But you’ll notice I thought I’d simplify things. No more visual stuff. Just text. Simple, like a blog should be. I feel like things got a bit off track and I wasn’t seeing a lot of benefit for uglying up the site.

And finally, I guess anyone who visited the site will notice a substantial dropoff in blogging. It wasn’t that I only blog the good times. Lord knows, it’s easier to blog the bad times than the good. There’s just so much more content when you’re criticizing and looking for solutions than when everything is peachy. But it just started feeling like a chore I had to get done. With real-life work to do — the start of fall sports season is a busy time for a college/preps sports writer — and a few other things, I just didn’t find myself thinking a lot about Tigers baseball or having much to say. I know I wasn’t going to give it up totally, but for the time being, i had to take a break and recharge. I don’t know that I’m fully ready to jump in with both feet, but I think I can dedicate a bit more time to blogging so I’m going to try to do that and get back into the routine.

A message for my fellow bloggers out there: Don’t lose the routine! It is so hard to get it back!

Fortunately, there’s plenty of issues to blog about. The team was unnaturally awful. But was 2008 a fluke, or do the high number of injuries in 2007-08 point out to us a not-so-hidden flaw in the makeup of the team? How much blame should GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland take? How do they get the Tigers back on track? Who’s going to catch? Who’s gonna play shortstop? Why in the world is Carlos Guillen playing in left field and how long could that experiment possibly last? Who’s going to be in the rotation next year? Is anyone from that bullpen worth bringing back? And if so, in what roles?

I’ll try to answer a quetion every two or three days and keep up with any breaking news in the middle.

Let’s give this blogging thing a try again!

I feel like I’ve abandoned the blog — I guess I have. Sorry for that. I’ve been keeping busy and haven’t even had much opportunity to see the Tigers play. And when I do turn on the TV they’re losing 9-0 to the Royals. There haven’t been a lot of issues to debate or analyze anyway as this team lamely plays out the season. But I promise a new look and a new commitment to blogging coming up this offseason!

So it’s been a week without an update. I apologize for that. Between the Tigers stinking up the joint, the start of prep football season, working nights labor day weekend and working the morning shift (which, as I work for an afternoon paper, means starting around 4:30 a.m.) this week and trying to remember my name by noon… It’s a nightmare of a swing. Well, it’s no excuse for not updating more frequently. It just is what it is.

A few issues to comment on:

• Kenny Rogers’ struggles

It’s sad to see he’s lost it. And it’s obvious, he has lost it. He knows it. You know when a player is that age, and has had that long a career, it can just escape just like that. Kind of like Todd Jones. Of course, Jones had an injury. (Does Kenny?) But same concept. Both aging pitchers fell off the table.

Unfortunately, fan perception was not totally balanced there. I am as guilty as the next guy, admittedly, for not giving Jones the credit he deserved. But I was happy to see Rogers given proper thanks for all he did for Detroit — and let’s face it, the man was incredible in 2006, both as a mentor and pitcher, and after his performance in the playoffs I will forever think of him as a Tiger even if most remember him as a Ranger. I don’t know if that will turn out to be his last start in Detroit. Maybe not. But in case it was, I’m just so thankful we had his pouncing kitten defense antics to watch for three years.

I imagine he’d want to be closer to his family if he retired from pitching, maybe step away from baseball for a bit. I don’t know. But I hope there’s always a position with the organization in the coaching ranks if he ever wanted one.

• Todd Jones

Bonus comment: I hope Todd Jones can get a chance to step out of the dugout to a standing ovation before the season ends. Put in a pass-or-fail position where his failures were scorned and his passings were forgotten, Jones was probably the most underrated Tiger this decade.

• Miguel Cabrera

Awesome. Totally awesome. I know. That is neither a particularly analytical comment nor a surprise to anyone who has watched the Tigers the past two-three months. But holy crap. He has been… awesome. Think if he did it for a whole year. Or heck, 80% of the year. He’s going to bring home AL MVP honors while wearing the Olde English D. That trade was 100% a winner.

• Off topic, but I’m rooting for the Brewers

Funny how Brewers fans came out of the closet … kinda like Tigers hats suddenly reappeared on heads in 2004 and jerseys were in droves in 2006. But I know too many to see their baseball hopes crushed by a September swoon. So think positive thoughts for Beertown, hey!

• Vance Wilson indebted to the Tigers

Kind of like with Troy Percival a few years back, acting as a scout when he could not pitch. It’s nice to see the Tigers continue to be a classy organization, and to hear players like Wilson feel loyal to the club because of it.

• This shocks me

600 fans saw the Marlins play? HUH! Can’t they move to Grand Rapids or something? I don’t care if it’s Grand Rapids, Minn. How the heck does a major league club only get 600 in attendance?

• The callups and whatnot

I haven’t actually been able to watch a complete Tigers game yet since they occured. So I have no real opinions. I’m glad Clay Rapada is back. I thought he should have been around for a lot more of the season. He deserves a real look for next year. I think it’s nice to see Mike Hessmen is up and getting regular playing time. I have a hunch he’s just a AAAA player, but hey, he’s living the dream, cheer him on. I’m curious to see how Dusty Ryan will do, because I guess Dane Sardinha just isn’t the answer as a backup catcher.

• Brandon Inge as catcher

I was talking to Ian, the voice behind Bless You Boys, on IM during the game yesterday. We were discussing how we thought Inge’s defense at catcher wasn’t the greatest and wondering if he’d improve during the offseason, knowing he is in all likelyhood “the man” for next season. And then he pulls off just a great double play, his second of the game. So you know what? I think he’ll be just find. I feel a bit uneasy, maybe, but he’s going to be just fine. I just hope he finds his bat. A full year behind the plate just has “mendoza line” written all over it. No wonder he prefers third base. . .

*sigh*

How many games are left this season?

Ay yi yi.

Multiple issues to opine on today:

• Francis Beltran was designated after Monday’s game so Chris Lambert could come up to the majors for his first major league start Tuesday.

Lambert is interesting only because he came to the organization in the Mike Maroth deal.  A former first-round pick, Lambert has been doing awesome in AAA. I don’t know if he has the stuff to back up the numbers, but it should be interesting to see if he can become another strange success story like Armando Galarraga and Zach Miner.

Beltran was, you know, whatever. No real loss there.

• Dontrelle Willis was hurt in today’s start in Toledo. He left with forearm tightness after one inning.

This is just a lost season for D-Train. Fluke injuries like his knee being hyperextended his second start. Strange stuff like totally losing his control. Now forearm tightness. I’m going to agree with Ian of Bless You Boys, who said somewhere in his game thread today that it’s probably just best to shut Dontrelle down and get ready for next year. Everything seems to be going wrong with this Tigers organization for a second straight year. Nothing to be gained in pitching through any pain.

• Carlos Guillen has back spasms flaring up again and left Monday’s game early.

Actually he apparently left a tilt. Didn’t that phrase go out with Hometown 9? Cagers? Gridders? Spikers? Oh, whoops. I’m off topic. Anyway. Guillen’s health wasn’t known by Jim Leyland in his postgame interview and I can’t find any updates. Leyland didn’t seem to think it would require the disabled list. At this point it honestly doesn’t matter one iota. I knw you can’t shut him down. He woudln’t like it much. But as long as we acknowledge the Tigers aren’t going to do anything worth noting this season and treat the health of the players with the most importance, that’s kinda what I’m harping on.

• Holy crap, the Indians are going the Tigers in the standings.

It doesn’t really matter. But you know, uhm, Detroit better win these next two games. If you’re gonna tank, just do it a bit less than Cleveland is all I’m asking.

Nate Robertson likely spending the rest of the year in the bullpen for the Tigers is a good thing, and not (just) for the most obvious reason: Mr. 4 Runs was becoming Mr. 6 Runs. The Tigers have to start working on the 2009 bullpen now. And seeing which mediocre starters might be of better service as one or two inning late-inning guys is a pretty good use of the final five weeks of the year, if you ask me.

Robertson was obviously at one time a pretty good starter. I nicknamed him Tough Luck Nate because for the 2006 season and a chunk of 2007, he seemed to frequently find himself on the wrong end of 2-0 or 2-1 games. Ah, to have that Nate back. But lately, even his quality starts tended to end up badly. He’d allow two or three runs through six innings only to give up another two in the seventh. And most recently, he’d give up those two or three runs in the fourth, third, second, even first innings. In his most recent start, he allowed FIVE home runs. FIVE! That’s like, insane.

Nate calls this the lowest point in his career. And I’m sure it really is. But I really think no names should be taken out of the running when considering a closer for next year. Maybe a bulldog and battler like Robertson would be great in the ninth inning. Obviously the home runs are a concern. And if he doesn’t get his slider back, which is said is the missing pitch this season,  I don’t even want to consider him in the ninth inning. But a healthy Robertson with all his pitches could be a late inning boon. It could help revitalize his career and the Tigers’ bullpen.

I’m not saying it will, but I’m saying it’s worth considering the possibility.