Is it because we’re so close to spring training that there just aren’t many storylines to be had? First Vladimir Guerrero, now Michael Young. You all are aware of the soap opera going on in Texas, and someone somewhere (I heard a rumor it might be Jayson Stark again; that guy needs to stop making recommendations about the Tigers) tried to play matchmaker between Texas and Detroit. It never made sense to me, but the story just won’t die, even though there is nothing happening. I’m not sure why the story’s not dying, but there’s really no fit. The Tigers have a bunch of second basemen as is. And the talk about giving them Carlos Guillen in a bad contract swap isn’t practical for either team. It’s not practical for the Rangers because Guillen’s coming off knee surgery and likely will start the season on the DL, and it’s not practical for the Tigers because you’d be trading someone making $13 million and is a free agent at the end of this year for someone who is making $16 million for the next three years. At any rate, it has taught me something important. There have been times over the past four years where I thought the Tigers have handled certain situations quite badly (I can think of three specific instances off the top of my head, including last month’s debacle), but after watching Michael Young talk about how he feels he was manipulated and lied to, I’ve realized it could have been far, far worse. As bad as the Tigers handled their own situations, it never got that ugly, or if it did, it was never made public. Perhaps it was just because the specific players involved in those instances all have demonstrated themselves to be class acts, so they either kept their feelings quiet or they never held a grudge in the first place, but either way, I’m grateful that it never erupted like this situation has. This has got to be excruciating for Michael Young fans.
On a happier note, spring training is just around the corner, and the joy is ever so slowly starting to come back to me after what was an extremely dark and depressing January (as evidenced by my Twitter avatar, which has gone from “broken heart” to “candlelight vigil,” for lack of a better term). Helping that along are the photos of Roger DeWitt, who posted his first spring training Flickr album from Lakeland today. I don’t recognize a lot of the guys in the pictures (since I really don’t know the prospects that well), but it looks as though Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth, Robbie Weinhardt, Alex Avila, and maybe Phil Coke (not sure) are all there already (Well, Verlander lives in Lakeland, so he’s probably been there quite a while now). It won’t be long before I’ll be in Lakeland along with them. Hopefully I can snag a big scoop, or at the very least, make friends in high places, so to speak.
On a happier note, spring training is just around the corner, and the joy is ever so slowly starting to come back to me after what was an extremely dark and depressing January (as evidenced by my Twitter avatar, which has gone from “broken heart” to “candlelight vigil,” for lack of a better term). Helping that along are the photos of Roger DeWitt, who posted his first spring training Flickr album from Lakeland today. I don’t recognize a lot of the guys in the pictures (since I really don’t know the prospects that well), but it looks as though Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth, Robbie Weinhardt, Alex Avila, and maybe Phil Coke (not sure) are all there already (Well, Verlander lives in Lakeland, so he’s probably been there quite a while now). It won’t be long before I’ll be in Lakeland along with them. Hopefully I can snag a big scoop, or at the very least, make friends in high places, so to speak.
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