Pudge Had to Stay

The Tigers have announced that Pudge will be back for another season with Detroit. This is a move that seems to be split almost 50/50 among Tiger fans. Personally though I don't think the Tigers had a choice. With the $3 million buyout they would have had to pay him it would have cost that much or more to get a catcher that was near or better than Pudge. Posada will command more than Pudge on the open market and LaDuca, probably the only other FA catcher that could be in this conversation, was injury prone this year and would command a decent amount plus then you add in the $3 million and you might as well resign Pudge. I am no fan of the 9 walks but I think Pudge might reassert himself like he did in '06 after a dismal '05 season. At least now the Tigers can focus on bringing Jones and Rogers back and getting a SS and a left handed bat for left. Nothing big, right?

What the Heck was Pinella Thinking!

One thing I have learned in running a baseball team for 8 years is to never look ahead. In the past I have tried to set up pitching matchups in the playoffs by looking ahead and then end up losing a game because we didn't throw our best to start. That is what Sweet Lou was doing last night by taking Zambrano out having thrown only 85 pitches. He thought he could get two games from Carlos but now they might not even get to that second game he could pitch!