Pitching and Padlocks

Its kind of unbelievable to think that an entire population of people making millions of dollars could be so unsatisfied. Its also unbelievable to me that a business owner would put their franchise millions of dollars in the red in the name of player satisfaction.

I'll never understand the mind of an NBA player or Owner. I don't think if I was either of them I'd understand. The thought of making $3 million per year instead of $5 million per year doesn't really sound that bad. I guess its the thought of taking a pay cut in general that isn't sitting well with most people.

Joe Torre once said that a pay cut is a pay cut, it doesn't matter how much you make. In his case, he was right. He was working within a healthy economic system, and managing the richest baseball franchise in the world. His pay cut wasn't about saving a league, or getting fiscally lean. It was about a new ownership sending a message that they're changing the landscaping of their business.

Its sad to see so many good players show their ugly side in this type of situation. Comments have already started that players have the same financial burdens and challenges that the rest of the common public have. I guess that's a matter of perspective. Maybe in some cases, its true, because while we might spend $150,000 on a house, they spend $1,500,000 on theirs.

I truly don't feel bad for either side of the controversy. No one made the owners sign large contracts to bad players. They simple took a gamble that if they threw money at their situation, they'd end up profiting tons of money. Its true, the NBA was in good shape as far as popularity, but let's face it, if a team doesn't even approach winning, they won't sell tickets.

But what about the class of 2011? Should we feel bad for them? Sure, some of them. There were seniors that had no choice but to leave college and enter the NBA draft. Then there were others, such as Michigan's Darius Morris, who had one good season, and decided to leave for the NBA. Morris ended up a mid second round pick. He's one of many that left college early in search of a professional basketball career. He's now locked out, and cannot continue a true pursuit of evolving his skills even further. One more year in college, and he could have cracked the top half of the first round. Do I feel bad for him? Sure, but not much.

They're saying it might be April until we see a new deal signed. Some people are saying that another 50 game season could be on the horizon. In either situation, its bad news for the NBA. Their image is already tarnished, and this will just add to it.

The Tigers need Pitching and Hitting

I totally get the concept of "Pitching Wins Games". We've just recently watched the Tigers give up 30 runs in 2 games. Last night's loss to San Francisco also showed that some nights you need another guy in the bullpen that can help out your closer. You don't always want to have to turn to a kid for his MLB debut.

But let's face it. There are two flaws in the Tigers' game play. The first being one or two more starting pitchers, and the second being the bottom of the lineup.

Raburn and Inge are rally killers.

When Inge went up to bat with the bases loaded in the 9th, I posted on facebook that I'd be surving burgers at my house if he hit a HR. I almost took it a step further and said if he got a hit at all. He did get a hit, but let's face it, it was a rare moment.

Ryan Raburn started the season out hitting pretty good. Since then he's been terrible. I have a theory that part of it has to do with the fact that he's also playing a position that he is simply not suited for. I think he knows it, and is trying to mold himself into a 2nd baseman, but ultimately all his energy is going into that, and detouring him from working on his hitting. To me he looks tired, and he's always hanging the bat on his shoulders.

Most people are saying that they need to go out and get pitching. Forget the bottom of the line up, they score runs. The problem with that theory is they don't always, and often times they need to rely on those guys, and get let down. Its gotten to the point where people have started asking where Will Rhymes is again.

Another problem is who do you trade away? The minor league system has a few prospects, but its not completely loaded up. You could potentially put together a package for a solid starting pitcher, but where does that leave you to fill the 3rd base or 2nd base gap? You don't necessarily need to replace offense, since its average at best, but you need to add at least 80 points of average to the line up. That's going to cost some assets.

So whatever Dombrowski does before July 31, he needs to think it through clearly, and not give in to the Detroit media pressure. Furbush is starting on Monday. What if he turned out to be a solid starter? Then you have 3, with Porcello and Penny able to have some quality starts. That might be reason enough to trade for an infield bat instead.

It will be a fun ride watching the Tigers and Indian swap spots at the top of the AL Central. Enjoy it, and don't get caught up in the drama.