I am beginning to feel like I am not a very good blogger, because all of my posts look so positive. Just wait, my Lions post is coming soon. Believe me, nothing but Fire and Brimstone on that topic. Today’s post has so much to it, that I might have to break it up into multiple posts, because it is such a large and big topic. And, also a favorite topic of mine.
Today I want to discuss the future of the Tigers single most important player. One that hasn’t even taken 1 swing in a Tigers uniform.
Miguel Cabrera is the Tigers franchise. It will be before the All Star break that he is the face of the Detroit Tigers (along side Justin Verlander). He will be a fan favorite. He will have amazing offensive numbers, and he will be one of the most popular athletes in Detroit.
That is, given that the Tigers can keep him in Detroit for longer than two years.
As much as I realize that Baseball is a team game, and as much as I realize just how incredibly important pitching is, Miguel Cabrera will still sell more jerseys and tickets than anyone else. Verlander threw a no hitter, Curtis Granderson will probably score a ton of runs, but as we all know Chicks dig the long ball. Its Miggy’s power that will make him the franchise player.
I really do not want to get into the financial aspect of signing him at this point, because i fear it will spur me off into another, “I hate the Yankees” tangents that I so love to set out upon. But what I do want to talk about is just how incredibly important Miguel Cabrera now is to the Tigers organization and how devastating it would be if we lost him.
Firstly, you all know the Tigers sacrificed everything they had from AAA down to get him. Our best hitting prospect is Scott Sizemore (and no he is not related to Grady, so that is not a good thing) or Jeff Larish. Perhaps these players could really make some big strides in their abilities, but most scouts are predicting these players to be nothing more than average Major League Players if they ever get here. Also, Sizemore played at Single-A West Michigan last summer and has a long way to go before making the jump to the majors. Miguel Cabrera is already a superstar at the age of most prospects. The contract Cabrera will likely get will be 6 (maybe 7) years long. Which is also important because outside of catcher, third base is the weakest position the Tigers have in their farm system. If you sign Cabrera long term, the need for top prospects is lower. The Tigers will already have their superstar to build around. They will their clean up hitter locked up for 6-7 years. Third base will not be a position of need for a long time, which will allow Dave Dombrowski and David Chad to find the best available players, instead of filling a need (like the desperate need for third basemen and catchers now).
Secondly, the Tigers have a lot of older position players. Obviously, Cabrera and Granderson do not count but the rest of the starters are not young. The main concern being Gary Sheffield. I love Gary, but injuries and age are a big concern around him these days. Magglio seems older than he really is because of his history with knee problems, but hopefully that is a worry of the past with the season he had last year. Obviously, Pudge is ancient in catcher years and also on the option year of his contract. I do not see Pudge as a Tiger next year especially because of Dombrowski’s comments about his strong desire to see Inge try catching again. Guillen is not young, but still will be around for a while (by the way, put it in stone that Guillen is gonna have a great year this year). But having young players like Cabrera and Granderson around allows you to take bigger risks on aging superstars like the Tigers have. Prospects also allow you to take these risks, but having young superstars already there just eases the worry all that much more.
Thirdly, If you dont get him, someone else will. Likely in the American League. In the National League there is LA, Chicago and the Mets who could pay his salary. There are a lot more in the AL. So, my guess is if you dont get him, you are looking at facing him in the playoffs.
Basically, my argument peaks with this analogy. If the Tigers cannot sign Cabrera because they just believe he is too expensive or whatever, where do they go now? In a few years, Sheffield, Maggs, Pudge, and Kenny are all gone and no Cabrera. They have no more internal options. Free agency is gonna be tough, and they have no more prospects left to trade to try and get great players. They might be a decent team, but probably not a playoff team. Just the addition of Cabrera probably puts them in playoff contention. Cabrera is a MVP. He is probably the addition of 7-8 wins a season. He is one of the top 5 players in the game. If the Tigers want to keep winning without having down years, Cabrera is the centerpiece of the master plan.
Not to mention Cabrera will sell tickets, expensive tickets. The Willis-Cabrera trade sold 4,500 more season tickets since the trade. People will pay to see this kid play. They will pay for the 11 dollar beers.
I know the Tigers want to sign him, and I know they arent stupid about how much to expect to pay him. I also know that Illitch isn’t afraid to spend a little money on this team. People will keep buying tickets if the Tigers keep winning, and they will keep winning built around great players like Verlander, Granderson and most importantly Miguel Cabrera. But if he wants to keep winning and keep filling that stadium, he has to spend the big money and keep this kid here for a long time.
Miguel Cabrera will have a statue created for him in centerfield at Comerica if he stays a Tiger.
Put it in Stone
(post "Our Franchise: All About the Money" coming soon).
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