Goodbye Pudge, Hello Farnsworth

I am not really sure if I can add much perspective to this whole situation, but I will try.

Yesterday, the Tigers traded Pudge Rodriguez for a journeyman relief pitcher, Kyle Farnsworth. Most Tiger fans will remember Farnsworth and the hard throwing pitcher who likes to tackle people.

I found out about this trade on the golf course. My natural reaction was "Thats all we got for Pudge?" I also assumed that this move was a move of surrender and that the front office believed that the season was over. I was quite angry and pulled my next drive into the woods. Thanks Dave Dombrowski.

But, I have had some time to cool off and I have re-evaluated things and looked a bit more at the numbers. So here are my levelheaded reactions.

Firstly, the Tigers are not giving up on the season in any way. The Tigers traded from a position of strength, especially, given that catching is generally weak across the leage. A tandum of Inge and Pudge was a lot better than most teams. Most teams wish they could have one good catcher, the Tigers had 2 serviceable ones. And, Remember, the Tigers do not have a very strong farm system anymore. Trading a catcher was a reaction of the Tigers really having a surplus of catchers.

Secondly, while the Tigers did trade away a very popular player and a big name, they didn't trade away a great player. Pudge had a decent batting average of .295, but that is one of the most fraudulent averages of all time. He only has 32 RBI's and 5 home runs. The dude never gets hits in the clutch. Friday's game against the White Sox was a perfect example. 1 out, bases loaded and Pudge hits a ground ball double play. While Inge is hitting an awful .228 average, they both have similar on base percentages and Inge has a better slugging percentage. Also, Inge has just as many RBI's in like 120 less At Bats. In addition, that low batting average could be attributed to not playing every day. If Inge were to hit for the same amount of power but raise the average about .025 points; the Tigers would have a very solid backstop. Very solid, in addition to the solid defense he already has.

Third, the Tigers got in return for Pudge something they needed the most: a solid reliever. I was unaware of the decent year that Farnsworth is having. I though he just continued to have a rough year like last year. He has pitched over 44 innings in relief, 17 walks vs. 43 SO, and an ERA of 3.65. Those are pretty solid numbers, and better than most of our relievers. The 11 HR's scares me a bit, but Comerica is a bigger ball park than Yankee stadium, so those numbers could be inflated. The bottom line is that if Farnsworth can continue those numbers, he helps this team, a lot.

Fourth, and most importantly, I still think the Tigers could have gotten a little more. According to SI.com, the Marlins offered us a package of prospects for him. While Farnsworth looks like a good addition to this team, I still think they could have probably sucked out a decent prospect from the Yankees as well. Given the Yankee's strong need for a catcher, it seems that the Tigers would be able to get a little more than just a slightly above average reliever for him. Im not asking for Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy, but a mid level prospect in addition who may be useful in the future. I may be vastly overestimating the value of Pudge to other teams (especially given his lack of consistency in the clutch), but still on name alone he should be worth more.

Overall, I guess I like the trade. Farnsworth helps a team with a lot of recent question marks in the bullpen. Also, having Inge as the full time catcher helps him for the future and doesn't hurt us much for the present. However, had the Tigers gotten another young arm in the deal I would have loved it.