Evening Prowl: Still Roaring, D-Town Baseball, Kelly Johnson, and Those in Favor of the Grandy Trade

  With the demise of MVN, many have wondered what will happen to Roar of the Tigers, Samara Pearlstein's fantastically illustrated blog. Thankfully for us all, Sam will keep on trucking, and has moved RotT to a Wordpress site. You can find the new address here, and check out the Floating Head Raft of Tigers.

(I also feel the need to point out - whether Sam would prefer me to or not - that her self-portrait is less than flattering. I always admire an illustrator/cartoonist willing to portray themselves as flawed, but Sam isn't being fair to herself, as funny as the image may be.)

  As the smoke still clears from last week's roster upheaval, Tiger Tales' Lee Panas looks at where the Detroit lineup, rotation, and bullpen stand right now. Left and center field are question marks, as are the final two spots in the rotation.

  Whenever the Tigers make a deal involving Edwin Jackson, D-Town Baseball is on it. After a year-long absence from the Tigersosphere (since the Tigers acquired Jackson from the Rays), Eric Jackson (no relation, I assume) posted some thoughts on the big deal. Eric's in favor of the trade, and lists four reasons why.

  Kelly Johnson is one of the non-tendered players that's drawn much interest among Tigers fans. Dan Wade took a look at him for Baseball Digest Daily, and expects his batting average to bounce back in 2010. His walk rate and defense are concerns, however.

(Hat tip to The Detroit Tigers Weblog)

  Tigers Tracks' "By the Numbers" series has reached Number 9. And with that comes the first current Tiger on John Parent's list. Next year's presumed left fielder, Carlos Guillen, gets profiled.

  Also liking the Granderson-Jackson trade is Blake VandeBunte of The Spot Starters. While Blake thinks Dave Dombrowski has some more work to do, he likes that Brandon Lyon was let go and that most of the roster has been shopped around this offseason.

  It kind of snuck out there over the weekend, but the Tigers are apparently not going to be making a serious bid (perhaps we can assume that means no bid at all) on Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

  One more in favor of the Grandy trade: Rogo at DesigNate Robertson wonders if the Tigers got some value for a player on the decline while he was still marketable.

  It's almost a week old now, but if you missed it, The Dugout responds to Jim Leyland's expressed belief that managers and players shouldn't be able to argue out-safe calls at first base. Who would've guessed that Magglio Ordonez was such a skilled debater?