Morning Prowl: Nothing up on 2B, closer fronts; Verlander has superpowers

• Like I said, that whole Orlando Hudson telephone game the Free Press bought into was empty. MLB.com's Jason Beck talked to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and reports:  Nothing going on Tigers.

"We expect him to be our second baseman," team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said Monday morning. "We have not changed on Sizemore." Without mentioning Hudson by name, Dombrowski pretty much shot down the rumor of pursuing Hudson to replace Placido Polanco.

• Another report from Beck has Dombrowski "content" with the Tigers' closer situation. Beck looks at a few of the other possibilities, including Kevin Gregg and internal options.
• Detroit4Lyfe has been running a few looks at the Tigers received in the Curtis Grandreson-Edwin Jackson trade. Writeups on Max Scherzer, Phil Coke, and Daniel Schlereth have already been posted. Austin Jackson will follow.

• Mike Hessman's signing with the Mets was announced. He signed a major league contract, but one with an invitation to spring training. Good luck to the longtime Tigers' minor leaguer.

• Does Justin Verlander have superpowers? Samara imagines him throwing fireballs -- literally -- in part one of a series at Roar of the Tigers.

• John B of Tiger Geist shares his baseball predictions for the next decade. Among his expectations are cutting-edge managers and improved team defense. He lists six in all.

• Via a FanShot from Ahtrap, we learn Rick Porcello is among the best cost-effective players in the game in USA Today's opinion.
• In another FanShot, courtesy of DBerg, we have a Hard Ball Times story by Jeff Sackmann detailing Alan Trammell's Hall of Fame credentials.