More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Marcus Thames was removed from the Detroit Tigers' 40-man roster, making him a free agent and likely ending his six-year career with the team.

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And so goes the Slugger Thames. 

With the offseason officially under way, the Detroit Tigers needed to make some decisions to create room on their 40-man roster.  That process has begun, according to Jason Beck.  Outfielder Marcus Thames and catcher Matt Treanor were removed from the roster.  Both players are now free agents and can sign with any other team.

Those moves free up space on  the 40-man roster for Joel Zumaya and Jeff Larish, both of whom had to be reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.  Infielder Michael Hollimon was also taken off the 60-day DL, but was sent to Triple-A Toledo.

This season, Thames batted .252/.323/.453 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs, the lowest totals of his six-year stint with Detroit.  He was out from mid-April to early June, due to a pulled rib cage muscle. 

But even when Thames returned to the lineup, he never provided the power that the Tigers needed.  May through July was usually when Thames could be counted on to bring the thunder, only to disappear once August began.  But this year, he was never able to put together that sustained hot streak.  As a result (along with Ryan Raburn's emergence), Thames really only got off the bench when the lineup needed a DH against left-handed pitching.

Thames's Tigers career ends with a .245/.307/.501 batting line, 99 home runs, and 255 RBIs in 485 games played.

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  Double-A Erie manager (and former Tigers third baseman) Tom Brookens says he'd be interested in a major league coaching job if one was offered.  Will the Tigers offer him the first base coach position vacated by Andy Van Slyke? 

  Clete Thomas had his high school jersey retired on Wednesday.  Thomas wore No. 3 at Mosley High School in Lynn Haven, FL.  (I'm sure Gary Sheffield would've given that up willingly.)  It's the first baseball number the school's ever retired.  (You can see a list of his prep achievements here.)

Here's more on the ceremony, including video, from a local news station.  (via 1baseball34 on Twitter)

  If you want to get a look at prospects Casper Wells and Andrew Oliver, MLB Network is broadcasting the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Showcase Saturday night at 8:15 p.m. ET.  (via MLive.com)

  On his blog, Jason Beck shared some projections from the Bill James Handbook.  And they look pretty kindly on Ryan Raburn next season.  (Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez are also viewed favorably, which would make a huge difference for next year's lineup.)

  More minors: At Fangraphs, Marc Hulet looks at five Tigers minor leaguers (current or former) who are worthy of mention, but probably won't be listed among the team's top 10 prospects.

  Jarrod Washburn says he'd "be surprised" if the Tigers offered him a contract for next season.  Washburn sounds like a smart guy.  If they were interested, Detroit has exclusive negotiating rights with Washburn, who says his knee feels better after surgery, until November 20. 

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More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Don't look so surprised, Rick Porcello. You're the Detroit Tigers Rookie of the Year.

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In what might be the least surprising development of the offseason (which is either now a month old or a day old, depending on when you consider baseball season to have ended), Rick Porcello was named the Tigers Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association today.

But saying there was really no other choice for the award doesn't mean Porcello wasn't hugely deserving of the honor.   

Kid Rick went 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 31 starts for the Tigers this season.  He had the second-highest win total on the team's pitching staff and the third-lowest ERA among the starting rotation.  By the end of the season, Porcello was the Tigers' second-most dependable starting pitcher.  In September, he went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA. 

If the Tigers couldn't start Justin Verlander in that AL Central tiebreaker on October 6, Porcello was the pitcher who gave them the best chance to win the division.  For a 20-year-old who seemed ticketed for Double-A before the season, yet surprised everyone by being the team's best pitcher in Spring Training, that's probably the best indicator of just how successful his rookie season was.

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More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

Detroit Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge underwent successful surgery to correct patellar tendonitis in both of his knees on Tuesday. He's expected to recover in time for Spring Training.

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Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge underwent surgery on both of his injured knees yesterday at the Detroit Medical Center, as scheduled.  And according to the team, the procedures to correct his patellar tendinitis were successful.

Dr. Stephen Lemos of the DMC performed the surgery, which involved the debridement and repair of Inge's left and right patellar tendons.  Inge won't be able to put any weight on his knees for six weeks.  After that, if all goes according to plan, he should be able to begin a strengthening and rehabiliation program.  And from there, Inge should be ready for the beginning of Spring Training in February.

(I don't know about you, but I had to look up what "debridement" was.  It sounds like what might happen to Don Draper on Mad Men, but it actually refers to the removal of dead or damaged tissue.  Thank you, Lynn Henning, for being the one reporter who bothered to explain this for readers.)

As John Lowe pointed out in today's Freep, Inge started 157 games at third base this season, more than any other third baseman.  He also took over as a defensive replacement in four other games.  Only two other players in the American League played in 161 games. 

I know some people think Inge actually hurt the Tigers at times by trying to tough it out when his knees clearly prohibited him (most especially when batting).  And others believe Inge gets too much unwarranted praise from Tigers fans.  Regardless, it's pretty amazing that the guy played in that many games, dealing with that kind of physical difficulty.

  At The Detroit Tigers Weblog, Bill Ferris looks at the team's 40-man roster, which currently has 44 players on it (due to some being protected on the disabled list).  So the Tigers have some decisions to make, especially as some minor leaguers will need to be protected.  Bill speculates who the first cuts will likely be.

  The San Francisco Giants re-signing second baseman Freddy Sanchez last week seemed like a harmless enough transaction.  But Tiger Geist immediately pounced on how that could affect the Tigers.  Will Sanchez's deal determine Placido Polanco's price on the free agent market?  Could Polanco be worth more?

  Lynn Henning talked to Jim Leyland about retaining Lloyd McClendon as hitting coach.  Leyland called it "a legitimate question" but doesn't think McClendon is the reason for the Tigers' offensive struggles this season.

  Tigers Tracks responds to Steve Kornacki's report that the Tigers have three candidates to take over Andy Van Slyke's vacancy on the coaching staff.  The three finalists are minor league coordinators Gene Roof and Mike Rojas, and Double-A Erie manager Tom Brookens.

  Jason Beck has re-opened his inbox (mailbag) for the offseason and addresses two key questions on fans' minds: Will the team pursue a veteran closer in free agency and could Brent Dlugach be a suitable replacement for Adam Everett at shortstop?

  Aaron Gleeman lists five second basemen the Minnesota Twins should look at signing for next season.  Guess who the top choice is.

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What would be a worse gift idea for a Detroit Tigers fan this holiday season?  An Edgar Renteria bobblehead or a Gary Sheffield bobblehead?

(I'm kind of impressed by the Sheff bobblehead's likeness.  Usually, these things look nothing like the actual person.)

What, no Todd Jones bobblehead?  Maybe a Jacque Jones model on super-clearance?

These are among the offerings available through MLB.com "Gift Finder." 

I don't mean to poke too much fun, however, because if you play around a bit, it could actually a pretty clever tool to come up with Tigers-related gifts for different people you know.

But you can never go wrong with an authentic jersey or cap.  I'm just sayin'.

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Johnny Damon turned Game 4 of the World Series in the Yankees' favor with his disciplined hitting and smart baserunning. Could a Detroit Tigers batter have influenced a game's outcome in similar fashion?

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Here's a question for you, Tigers fans: If you were watching Game 4 of the World Series last night, and were still tuned in for the ninth inning and Johnny Damon's pivotal at-bat against Brad Lidge, did you find yourself wondering if anyone in Detroit's current lineup would've (or could've) pulled off a battle like that?

The Yankees were down to their last out of the inning, with the score tied 4-4.  And Damon apparently knew he couldn't handle Lidge's slider, because each time he saw it, he fouled it off.  For three straight pitches, to be exact. 

So Lidge knew he wouldn't get Damon out with the slider, and began throwing his fastball.  The first two were way out of the strike zone, trying to get Damon to chase, but he wouldn't go for it. 

With the count 3-2, Lidge had to come in with a strike - and probably knew he wouldn't get one with his slider - so he stayed with the fastball.  Damon fouled those off, too.  Then he finally got the pitch he could do something with, a fastball out over the plate.  Damon slapped it to left for a single.

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A few years ago, I got to write a magazine article about the clubhouse assistant whose job it was to rub the baseballs down with mud for the Detroit Tigers.  Some people don't know that mud is used to take some of the sheen off the baseballs and make them easier to grip.  This used to be the umpires' job, but they hated doing it, so teams began having their own guys get their hands (and the baseballs) dirty.

It's not just any old mud that's used to rub down the baseballs, either.  It's a special sort of mud that comes in a jar, called Delaware Mud.  Or to be even more specific, Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud.

Why do I bring this up?  Because CNN ran a story on the man who harvests this mud, shovels a bunch of it into barrels, strains and cures it, puts it into jars, and ships it off to every team.  Each team requires only two 32 oz. jars per season.  Very little goes on each ball.  Maybe about a dime-sized dot.  But it's plenty to give the baseball a grip.  And you can definitely tell the difference. 

There's definitely a technique to rubbing the baseballs down, as you'll see in the video.  And when you have to go through five or six-dozen balls, you get fast at it, taking off the gloss in about two or three turns.  (At least four players or coaches passed by while we were in the hallway and said, "Ask him about rubbing my balls," "Yeah, he rubs those balls real good," or some variation of the two.) 

I was allowed to try it a couple of times (which a certain $18 million right fielder eyed suspiciously) and didn't get it right.  I got too much mud on the ball, especially on the seams.  "Yeah, the pitcher would definitely toss that one back," I was told.

Okay, enough about me.  Here's the video:

(via Motown Sports)

And what the heck, I'll include the article I wrote, after the jump.  (Along with the bad photo I took.)  The publication in question no longer exists (folding more than two years ago), so I'm sure there's no issue with reprinting it now.

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