Ken Davidoff's baseball insider has ranked the 10 best general managers in the game. The Tigers' Dave Dombrowski is #7 on the list.
I'm not entirely sure I agree, though what really raises my eyebrows is Philadelphia's Pat Gillick getting the top spot. This is the same guy who traded Bobby Abreu last year to write off the season, but three weeks later got Jamie Moyer three weeks later to fight for a playoff spot. But the Phillies winning the NL East this season makes him look pretty good.
(via The Detroit Tigers Weblog)
MLB Trade Rumors has listed their Top 50 Free Agents, while also speculating where they'll end up. They see Eric Gagne (#20) going to Detroit (more on that in another post), along with Geoff Jenkins (#30). (Judging from recent rumblings, signing Jenkins would be news to the Tigers.) Kenny Rogers (#28) is also expected to return to Motown.
I'm not going to pretend that I completely understand Probablistic Model of Range yet, but I'll get there. (I just need a decent night's sleep and a strong cup of coffee.) Anyway, Baseball Musings posted the 2007 rankings for PMR, and the Tigers were among the 10 best teams at turning balls in play into outs.
On Bill James' list of the best young players in baseball at SI.com, Detroit's Justin Verlander is ranked #15, while Curtis Granderson is 22nd on the list.
(via The Daily Fungo)
James also ranked each team's pool of young talent, and to confirm the fears of those who think the Tigers are getting too old, they were ranked near the bottom of list at #28. (Only two teams were worse!)