Last week, I was asked by Casey Ford of Marquette's ESPN970 whether the offseason trade was a good trade or a great trade for the Tigers.
Looking at the stats for the players involved in the Winter Meetings deal, you could even add "one-sided" to the description of the deal.
The players deal by Detroit:
- Edwin Jackson -- 8.07 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 1-3 record
-
Curtis Granderson -- .225 batting average, .311 OBP, .375 slugging average, 2 home runs; disabled list
The players acquired by Detroit:
- Austin Jackson -- MLB-leading 40 hits, .367 average, .420 OBP, 5 SB
- Max Scherzer -- 4.23 ERA, 1-1 record
- Phil Coke -- 1.93 ERA, much-needed left-handed arm after Bobby Seay's injury
-
Daniel Schlereth -- not even needed in Detroit yet. 1.46 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12.1 innings in Triple A.
How can you grade something like that? A or A+? It has been excellent beyond any expectations. Some Yankees fans, on the other hand, are less thrilled. Others were more level-headed, of course. And that's the right position to take right now.
But before writing your grade in ink, it's important to check your calendar.
Mine says May 3.
That's not to say I don't view this trade as a success. So far it looks like the Tigers have gotten their fair share of young talent, a bit of salary relief to add a few pieces to the puzzle and the rare opportunity to keep winning games while having a transition year. The Tigers' scouts did a good job.
As Tigers fans, we have nothing to complain about.
Just be sure to keep a spoonful of perspective when thinking about it. I get the feeling some people out there would have been happy to swap the players one-on-one knowing what they do today. But asking "Granderson Who?" before 20 percent of the season has even been completed is a bit too much for me.
If you flipped Granderson's completely bad luck on balls in play (.267) with Jackson's unsustainable good luck (.500+), would you like this trade nearly as much?
Of course, many still would, and we heard from them throughout the offseason.
But give a little time for the hots and colds to even out before making too definitive of a statement. The season doesn't end the first weekend in May; a lot can change.
Other links:
- FS Detroit play-by-play announcer Mario Impemba is again doing good things for the troops. MLive's Patrick Hayes talked to him about it.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck wrote about the Tigers' making their first visit to Target Field.
- Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson talked to FS North about his team's bullpen leading it to success.
- AOLFanhouse's Matt Snyder says Joe Mauer's heel problems could send him to the disabled list. He'd join Pat Neshek, who just went on the DL too. Why did he go on the DL? He said his finger hurt when the Twins told him they wanted to option him to Triple-A Rochester, the Pioneer Press reports.
- By the way, does any newspaper cover a team better today than the Star Tribune? Just check out their web site. Incredible.