Didn't I warn you this was going to happen? I did. Multiple times. But I let your cool logic talk me out of it. And yet here we are. The playoff roster is out. The Tigers are taking Brad Penny, they announced this morning. They're also taking Omir Santos as the backup catcher.
What does Penny add to the playoff roster? I can't say that I know. But I knew they were a team who believes in loyalty and thought (almost) all along he'd be there when the postseason began.
Can he start? Please, no. Do you want him pitching in relief? I doubt it. Is he better than Duane Below or David Pauley? No. Can he pitch to the myriad left-handed sluggers the Yankees have? Of course not.
Yet lo' and behold, Penny is on the Tigers roster anyway. Loyalty. Misplaced, but loyalty.
Santos obviously makes sense. Despite claims from manager Jim Leyland that Victor Martinez could have caught games down the stretch, it sure didn't look like he could the way he wss hobbling around. Add to that a foul ball off his toe that required blood to be drained and the roster move was decided for Detroit.
Santos is there in case of emergency. If Alex Avila gets banged up, but not so bad to knock him out of the playoffs entirely, Detroit needed a catcher who could play while Avila rested on the bench.
UPDATE:
The @Tigers are tweeting the roster so I'll just repost it. Note, they include players on the DL in this.
ALDS roster pitchers: Alburquerque, Benoit, Coke, Fister, Penny, Perry, Porcello, Scherzer, Schlereth, Thomas, Valverde, Verlander, Zumaya.
ALDS roster hitters: Avila, Martinez, Santos, Betemit, Cabrera, Peralta, Santiago, Boesch, Dirks, Jackson, Kelly, Ordonez, Raburn, Young, Inge