• The Republic’s Nick Piecoro (who, by the by, has one of the best team blogs out there): A long, hard look at The Big Deal. A snippet:
  

  Before we go any further: I’m not crazy about this deal, either. I’m not sure I hate it as much as some people; I’m just not entirely on board.

• Long-time Valley sports-radio guy Dave Burns: Breaking down the trade with pros and cons.
  

  Pro: You just added starting pitching to your rotation without having to pay a lot for it.

  Con: Of the four guys the D-backs have just added or subtracted, none of them have as high a ceiling as Max Scherzer does. And it ain’t even close.

• D’backs.com/MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert: Analyzing the Jackson Deal:
  

  [Scherzer] still needs to improve his pitch efficiency so that he can pitch deeper in games, needs to further develop his secondary pitches and also needs to show that he can cross the 200-inning barrier.

  The D-backs must have felt that the above were real challenges for him and felt more comfortable with the combination of Edwin Jackson and Kennedy.

  As for Schlereth, the potential is there, but there have always been concerns about his command.

As for yours truly, I got over the Jason Thompson trade. I survived Kirk Gibson’s departure. And I guess I’ll eventually move past Curtis Granderson in pinstripes.

• So where were you two years ago today? You were probably glued to ESPN or the Web reading all you could about the eight-player deal that brought Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit. Time flies. (And just a year ago today Edgar Renteria spared Tigers fans a second season of his mediocrity by signing with the Giants.)
• I’ll miss Placido Polanco more than I’ll potentially miss Curtis Granderson but I still don’t want the Tigers to deal him – or Edwin Jackson. (For what it’s worth, I own the bobblehead shown here. Guess I’ll have to store it alongside my Pudge bobblehead.)

• On Dec. 4, 1952 the Tigers traded Virgil Trucks, who tossed two no-hitters during the year, along with P Hal White and outfielder Johnny Groth, to the Browns in exchange for second baseman Owen Friend, outfielder Bob Nieman, and outfielder/ catcher J.W. Porter. How could they trade a pitcher good enough to throw a pair of no-no’s? Easily it turns out. Apart from his no-hitters, Trucks won only three other games that year — against 19 defeats. Somehow he kept his ERA below four (3.97).
• On this date in 1976, Aurelio Rodriguez became the first American League third baseman since 1959 to beat out Brooks Robinson for the Gold Glove Award.
• Yesterday you might have seen him on C-SPAN railing on Fed chief Ben Bernanke, but on this date in 1963 you would’ve seen Jim Bunning pack his bags as the Tigers traded him to the Phillies for catcher Gus Triandos, pitcher Jack Hamilton and outfielder Don Demeter.
• About a year late, MLB Network will be broadcasting from the Winter Meetings next week in Indianapolis. (Why they didn’t launch the network at last year’s meetings is still a mystery. No, go ahead and launch on January 1. Nothing else is on TV that day…) Anyway, here’s a preview of the network’s “Hot Stove at the Winter Meetings” program. And be sure to weigh in on the latest Fungo Pulse Check poll in the sidebar –>
• Here’s a question: When are we going to find out which member of the White Sox was in the bar with Cabrera during that dreadful last weekend of the year?
• Speaking of a year too late, I’m glad that Chip Caray will no longer be allowed to butcher baseball games for TBS. However, if you are a glutton for punishment you can relive Game 163 from the Metrodome by purchasing it for $1.99 on iTunes.

We’ll be back with more on the Winter Meetings next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend.

So what, you ask? So, exactly one year later the Tigers sent Martin and pitcher Al Cicotte to the Indians for relievers Ray Narleski and Don Mossi, and shortstop Ossie Alvarez.

Not the most exciting stuff but, hey, at least it’s about two trades that actually materialized.

Fact is, he throws harder than Jones — which can’t hurt — but no one is going to confuse him with Joe Nathan.

Last season wasn’t a pleasant one for the D-backs’ closer, a position he lost to Chad Qualls. Well, that’s not entirely true.

Despite four blown saves in 23 chances in the first half, hitters managed a .243 average against him and his ERA was 2.43. (Compare that to Jones’s 4.95 ERA and .297 opponents’ average in the first half.)

In terms of repertoire, it doesn’t extend far past a fastball and curve. In fact, that’s it. But the curveball is something to behold; no roundhouse breaking pitch, Lyon’s is top-to-bottom — or noon-to-six, as they say. Still, in 2008 he threw the fastball 72 percent of the time — 73 percent with two strikes.

As you might expect, Lyons doesn’t heave bullets across the heart of the plate. Instead, he has a Jones-like corners-nibbling approach. His favorite spots — against righties or lefties — are the outside corners. But against lefties his greatest success comes on the inside corner, up and in, and down and in. So, did the Tigers get themselves another Todd Jones?

Perhaps.

But Lyon is 10 years younger than the Tigers’ erstwhile closer and, in the spirit of optimism, he seems to have the durability and closer-ish stuff the bullpen so desperately needs.

(Oh, and Lyon wore number 38 in Arizona and will need a new one in Detroit…unless Jeremy Bonderman wants to give up his number. I’m guessing he ends up with 36.)

I’ll take Edwin Jackson.

• Dave Dombrowski on Edwin Jackson trade
• Jim Leyland on 2009
• Dombrowski on Laird deal
• Jason Beck on Laird, and the Adam Everett signing

The site also has some older videos too — game highlights from 2008 — but don’t bum yourself out.

Here’s what it has to say about the newest Tiger:

It’s been more than four years since Jackson was one of the top pitching prospects in the game and out-pitched Randy Johnson in his big-league debut on his 20th birthday. He’s done little since, and remains one of the game’s mysteries. He still flashes mid-90s heat and a hard slider with two-plane break, and he still has flashes of greatness, like his four-hit shutout against Texas in August (2007). Considering his youth and stuff, the Rays can afford to give him some more chances, but their rotation is going to get crowded fast, so his time to make good is running out.

In 2008, Jackson went 14-11 with a 4.42 ERA. He pitched 183 1/3 innings, allowing 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 108. So, we’ll see.

Oh, and here’s what Dave Dombrowski had to say about the deal:

“Everybody in baseball has known his ability and potential for years. He took a step forward last year and hopefully he’ll take a step forward for us. … We’re in a spot where we get a pitcher we think will help us. He pitched on a World Series club last year. He’s got great stuff.”

Given how the Tigers starters pitched in ‘08, even good stuff would be acceptable.

Great stuff? Giddyap!

While the Mets, Mariners and Indians were swingin’ a 12-player trade (with J.J. Putz as the centerpiece) the Tigers were not zeroing in on a closer, instead they were dealing for a starting pitcher.

The 25-year-old Jackson won a career-high 14 games in 2008 at the back end of the rotation during Tampa Bay’s breakout season. He posted a 4.42 ERA to go with his 14-11 record, pitching 183 1/3 innings, allowing 199 hits and 77 walks while striking out 108. Jackson’s arrival adds some more certainty to a rotation that faced major question marks at the back end. Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga are the only certainties from last year, while Jeremy Bonderman is expected to be back to full strength after missing the second half of last season following shoulder surgery.

Ian offers some hefty analysis of the deal here.

Lynn Henning suggests that this deal could be a signal that the Tigers’ are concerned with Jeremy Bonderman’s progress. That or the Tigers are hedging their bets against another poor season by Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis.

Or both. What do you make of this trade?

Matt Joyce is a lefthanded power bat, something the Tigers have needed for a while, who could take over at either of the corner OF spots once Sheffield was gone and either Maggs or Guillen could move to DH. I guess the Tigers think Jeff Larish can play outfield, too.

While the Tigers needed an influx of major-league ready arms, closer was the most pressing need. Edwin Jackson has a great arm, but he’s had plenty of problems finding the plate. Granted, he’s young and could come around.

Someone want to talk me down on this one? I’m all ears.

Frank Catalanotto is one player Texas might attempt to trade. He has a guaranteed $6 million left on his contract, including $4 million in 2009 and a $2-million buyout (or $5-million salary) the next year.

As someone I worked with once said: “Two words: what. ever.”

Exactly.

Smoltz, 41, a free agent who has spent the past 21 years with Atlanta, is recovering from surgery that ended his 2008 season with the Braves. But the Tigers have been privately interested in medical reports on Smoltz’s future and would consider an incentive-laden contract that doctors are suggesting Smoltz can consider as he prepares for a possible return early in the 2009 season.

– snip –

The Tigers are shopping hard for bullpen help and would almost certainly consider adding Smoltz — if his potential for a comeback is convincing and his interest in Detroit remains strong.

If Smoltz is interested, by all means open the discussion. I’m a softie and would love to see what he’d look like in a Tigers uniform.

What do you think? Smoltz in the bullpen or at the back-end of the rotation?

Update: The Free Press story.

Laird is a quality catcher who can hit, and he’ll give Dusty Ryan time to grow into the starting job in a couple years. All in all, a nice pick-up for the Tigers.

It did come at a price, however. Moscoso was considered a top prospect, and close to reaching the majors. The worst news is that he’s been compared to Jair Jurrjens by some.

It is good to see them addressing one of their main offseason needs so soon. Hopefully just the start of a very productive week

The trade route could yield Jack Wilson from Pittsburgh, who has to be better than Renteria defensively. But who would he cost the Tigers? At least a mid-level pitching prospect, most likely.

There are some interesting free agent shortstops out there. Rafael Furcal is probably out of the Tigers’ price range. It’d be a hoot to bring in Renteria’s nemesis, Orlando Cabrera, but his range is comparable to Renteria’s and he’s a Type A who’s been offered arbitration, so he’d cost a draft pick.

I’d like to submit a suggestion: Nick Punto. He’s relatively young (31), which gives him an edge over 3/4 of the FA shortstops out there. He’s versatile, having played 3B and 2B for the Twins, as well as SS. He won’t hit a ton, but he’s a solid fielder with good range, and he has played the past five seasons in a Minnesota system that stresses fundamentals and doing the “little things” that win ballgames. And let’s face it, there isn’t enough of that in the Tigers’ current lineup. And whenever Minnesota has one of those maddening water-torture rallies to beat the Tigers, Punto seems to be right in the middle of it.

They could do worse, and have before.

Cruz is a Type A free agent and would cost the Tigers (or any team that signs him) two draft picks. Lyon is a Type B free agent, would cost just one. Still, do the Tigers want to part with draft picks, especially two, for this caliber of reliever?

In a blog post today, the Free Press’s Jon Paul Morosi thought infielder Will Rhymes, currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, would end up on the 40-man roster and, more important, not be exposed in the Rule 5 Draft next month.

It’ll be interesting to see how – or if – this impacts trade activity in the next few weeks.

Richard Justice says that Valverde, a free agent after 2009, is available.

The hope here is that should the Astros come calling, the Tigers will let it roll to voicemail.