Here’s a priceless photo for you of Jackson and Saint Nick. For more pics from the media session, click here.

• 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.

Detroit traded righty Brian Moehler and infielder Matt Boone to Cincinnati for infielder David Espinosa and two players to be named. The Reds sent Noochie Varner and Jorge Cordova to the Tigers to complete the deal. As a Red, Moehler went 2-4 with a 6.02 ERA.

Moehler, now 37, was a fan favorite and, of course, the Tigers’ starting pitcher for the first-ever game at Comerica Park. After some arm trouble, there were some doubts that his career would last, but it has. In fact, he’s won 34 games since leaving Detroit. After leaving Cincy, Moehler pitched for Houston, Florida and he’s now back in Houston. This year he’s 7-9 with a 4.92 ERA.

The dad, possibly sauced, assuredly angry, took every opportunity to rip the Tigers’ DH that night, Gary Sheffield. His major beef was the wasted talent sitting on the bench in the person of Marcus Thames. His poor teenage son looked weary and sat mute as dad ripped Sheff — who, by the by, went 2 for 4 that night. In other words, at least four times he tore into Sheffield and twice he had to pull back a bit.

Until the bottom of the ninth.

That’s when Thames appeared from the dugout as a pinch hitter for Clete Thomas — and promptly shot a single to left. Even before Thames got to the plate the duo jumped — jumped! — into the cool evening air, missing each other with high-fives and spilling dad’s fifth beer. They became even more giddy with Thames’s single and, man, did pops lob a rapid-fire series of I-told-you-so’s toward Jim Leyland. Two hitters later, Cabrera went yard and the father and son went home vindicated.

With the news of Sheffield being jettisoned this morning, Marcus Thames is now the Tigers’ more-or-less regular DH and we’ll see if he really can hit 30-plus homers if given the chance. (Actually, I thought we learned last year that the Thames-as-Hank-Greenberg theory carried no weight, but I guess we’ll see…again.)

If you stayed with me through that circuitous tale, I owe you one.

Now, what to make of this roster move. I’ll admit it falls into that category of surprised but not surprised for me. I wanted Sheff to succeed in Detroit and thought he would. Even in 2009. The basis of my reasoning, at least in the past six weeks, were reports from Lakeland that he was scalding the ball again.

Or, as we learned today, not.

Either way, I tend to agree with Lynn Henning that getting Sheff was a wise move at the time. The Tigers had just lost the World Series and wanted to add another weapon to a lineup that slept through that painful week against St. Louis.

I don’t know that I agree with Henning that the Tigers will regret it later this season. The move was made for versatility reasons and, if that’s the story, then not having Sheffield clogging the DH spot and freeing-up more at bats for Jeff Larish and others is a good thing. Probably a great thing.

Yet, it’ll be interesting to see where Sheff lands. (My hope is that it’s not with the Blue Jays where he could hit #500 off Justin Verlander on Opening Day. Oy.) And can you imagine if he goes to the Phillies and underachieves? Think the Philly fans would be forgiving? Woo-doggie. And if the White Sox sign him, look out.

As the Tigers’ DH, Marcus Thames will make about $12 million less than Sheffield this year. But ultimately, the move was about giving the job to a younger guy who can produce at a higher level. The Tigers believe it’s Thames.

And I know of at least two fans who agree.

Here’s how Baseball Prospectus 2009 summed up Josh Anderson:

Now 26, he’s still nothing more than a fifth outfielder.

Nice.

Atlanta gets pitching prospect Rudy Darrow.

More to come, but three things come to mind:

1. Does this mean it’s the end of the line for Marcus Thames?
2. Why would the Tigers give up pitching for a fifth outfielder?
3. Is he insurance for the recuperating Clete Thomas?

What do you think of this move?

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.

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

Discuss.

How could [Yankees' GM Brian Cashman] know the Detroit Tigers’ perennial All-Star and Gold Glove catcher had become disconcerted over the decision of his manager, Jim Leyland, to give an increased percentage of the catching role to Brandon Inge? It seems nobody had an inkling of this until Rodriguez, who is a free agent after the season, asked for a meeting with Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski at the team hotel in Cleveland, at which he was the one who suggested a trade to the Yankees.

“They need a catcher and I want to catch every day,” Rodriguez reportedly told Dombrowski. “Why don’t you see if you can work something out?”

And here’s a zinger:

From Cashman’s standpoint, the Yankees had already been asking a lot of Jose Molina, a career backup, and there was also private concern that he might eventually break down. With Rodriguez coming in, those fears have been alleviated, but it remains to be seen how the Yankee pitchers, all of whom apparently love working with Molina, will interact with Rodriguez. Despite Rodriguez’s Hall-of-Fame credentials, his reputation is that he catches for himself.

Not surprisingly, we find out that Scott Boras was just being Scott Boras:

When Dombrowski got to the ballpark in Cleveland, he called Rodriguez into Leyland’s office at which time they made a courtesy call to Rodriguez’s agent Scott Boras, who, predictably, immediately started making demands for compensation to his client in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause. At that point, Rodriguez reportedly got on the phone and told Boras to butt out; that this was his wish and that everything had already been signed off on.

And that about wraps up that story. For now.

• The Tigers-Pudge relationship “had run its course.”
• Jim Leyland told him that the Tigers can’t run Zumaya and Rodney out there every night and the team needed bullpen depth.
• The Tigers believe Brandon Inge is ready to take over behind the plate.
• “On that stage in New York” Pudge will be inspired to play great.

When you think about it, the fact that Pudge has remained in Detroit this long is astounding. So unhappy was he during the Alan Trammell Era (especially 2005), most wouldn’t have been shocked at a trade back then.

That trade was a no-brainer. The Tigers weren’t going anywhere in ‘96 — little did we know it would be another 10 years before they’d post a winning record — and the Tigers had a young Tony Clark set to take over at first base.

But today’s trade of Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees for former Tiger Kyle Farnsworth raises a much more pressing concern: Who’s going to catch? The easy answer, Brandon Inge. But that’s tonight.

What about next week when Inge needs a night off? Dane Sardinha. Okay. What about next year? Inge? All year?

It could be that simple. And I think it is. The Tigers could be rewarding Inge with the full-time catcher’s role four years after Pudge arrived from Florida and took Inge’s job.

The Tigers know that Inge is still smarting from his third-base job being taken by Miguel Cabrera in the offseason and then Carlos Guillen in May. I don’t think they can afford to yank his chain again.

So Brandon Inge is the Tigers catcher.

And between now and Spring Training, Dave Dombrowski will be looking high and low for a seasoned backup as well as a long-term solution.

Of course, Dombrowski may have another trade in the works, perhaps one including Guillen in a trade for a catcher. Then, Inge moves back to third. But I doubt it.

As for Farnsworth, he gives Jim Leyland another cannon in the bullpen for the seventh and eighth innings. All in all, I think it’s an even swap. Like Pudge, Farnsworth isn’t likely to return to Detroit next year, but who knows?

My heart says it’s tough to see Pudge go. It’s almost a cliche now, but it also happens to be true: His signing with the Tigers in 2004 gave this team instant credibility and served as the foundation for a pennant winner. No minor accomplishment.

My head says, this one, just like Big Daddy to the Yankees in ‘96, is a no-brainer.

He’s owed little more a third of his $3.75 million salary that he signed with the Yankees. Interest in Hawkins has also been linked to the Twins, his original team with which he spent the first nine years of his big-league career. The 35-year-old right-hander went 1-1 with a 5.71 ERA with New York this season, allowing 42 hits over 41 innings with 17 walks and 23 strikeouts.

A ho-hum move or just about right?

David Eckstein (Blue Jays) to the Tigers

Eckstein gets pounded on by the stats-minded community. His numbers indicate that he’s not even an average big-league shortstop. Still, he’d be better than Edgar Renteria, he’s cheap, he’s been on World Series winners and he’s on a short contract. Plus the Tigers could use a little “scrappiness.”

I’d have no problem with this. Before the Reneteria trade went down, I thought the Tigers should’ve signed Eckstein to a one-year deal as a stop gap.

Catch a Tiger: Here’s another pitching name to file away for your pre-deadline rumor mill: Nate Robertson. The Tigers have told clubs they might have a left-hander available in a few weeks. And it certainly wouldn’t be Kenny Rogers or Dontrelle Willis. So that leaves Robertson, who won 13 games in 2006 but is only 11-18, with a 5.04 ERA, in the two seasons since.

“I’m not sure what to make of him,” said one scout. “Last time I saw him, he cruised through four innings with shutout stuff and command of three pitches. Then he gave up a home run in the fifth, and it looked like the Titanic just sunk. He became totally different. I could still recommend him, but it wouldn’t be a strong, this-guy-can-save-our-staff kind of recommendation.”

Tough-luck Nate on the move? As much as it pains me to say it, the time could be right.

Kemp made too much money and former GM Campbell didn’t like players who held out (Rusty Staub) or won in arbitration (Kemp, again). Campbell also liked to trade players who, like Kemp and Ron LeFlore in 1979, were entering their walk year.

On Nov. 27, 1981, the Tigers and White Sox swapped outfielders both who were former top selections in the amateur draft (Lemon by Oakland in 1972, Kemp number-one overall by Detroit in 1976), were roughly the same age and who had put together similar careers to that point.

While many Tigers fans might remember Lemon as an All-Star centerfielder who hit sixth or seventh in Sparky’s lineup, in his first season in Detroit he batted leadoff 49 times and played 93 games right field. (By early July, Lou Whitaker took over the leadoff spot for good.) It wasn’t until 1983 that he switched positions with Kirk Gibson and became the regular centerfielder…until Gary Pettis arrived in 1988. Lemon finished his first season as a Tiger with a .266 average, 19 HR and just 52 RBI in 125 games.

Lemon hit 142 homers for the Tigers in his nine seasons in Detroit and proved to be a rather durable player averaging 134 games played over that span. (Note: There’s no record of the number of rallies Lemon killed in Detroit but would it be far-fetched to think the total to be in the triple digits?)

Steve Kemp was no slouch during his five years patrolling left field at Tiger Stadium. He produced a .284 average, 89 home runs (lowered a bit with his nine homers in the strike-shortened 1981 season), and averaged 84 RBI and 23 doubles. He also displayed a keen eye at the plate averaging 75 walks — including 97 in 1978.

In his only season in Chicago, Kemp had a career year batting .286 with 19 HR and 98 RBI in 160 games. As I noted, Lemon also hit 19 home runs in 1982 but drove in nearly half the number of runs.

After the ‘82 season Kemp cashed in on a free-agent contract with the New York Yankees but he, like so many other mid-’80s free agents, flopped in the Bronx. In 1983, Kemp hit .241 with just 12 home runs in 109 games. After the ‘84 season he was traded with Tim Foli and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Dale Berra, Alfonso Pulido and Jay Buhner.

An eye injury, suffered when Kemp was hit by a batted ball in batting practice, shortened his career in the mid-1980s. He last played in the majors in 1988 when he played in 16 games for the Texas Rangers, hitting just .222 in 36 at bats. His career batting average in 11 seasons was .278 — five points higher than Lemon’s.

When Jim Campbell pulled the trigger on the Kemp-for-Lemon deal he probably had no idea that Kemp would flame out and that Chet the Jet would play more than 1,100 games in the outfield for Detroit.

Still, he had to like the odds that the trade would work out better than LeFlore for Dan Schatzeder.

As frustrating a player as Chester Earl Lemon could be, he was nothing if not reliable during some fun summers for Tigers fans.

I’m thinking out loud and could see it looking something like this:

1. Granderson
2. Polanco
3. Sheffield
4. Ordonez
5. Guillen
6. Renteria
7. Timo/Thames
8. Rodriguez
9. Inge

What do you think?

There are a million little things that go into this from stadiums to school districts to travel to spring training to etc. etc. etc. but the list represents the teams after Boston that have some of the off the field things that are big to us, plus the potential to go into October next year.

Cleveland, Detroit, Anaheim, New York Mets, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A., S.D., Arizona, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Milwaukee

So here’s a thought. What if the Tigers and Kenny Rogers can’t reach a deal this off season? The chances of that happening are miniscule but if talks did break down, could Detroit turn to Schill?

I’m just sayin’.

A Rule 5 Draft selection acquired by the Tigers in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on December 7, 2006, Campusano missed the entire 2007 season after undergoing left elbow reconstruction surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament on March 27.

Eddie, we hardly knew ye.

This isn’t the first time the Tigers have traded a player for himself. In 1987, the Tigers acquired reliever Dickie Noles from the Cubs for a player to be named later.

The player to be named later? Dickie Noles.

Actually, Baseball-Reference.com lists his Detroit dealings thusly:

September 22, 1987: Loaned to the Detroit Tigers by the Chicago Cubs.

October 23, 1987: Dickie Noles returned to the Chicago Cubs by the Detroit Tigers as part of earlier loan.

Who knew you could loan players?

In four games with the Tigers that year, Noles pitched four innings, gave up two hits, one run and earned two saves. Not bad. But not good enough to stay, apparently.

Noles would appear in only three more games in his big-league career — two with the Orioles in 1988 and one with the Phillies in 1990.

Career stats: 36-57, 4.56 ERA, 11 Saves.

And now you know.

First, a morsel of Kahrl’s Tigers assessment:

[D]id hauling [Cameron Maybin] up really have to involve discarding Monroe? And what’s up with demoting Infante? In each case, my initial readiness to complain turned out to be pointless. Yes, Monroe’s really too good to be discarded this way, especially on a team that could use his bat against lefties, especially when that lineup’s carrying Casey’s carcass in one of its nine slots. 

Ouch.And now for the Cubs:

I’m as ready to bang on Monroe for his limitations as the next stathead, but I actually like this well enough for the Cubs. He’s coming over to the weaker league—just ask Jason Kendall if that hasn’t made a difference—plus he’s a guy who can play some center for a club that needs a center fielder. 

Monroe in center? Ooooh, Lou Piniella won’t much like the looks of that. This edition of TA is a must-read if only for the outstanding Gregg Jefferies reference — and half-hearted comparison to Maybin.

On Thursday I got my wish.

So where does Monroe make his Cubs debut? Right here in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks on Friday night.

So be it.

And what do the Cubs think of their newest acquisition?

“He’s a good athlete, a good outfielder and he’s got some pop,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said in announcing the move. “He’s a good bat coming off the bench with experience. The teams we’re playing here all have left-hand starters in the rotation. He’ll be a valuable addition to us, and he gives us more experience.”

Wonder how Lou will take to Monroe referring to himself in the third person?

Alan Trammell had this to say:

“As far as what type of person he is, he’s a great guy and will fit in very well,” Trammell said. “He’ll be a nice fit. He’s produced at the Major League level.”

What’s the adage? One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

And now I can move on…