• 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.

Celebrate Nate! I might be the only person in the Tigers Fan Universe looking forward to Robertson’s return to the rotation. Ian?

Today’s Walewanders are fueled by Almighty Blend coffee from Ann Arbor’s Mighty Good Coffee Roasting Co., sent along by the aforementioned Mr. Casselberry.

• Confession: When the Tigers lose, I don’t read the game stories, I don’t listen to The Baseball Today podcast, I don’t seek out game highlights. Frees up a lot of time and I recommend it.
• Today’s game marks the last time the Tigers face the Angels in the regular season. That means you’ll have to wait until next year to hear Rod Allen gush over Torii Hunter.
• While we wait for Aubrey Huff’s bat to arrive from Baltimore, let’s review the performance of Tigers players that have worn #19 this decade:
  • 2009: Huff, .083, one RBI
  • 2008-09: Jeff Larish, .242, 6 HR, 23 RBI
  • 2005: Exavier Prente Nook Logan, .264, 31 stolen bases
  • 2003-04: Alex Sanchez .304, 63 stolen bases
  • 2002: Worn by hitting coach (and Flint native) Merv Rettenmund
  • 2001: Roger Cedeno, .293, 11 triples, 55 stolen bases
  • 2000: Juan Gonzalez, .289, 22 HR, 67 RBI.
• Brandon Inge’s tattoos. Methinks he’ll regret that decision when he’s 65. If not sooner.
• I don’t care that Ramon Santiago and Adam Everett are hitting a combined .247. Give me their defense and occasional base hit (or homer, as Everett showed today) over Edgar Renteria.
• Two homers in Oakland or not, I don’t want to see Ryan Raburn batting third ever again. Ever.
• Enough of the Magglio Ordonez bashing already. The Tigers had to overpay players to come to Detroit in 2004 and ‘05 and this is the (steep) cost of doing business. Live and learn. Though, the overpaying of Dontrelle Willis makes one believe the “learn” part of the equation needs more attention.
• Speaking of The Baseball Today, on this morning’s episode, host Eric Karabell says he can’t see the Tigers beating the Yankees or Angels in first-round series. It’s beginning to sound a lot like 2006…
• Marcus Thames isn’t on the 2010 Tigers, is he?
• As for the postseason, I’m dreaming of a Tigers/Rockies World Series – my two favorite teams, baby. Well, Tigers/Dodgers would be sweet, too. In fact, even sweeter. Never mind.
• The Porcello/Youkilis Summit seems like a distant memory and for that we should all be thankful. Here are the results of our recent Fungo Pulse Check poll in which readers ranked the brawls. The question: Tale of the Tape: Which Tigers Brawl Ranks as Your Most Memorable?
  • 1982: Dave Rozema’s Kung-Foolery (37%, 10 Votes)
  • 2000: Sixteen Ejected at Comiskey (37%, 10 Votes)
  • 1980: Al Cowens’ Payback to Ed Farmer (19%, 5 Votes)
  • 2009: Porcello v. Youkilis (7%, 2 Votes)

  Reader Ed reminded me in the comments here about the fight in Kansas City (was it 2001?) in which Jeff Weaver plunked Mike Sweeney. That’s when we all realized how much Weav’s teammates loved him…very little.

Finally, Happy 45th Birthday to Chad Kreuter — who also wore #19 (and hit .263 for Detroit from 1992 through ‘94).

• The Tigers have done reasonably well out of the shoot in the second half recently. Here’s how the club has fared in the first 10 games after the All-Star Game in:
  • 2008: 6-4
  • 2007: 6-4
  • 2006: 7-3

  Two out of three in New York would be outstanding.

• Yesterday Rob Neyer suggested that the Giants cut loose southpaw Barry Zito. If the Giants can swallow Zito’s remaining $90 million or whatever it is, how can the Tigers not absorb their two problem lefties, Mssrs. Robertson and Willis? I’m wondering what would happen if the Tigers traded their lefties for Zito. Crazy-talk to be sure, but you wonder if Zito would get some kind of “new environment” boost coming back to the A.L. (Did I mention that it’s 115° here?)

• I’ll be darned if I can find the link to Ken Rosenthal’s article a week or so ago that noted — deep in the story — that the Tigers might be a landing spot for the Royals’ Mark Teahen. I’d love to see him patrolling left or right fields for the Tigers, wouldn’t you? I just don’t see a intra-divisional trade working out.

• Today marks the birthday in 1889 of Guy “King Tut” Tutwiler who played alongside Ty Cobb in 1911 and 1913, his only two major league seasons, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The infielder/outfielder hit .203 in just 86 career plate appearances for the Tigers. He would’ve been a spry 120 today.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the baseball.

• Despite MLB’s efforts, I realized that I still hadn’t cast my All-Star ballot. Voting ends tomorrow night, so vote late and often.

• As we watch Magglio Ordonez’s swing atrophy, I’m thinking that he might personify the 2008 Tigers team. That is, we all kept thinking that this game or this series would be the one that got Detroit on the path to its rightful place in the postseason. And we waited and waited… Now it’s Maybe this at bat will get Maggs going…. Alas, it ain’t looking good.

• Speaking of Ordonez, in the recent Fungo Pulse Check poll, only one voter out of 36 would choose to release him over Dontrelle Willis (53 percent) or Nate Robertson (44 percent). Tigers fans sure love their Magglio. [Take our latest poll -->]

• My fandom for (of?) Nate Robertson is well documented here. Over the past two seasons I think I’ve been tainted by Ian’s anti-Nate sentiment and find myself — at best — Nate Neutral. But, ever the quasi-optimist, I’m wondering if this week’s elbow surgery could inject some zip into the left wing. What do you think?

• Speaking of being a fan boy, last week I was out of town and without my MLB Extra Innings package — thus, no Tigers games on TV. I have to say, the Tigers blogosphere can make a guy feel right at home. BlessYouBoys.com and MackAvenueTigers.com alone made it so I didn’t miss a beat.

Finally, on this date in 1915 right-hander Cletus Elwood “Boots” Poffenberger was born in Williamsport, Md. Ol’ Boots pitched two of his three big-league seasons, 1937 and ‘38, for the Tigers posting a 16-12 record and a 4.75 ERA. He died in 1999 in Williamsport, Va. A search of Google Maps doesn’t bring up a Williamsport, Va., but it does show Williamsport, Md., where he was born, which is across the Potomac River from West Virginia — but there’s no Williamsport, W. Va.

If you’re still reading at this point, bless you.

Nevertheless, we want to continue our series of player profiles today with The Nater for two reasons — actually three, I just thought of a third: First, he made more starts last season than either Miner or Willis. Second, I already had the profile written. Last, we’ll do our friend and avowed Nater Hater, Ian Casselberry, a favor and get it out of the way.

Nate Robertson #29

• Height: 6′ 2″ | Weight: 225
• 2008 Stats: 7-11, 6.35 ERA

The Tigers had no shortage of pitching frustrations in 2008 and one could argue that the most perplexing of all was Robertson. Once considered a core member of the rotation, the lefthander’s performance in ’08 raised questions about whether he could physically and mentally take his game to a higher level. In fact, Robertson’s season was so off-kilter that he found himself in the bullpen after a 5-8, 5.26 ERA first half.

Things improved little after the All Star Break and the 31-year-old enters 2009 as a major question mark. However, if any Tigers pitcher is likely to adopt the mantra of new pitching coach Rick Knapp – throw first-pitch strikes – it’s Robertson, who had above-league-average success in this area in ’08. (Nearly 60 percent of his initial offerings were strikes.)

A reversal of fortune for the Tigers in 2009 will be tied closely to Robertson’s ability to rediscover his command – especially his slider – and log quality starts. The club hopes an off-season exercise regimen designed to improve his flexibility will help him in the short and long term. Barring a Spring Training meltdown, expect him to return to the rotation in 2009 and to stay out of the bullpen.

So, here I am working on a — gasp! — PC trying to get some stuff done. (There’s more on my Windows Vista experience here.) I offer this not as a self-handicapping thing, but as a legit reason. Honest.

On with the Fungoes:

• There’s been much to talk about in recent weeks and it centers on an infuriating lack of activity by the Tigers. Kerry Wood? Gone — to the Indians. Carl Pavano? Gone…to the Indians. Jason Giambi? Gone. Brian Fuentes? John Smoltz? Trevor Hoffman? Gone. Gone. Gone. What’s worse is that these guys, for the most part, were considered low-cost, low-risk investments for the teams they joined. Are the Tigers suddenly so cash poor/talent rich that they can’t take a flyer on the likes of Giambi — a solid lefty bat — or Pavano who could actually be an upgrade over Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis? I would love to know what the master plan is down on Witherell.

• The Padres pick Virgil Vasquez off waivers today from the Red Sox. Let’s hope Double-V gets some appearances in San Diego who will definitely need help when Jake Peavy gets dealt.

• There’s nothing like some distance from the past baseball season to provide some perspective on how good or bad a player was. Two examples in each category from the 2008 Tigers:
  • The Good: Magglio Ordonez – .317, 21 HR, 103 RBI for the season but he hit .330 in the second half.
  • The Bad: Gary Sheffield – .225, 19 HR, 57 RBI. He hit a meager .217 in the first half and .232 in the second. Yeah, I know, he wasn’t completely healthy but still, if it weren’t for his 500th homer chase, Sheff would’ve been persona non grata at Comerica Park in 2008.

• Perhaps you heard that former Tigers pitcher Dave Roberts passed away today at 64. He was acquired by the Tigers on Dec. 6, 1975 when the Astros traded him along with Jim Crawford and Milt May to Detroit for Leon Roberts, Terry Humphrey, Gene Pentz, and Mark Lemongello. Roberts appeared in 48 games for the Tigers in 1976 and ‘77 — all of them starts. In 1976, he posted a record of 16-17 and a 4.00 ERA with 18 complete games. The following year he made 22 starts for the Tigers going 4-10, 5.15, before his contract was purchased by the Cubs on July 30. According to the MLB.com story, Roberts died from lung cancer.
  

  Roberts’ death came after a struggle with lung cancer that had developed from exposure to asbestos — a mineral with toxic fibers — earlier in his life, according to a report by the Associated Press. He had worked as a boilermaker years ago, which likely exposed him to the toxic substance.

  How things have changed. You certainly don’t hear of any journeyman lefty relievers working as boilermakers in the off season anymore just to make ends meet. Today Roberts would be making $4 million a year.

Finally, Happy Birthday today to Freddy Dolsi, 26; Ivan DeJesus – what? You didn’t know he played for the Tigers? He did: 1988 – and Phil Mankowski, both 56.

Whether it was Dontrelle Willis‘ sudden inability to throw strikes or Justin Verlander’s season of wild inconsistency or merely the bullpen’s tendency to do just about everything wrong, the pitching was Public Enemy No. 1 at Comerica Park and 13 other American League parks (not to mention parks across the N.L. West).

One final look at the Tigers pitching woes:

• Team ERA: 4.91 — 12th in A.L.; 27th in MLB
• Strikeouts: 991 — 11th / 25th
• Walks: 644 — 13th / 27th
• Blown Saves: 26

Oh, what the hay, let’s take a quick look at how the rotation fared:

• Verlander: 11-17, 4.84 ERA, one (and the Tigers’ only) complete game
• Armando Galarraga: 13-7, 3.73
• Kenny Rogers: 9-13, 5.70
• Nate Robertson: 7-11, 6.35
• Jeremy Bonderman: 3-4, 4.29
• Willis: 0-2, 9.38

Yep. Ugly.

But thankfully the 2008 season — and soon this list — is over and done with.

But there was one — if only one — story that made Tigers fans hopeful and it came as a result of a under-the-radar trade with the Texas Rangers on Feb. 5. The Tigers acquired Armando Galarraga for nonroster OF Michael Hernandez. Sweet trade.

On April 12, the Tigers put Dontrelle Willis on the DL and three days later they summoned Galarraga from Toledo. He made his Tigers debut on April 16 in Cleveland and threw an absolute gem when the Tigers flat-out needed wins: 6.2 IP, one hit, two runs, no walks and six strikeouts.

At that time, little did the Tigers know how big Galarraga’s impact would be compared to Willis’. In 30 appearances (28 starts), the 6 ft. 4 in. righty posted a 13-7 record with a 3.73 ERA in 178.2 innings pitched — and became the de facto staff ace. For his effort, Galarraga earned the Tigers Rookie of the Year honor and ranked fifth in the American Rookie of the Year voting.

So, though it might’ve felt like it, all was not lost in 2008. Thanks to Armando Galarraga.

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?

• Remember when the Tigers announced that one of the coaches hadn’t decided to return for 2009? Whatever happened with that?

• Almost a year ago, the Tigers acquired Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera and the playoff tickets were being designed in a desktop publishing program somewhere. Today? This team is viewed as a club with a flawed roster, a manager whose job is on the line, and a suddenly tighter budget. Is this 180-degree turnaround as astounding to you as it is to me?

• Speaking of Dontrelle, listening to XM’s MLB Home Plate channel yesterday, I heard his agent, Matt Sosnick, say that Willis is physically sound and that any challenges next season will be purely mental. Ahem. Oh, and as for the D-Train’s offseason plans? This is a quote: “He needs to refresh himself mentally.” Don’t we all.

• Over at TigsTown.com [$] guest columnist Ian Casselberry suggests that the Tigers should trade Placido Polanco this offseason. As much as this idea pains me, Ian’s reasoning is spot-on…as usual.

• As usual, Friend of the Fungo Rob Neyer beats the No-Jack-Morris-in-the-Hall-of-Fame drum. Sigh. (Oh, and Rob’s column is no longer behind the ESPN.com Insider deal and is free to all.)

• For the past month I’ve been meaning to write a post about the Arizona Fall League experience. I started it. I just…can’t…finish it. Yet. In the meantime, here’s a set of photos from a game in late October featuring many Tigers prospects, including Jeff Larish.

Finally, Happy 61st Birthday to Richie Hebner. The old gravedigger turns 61 today. (Did you know that Hebner was the last Tiger to wear number 2 before the team retired the number in honor of Charlie Gehringer?)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Be safe.

If you’re looking for a positive outlook to end your week, look elsewhere. Here’s a taste:

Aside from a younger, more athletic band of glove men, the Tigers need about a half-dozen new pitchers. Verlander and Galarraga figure to anchor a rotation that’s woefully shorthanded, with lefties Dontrelle Willis, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson turning into pumpkins and Jeremy Bonderman now more of a perennial injury risk than a future frontline starter. The bullpen is no better, with Todd Jones retired, Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney fighting to regain their lost command, and journeyman Aquilino Lopez the best of the 2008 bunch.

Now that hurts.

That sent me to the growing list of free agent pitchers. Two names that I like for different reasons — and again, I’m talking fifth-starter here: Jon Garland and Carl Pavano. Certainly Detroit would have different negotiating tactics with these two guys, but why not take a shot at one of them?

I know you’re thinking I’m insane with the Pavano thing but hear me out explain. Assuming that he’s healthy, why not offer the guy a low-ball contract loaded with incentives for number of starts, innings pitched, days not on the DL (not unlike they did with Pudge Rodriguez’s early years), etc.?

The guy (4-2, 5.77, seven starts in ‘08) has a history with Dave Dombrowski and maybe he wants to right the wrong of not signing with the Tigers before the 2005 season. I’m just saying.

As for Garland (14-8, 4.90, 32 starts in ‘08), I think the guy could give the back-end of the rotation a boost. And, more deliciously, he could face his old club, the White Sox, five times a year and make Ozzie Guillen’s brain turn crispy. That in itself is worth signing Garland.

Discuss.

So, as I wait out this Tigers/White Sox rain delay from bright, sunny Phoenix, it’s time to weigh in on:

• Todd Jones’s Retirement. The decades-old joke in Detroit is that the most popular person in the city is the Lions’ backup QB and/or the Red Wings’ backup netminder. I think we can now add the Tigers’ setup man to that punch line. Detroit is unusually cruel to its closers. Less than a year after Willie Hernandez won the 1984 Cy Young and MVP awards, he started getting booed and it’s never stopped. Mike Henneman did too, but to a much smaller degree. The Tigers were so unwatchable during Todd Jones’s first tour of duty in Detroit, that often he was the only bright spot. Come to think of it, he was a welcome sight then because it mean the Tigers were in line for a rare win.

  But what was it about Jones in his second stint as a Tiger? What made it so infuriating? Sure, he got 93 saves in just under three seasons but his ERA was always around four and … ah, what’s the use? Jones is a good guy and I’m sure he’ll be missed by his teammates. I guess. For me, though, I’ll never be able to forgive him for not being Joe Nathan.

• Inge Returns to Third. This move makes the Tigers’ infield defense significantly better next season. With the range he covers, Inge is essentially a third baseman and a half. So even if they decide to bring back Edgar Renteria, Inge makes the left side if not a plus than definitely not a minus. Now, about that average…
• Guillen to Left. As I wrote here, I think it’s more likely that we see Carlos Guillen back at short than in left field. Why? If they put Guillen in left and a light-hitting guy at short, the Tigers lose the potential production of Matt Joyce. And, if you put Guillen in the cavern that is Comerica Park’s left field, what are the odds on him pulling a hamstring before May 1? Not good.
• Chuck Hernandez Firing. I know that Doug and others have been calling for Hernandez to lose his job as a result of the pitching staff’s tank job. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a wuss when it comes to firing coaches or managers. The rhetorical question I always ponder is: How much impact does a coach have — or can a coach expect to have — at this level? Was Hernandez, the genius of 2006, suddenly a lousy coach? I don’t think so. He was nothing more than a vessel caught in the perfect storm of Jeremy Bonderman’s injury, Dontrelle Willis’s loss of … everything, Kenny Rogers‘ age, Justin Verlander’s growing pains, and Nate Robertson’s wrought-iron physiology.

  I suppose the decision was also based on the bullpen’s lackluster year. Where do you start there? In fact, I think Hernandez should get a raise for having to deal with Fernando Rodney, Joel Zumaya, Aquilino Lopez and the rest. According to an article in the Free Press, Jim Leyland wants to go with a pitching coach and bullpen coach from the within the organization. I’m sure Joe Coleman, A. J. Sager and Ray Burris are good coaches, but if the Tigers want to show their serious, go after rockin’ Leo Mazzone or Rick Peterson.

• Jeff Jones’s Firing. I remember when Lloyd McClendon was named the Tigers’ bullpen coach for 2006. My reaction was “What does he know about a bullpen?” The answer, it would seem, was nuttin’. And if you read into this comment from Leyland, that’s precisely what the skipper wanted:
  

  “It was a weird situation, and I won’t say for sure, but I doubt that I’m going to have a pitching coach as my bullpen coach. It’s worked very well in some places, but I think it makes people uncomfortable from time to time.”

  Hmm. I would’ve thought being a pitching coach would help in guiding the bullpen. But now that I think about it, it probably makes about as much sense as having two hitting coaches – one for day games, one for night. Well, maybe not that example but perhaps there was some yin-and-yang between Hernandez’s approach and that of Jones which made Bobby Seay incapable of retiring a left-handed hitter?

• Sheff’s 500th Homer. The most entertaining parts of the weekend series against the Rays was watching Gary Sheffield’s family — including Uncle Dwight Gooden — stand up and wave homemade signs for every at bat. My favorite: “Gramma Says 500″. I sure hope Sheff gets number 500 today in Chicago. There’s been no player in my years of following the Tigers on which I’ve turned 180° like Gary Sheffield. (By the by, I loved Leyland slotting Sheff in the two spot in the order on Sunday.)

Finally, I relied heavily on DirecTV’s Extra Bases Game Mix channel over the weekend to track the playoff races. It’s one screen with eight games shown at once. I kept going back to the Mets and Marlins game, hoping to see the Mets force a playoff with the Brewers. That didn’t happen, of course, but what I did see was Cameron Maybin catch the final out at Shea Stadium.

What are we to make of the pitching lineup this week in Arlington?

• Willis vs. Brandon McCarthy (1-1, 4.22)

• Zach Miner vs. Kevin Millwood (9-9, 5.15)
• Freddy Garcia vs. Dustin Nippert (3-4, 6.20)

Two-thirds of it looks like a game out of 2003.

I don’t want to be a defeatist here, but let’s face it. Unless something magically unforeseen happens, the Tigers could depart Texas with the back end of a .500 season intact — i.e., 81 losses. Which means they’d have to run the table and have the Twins and White Sox tied on Sept. 28 — requiring game 162 be played in Chicago — and win that game to finish 81-81.

Doesn’t look promising, does it? Take heart. Word out of Detroit is that Milt Wilcox is starting game one in Cleveland Friday night.

Here we are, approaching the third weekend of August, and the Tigers are mired in third place, nine-and-a-half games out of first place. And, as I’m always reminding myself, only five games out of last place. This was supposed to be like 1984, 1968 or even 1945. It was not supposed to be like – gulp – 2005.

The Tigers record coming into this weekend series against the Orioles is 59-62. Entering play on Aug. 14, 2005, the Tigers were 53-61, 21-and-a-half-games out of first.

While the 2005 club was further back in the standings mathematically on Aug. 14, the current team feels about that far behind the White Sox and Twins. Doesn’t it?

Three years ago, Tigers fans seemed more interested in whether or not Alan Trammell would return as manager, who they’d acquire in the offseason, and what on God’s green earth to do with Carlos Pena?

Today, well, the team has probably more questions than the 2005 team did. One thing we can be assured of is Jim Leyland returning as manager. And that’s a good thing. Of course, some may disagree with that, but I believe there are very few buttons he could’ve pushed this year that would make up almost 10 games in the standings.

Here are 17 questions about the 2009 season rattling around in my head:

1. Who’s the closer in 2009?
2. Does Chuck Hernandez return as pitching coach?
3. Is Nate Robertson a Tiger next season?
4. Can Dontrelle Willis bounce back?
5. Can the Tigers deal Carlos Guillen?
6. If the Tigers can get a catcher, do they — and do they move Brandon Inge back to third?
7. Does Vance Wilson return at long last?
8. Who’s the shortstop?
9. Would they deal Magglio Ordonez as some suggest?
10. How does Jeremy Bonderman recover?
11. Is Clete Thomas on the big club to stay?
12. Who is 2009’s Matt Joyce?
13. Are the Tigers counting on Freddy Garcia?
14. Will Brent Clevlen finally break through?
15. What can the Tigers expect out of Joel Zumaya?
16. Do they sign Placido Polanco to an extension before the season?
17. What’s Gary Sheffield’s role — if any?

Ultimately, the 2005 Tigers finished 20 games under .500. Will this year’s team finish that far off the pace? Some days (i.e., against Tampa Bay) it certainly feels as if they could, but I doubt it.

I’m tending to believe that Doug’s right — 81 and 81 for this year’s club. But the fate of the 2009 team lies in how they address the pressing issues hovering over the organization.

I admitted to Ian that it’s way early but that doesn’t mean that panic is not setting in everywhere around Comerica Park — but never at Fungo HQ!

So, I’m lobbing it out there: Are the Tigers wondering what they signed themselves up for over the next seven years?

Maybe.

Fast-forward to this afternoon and the latest installment of Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings on ESPN.com. This time he reviews the off-season trades and the Tigers’ deals are getting anything but passing grades.

6. Braves-Tigers (RHP Jair Jurrjens and OF Gorkys Hernandez for Edgar Renteria): “At this point, Atlanta has won that deal,” said one scout. “Jurrjens [4-2, 2.84] has been their most consistent starter.”

Ouch.

And if you think that’s a harsh assessment, get a load of this:

9. Tigers-Marlins (Miguel Cabrera and LHP Dontrelle Willis for LHP Andrew Miller, OF Cameron Maybin, C Mike Rabelo, RHP Burke Badenhop, RHP Eulogia De La Cruz and RHP Dallas Trahern): We won’t be able to judge Florida’s half of this deal until about 2010. And Willis has been a mess. But the surprise is that Cabrera has been: (a) an offensive disappointment, (b) such a defensive disaster at third base that he had to be shifted to first within three weeks, and (c) so lackadaisical that players on other teams are privately questioning whether he flicked on his cruise-control switch after signing an eight-year, $153.3-million contract this spring. “I expected him to come in there and be superman,” said one scout. “He’s been anything but that.”

Ugly stuff.

Ready for more? Each week Stark touches base with big-league scouts on what they are seeing and hearing. It sure looks like no one likes what they see from Cabrera.

“For $150 million, you’d like to at least see him run a ball out. I watched him for a week, and I think there was one ball all week where he tried to extend himself. That was a double-play ball, and he was still like 4.8 [seconds] getting down the line. On a routine ground ball, he’s 5.2, maybe 5.1. It’s ridiculous to even pull the clock out.”

So, is it too soon to call this trade a blunder? Of course it is. And it would be a lot worse if, say, Cameron Maybin were tearing up the National League.

But you have to wonder if the Tigers brass is wishing they could take a mulligan…if not on the mega-deal with the Marlins, then at least on the month of April.

What do you think?