After some debate with "wilsonm24" in an earlier Fan Post regarding Detroit Tiger lineup and roster proposals, I have an idea regarding the lovingly applied nickname for Brad Thomas (AKA "The Wanker")

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I realize that this comes on the heals of a six game losing streak (and more embarrassingly two consecutive sweeps at the hands of the Indians and the Mariners), but I think that DD and JL will have to make some relatively drastic changes to the Tigers' lineup and roster once VMart returns from the DL later this week.  While I don't foresee Cleveland maintaining their lead in the Central through September, I see the Tigers trending in a negative fashion in several areas, and these changes may force some positive results.   

Below I propose six roster/lineup/batting order changings that DD and JL should implement... one for each of the six straight losses.

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Happy Veteran's Day to all of the Tiger fan veterans out there.  We all appreciate your service... both those that have served in the past, and those that are on currently active duty or in the reserves.

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I see alot of people talking about the Tigers fielding a team in 2011 that includes soon-to-be free agent Jayson Werth.  Lets not forget these information nuggets:

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For those of you sitting on the edge of your seat, you can relax now.  Yes, Wilken Ramirez was selected for the World Roster for the Futures Game... again.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2010/roster_futures_world.jsp

Whoever picks these teams must think he has quite a future.

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They showed him on his rehab assignment in Toledo batting against Stephen Strasburg.  When he singled, I noticed that he was wearing his Detroit Tigers batting helmet, and not the gigantic Toledo Mudhen helmets that everyone in AAA is wearing.

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I think that Brandon Inge *could* resign with the Tigers at a discount for 2011, but if not...

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For those of you that missed it, there were a few former Tigers who performed well for the Marlins yesterday:

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We should all start familiarizing ourselves with the names on this list.  History tells us that there is a very, very good chance that DD and David ChaDD will be selecting one of these pitchers should they fall into the sandwich round.

Jason A. Churchill wrote about the top 10 pitchers in the draft class in an ESPN Insider article.

I am constantly asking talent evaluators to grade players, pit one versus another and even rank the players in their area. Sometimes they reply with something I can share here in the blog; sometimes they ask that it be kept off the record.

But despite the anonymity and withholding of certain levels of information, there's always enough data to put together an educated guess. This time we'll use such hypotheses in ranking the greatest depth in this year's class -- the pitching.

With the assistance of common sense, intel shared by more than a half-dozen scouts and the absence of a clear-cut top college pitcher in the class, we follow up an early shot at the Top 5 from Friday with a glance at how the top pitchers in the class might rank based on talent and value, not where I necessarily see them being selected in June.

Note from Kurt: Edited the rest out because you are not allowed to post full stories from behind a paywall.

Since there appears to be quite a bit of interest, I just set up a free fantasy baseball league at ESPN.com, and the name of the league is "BYOB to BYB".  

I played last year with BYB, had fun until about June, saw that I was locked into last place, and then gave up.  But its a year later, and I'm a year smarter.  I figure that I might not have to give up until July this year.  

The first 13 people interested can join... just let me know what your email address is and I'll invite you.  The live draft is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2nd at 8:30PM.

Good luck to all.    

I absolutely, 100% do not wish for any player to be hurt, but **IF** Jair Jurrjens were to spend a significant number of days on the DL this year, would that somehow lessen the sting of the Rentaria trade?

If you remember way back to 2007, it was thought at the time that part of the reason DD thought Jurrjens was expendable (aside from the fact that he did not fit the 6-5, 220 lb mold that he likes all of his starters to fit into) was because Jurrjens suffered from chronic shoulder stiffness/discomfort... and I'm sure that that caused DD some discomfort. 

From ESPN.com:

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Someone needs to share this with Gerald Laird and Alex Avila immediately:

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4876369&name=olney_buster 

The Art of Catching

From Brent Mayne, more on pushing the pace of work:

"This is about the third 'Tip of the Week' where I harp on catchers to push the pace of the game. Am I crazy? Probably, but that's beside the point. Here's a question for you. From 2003 to 2009, can you guess who the five quickest working pitchers were? Just five schleprocks named Greg Maddux, Mark Buehrle, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Jake Peavy. I might be crazy, but I'll take that starting staff.

"Once again, let me reiterate that working quickly works. And I think it's important to understand and teach that the catcher (as much as anyone) is responsible for this facet of the game. How quickly you catch the pitch, get it back to the pitcher, and put another sign down will dictate how quickly a game moves. Here are the simple facts: Pitchers who work quickly are more effective. The defensive players behind a fast-working pitcher are more consistent. Hitters facing a quick pitcher are less effective. Girlfriends of pitchers who pitch quickly are happier. Short games are a thing of beauty.

"White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper on Mark Buehrle's pitching style: 'He sets the pace; he's attacking. He doesn't give the hitters time to think and regroup. He may get away with not making some pitches because he's on the attack.'

"Here's another fascinating thing about Buehrle's approach: he'll go through entire games without shaking off his catcher. 'Sometimes I don't pay attention to what a hitters' tendencies are ... my catchers see their tendencies, so I just go with what they say,' Buehrle said. Mark wisely understands that execution and location are far more important than the right pitch.

"From a hitter's perspective, here's what Darin Erstad has to say. 'You hate it. You're trying to be slow and calm in the box, and it feels like he's already let go of the ball.'

"I'll finish with this Greg Maddux quote on why he loved working with catcher Eddie Perez: 'Eddie got the ball back to me in exactly two seconds after every pitch. That allowed me to work at whatever pace I wanted.'"

Starters

Justin Verlander (R)

Rick Porcello (R)

Max Scherzer (R)

Jeremy Bonderman (R)

Nate Robertson (L)

Bullpen

Phil Coke (L)

Zach Miner (R)

Ryan Perry (R)

Joel Zumaya (R)

Daniel Schlareth (L)

Bobby Seay (L)

Jay Sborz (R)

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Dontrelle Willis and Armando Galarraga can go jump off a figurative bridge.    

I'll let you pick your own closer out of that mix.  I think its worth mentioning that Sborz is already on the 40 man roster, was presumed to be one of the "10 MLB-ready arms" that DD referred to last year that were already in the Tiger's minor league system, and as the likely 12th man on the staff, his innings may be limited in Detroit and that is why someone like Weinhardt or Satterwhite will start the year in Toledo.  

Keep your fingers crossed for Bonderman's velocity to return... and Robertson's stuff to return... and Zumaya's health to return... and Porcello to avoid the sophomore jinx... and Verlander to avoid returning to the ways of 2008... and Scherzer to average more than 5 innings per start...

That is alot of fingers...