Things just got a little tougher today for the Tribe in their bid to repeat in the A.L. Central.The Tigers, one day into it, filled their biggest need of the off-season with the trade for SS Edgar Renteria.
Yes, that Edgar Renteria - as in Mr. Nagy meet Mr. Renteria. Or as my friend at work is fond of saying to me at least once a week all these years later, "two- and -two to Renteria..."
Renteria will fill the hole left by the injury-forced conversion of Carlos Guillen to first base.
While Renteria will make the Tigers a better ballclub, there's potentially worse news for the Tribe coming down the pike.
ESPN's Buster Olney was on the ESPN local radio affiliate in New York today and he made a strong case for the logic of Alex Rodriguez beeing wooed seriously by the Tigers.
The comments are also up on ESPN's Web site:
Owner Mike Ilitch is loaded, the team has a longstanding relationship with Scott Boras (who represents Magglio Ordonez, Pudge Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers and No. 1 pick Rick Porcello), and the team has demonstrated the willingness to ignore the salary suggestions of the commissioner's office.
While the original thought was the Tigers would be interested in A-Rod at shortstop, the signing of Renteria dispels that notion.
The Tigers have Brandon Inge at 3B, a decent player but hardly someone who would stand in A-Rod's way if the Tigers make it worth his while ($$$$).
On the other hand, another Central Division foe - the Twins - seem to be about ready to take it on the chin in free agency, with centerfielder Tori Hunter and pitcher Carlos Silva putting themselves on the market today.
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5 comments:
nah - arod wil be a dodger - or "yankee west" with torre, posada, and rivera
when do indains need a bird decision -isnt it in 10 days of world series
I don't know about ARod, he'll go where the money's highest but it wouldn't surprise me if Torre made not signing Arod a condition of him taking the Dodger job.
Posada and Rivera, for all their talk about wanted to give free agency a shot, will be back with the Yankees next year. That, you can take to the bank.
You are right, a decision on Byrd - and Borowski and Fultz - all must happen by a week from today.
From what it sounds like, ARod will most likely be going west ... Anaheim, Los Angeles, possibly even Seattle - who have the $$, as well as the you-know-what for brains. Will be interesting.
Ron, I can't believe I missed this site. I live in Williamsburg, BK and co-run another Tribe blog ... The Tribe Report. Check us out. http://mvn.com/mlb-indians/
I coulda used a friend during the Yankee series!!!
Hey Jack:
Glad you found the site. I checked your site out too. It was great. I'm gonna put a link to it under my "sites I like" list.
Maybe you can link my site to yours too, although by looking at the number of hits you get I'd be the one getting the better end of that deal.
Ron
PS: Judging from the picture on your site you are a lot closer to sports-bar-hopping age than I.
Perhaps you can answer for my readers a question I got about a dozen times during the playoffs.
What are some Indians/Browns-friendly sports bars in the NYC area?
Ron,
Blondies, Blondies, Blondies! I'm not exactly a bar-hopper (30 and recently married...but we still get out a bit!), but we head up to this place (called Blondies...) on the upper east side quite a bit. It's a haul, since we live in W'burg, but we both work in the city so it's not bad. There are two: Blondies East and Blondies West. Both are home to things like the NYC chapter of the Browns Backers, the OSU Alumni club (I'm an OSU Alum, btw). They're home to other similar groups as well for Michigan State, U of M, Detroit Lions, Penn State, etc. It gets kind of cloudy at times as to where the allegiances are at the two bars, but I can say that Blondies East was like being in a bar in Euclid, Ohio during the recent playoff run! It was pretty cool. Meeting people, finding out you know some of the same people back home, watching the Tribe together. Was pretty cool. A simple google of "Blondies NYC" will get anyone the info they need. I will say, though, that for something big like the OSU/Mich game or if the Browns go to the playoffs (actually any Browns Sunday is like this) you'll need to call and make reservations and say you're there for that particular game. I'll probably head up there for the Browns/Jets game in Dec, but I'm a more passive Browns and Cavs fan.
Thanks for the link. We'll get one up for you, too.
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