What a Choke: The 2008 Detroit Tigers and the Value of Potential

I wrote about it several times during the first weeks of the season. I quickly had my doubts ... the team came out of the gate looking, well, looking unenthused. Maybe they were "fat cats," as their wallets were full. Many were filled without reason, e.g. Dontrelle Willis and Nate Robertson. Didn't the suits figure anything out from the Brandon Inge contract ($6 million?)

This is from VERY early in the season:

A seven or ten game losing streak in July might go unnoticed by the casual observer. Starting the season without a win for a week or more ... that's going to gain national attention. Starting the season without a win for a week or more when you're supposed to be a team that could score 1,000 runs and should contend for a Pennant ... THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT.

The Tigers are off to a bad start.

The Tigers are off to a lousy start.

The Tigers are off to a terrible start.

The Tigers are ... off to see the wizard.

Can it get any worse? I suppose it could.

Yes, it was a bad, lousy, terrible start. It did get worse. It got slightly better for a couple of weeks.

Is this team just mirroring the Chicago White Sox of '05? Or are they just old and gray? Maybe youth will be served, but with the large contracts the Tigers have, some of the armor will be difficult (read: impossible) to move. Sure, Todd Jones and Kenny Rogers will not be back, but who else might be gone? Can they afford to throw away $14 million on Gary Sheffield? Maybe he'll bounce back, but history suggests that once he sours, he must be moved. Tampa Bay would have been a good destination for the Sheff. Too bad their young GM is too smart to jump.

As they say, "there's always next year."

Go Rays!