The On
by Sean Thornton
9 Years. $214 Million. To say the baseball world is still
feeling the aftershock of the Detroit Tigers shocking signing of Prince Fielder
is an understatement. No one saw this coming, and even fewer thought Fielder
would get that many years. The obvious first reaction was that the Tigers had
wrapped up a playoff spot for this year, with returning MVP and Cy Young Winner
Justin Verlander and fellow slugger Miguel Cabrera in the same lineup with his
Prince-ness. But by the end of last week, I wondered if this would actually
help our Kansas City Royals, who are in the same division as the Tigers. I
know, I must be crazy, right? Maybe not. Let’s look at the division as a whole.
The Twins had a really rough year last year, and look for only a slightly
better one this year, as it seems they are rebuilding a bit. Cleveland are a
lot like the Royals, a lot of younger talent but unsure if they have the pieces
to compete. The White Sox are a 
mess…there
really is no other way to spin that. So that leaves the Royals and Tigers. Now,
my first inclination is to say Kansas City is still a year away from competing
for a playoff spot. The starting rotation is still not much more than average
at best, and with all the youngsters, it is not assured that they will all
flourish. But…if things fall right, they could compete. Now, my main concern
with Detroit is the defense. Because of the Fielder signing, Cabrera will be
moving to Third Base, where he originally played when the Tigers acquired him
years ago. But they moved him to First Base for a reason. That reason was that
he just isn’t good defensively. I’m pretty sure that hasn’t changed any. Add in
that Prince isn’t the most flexible at First, Jhonny Peralta’s shaky defense at
Shortstop and you have a recipe for the defense to fall behind a bit. It also
seems that the Tigers might not have the most depth in the world either. Sure,
neither do the Royals, but the Tigers will be trotting out an older lineup. Age
normally besets injuries, or at least makes them more susceptible. Justin
Verlander probably won’t have a season like this past either. Don’t get me
wrong; I think he’ll probably still have a very good season, just not a MVP
type season. Now, these are all a lot of if’s. I get that it is a long shot.
But if the Tigers defense is bad, they don’t get as good a pitching or a few
injuries pop up, and the Royals pitch better than expected and the offense
plays like we think they will, there could be a shot. Nothing is guaranteed in
baseball, even if you spend $214 million dollars on one player. I’m Sean
Thornton in the On Deck Circle.
Sean Thornton is 14
KVOE’s evening on-air personality
and host of Saturday’s Morning
Show. Sean also compiles the KVOE Auto Race Update.
Listen to “The On Deck Circle” at
10:06 am on the Monday Morning Quarterback on 14 KVOE.
Reach Sean at thorntons@kvoe.com.