Pitchers Pass Tigers By

Any other Detroit Tigers fans upset that so many quality pitchers are changing teams and the Tigers can't land one of them? I can understand not getting a free agent, but number one starters, who are almost never traded, are changing partners more often than Brittany Spears.

When Carl Pavano opted for the New York Yankees, I understood. He's an east coast guy. The Yankees have Pavano over for lunch with Yogi Berra, he runs into Don Mattingly in the hall, Joe Torre shows him the Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig plaques in the Yankee Stadium outfield and Pavano's day ends with dinner with Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter. Oh, and the guy who owns the Yankees finishes the meal with a big check and a pinstripe jersey. That's a hard sales pitch to beat.

However, in the last four days, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder (of Michigan State University) got shipped out of Oakland. I defer to Billy Beane's judgement on what Oakland got in return for two of the premier starters in the American League, but at first glance, I'm not overwhelmed. I'm disappointed as I would have thought the Tigers could have mustered something close to what the A's received from either Atlanta or St. Louis. Honestly, I'd like to think the Tigers would have offered more.

The only Tiger I would not have traded to get either Hudson or Mulder was Jeremy Bonderman. Well, Pudge, too, but I don't think Beane wanted Rodriguez or his contract anyway. I would have sent anyone and everyone else in the organization to the Atheltics in exchange for baseball's most elusive commodity-a true number one starter.

How many legitimate number one guys are there anyway? Twelve? Twenty? Twenty-five? If you choose anything less than thirty, that means there are fewer true top of the rotation starters than there are teams. What kind of premium does that place on getting just one? What would you not give up to land one?

There are some fans in Tigertown who think signing Derek Lowe at ten million a year is worth it simply because he is a good pitcher. I object. I'd rather give Hudson or Mulder, who are younger, more dependable and have more upside, fifteen million a season for the next five years than give Lowe or someone of his ilk ten million per year.

It's not because I dislike Lowe. I just think there is a difference between getting a true number one starter and landing a veteran who, by default or contract size, is your number one starter.

I still trust Dave Dombrowski to make some necessary changes to improve this team for 2005, but I can't help but be disappointed to see the Tigers miss out on such a unique opportunity to acquire a coveted top of the rotation pitcher.