My first reaction to hearing of Kyle Farnsworth trade to Atlanta? "The 2006 season has begun. The Tigers have unofficially conceded 2005". Harsh? Yeah, it's harsh. Was it a gross over-reaction on my part, as I never envisioned the playoffs? Absolutely. Unfortunately, I think the ballclub shared my sentiment.
You cannot convince me the Detroit Tigers didn't mail in yesterday's game against Oakland. They may not have thrown the contest, but they sure weren't interested in playing. Jim Price, of the Tigers' radio network, said as much during the game. The Tigers had to believe that the trade of Farnsworth, especially with minor league hurlers coming in return, signaled the end of the competitive portion of their season.
However, keeping the big picture in view, something that's darn difficult when your team is on a decade plus long losing skid, the Tigers did what they had to. There is no question Farnsworth was having a very good season, but this was his first successful spell as a closer. The Chicago Cubs, his former employer, gave Farnsworth a number of opportunities to become their closer, but he failed. More often than not, he failed miserably.
Instead of waiting for Farnsworth to walk away at season's end at get nothing in return, Dave Dombrowski got proactive. He moved the Tigers third closer of the year to the Braves and got something for Farnsworth, probably at the peak of his value.
From a rational standpoint, Dombrowski appears to have done the right thing no matter what Farnsworth does in Atlanta. Farnsworth turned down a three year offer from Detroit and made it clear he wanted to be a free agent. The Tigers, rightfully leery of Farnsworth's long term success, probably hesitated to give him too much money. It's a hard premise to argue. Alas, that doesn't make the remainder of 2005 seem any better.
Sure, Fernando Rodney could come in a be a star. He could make all of us forget Farnsworth by September 1st. But right now, fans, and even the team, feel a bit let down. They feel like the remainder of this season is like so many prior-primarily a time to evaluate for next year.
The one who may get the closest observation is Alan Trammell. I worry that Tram may have a worst case scenario on his hands. Coming off a road trip that all but eliminated his team from post-season possibilities, and a tacit signal from management that they have waved the white flag for '05, Trammell could find his team in a complete free fall. How, and if, the Tigers rebound from their disastrous west coast visit may determine if Trammell's job is on the line.
The baseball season in Detroit has two months left, but for a great many of us, it sure felt like it ended yesterday afternoon.
1 comment:
I had a similar reaction, along with a similarly rational view after a night of sleep.
But I totally understand Tigers fans getting worked up about this. Besides creating the perception that this means the 2005 season is over, from a competitive standpoint, it's just disappointing to see someone many of us hoped could be a major contributor to the contending Tigers team we all hope for.
This isn't Rondell White or Jason Johnson - players we all know aren't coming back next year - being traded. This was a guy - a fan favorite - we hoped would be making big saves for an eventual playoff team.
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