The Phillies just cost the Tigers five games and saved them five million

By Kyle Bauer

I feel as though I was just dumped out of a long-term relationship. Placido Polanco broke my heart.

Sometimes you can’t blame your significant other for pulling the plug, just as you cant blame your favorite hometown athlete for taking more money. This was the instance for Polanco, who I cannot blame in the least. The best the Tigers could had given him was a one or two-year deal for 12 million at the most. Also consider that the Tigers would want that second year to be an option. Why would Polanco take that, when he knows he could doop the market and demand three to five years.

This is a double-edged sword for the Tigers. It is a benefit that they will not have to take on more dead money. A new contract for Polanco would likely become an albatross after 2011. Of course time will tell. Polanco has had many injury problems that he has played through though. Mainly his back. That wears on an athlete over time, especially when swinging a bat.

The other side of the argument, is that Polanco keeps the Tigers competitive for another year. With Polly, I think Detroit hangs in the division race for majority of the season. Going up against Chicago and Minnesota’s rotation, they will need batters who can work counts and wear down pitchers. This has always been an issue for the Tigers and now the player who best worked counts is gone. Polanco is also your best clutch hitter. Magglio, Cabrera and Guillen can work counts via drawing walks and getting big hits but not to the consistency of Polanco. Those three were set up by and fed off of him.

Scott Sizemore, who will be the replacement, is already fighting through an ankle injury. He is projected to be a power-hitting, strike out machine with few intangibles, similar to oooooohhhhh hmmmm?…..all the other Tigers position player prospects!

For the money, I understand why the Tigers conceded immediately. I still would had appreciated if they had at least received a draft pick through attempting to offer arbitration.

Bye, Polly. You were “my Tiger.” I could always say that we had a player who we traded a convict for. All those times you drove a two-run double down the third base line, down by a run, with two outs in the 8th. The image of you jumping up and down, rounding third base, with that silly hood thingy on under your helmet, in game four of the ALCS, will always be burned in my mind. To me, your absence marks the official beginning of the end, for the Tigers five-year run of not being that bad of a franchise. You were one of the men who made baseball fun in this town again.

You will be missed.