CNN/SI Preview: Detroit Tigers
Posted: Thursday March 11, 1999 10:08 AM
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Palmer was ninth in the AL with 119 RBIs last season. Vincent Laforet/Allsport |
By Dan George, CNN/SI How badly do the Tigers want to contend this season, their last
before abandoning 87-year-old Tiger Stadium for shiny new Comerica Park?
They essentially gave up on young third base prospect Gabe Alvarez over the
winter, handing good-hitting, shaky-fielding Dean Palmer a five-year deal
worth -- gulp -- $36 million. GM Randy Smith figured he could
afford it, given the moolah the new ballpark will generate. But most people
thought that when Detroit plunged into the free-agent waters it would be
for a front-line pitcher. Instead, the Tigers' top mound addition is Willie Blair,
an NL flop last season after a career '97 in Detroit. The
right-handed Palmer, who batted .278 with 34 homers and a career-high 119
RBIs with the Kansas
City Royals in 1998, should give the Tigers a lot more pop than last
year's third sacker, Joe Randa (now
coincidentally with the Royals), especially in cozy Tiger Stadium. On the
other hand, Palmer has never put together consecutive standout seasons
since hitting the majors for good in 1991, and he'll be 35 years old at the
end of the deal. One can only wonder where Gabe Alvarez will be then.
1998 Recap (65-97, fifth place, AL Central) After going 79-83
in 1997, the Tigers entered last season with high hopes. But a miserable
4-17 start doomed all playoff aspirations, and only an 11-6 finish helped
them dodge a second 100-loss season in three years. Detroit limped home 24
games behind the first-place Cleveland Indians, a
finish that ended Buddy Bell's managerial days in Motown.
Shortstop Deivi
Cruz never really recovered from a broken left ankle early in the
season, leadoff hitter Brian Hunter
managed just a .298 on-base percentage and No. 1 starter Justin
Thompson's ERA ballooned to a an un-ace-like 4.08. How bad was
it? In the Tigers' final game, Toronto's Roy Halladay tossed a one-hitter
at them -- in just his second major league start. 1999
Outlook Only two American League teams scored fewer runs than the
Tigers in '98. Don't look for a repeat this season. In addition to
Palmer, Detroit added DH Gregg
Jefferies, a career .292 hitter, over the winter. Expect big things,
too, from young right fielder Juan Encarnacion (.329, 7 HRs, 21 RBIs in 40
games). The Tigers like him so much that they may move Bobby Higginson, who
led AL right fielders with 16 assists last year, to left. Gabe Kapler, who
knocked in 146 runs in the minors least year, could also make a splash. The
Tigers have been working him in center field to get Hunter's attention,
although he'll probably start the season in Class AAA.
But the Tigers' biggest addition may be catcher
Brad Ausmus, acquired from the Houston Astros. Smith
-- who has traded for Ausmus three times and drafted him once -- hopes the
defensive standout will steady the pitching rotation of Thompson, Brian Moehler,
Blair, Seth Greisinger and Bryce Florie.
The bullpen should be set. Closer Todd Jones is
openly eyeing Detroit's single-season save mark (38, John Hiller, 1973),
and the Tigers have a solid backup in hard-throwing Matt Anderson.
Neither Smith nor new manager Larry Parrish has delusions of catching the
powerhouse Indians, but second place in the AL Central is well within reach
and a few breaks could put them in wild-card range.
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