Yep, only the Tigers

[Arlo]

I'm with DHC on this one, as some of you may already know. I love Bonderman's potential, and think he can still become a very good pitcher, but I truly couldn't understand the decision to bring him to the majors so early, and particularly to leave him in Detroit for the duration of that tough season. Send him down to Toledo, give him time to develop, and reap the benefits in the future.

[Casimir]

I'm with DHC on this one, as some of you may already know. I love Bonderman's potential, and think he can still become a very good pitcher, but I truly couldn't understand the decision to bring him to the majors so early, and particularly to leave him in Detroit for the duration of that tough season. Send him down to Toledo, give him time to develop, and reap the benefits in the future.

Agreed. I was never a fan of Bonderman making the big suqad last season either. I do think he held his own as well as could be expected. But I'd have much rather seen him in AA Erie or AAA Toledo last season, working his way through the minors until he was really ready.

Last season was a bust, and there was no good reason to have Bondy in Detroit. Everyone knew the Tigers weren't going to be good, so why not use some hack retread to fill in the rotation. Knowing the incompetency of the owner, Bonderman may have been as a ticket seller. "Come see our future stars now". I'm surprised Dombrowski let it happen.

Now that Bonderman's gotten his feet wet, the lineup's been improved, and he has a chance to work with a catcher who's known as a good handler of pitchers, having him in the bigs may not be such a terrible idea.

[Mookie4ever]

Has Cornbread missed this thread or is he just too tired to put up another defence?

As for Bonderman - I think I heard all of the same excuses, explanations and predictions about Weaver a few years back.

[mightyian5]

weaver never should have been traded.

about johnson, hes no ace, and wont ever perform like one.

[mcqfesijiba]

Yeah, Johnson is a #3 starter at best. But that's not the scariest part. It's once you get beyond Johnson and Bonderman. I'm not exactly a huge fan of either Maroth or Cornejo, and they don't really have much help in the immediate future in the minors, as Zumaya and Sleeth should probably stay away from the majors this season (fortunately there's no talk of either of these gusy pulling a Bonderman).

Well, as a Tigers fan, I'm pretty happy with the work they did on improving their offense. I just hope they put the extra work into the other side of the game, pitching, next off-season and that the few potential major league pitchers that we have in the minors come along nicely (no more Wheatlands or Baughs, please).

[Cornbread Maxwell]

No Mook - I didnt miss it, just didnt have much to add:

You have to use a pretty loose interpretation of the word ace to apply it to Johnson, and Bonderman shouldnt have been called up last yr.

Now, however, I do want to comment on the Weaver for Pena deal. I think it was a smart:
A - they realized regardless of how good he was, the Tigers couldnt field a competitive team over the next couple seasons.
B - they traded away their most marketable asset for a young stud 1b who can develop with the rest of our team.

Sounds like a pretty wise decision to me as long as Pena can do his thing in the next few yrs.

PS. Im sure glad to see so many Tiger fans around here fightin the good fight!

[Guest]

I think that despite all their recent troubles, the Tigers are on the right track. They've signed on all their young talent (J.Weaver, M.Anderson, R.Fick, B.Higginson) to longterm contracts, and they've brought on Juan Gonzalez to provide veteran leadership and clubhouse presence.

Edit: Sorry, I guess I was a few years late, and a little bit off, in posting this one.

[ukjohn]

Johnson is a #4 starter on a good team