Why No Detroit Tigers Trade is No Problem

The Major League Baseball trade deadline came and went today at 4:00 Eastern Daylight Time, and despite all the rumors, speculation, and innuendo, and all of the names, from Eric Gagne, to Jack Wilson, to Octavio Dotel, engulfing the Detroit Tigers, all was quiet on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull (or, make that the corner of Montcalm and Witherell). And with all due respect to the numerous knowledgeable posters at MLive.com's Detroit Tigers Forum and my buddy Kurt from Mack Avenue Tigers, I don't think the Tigers holding steady was the wrong move. In fact, I think it was the right move given the circumstances surrounding the 2007 trade market.

Do the Detroit Tigers need help in the bullpen? Absolutely. And that help is just as likely to come from the return of Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya as it is from Octavio Dotel or Al Reyes or anybody else the Tigers may have traded for. And the Tigers didn't have to mortgage their future (or, give up anybody in fact) to get one of the most fear-inducing relievers in the league (Zumaya) and a set-up man who, when healthy, is well, halfway decent at least (Rodney).

Dotel, like Zumaya and Rodney, has missed most of the season due to injury and has a career ERA near 4.00. And some of the trades I saw speculated about this morning, and the prospects Tigers fans willing to trade away, really stunned me. I saw Jordan Tata, Omar Infante,, and Jair Jurrjens all speculated as being part of various packages. After the Humberto Sanchez trade last season, giving away Tata and Jurrjens would decimate the deep starting pitching depth General Manager Dave Dombrowski has painstakingly built. I don't blame him for not wanting to give it all away for a reliever who is simply a rent-a-player and may not be any more effective than players we already have.

I know people are uncomfortable with Fernando Rodney. Yes, he's erratic. And not tremendously dependable. But he's effective (at times) and we only don't like him because we see him on a daily basis. Trust me, most relievers are like Rodney. We only think they are better because we don't see them walk batters on a daily basis. And yes, we don't know how successful Joel Zumaya will be when he returns in August. But given how dominating Zumaya can be, why make a panic move which may turn out to be unnecessary? And give up significant pieces of your future, or significant pieces of even bigger future trades, in order to do it?

Yes, the Boston Red Sox got better today with the addition of Eric Gagne. Their bullpen now, innings 7-9, may be one of the best in the last century (and that's not much of an exaggeration) but the Tigers and Tigers fans should not be worrying about Boston. Let's focus on winning the AL Central (and let's remember, Cleveland did not make a move today either) and when or if we face Boston, we worry about it then. For now, I have faith in the Detroit Tigers, just as they are. A trade would have been helpful, but it had to be the right trade, for the right player, and for the right price.

Sometimes the best move you make, is the move you don't make.

Bob Costas Fires Back at Barry Bonds

I have always had a mixed opinion of NBC sportscaster Bob Costas. While there is no doubt he is a tremendous broadcaster, and I grew up both listening to his weekly national radio show, and watching him on television, as I got older, his grandiose style seemed too preachy, and his soliloquies delivered from someone who seemed to like himself talk just a bit too much. But, then again, I write a blog where it's obvious I like to hear myself talk (so to speak) so who am I to judge? In any case, I've gained a new level of respect for Costas this week after he fought with one of sports biggest villains these days, Barry Bonds.

Apparently, Costas had the audacity to challenge Bonds on the eve of Bonds breaking of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, reciting the familiar steroid accusations against Bonds. Bonds, ever the classy individual, responded by calling the 5'6" Costas a "midget" who knows nothing about baseball.. As a sports journalist who would likely have to look up to Costas if we ever met, I wasn't happy with the height crack. Not that I liked Barry Bonds anyway. But, Bonds comments did get a reaction out of Costas, which gave me a good chuckle.

"As anyone can plainly see, I'm 5-6 1/2 and a strapping 150, and unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally,'' Costas said Thursday.

Costas as also on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning (with the funny Willie Giest sitting in for host Joe Scarborough) and he went after Bonds, laying out the statistical anomalies since Bonds alleged steroid use began in a clear, and convincing fashion. Very prosecutorial.

Kenny Rogers Hits the Disabled List (again)

While the Detroit Tigers continue to look for bullpen help ahead of Tuesday afternoon's non-waiver trade deadline, they may have bigger problems. Kenny Rogers, who pitched so well when he first came off the Disabled List in June, is back on the DL, this time with "right elbow inflammation."

While Rogers has struggled recently (0-2 in his last three starts, a stretch which saw him give up 17 earned runs) this is not good news for a Tigers pitching staff, which has seen its share of ups and downs this year. Rogers was the emotional leader of the Tigers run to the World Series last year, and with Mike Maroth traded, he filled a need as our soft-tossing left-hander. When you start hard throwing power arms like Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, and rookie Andrew Miller on a nightly basis, having a guy like Rogers to mix things up really keeps a team off-balance. At least for the next two weeks, the Tigers will not have that luxury.

And you have to be worried that Rogers will miss more than just the 15 days he must spend on the DL. While Danny Knobler reports the Tigers hope Rogers will only miss two starts, at 42-years-old, Rogers isn't likely to bounce back from elbow trouble as quickly as a pitcher half his age would. And even those pitchers often find elbow trouble lingering. The good news for the Tigers is that Rogers is much more valuable to them in September and October than he is July and August. Having Rogers ready and healthy for the playoffs will go a long way to determining whether or not the Tigers will be able to make it back to the World Series. No need to him back right now.

As for the man replacing Rogers in the rotation, it's an intriguing opportunity for Jodan Tata. Tata made the Detroit Tigers 25-man roster out of Spring Training last season, and since then has been considered one of the team's top starting pitching prospects (especially once the Tigers traded Humberto Sanchez in the Gary Sheffield deal). So far this season for AAA Toledo, Tata is 3-3 with a 3.29 ERA in 11 starts. He has struck out 30 in 63 innings of work but has walked 19. It will be a good opportunity for Tata to show his stuff (he'll start his first Major League game Monday night against Oakland) and like Rogers, Tata isn't a carbon copy of Bonderman, Verlander, or Miller.

As Tuesday's trade deadline approaches, the Rogers injury should not change the Tigers focus at all. There aren't many quality starting pitchers on the market to begin with (the best may be Cincinnati's Kyle Lohse who has an underwhelming 6-12 record) and as long they believe the injury not to be serious, even if Rogers does not return until September (and as of now, the Tigers expect him back much sooner than that), it should give him plenty of time to get in shape for the post-season (assuming, of course, the Tigers make the post-season). I would still look for bullpen help, but wouldn't sell the farm to get it (and with Rogers' injury, it probably makes it less likely the Tigers would trade away one of their better starting prospects, like Tata, to get a deal done). If something big does happen though, that likely is not good for the future, and quick return, of Kenny Rogers.

Erin Burnett versus Maria Bartiromo, Take Two

Looks like I was a few months early writing about the friendly (or maybe not so friendly) rivalry between CNBC anchors Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo. Noticing back in March, when I was on a massive CNBC kick, how great Burnett was hosting her afternoon show Street Signs, I wrote about how underrated Burnett was compared to her colleague Maria Bartiromo. But, now, just four months later, after being profiled on Portfolio.com (a story in which this blog was quoted), Broadcasting and Cable and in the New York Post (which dubbed her the 'Street Sweetie'), Burnett certainly is "rated" these days.

Burnett has exploded on the scene to such an extent, apparently Bartiromo is none too pleased. Watching Morning Joe tonight (as I wrote last week, I tend to watch Morning Joe, at least the third hour which I miss while driving into work, at night) host Joe Scarborough, who has Burnett on each morning around 8:20, talked about another New York Post story which details Bartiromo's displeasure with Burnett's rise.

An inside source tells Page Six the Money Honey has been fuming that curvy Burnett, in addition to her duties as anchor of "Street Signs" and co-anchor of "Squawk on the Street," is getting substantial airtime on the "Today" show, which gives her a much bigger audience. "Maria is like, hey, why isn't it me on the 'Today' show? She's very jealous of all the attention Erin is getting," our source said.

Burnett's star is certainly skyrocketing. Broadcast & Cable magazine called the petite, blue-eyed brunette CNBC's "secret weapon" in its upcoming battle with the soon-to-launch Fox Business Channel, which is owned by News Corp., The Post's parent. Adding insult to injury, the trade journal quoted CNBC senior VP Jonathan Wald as gushing about Burnett, "She's a natural. She's both energetic and solicitous, but she never appears fawning."

While there may be some feathers ruffled over at CNBC, as I'm sure there are at most networks when a new anchor is quickly rising up the charts, I think Burnett's success has as much to do with her on-air demeanor as it does her looks as the Post implies. While newspapers may like to refer to her as "Sweet Sweetie" and "curvy,", and there's no doubt Burnett is very beautiful, it is Burnett's ability to interact with her guests and co-hosts, and a certain genuineness which is at the root of her success. Though, TV Newser has a source which says Burnett may be the source of the New York Post story, and may herself be fueling the rivalry, so who knows.

Actually, now that I think about it, has anybody considered that the feud may be a ruse? With the Fox Business Channel set to enter CNBC's territory sooner than later, knowing that papers like the New York Post love stories like this, what if Burnett, Bartiromo, and some CNBC people are leaking these stories to increase their publicity and hopefully ratings going into the Fox Business Channel launch? By increasing Burnett's visibility, both on Morning Joe (where she's great and has a great chemistry with host Joe Scarborough), and the Today Show, and getting these stories about her rise to the top of the business journalism world, and putting her on the same level as the already highly respected and well-known Bartiromo, CNBC suddenly has two top anchors that are household names. Hmmm...