How to fix the Detroit Tigers for 2009

Ok, I am a bit delayed in my off season preview of teams, but I am determined to get all teams in the near future. I thought I would start with the team nearest and dearest to my heart - The Detroit Tigers

2008 Recap:
Complete and total disaster. This is a team that finished behind the Royals in last place. The took a team that had won 95 and 88 games in 2006 and 2007. They added Miguel Carbrera, Edgar Renteria, and Dontrelle Willis - and then went out and won 74 games. Ouch. In retrospect the deals were greedy. This team had a good offense and Dave Drombrowski thought Miguel Cabrera was the missing piece. I can't kill him for this. The moves were all made with the intention of making the team stronger. Everything just happened to implode starting with the 0-7 start.

Ok, I have vented. When you take a step back there was a perfect storm of problems Detroit dealt with. The starting pitching looked like the walking wounded - with Dontrelle, Bonderman, Robertson, and Rogers were all non-factors in the 08' rotation. Todd Jones finally hit the wall as a closer and no one seemed eager to step into that role. There were 13 Tigers that had a save opportunity in 2008 - only 5 different Tigers converted a save.

The offense - I have written about this before - all star teams don't work. While on paper Pudge, Guillen, Polanco, Renteria, Cabrera, Grandersen, Ordonez, Sheffield, and Thames sounds fantastic. In practice its a disaster. Everyone wants to be that guy who hits the 7-run home run to fix the season. No one lays down a bunt. No one moves the runners over.

Bright Spots of 2008
Few and far between.
1. Carbrera - I know he's over weight. But he has a Manny like ability to absolutely hit anyone at any time. He has DH written all over him. But I think you can also jot down 0.300 30 and 125.
2. Armando Gallaraga - so Detroit trades Jair Jurrgens and Andrew Miller in the off-season, depleting our minor league pitching. Dontrelle Willis pulls a Wild-Thing and suddenly Gallaraga is thrown into the mix. Final stats 13-7 3.43 126 K's. A true diamond in the rough. I have him penciled in for quite some time.
3. Zach Miner - another guy who got the opportunity to throw because of pitching woes and did great. Miner went 8-5 with a 4.27 ERA. Those number may not sound impressive, but he was incredibly versatile - 13 starts 32 relief appearances. And when that sinker is worker you can almost convince yourself of Derek-Lowe-Lite.

How to fix the Tigers for 2009.

1. Get the starting rotation in order. You can write in Verlander, Gallaraga, and Bonderman. That leave's Dontrelle, Nate, Zach Miner, and Feddy Garcia in the mix to fill out the rotation. I am not convinced that the Tigers need to chase AJ Burnett, Derek Lowe, or any of the other big names. If healthy I think the above 7 pitchers can create a formidable 5-man rotation.
2. Closer. Get a closer! Rodney and Zumaya have had their chances and neither has impressed. When healthy they can be the best 7th and 8th inning guys in the game. But they just don't seem to have the I-don't-give-a-crap mentality that Todd Jones had. There are a lot of closers on the market this off season. I would avoid K-rod like the plague, but someone like Jose Valverde who has closed before would be perfect.
3. Someone to field and throw at short stop. Renteria was a miss. I don't think the Tigers need to pay a big name. They need a gritty guy who knows how to handle the bat and can field the position. Jack Wilson, Adam Everett, Orlando Cabrera are all names to fill in. They need someone.
4. Get rid of Sheffield. He is a cancer. Besides being in the news everyother day for the wrong reasons, he really puts a hamper on the lineup. Bottom line - he is no where near good enough to be an everyday DH anymore. With Sheffield demanding playing time that means Leyland can't give Maggs or Cabrera or Guillen or Thames a day at DH to rest. I don't care if they cut him - the team will be much better w/o Gary Sheffield. Bottom line - guys with his stats don't play for 7 teams because they are great teammates.

2009 Outlook:
I think 2009 is going to let us know whether this Tigers team is really the 95 win team from 06' or the 75 win team from 08'. If the starting rotation comes together and they get someone to close out games - I am a believer in October baseball for Detroit in 2009.