Mailbag: Is Monroe worthy of a starting job?
Am I missing something here in regards to Craig Monroe? Here is a guy who, in w
hat was for all intents and purposes his rookie season, hit 23 home runs and 70
RBIs in just 128 games. Then, he followed that year with 18 homers and 72 RBIs
and hit .293 (again in only 128 games), yet he still isn't talked about as a p
otential rising star for the Tigers, or even a starter for that matter. Why is
this?
Also, I moved to Nashville from the Detroit area last year. Do you happen to kn
ow the closest major league city to Nashville the Tigers will be visiting this
year? -- Trevor R., Nashville, Tenn.
Barring a free agent signing, I think Monroe is at least an option to platoon w
ith Bobby Higginson in right. I think one of the issues standing between him an
d an everyday spot in the lineup is his outfield defense, which showed improvem
ent down the stretch, but still isn't what you would like for an everyday outfi
elder at Comerica Park. Another is that he's gotten off to slow starts the last
couple years, not including that hot April he had in 2003 at Toledo.
As for the closest the Tigers are coming to you, it's Chicago, about a seven-ho
ur drive up Interstate 65 to I-90 or I-94 depending on traffic around Indianapo
lis.
It seems the Tigers speculate a lot when it comes to players and with the excep
tion of Pudge Rodriguez and Carlos Guillen, never sign players with proven trac
k records that are trending into the positive light. With that being said, isn'
t it time that the Tigers made serious moves toward serious improvement that wo
uld make them contenders and not onlookers?
-- Doug L.
The Tigers don't sign a whole lot of players with proven track records that are
trending into the positive light because there aren't a whole lot of them out
there. Teams who have them prefer to keep them, and the few that do hit the mar
ket tend to get paid a lot of money by teams whose uniforms have "New York" and
"Boston" on them. The way to get them is to speculate. That's what the draft i
s about. That's what trading for prospects is about. That's how teams in this d
ivision improve. If you can't speculate, I'm guessing you're not making much he
adway in your quest to secure a contending team.
Tell me if I'm wrong on this. Didn't Rondell White play some center field when
he was with New York? I know it wouldn't solve all of their center field proble
ms, but couldn't they put him at center, Bobby Higginson at right, and rotate C
raig Monroe and Marcus Thames at left? I think Marcus has a great bat and could
be a pretty good starter for the Tigers. -- Tigers fan
You're right, but barely. White played one game in center field during his seas
on in Yankee pinstripes. Much of his time in Montreal, though, was spent in cen
ter. So he certainly has experience there. The wrench in the idea of putting hi
m back there is that injuries and age have pretty much eliminated any chance of
a return. Footspeed and mobility are critical in center field at Comerica Park
, and Rondell just doesn't have that in the field anymore without putting himse
lf at risk.
Love your work. Keep it up. I was just wondering what kind of timetable are the
Tigers putting on the advancement of Kyle Sleeth and Justin Verlander. All the
pre-draft talk about both players suggested that they were pretty far advanced
in their development. I know Sleeth struggled in Erie last year, but could he
make it to the big show sometime this year if he bounces back? And could Verlan
der make an appearance in Detroit in his first professional year? -- Craig, Mil
lington, Mich.
A breakout season from Sleeth at Erie could conceivably land him in Detroit in
September, or a little sooner if multiple injuries press the need for starting
pitching help. Still, Craig, I think the Tigers would like to avoid the latter
and give him more time to get his stuff down consistently at Erie. Plus, any mo
ve to the Majors would require him to be added to the 40-man roster, and that's
a tight fit right now.
Verlander's contract already has him on the 40-man roster, much to the Tigers'
angst. I'd probably expect him to get a courtesy call up to Detroit when roster
s expand in September, though it might be just to let him observe. As far as ac
tually joining the rotation, I think that's a long way off. He's on a track sim
ilar to Sleeth, if not actually slower since he's a little more raw.
Since most of the premier guys that the Tigers were hoping to sign have now spu
rned their offers for teams with better records or more money, I was just wonde
ring who exactly you suspect Detroit is still dealing with or may enter serious
talks with. Also, why has Mike Ilitch not made a public statement this year as
he did last year? It really let his fans know that he was serious and was real
ly trying to get premier free agents. It would silence all the whining I have h
eard for a week at least. -- Kyle, Ottawa Lake, Mich.
You've only heard the whining for a week, Kyle? Consider yourself lucky.
I think Derek Lowe was the only real commodity left on the market for them, tho
ugh I could be wrong. The Ilitch statement I assume is when he said back in Nov
ember 2003 that they were interested in Tejada and that they wanted to be activ
e in the market. That wasn't so much a public statement on his part as a well-t
imed quote.
He was at a press conference promoting the 2005 All-Star Game, he was willing t
o talk to the beat writers afterwards, and he said it. There really hasn't been
any opportunity like that for him this year, since the only press conference s
o far was the Troy Percival signing back in November. He talked with reporters
when he came to the ballpark back in September for the team photo. Strategicall
y, it doesn't make sense to schedule a press conference simply to say that they
tried.
Why haven't the Tigers shown any interest in Shawn Estes? He is a solid front o
f the rotation veteran that would fit in good with the Tigers young arms. He wo
n 15 for Colorado, and although his ERA was high, he was pitching in Colorado.
He has been a proven over-.500 pitcher. -- Cory
Estes had a good season in Colorado last year, I'll give you that. But his 5.84
ERA was high even for Rockies starters, and it wasn't even that much of a thin
-air factor. His ERA was 5.53 away from Coors Field last year, and as a Chicago
Cub in 2003 his ERA was as high at 5.73, including 5.57 on the road.
But even if you get past all that, he's a left-handed starter with a similar re
pertoire to Mike Maroth, albeit a better fastball. The Tigers don't mind having
three lefties in their rotation, contrary to popular belief, but having two th
at throw the same type of stuff would hurt both Estes and Maroth alike. And if
you had to choose, Maroth is a better choice for Detroit for the money.
--
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