The Tigers inked Jose Valverde.  His name was thrown around early on when the discussion was bullpen improvement.  The good news is that although he was way out of the Cardinal price range, thank you Matt Holliday, there were still some rumblings of him going there. 

Its good news because it puts pressure on Ryan Franklin to pitch like he did until September for the Redbirds. 

And we’re not playing the Tigers in October.  Maybe the Hiroshima Tigers in November some year, but not the Motown Tigers this one.

Just to chime in on the spectrum of subjects covered in no particular order…

I think Zack is on a good track with the Giants, but I don’t believe they are the faves in that division.  I agree with Pete on the Diamondbacks.  The addition of Edwin Jackson, potential return to an effective level of Brandon Webb, and presence of Dan Haren makes for what figures more likely than not to be an excellent front of the rotation.  It will be interesting to see what 3B Mark Reynolds does this year.  Mike Schmidt struck out a lot early on, Reynolds is a helluva hitter if he can master it to supplement his power.  As far as Lincecum and Cain being unmatched except by Seattle, that sounds a little prejudicial pro Cliff Lee to me.   Carpenter and Wainright, Halladay and Hamels, CC and Burnett, Beckett and Lackey or Bucholz are all 1-2 combos that are worthy competition.  Not to mention the Dback tandem of Webb and Haren.  Now if I had to pick one, I’m okay with the Felix-Cliff choice, but they are not a lock.  Let’s not forget, Cliff has had some inconsistencies during most of his standout years, including the end of the regular season last year.

No rush, Pete, but I’ll look forward to why the Brewers are the pick over the Cards in the coming weeks.

The 2 places I have heard mentioned for Thome are the A’s and White Sox.  Not real hot rumors though.

On Japan.  I’m most intruiged by Bski’s saying when the dh is eliminated.  Man, the union is going to be sold something  extraordinarily sweet to give that up.  It is surprising to read tht most players hate it, but John Heyman is a good reporter. 

Now.  Best of the 50s.  We didn’t include the Flamingos, Harptones, or Jive 5 in there, but Pete is right that on a per game basis, Teddy Ballgame is a great choice.  The problem with thinking Musial is you stay on the same track.  Offense.  And its not like Stan was a bad defender, but when you consider the whole package, speed and defense, ain’t no say like the say hey kid.  And I might add that Hank Aaron is never ever in discussions of the greatest.    That’s what happens when you only hit 40 per year.  You just total out as the best, but nothing superlative negates the headlines of  a Willie basket catch.   

Just some general reactions.

I’m sure I’ll reconsider as the season gets closer, anyone but San Diego could win that division.

I picked the D-Backs, cause their top 2 (Haren and Webb) could be just as good, if not better than the Giants duo. They also got Edwin Jackson as their #3 now, and their offense has the potential to be greatly improved (potential break-out of Justin Upton, Conor Jackson returns, Adam LaRoche signed, Chris Young HAS to be better). They also improved their bullpen with Howry and Heilman.