All right, I admit it. I’m writing about the Detroit Tigers now because I might not have a chance to a couple of weeks down the road.
And while we’re on the subject, let me admit something else. I get a perverse thrill out of seeing major league teams with ridiculous payrolls get slapped around by the little brothers of the poor.
Teams from the major markets. Teams such as the Yankees and the Mets and the Dodgers. Teams with more revenues — a.k.a. margin for personnel errors — than the other teams.
As we speak, all three of those teams are below .500. The Yankees are in last place in the American League East and the Dodgers are a half-game out of last in the National League West.
Now you can add the Tigers to the list of rich teams getting poorer. The powers that be in Detroit thought they were close to winning a pennant, so they made a blockbuster trade with the Marlins, acquiring Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera for a bunch of prospects. Not only that, they increased their payroll to almost $140 million, second only to the Yankees.
The fallout? The Marlins, with a payroll barely above $20 million, are leading the N.L. East and the Tigers have been the worst team in the majors.
Detroit was shut out four times in its first 12 games, one more than the Tigers’ total for the entire 2007 season. They allowed 78 runs in those 12 games and scored 33, both figures dead last in the majors. Willis is injured and Cabrera, who recently signed a $152-million contract, has one RBI since opening day.
Sure, it’s bound to turn around. It’s April, not August. The Tigers have too much talent not to turn things around. For that matter, so do the Yankees and Mets and Dodgers.
They’ll turn it around, all right. But until they do, it sure is fun watching them sweat.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily sports commentaries on The Jimmy Page midday during the week. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
