Detroit's got something cooking, but not many are feeling the heat.
Heat? Well, there's not much of it in Michigan in February. The Red Wings are skating all over the rest of the. The snow won't melt for at least another two months.
The heat is radiating from what seems to me the most unlikely of places: Comerica Park.
That is not to say that the baseball world does not appreciate the Detroit Tigers, who suddenly appeared in the playoffs in 2006. But, honestly: the Tigers?
My idea of the Tigers has always been somewhat akin to that of the Devil Rays. A Tigers series added three to the win column. Season ticket holders gave their tickets for the Tigers game to the coworker they like the least. I don't think I've ever met a Tigers fan.
Yet the Tigers, for once, find themselves at the top of the baseball heap. They are the second-richest team in baseball, trailing only the New York Yankees. And with all this money to spare, they have signed and re-signed with exponentially more chips than ever before.
Not only do the Tigers retain key players from last season (Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco, Magglio Ordonez, and Marcus Thames), they picked up the option on formidable catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Perhaps the most crucial returner, Curtis Granderson, was re-signed yesterday. Most surprising to me is that, though Granderson became third all-time to achieve the 20-20-20-20 last year, just one year ago, no one knew his name.
The youth-to-veteran quotient on the Tigers is reminiscent of the re-emergent Boston Celtics. And we have all seen how well that works.
Added to the roster are names that should have caused far more of a stir.
Miguel Cabrera. Dontrelle "D-Train" Willis. Edgar Renteria. Jacque Jones.
The perfect marriage of money and silence this offseason has catapulted the Tigers into a prime position to take hold of the league.
Detriot's got something special this year. If the young guys can stay consistent and the veterans do not disappoint, the Tigers will no longer be able to hide their heat.
America, get ready: These Tigers are prepared to pounce on the MLB and leave us wondering why we ever gave away those tickets.
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