A-Rod and the... Tigers?

My most knowledgeable of baseball friends (a diehard Indians fan now living in Gotham) writes thusly:

 

I am as sick, already, as anyone of all the A-rod talk, but living in NY makes it all but impossible to tune it out.  In light of that, one thing that has amazed me is that no one has even suggested the possibility of A-Rod signing with the Tigers.  It just seems to be a team that should be on a short list of possibilities, particularly if you believe, as many do, that the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Cubs and Angels are out of it.  Here are my reasons:

 

The Tigers biggest weak spot at this point is 3B, where Brandon Inge really struggled last year.  If the Tigers add A-Rod to a lineup that will feature Granderson (CF), Polanco (2b), Guillen (1b), Sheffield (DH), Ordonez (RF), Ivan Rodriguez (C), Maybin (LF) and Renteria (SS) they would have the best lineup in baseball.  That would be complemented by a starting rotation featuring Rogers, Verlander, Bonderman and Miller, and a bullpen, that when healthy, is solid and capable of even better with Rodney, Zumaya and Jones.  The Tigers would immediately become at least co-favorites with the Red Sox to win it all. 

           

The Tigers also have a GM who can deal with Boras to get a deal done and a manager that would be a good fit for A-Rod.  The Tigers also have a GM who could get a deal done with Boras, a manager A-Rod would like and a player (Sheffield) that seemed to be the one A-Rod was closest to on the Yankees.

 

The money is obviously a problem, but Mike Illitch is actually a big spender who has never had a problem shelling out huge dollars for Red Wings teams.  Also, as tight as it will be in the first couple of years, that is somewhat offset by the fact that they have some young guys like Granderson, Maybin, Verlander and Zumaya who do not make a whole lot of money because they are not yet arbitration eligible, and in a couple of years, the bigger contracts of Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez, Rogers and Sheffield will be ending.  Add in that this is one of those places where signing A-Rod could lead to a significant bump in ticket sales and marketing opportunities for the team.

 

Detroit is no New York, Chicago or LA -- and that should cut both ways with A-Rod.  It is a place he can own, the media pressure will be minor and it is still a major city.  In today's marketing world, a player need not be in New York, Chicago or LA to be a coveted endorser.  Being in the comparable city of Cleveland certainly has not prevented LeBron from becoming a global marketing star.  And, with Windsor a tunnel ride away, there are certainly plenty of casinos and strip joints to satisfy A-Rod in the few months a year he actually lives in the Detroit area rather than Miami. 

 

Is this just the paranoia of an Indians fan getting to me, or does it not make sense for each side to seriously consider such a deal?