Former Tiger Curtis Granderson still a class act

News outlets are filled with stories about the poor behavior of professional athletes. Since arriving in Detroit, the Lions Ndamukong Suh has been the poster boy for such knuckleheads with numerous traffic mishaps, mouthing off in the media and questionable on-field tactics (some say he is the dirtiest player in the NFL).

Compare and contrast Suh with former Tiger Curtis Granderson. After a 2004 cameo, Grandy joined the Tigers for good in August 2005 and anchored the outfield until being traded to the Yankees prior to the 2010 season. During his years with Detroit, Granderson was widely viewed as one of the good-guys of sports.

In 2007, he founded the Grand Kids Foundation to focus on improving the educational experience for youth nationwide as well as helping to re-establish baseball opportunities for inner city youths. Since then, the charity has awarded more than $80,000 in grants to various programs and schools throughout the nation.

The accolades don’t stop there. According to the charity’s web site, “Curtis was named the 2009 MLBPA Marvin Miller Man of the Year, and has been nominated for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award three times (twice in Detroit and once in New York), which honors the MLB player that contributes the most off the field. He also acts as the official MLB Spokesperson for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move anti-obesity campaign and has served for three years as MLB’s Overseas Ambassador.”

Curtis is known for organizing charity basketball games to benefit his Grand Kids Foundation. His last act before heading to New York in 2010 was hosting a charity game at Birmingham Seaholm High School. Many wanted to turn the game into a grand farewell, but not Granderson.

“I think this event was very successful,” Granderson told the Seaholm student newspaper. “We packed the gym, we raised a lot of money for education and we just had fun. I didn’t view it as a goodbye to Detroit as much as I viewed it as a thank you to the city and the fans. They are who have helped shape me as a player and person, and I will always be grateful for that.”

Grandy has continued his efforts as part of the Yankees. Earlier this week, he was back in his hometown of Chicago for a similar event to benefit the Special Olympics and local schools. Here’s a shot of Curtis kicking off the event.

Detroit Tigers’ bench needs an overhaul

Why?

That’s the question I asked myself the other day when the Detroit Tigers re-signed utility man Don Kelly. Not that Kelly is a bad guy or even a lightening rod of fan frustration like Ryan Raburn. But, as a fan, you have to ask yourself, what exactly does Kelly bring to the table?

First of all, in my opinion, Kelly has already earned a roster spot. Why else would you sign a 32-year-old utility guy (who hit an amazing .186) unless you’re going to give him a job? I suppose they could stash him at Toledo in case of emergency, which is perhaps why it was a minor league deal.

My money says he is Jim Leyland’s 25th man, though.

To his credit, Kelly is adept at playing multiple positions. He’s a better defender at third base than Miguel Cabrera and does a fine job at any of the outfield positions. All of that would have a lot more value if he could hit at all.

In five seasons, Kelly has posted a career batting average of .232 with 17 home runs. You could argue, I suppose, he had been somewhat productive at the plate until last year. He posted nine homers and 27 runs batted in 2010 in about 230 at bats while in 2011 it was seven and 28 with 257 at bats.

But guys like Kelly, who posses limited Major League ability, don’t typically bounce back. If you give him 200 at bats this year, his line will look something like .225, for home runs and 20 runs batted in. Not enough to keep a job, not by a long shot.

As I mentioned in earlier post about Ramon Santiago, from a manager’s perspective, I understand how important it is to feel comfortable with your bench players. Jim Leyland knows what he is going to get from Don Kelly and Ramon Santiago.

The Tigers, I’m sure, are not counting on either gentleman to get them to the World Series.

That said, you don’t give away two roster spots for the sake of familiarity. The Tigers have better options than Kelly and Santiago.

Before determining who should be on the bench, we need to look at the Tigers pitching staff because that will give us an indication of how many extra spots there will be.

The starting rotation is set with Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Sanchez and either Porcello or Smyly. If Smyly doesn’t win the fifth spot, he’ll likely be pitching in Toledo.

As for the bullpen, Coke and Downs seem like locks to hold down the lefty positions. Duane Below will be in the mix, too. Joaquin Benoit, Octavio Dotel, Brayan Villarreal and Al Alburquerque will win spots and the Tigers are going to give Bruce Rondon every chance to be the new closer.

That’s an eight-man bullpen and 13 total pitching spots. That leaves the Tigers with three utility positions, one of which will go to catcher Brayan Pena who was signed as a free agent from the Royals.

Now, we’re down to two spots. Before we go further, I think that’s a bad mistake in building this 25-man roster. The Tigers’ strength is their starting rotation. You can pretty much count on all five starters to give you six or seven solid innings every time out. As such, the Tigers don’t need an eight-man bullpen.

They could certainly “get by” with seven or probably even six. Why not give yourself a little more lineup flexibility on the bench with those extra slots?

As for who should occupy those bench positions, Danny Worth should replace Santiago. He’s just as good at shortstop and second base and has more upside at the plate, although he has had limited success in that regard. Brennan Boesch is your fourth outfielder. He can play either corner position, meaning the Tigers can put Torii Hunter in centerfield when Austin Jackson needs a day off.

Numerous reports have had the Tigers trying to acquire a right-handed hitting outfielder to platoon with Andy Dirks in left. I think that will happen before Detroit heads north from Lakeland.

 

Former Tiger Nate Robertson looking for another shot at MLB

In 2006, Nate Robertson appeared to have cemented his place in the Detroit Tigers starting rotation. The left hander posted a 13-13 record with a 3.84 earn run average as he helped the Tigers reach the World Series.

It was the third straight season the then 28-year old had dropped his ERA. Clearly in his prime, the future looked bright for the personable Robertson, who was known as a good guy to his neighbors in Canton. As so often is the case, however, that one season in the sun proved to be Nate’s zenith as a Big League ballplayer.

Robertson spent three more seasons with the Tigers with each year getting progressively worse: a 4.76 ERA in 2007, 6.35 in 2008 and 5.44 in 2009. Just before the start of the 2010 season, the Tigers traded Robertson to Florida for “unknown compensation,” a.k.a. a bucket of baseballs.

By July of that year, the Marlins released Nate. He finished out the season with the Phillies and hasn’t been able to hook on with a Major League time since. Robertson pitched in AAA last year without much success.

Now 35, Robertson is making one last go of it, trying to reinvent himself as a situational left-hander out of the bullpen. Recently, Nate spoke with the Topeka Capital-Journal’s Jeremy Deckard about his attempted comeback:

Q: You started a World Series game with the Detroit Tigers; what emotions did you go through toeing the rubber on the grandest of all baseball stages?

A: I just wanted to make sure that I took a step off the mound and take the moment in. There is so much of a media blitz in the postseason and playoffs. Everything moves really fast. I just remember telling myself to take some time to enjoy it. I did take the moment to look around and take it all in before I was on the mound.

Q: What was it like throwing to a sure future Hall of Famer in Ivan Rodriquez, and how would you describe him as a player?

A:  His skills and his stats over his career speak for themselves. He was great with me and we worked well together and I had some good games with him catching me. He is another guy who just played hard, was an All-Star, and you bet he will be in the Hall of Fame.

Q: You were in Detroit for Justin Verlander’s rookie season. What do you remember most about him as a teammate and how do you think he has progressed since then?

A:  He has put it all together. I can remember hearing about him as he came up through high school and college. His first couple of outings you could tell he had great stuff and that he would need to figure a few things out, but he was able to do that. He is just very dominant right now. A lot of guys come up with great stuff, but he has figured out how to pitch with those tools.

Q: Which is your favorite major league ball park to throw in?

A: I loved pitching in Comerica Park. It was a pitcher’s park and fun to throw in. Kauffman Stadium and Safeco Field are also good pitcher’s parks and beautiful. You felt like you were playing in the big leagues when you take the mound in those three parks.

Q: What is your approach going into this off season as a free agent?

A:  Basically I just try to get ready for a new role and train for that role. My agent has the job of trying to find the right spot for me. It is always nice to sign earlier rather than later.

Q: Terry Muholland, Dan Plesac and Jesse Orosco are just some of the names fans throw out when people start talking about great situational lefties. What needs to happen for Nate Robertson to be added to that list?

A: It’s changing my mentality from being a starter. Toronto signed me as a starter but then made me a lefty specialist, after I got hit by a line drive during a game. They had me drop my arm slot so I am trying to get comfortable with a new role. Health is a big factor and I just need a good fit with a team that will give me an opportunity. I think I have two of those three things going for me right now. I hope to find a team and I hope to stay healthy.

The odds, of course, are stacked against Robertson. But here’s hoping it works out.