Some random thoughts for a chilly (boy, have I wussed out since I left Vermont) Saturday morning:
- Brandon Inge wants out of Detroit, and the Tigers are saying they'll accomodate his request. Inge has 3 years and $19M left on his contract. He had a down year with the bat (ok, he reverted to his more likely true perf level), but he offers exceptional defense, and the Tigers, as stacked as they are and having publicly announced their willingness to trade him and assume some of his salary (I read "would be reluctant to" as a negotiating point), would probably not want too much for him. He'd likely outperform Hannahan at the plate and in the field -- and, heck, could be the backup-backup C. Obviously, Inge would be a "going for it in '08" complementary move.
- Stewart and Piazza declined arb. (Whew!) Had we already known that Beane actually did have a trade of Piazza to MN lined up, and honored Piazza's request to not go through with it? Piazza's declined arb seems like fair repayment.
- Fun ultraCustean batting line from '07: Russell Branyan .196/.320/.423 with 10 HR in 163 ABs. I'm not saying that he'd necessarily be of much use (we certainly wouldn't need Hannahan, Inge, and Branyan), but as you can tell from this and previous posts, I don't have much confidence regarding Chavez' status heading into '08.
- Several AN'ers (including, IIRC, mikeA and PaulThomas) have suggested taking a flyer on Bartolo Colon on a one-year make-good deal. Any takers?
