Curtis Granderson

The Detroit Tigers are coming off of a heart-breaking finish to their 2009 season. After squandering away the division lead to the Minnesota Twins, they lost a one-game playoff to them and missed the playoffs entirely.

The Tigers now seem focused on shredding payroll heading into the 2010 season. Edwin Jackson and Curtis Granderson have both been mentioned as possibly being on the move to lower a payroll that already sits at well over $100 million between just 10 players.

Curtis Granderson is a nice guy. He’s the kind of man any father would be thrilled to have his daughter marry. He is one of the true ambassadors of baseball, and I don’t throw those kinds of words around willy-nilly.

But I’d trade him in a heartbeat.

Baseball's hot stove season is finally in full swing, and rumors are flying out of the ballparks of every contender in both leagues.

From the Big A, reports are swirling in left field, where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim may make a significant upgrade with the potential acquisition of Curtis Granderson from the Detroit Tigers. 

In return, the Tigers are looking for a package that could include Brandon Wood, Maicer Izturis, Chris Pettit, and Jose Arredondo.

As Jim Rome would probably say, this deal seems like “the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind.”

It has been reported most of the week that Detroit Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson could be had if the right offer were to cross general manger Dave Dombrowski's desk.

It has also been mentioned that two teams that would be interested in the services of Granderson would be the New York Yankees (of course) and the Chicago Cubs.

The Detroit Tigers are far from a perfect team.

Despite holding a division lead since May 10, the Tigers have failed to pull away from the mediocre pack.

The Tigers took a seven game division lead and Tigers fans started doing the math to determine what kind of a ridiculous streak the Twins would have to get on if the Tigers just managed to play .500 ball.

Unfortunately, Detroit went 8-11 between the sweep of the Rays and the beginning of this last home stand. The Twins went 13-6, even in the midst of losing perennial MVP candidate Justin Morneau for the season.

It's like a splinter you just can't get out.

For whatever reason, the Detroit News' beat writer Lynn Henning just keeps picking at Curtis Granderson relentlessly. Henning just cannot get over the fact the fan favorite and All-Star center fielder is allowed to have an off-year. And by off-year I mean, he's only the second-most productive position player on the team.

At age 28, Curtis Granderson is a first time All-Star. I definitely do not think this will be his last trip to the mid-summer classic.

Granderson got selected for his first All-Star game by putting up the type of productive numbers he is bound to increase upon in his career. He is already five home runs away from his season best total of 23, set in 2007. He has his 18 dingers this season in only 86 games played.

Granderson's RBI totals should increase over the next couple seasons, as well. Being moved to the middle of the batting order from leadoff should facilitate that.

In my opinion, Curtis Granderson is the best center fielder in the American League and also the best player on the Detroit Tigers.  Yes, it's true that he is only hitting .258 right now, and it's also true that he's received a lot more help this year from his corner outfielders than he has in his three previous seasons, but he has had one of the most exciting first three seasons a player could have without making the all-star team. 

The Detroit Tigers are one of the hottest teams in baseball and are currently in first place in the American League Central Division. After being a major disappointment last year, not much was expected out of them in 2009.

This a group still has a large part of the nucleus that was in the World Series three years ago, but are they for real?

Looking at some of the players they have and the division they are in, I think they are definitely contenders.

In the interest of full disclosure, Justin Verlander and Gary Sheffield destroyed my fantasy team last year. Verlander was the second pitcher I drafted (after Aaron Harang—ouch), and all I needed from Sheff was one decent run at the end of the season to take my opening round playoff series. Swing and a miss on both counts.

Consequently, the residual bitterness may creep into this preview of the 2009 Detroit Tigers. Don't say I didn't warn you.