No more carping allowed from anybody that no one can compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. Look at the stupid money this offseason: Angels (Albert Pujols), Rangers (Yu Darvish) and now Tigers (Prince Fielder).
I'm still trying to put my arms around Fielder's nine-year, $214-million deal. The Tigers certainly were in panic mode when Victor Martinez went down and owner Mike Illitch isn't getting any younger at 82. He's won a lot with the Red Wings and I was told by several people at the World Series how downcast he was when the Tigers lost the ALCS in Texas last year. Sounds like he's just going for it now and longterm consequences be damned.
It makes the Tigers the runaway favorite in the AL Central and probably the favorite in the entire American League for the World Series. What a lineup with Fielder and Miguel Cabrera and, of course, they already have the MVP in Justin Verlander.
Mitch Albom says the prevailing word is "Big" in his column on Fielder in today's Detroit Free Press. A good read. Be sure to read an Inside Baseball column I'll have in Sunday's paper. By then, I should have my thoughts collected. That's a lotta coin.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
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