Last night ANDY OLIVER joined the team which is quickly and quietly
becoming the DETROIT KIDS. Move over BOESCH, JACKSON, WORTH,
AVILA, SIZEMORE, PORCELLO and PERRY. In six full innings Andy gave
up just 5 hits and two earned runs while striking out 4 Atlanta hitters.
In his Major League debut the kid threw a quality start prompting his
scruffy old school manager, JIM LEYLAND, to tell the media that: “ANDY
was tremendous.”
During the same evening that OLIVER was earning a spot on the TIGER’S
starting rotation, RICK PORCELLO was piching eight innings for Toledo
allowing only one hit and zilch earned runs!! Certainly Porcello is on his way
back to Detroit’s starting rotation, but, who’s spot will he take, especially
if Oliver does well again this weekend against the TWINS? What a nice
spot for LEYLAND to be in.
Another matter arises from Oliver’s “tremendous” effort. It’s a matter of $$$$.
With the exception of PERRY & PORCELLO the kids mentioned above are all
earning the rookie’s salary of $400K! The P&P boys are not making much more.
So, lets talk about next season’s payroll. JOHNNY DAMON’S 8 Million will be
long gone along with DONTRELLE WILLIS’ 11 Million and NATE ROBERTSON’S
reported 9 Million which adds up to somewhere around $28,000,000.00 !!!
Methinks I hear a huge free agent coming our way. Whatcha’ think?
On top of that we have more kids on the way. The Yankees with their meat
market lineup will still win all of the marbles this year, but, we predict that the
TIGERS will begin in 2011 to take home their share of those marbles with their
“KIDS” leading the way. And, that “scruffy old school manager” smiling from
ear to ear.
posted on 6-26-10 by bobby hoeft, author of “WHEN BASEBALL WAS FUN”
