Tiger Notes

Last season was a tale of two very different seasons for Detroit Tiger outfielder Magglio Ordonez. He started the season with his customary long black locks, but gone was the power that was a signature of the Venezuelan born Ordonez.

Through the first 57 games (and 242 plate appearances) Ordonez had just two home runs and twenty-two RBI with a .273 batting average. Compare that to just one year before, Maggs was sitting on nine home runs and thirty-seven RBI with a .322 batting average in his first 57 games (239 plate appearances).

The plate appearances are key. If Ordonez made it to the plate 1,080 times over the course of 2008 and 2009 seasons his contract would automatically vest. He ended the season with 1,141 plate appearances, for a pay day of 18 million dollars.

Even the most ardent fan was irate over the vesting of the contract. But lets examine what Magglio did in that second half:

In 76 games he hit .337 while driving in twenty-nine RBI with seven home runs. Basically a return to what he was doing in the first half of the previous season. Or before everyone was complaining about the vesting of the contract.

Why am I bringing this up? I’m bored, mainly. I’m really at a point where I’m tired of the coffee table GM’s worrying about Mike Illitchs money. Seriously, if Illitch didn’t want that contract to vest he would have made it known. And had he made it known, and it had vested, Dave Dombrowski would be out of a job right now – well, at least out of Detroit.

So say Magglio (who is our second best hitter, behind Miguel Cabrera) gets off to a HUGE start, driving in runs, etc. Do you still worry about vesting? Do you still worry about Mike Illitchs money?

Would you rather lose, then spend 18 million dollars of someone Else’s money?