Tiger Geist

Once the emotional run is over, Dave Dombrowski has to sit down and think about 2010; that might even happen today.  Plenty of numbers to go through, not the least of which will be some number of a ‘budget’ from Mike Ilitch.  The second biggest number will probably be the season ticket and box suite renewals.  Here’s what we know so far:

2009 Detroit Tigers:  86 – (76+1); 2nd place AL Central.  12 game improvement over 2008.

Attendance:  2,567,165.  ~20% decline from 2008.

Current 2010 payroll obligations (major league team):  ~$99million.

Unrestricted Free Agents:  Brandon Lyon, Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, Adam Everett, Aubrey Huff, Jarrod Washburn

Restricted (Arbitration eligible) Free Agents:  Justin Verlander, Gerald Laird, Marcus Thames, Edwin Jackson, Bobby Seay, Ramon Santiago, Matt Treanor, Joel Zumaya, Zach Miner

There will be a ton of discussion among the free agents.  Couple of things that Dombrowski is probably mulling over:

1. Verlander’s arbitration years.  Will DD buy him out?
2. A middle infield with two rookies (supplanted with Ramon Santiago) must scare Jim Leyland to death.
3. “The Economy” is an annoying topic.  But will it affect a player’s desire to take a one year deal (hoping for a better 2011) instead of a longer term deal this winter?
4. What value can Detroit leverage to get better?  How much better will the AL Central get?

Plenty of dates on the horizon for Dombrowski to actually make decisions (Rule 5 Draft, GM Winter meetings, free agent deadlines).  Plenty of discussions for Tiger management and ownership to have.  Plenty of details for fans to hash out.  But today.. the numbers above are all we know.  As Kurt tweeted today, its too early to start worrying about the rest of it.  Management moves pretty fast.  As fans, sometimes we just need some time to decompress.