Head Vs. Heart: Do You Want Verlander Back With The Detroit Tigers
There's a reason why sports fans are not sports executives. You have to be able to think with your head and not with your heart. Think with your heart and chances are your are unemployed in six months. Things get really dicey when a team owner thinks with their heart and starts to meddle. The reason I bring this up is a blurb in the Detroit Free-Press Sunday. The headline read "'I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about' returning to Detroit Tigers".
Now, let's start with, Verlander is a first ballot Hall of Famer; one of the most dominating pitchers of his generation. He pitched the Detroit Tigers into two World Series and won a ring with the Houston Astros (drum banging or not). He has 226 career wins and numerous career achievements. But...he's going to be 39 years old next February. The Tigers are in the middle of a rebuild that is starting to show some results. There's still a way to go, but would bringing in a future Hall of Famer to mentor the kids, show them how it's done make sense?
Well, two things to consider. Verlander, who becomes a free agent after this season, is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He won't pitch til next season no matter where he is. The other factor is money. Would he be willing to give the Tigers a discount? This is a team that is saddled with Miggy's (Miguel Cabrera) big contract for two more years after this season..
From Verlander's point of view, wife Kate Upton is from Michigan, but she also needs to stay relevant in the showbiz world, and truthfully, Michigan isn't it. But with young kids, being close to home and family has to be appealing.
Again, this is where you have to think with your head, not your heart, but you can make a legitimate argument either way.