Jarrod Washburn News

I understand the economics around here, and I understand the nature of baseball.

If it feels like wea TMve been in this bunker before, we have. Almost every year for the last three or four years, either Jarrod Washburn, his agent, or the Twinsa TM front office makes some noise about the LaCrosse native playing closer to home, and fans are forced to duck and cover.

Edwin Jackson was an All-Star pitcher for the Tigers this year. He looked like one of the great acquisitions in baseball for most of the season - a starter who pitched deep into games and wouldn't become a free agent until 2011.

The Tigers owe Willis $12 million in 2010. Getting beyond all the disappointment and second-guessing, let's assess the 2009 Tigers for what they really were: a fourth-place lineup that overachieved their way to the cusp of the postseason.

What a shame for the curious Tigers chroniclers that there are no transcripts from this week's team meetings at Comerica Park.

Five Tigers filed for free agency Thursday, the first day eligible players were allowed to get the ball rolling toward signing contracts for 2010.

While most 20-year-olds are in the midst of their college careers, a different type of career has begun for a Detroit Tigers pitcher.

A knee injury that became increasingly worse during the season has been surgically repaired and former Mariners left-hander Jarrod Washburn said he's looking forward to continuing a career he thought had reached the end.

The Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers are reportedly interested in signing free agent Jarrod Washburn this offseason.

Jon Heyman and Tom Haudricourt both see the Milwaukee Brewers as serious suitors for Jarrod Washburn this offseason.

While the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies get ready for the World Series, the Detroit Tigers are preparing for 2010 with the hopes of building a team capable of making a strong postseason run.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski appears confident Jeremy Bonderman will bounce back from this season's struggles and grab a spot in the Tigers' starting rotation.

For part three of this series, in which I look at roster decisions to be made on current Tigers, Ia TMm going to mash three players into one article.

The week before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline, Twins players complained about the team's annual failure to acquire midseason help.

Detroit -- He looked back, he looked forward. He also blamed himself -- but not others.

The Tigers led or had a share of the American League Central lead for 149 days -- but slipped to second on the last day.

While cleaning the dog hair out of the back seat of my car, I found four baseball media guides jammed under the seat. Perhaps you'd have to be a sportswriter, mortified by a decade of ridiculously improbable baseball postseasons, to guess my delight. Indiana Jones wouldn't have been happier if he'd discovered a treasure map at the bottom of a mineshaft full of Nazi skeletons.

My playoff picks!

There are many theories on how to hit the knuckleball. Unfortunately, none of them work. The same goes for picking postseason baseball, especially recently. In recent days my compulsive cockamamie research netted four likely first-round winners: the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Phillies. All are rich powerhouses. All had their league's best run differentials. All except Boston have home-field advantages in the first round. After a summer of mostly dead pennant races, these clubs had star power, too.

News: Liriano's return to the rotation on Sunday ended early, as he gave up three runs on three hits and three walks in just 1.2 innings.

Jarrod Washburn was 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA in Seattle. Those numbers sank to 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA after a move to the Tigers.

Detroit -- This just in? Not exactly. Justin Verlander obviously has taken major steps this season toward establishing himself as one of baseball's premier pitchers.