According to this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson is willing to renegotiate the remaining two years of his contract if it helped move along a trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Wilson is due to be paid $7.25 million next season, with a club option for $8.4 million in 2010 (or $600,000 buyout).  However, the Dodgers would reportedly be willing to give Wilson two guaranteed years at approximately $12 million.  

Would Wilson agree to similar terms with the Detroit Tigers?  (That is, if the Tigers wanted such an arrangement.)  Perhaps, but as a southern California native, a trade to the Dodgers might mean just a bit more to him. 

Consider, however, that the LA Daily News' Tony Jackson reported yesterday that the Pirates and Dodgers haven't talked about a deal for Wilson "in months."  Somebody's passing out bad information on one of these sides.  And with all the information being leaked, it certainly appears that the Pirates and Dodgers have been talking about something.

The question still remains as to what offer the Tigers made on Wednesday night that ignited these trade rumors again.  Beat writer Dejan Kovacevic heard from a source that the Pirates were scouting Jeff Larish in the Arizona Fall League, but there's no confirmation as to whether or not he was part of a potential trade package.

But if you'd like a ticket to Crazy Town, check out the rumors that were flying in the MLB Trade Rumors comments thread last night.  Maybe we shouldn't even address this, considering the source, but one of the posters claimed to hear a report from a local Pittsburgh newscast saying that the Tigers would be willing to trade "its top pitching prospect" if the Pirates picked up "almost all" of Wilson's salary. 

There's really only one name that could be associated with the words "top pitching prospect" when it comes to the Tigers.  And Dave Dombrowski couldn't possibly be willing to deal Rick Porcello for Wilson.  That would be insanity.

ESPN's Buster Olney says there's tension brewing at Comerica Park between Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski:

• Folks who know both GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland believe there is serious tension between the two that could manifest itself in some way if the Tigers get off to a poor start in 2009.

No elaboration from there, but I suppose the point is clear.  It certainly seemed like there might be some hard feelings between the two when Leyland didn't get a contract extension after the season.  And apparently, there hasn't been much of a change since October.  The question is, have things gotten worse? 

Is Leyland unhappy with the players his general manager provided in 2008?  Does Dombrowski think his manager should've done a better job with what he was given?  Are they in sync on the Tigers' off-season plans? 

Maybe the Winter Meetings will give us an idea of whether or not there's a united front between field manager and executive.  Otherwise, maybe we'll notice be a ticking sound that gets louder and louder throughout the beginning of next season if the Tigers don't play well.

Please pull up a stool and order up a beverage while we try to update the swirling Jack Wilson trade rumors.

  Speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington denies that a deal has been reached with the Tigers.  He also expressed his amazement at the "gossip network."  Hey, we're doing our best.

  According to the AP, a big hang-up in discussions with the Dodgers and Tigers is Wilson's contract.  Neither team wants to be on the hook for his full $7.25 million salary for next season.  The Tigers might even be asking the Pirates to absorb "most of" the financial burden.

  From that same AP story, the Tigers are looking at free agent Adam Everett as a fallback if the discussion with the Pirates break down.

  Wilson has a limited no-trade clause, and the Tigers are among the six teams he can refuse to go to, but he says that won't be an issue if any deal is made.

  And though the Dodgers have apparently been more active in recent talks for Wilson, the Tigers brought a new offer to the Pirates last night, which is where this whole hullabaloo started.  Still no word, however, on what Detroit offered in its new package.

[Editor's Note:  We're following the Jack Wilson trade rumors.  Here's our post on the latest, if that's why you stopped over.  We'll have more as it's reported.]

Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski talked to Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News for an interview, and given the timing, I suppose it can be thought of as something of a Winter Meetings preview.  What are the Tigers looking for as the team's braintrust heads to Vegas?  Where does the starting rotation stand?  Does last season's performance demand drastic moves or tweaks? 

And here's what Dombrowski prefers in a shortstop or catcher:

Santiago can catch the ball at shortstop. The only question with Santiago for us is that he's a small guy in stature, and how will he hold up over a whole year. It's a matter of supplementing him with the right guy -- he can catch the ball at shortstop, he plays well there. So that's what we're looking for. At those two spots -- we're looking at pitching and defense primarily because we think we can score enough runs. So it's a matter of finding the catcher and shortstop to do that.

Unfortunately, the interview doesn't cover what exactly the Tigers are looking for with relievers.  Does Dombrowski want a strikeout guy?  An experienced closer or someone whose numbers say he might perform well in such a role?  And how many guys does he think need to be added for next year's bullpen?

(via The Cutoff Man)

[Editor's Note: We're following the Jack Wilson trade rumors.  Here's our post on the latest, if that's why you stopped over.  We'll have more as it's reported.]

With baseball's Winter Meetings beginning on Monday, interest in trades and free agent signings is bound to warm up, and that seems to be the case for those teams looking to sign reliever Joe Beimel.  According to Jason Beck, the Detroit Tigers are one of "multiple teams" that have become more active in contacting Beimel's agent.

As with every other possible transaction during this Hot Stove season, however, a Beimel signing appears to depend on what else gets done beforehand.  In this case, the teams that bow out of pursuing Darren Oliver (especially now that the Angels have offered him arbitration) might be the front-runners for Beimel's services.  And the Tigers are likely among those clubs. 

But maybe the market was already set when Jeremy Affeldt signed with the Giants for two years and $8 million.  Beimel (5-1, 2.02 ERA last season) is definitely a tier below that.  Maybe he falls within the $2 million a year range?  (He made just under that last year with the Dodgers.)

I'm just going to say again - because I think it bears repeating - that I don't get why the Tigers are apparently going so hard after left-handed relief this winter.  Bobby Seay and Clay Rapada seem fine to me.  Devote those free agent relief dollars to Juan Cruz.

The other teams most interested in Beimel appear to be the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds.

Via MLB Trade Rumors, Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that the Pittsburgh Pirates have traded shortstop Jack Wilson to the Detroit Tigers. 

I haven't seen this reported anywhere else, however.  Nor is there any word on what the Tigers have given up in return, if a deal has really taken place.  So this could be a premature exclamation, as was the case with Edgar Renteria signing with the Giants.  (Though according to Ken Rosenthal, that agreement is now official.)

More later, as you might expect.

(Hat tip to two of our commenters)

UPDATE (12:50 p.m.):  For now, WXYT-AM in Detroit has contacted the Tigers, who say these reports "are not accurate."  Stay tuned.

UPDATE (1:00 p.m.):  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that no one has notified Wilson or his agent of any deal.  And since he has a no-trade clause, that would seem to be problematic.  Pirates president Frank Coonelly is also denying reports of a trade.

Furthermore, beat writer Dejan Kovacevic says the Dodgers are still players for Wilson.

There's been a real boomerang quality to most of the trade rumors involving the Detroit Tigers this offseason.  Jack Wilson?  Here he comes.  Catch him.  Throw him back into the trade winds.  Wait, here he comes again.  Julio Lugo?  Tossed away, came back, tossed again.

And now, Gerald Laird seems to be circling back for another run of Tigers-related rumors.  The Freep's Jon Paul Morosi says Detroit has "maintained contact" with the Texas Rangers about making a deal for their log-jammed catcher.  Despite not having young starting pitching to spare, perhaps the Tigers are one of the only teams currently showing interest in a trade for Laird.

That's what Evan Grant seems to think at the Dallas Morning News:

The Tigers seem to have the most ardent interest in Gerald Laird of any team on the market. The Rangers seem to be in more of a cost-cutting mode. Trading Laird to Detroit for a minor leaguer might save the Rangers almost $3 million. The Rangers probably wouldn't get the top prospect they want (please don't mention Rick Porcello's name), but they could save some money and create more time for Taylor Teagarden and Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the plate (if they don't trade one of the duo). Not to mention that in order to build a self-sustaining minor league system, you've got to have lots of depth.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

Is this the baseball equivalent of finally getting a date after asking over and over and over, only to finally get that yes when nothing better's available?  Has a combination of wearing the Rangers down and being one of the only teams calling (Grant says the Reds are also interested in Laird) made the Tigers a front-runner for a deal?

Maybe those winds sending the boomerang back are more of the whistling wind variety, the kind that blows tumbleweeds through ghost towns. 

How about other catchers?  Morosi noted in the same article that the Tigers still like Arizona's Miguel Montero (boomerang), but haven't found a good match with the Diamondbacks for a possible trade.  In another report, Morosi talked to someone who said Detroit also likes Gregg Zaun.  Hey, me too.

Okay, we know the Detroit Tigers don't want Edgar Renteria to be their shortstop.  The team wouldn't even offer him arbitration, even though the San Francisco Giants' rumored interest in Renteria likely means he would've passed on it.  We now also know, thanks to Jon Paul Morosi, that Detroit is no longer interested in making a deal with the San Diego Padres for Khalil Greene.  And Morosi thinks the $6.5 million Greene is owed next season might be a big reason for that. 

Yet the Tigers are still apparently circling around Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson.  (Though Blake wonders if his $7.25 million salary for next season is now considered too pricey, as well.)  Morosi reported yesterday (before the Greene news, it should perhaps be noted) that the Tigers and Pirates are in "ongoing" talks about a trade. 

Our SB Nation broham Bucs Dugout wonders if Detroit's minor league system has the sort of prospects that the Pirates are looking for.  But one of their commentors pointed to Jennifer Langosch's mailbag at MLB.com, in which she suggested several players the Tigers might be offering in a deal:

There is young depth at short in Detroit's system. The Tigers might be willing to part with Brent Dlugach since he's probably the organization's No. 3 shortstop right now. Trying to pry away the organization's No. 2 shortstop prospect -- Danny Worth -- would likely require the Pirates to offer more than just Wilson. But it is a possibility.

The Tigers have plenty of Minor League outfielders that they could offer, including Brent Clevlen, who the Pirates have shown interest in before, and Matt Joyce, a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder. But really, the Pirates already seem pretty set in terms of young outfield prospects.

As for pitching prospects that Detroit possibly would be willing to offer, Luis Marte, a young power arm, and Guillermo Moscoso were names that came up in discussions I had with someone in Detroit.

After all the pitching Detroit gave up last offseason, the idea of giving up more in a trade for a one-to-two-year stopgap might make some cringe.  But it's also difficult to imagine the Tigers getting Wilson without sending over a young arm in return. 

Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus's John Perrotto says the Dodgers are cool on dealing for Wilson now.  (Hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors)  But the Baltimore Orioles may have taken their place in the competition for making a deal.  However, Bucs Dugout wonders if the O's want to give up prospects at this point.  (Baltimore might be saving its younguns for a potential Jake Peavy deal, too.) 

So Pittsburgh might be facing a one-team market for Wilson.  Does that help the Tigers' chances of getting him or lessen the Pirates' willingness to to deal him?

"Who's Your Tiger?" wasn't just a marketing slogan; it was an ice-breaker among fans.  When the Detroit Tigers rolled it out for the 2006 season, the timing seemed perfect, as many more people began following the team and its success became watercooler chatter. 

But these things never last.  Gotta keep it fresh and exciting.  Alas, "Who's Your Tiger?" has been retired, and the Tigers will unveil a new slogan for the 2009 season.  What will it be?  The Tigers aren't saying yet.  But they give a hint at the team's official MLBlog:

The new slogan, is not a "stand-alone" slogan or question. It's more of a statement--about the history and relationship the Tigers have with the City of Detroit.

At several points last season, I found myself wondering if the Tigers were going to revamp their campaign.  (Maybe because it was incessant during commercial breaks, to the point where it just became audio wallpaper.)  And evidently, this has been under discussion for quite some time.

But three years is a good run for something like this.  And even if it's no longer the "official" slogan for the Tigers, I imagine "Who's Your Tiger?" will live on among fans.  Or we'll come up with different ways to express our admiration and support for Curtis Granderson, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander, and other fan favorites. 

Of course, we can't put up a post like this and not solicit suggestions for new Tigers marketing slogans in the comments.  Maybe we can put one of 'em on a BYB Gear t-shirt next season.

(Hat tip to Billfer)

I've said my piece on the Save Tiger Stadium effort before, and would certainly like to see it succeed.  But I was thinking some rather hopeless thoughts upon reading that the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy had been given yet more time (after yesterday's deadline) to submit its renovation plans to the city of Detroit. 

But I don't think I could express my feelings on the matter any better than ShysterBall did earlier today, so I'll cede the floor to Craig:

The Conservancy has now blown through approximately 1,384 deadlines. Each time they claim to be just about there, only to fall short and thus requiring a new deadline. If it weren't for the massive amounts of Ernie Harwell-inspired goodwill, its efforts would have long ago failed and ceased. Good for Ernie, who is a bigger hero to me than Alan Trammell ever was, but I believe that the failure of the Conservancy would have been for the best.

[snip]

Look, if I ran the world the Tigers would still be playing in a lovingly restored cathedral to baseball on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. That ship sailed long ago, however, and what has happened to Tiger Stadium in the past nine years has been nothing short of an atrocity. If any of the Conservancy's members had a loved one who was so abused, they would have called the cops. If my Uncle Harry had required the level of life support the Conservancy has demanded, we would have pulled the plug long before we did. I loved Tiger Stadium like I have loved no other building, but it's time to lop off the final bit that remains standing and begin remembering it for what it was rather than gawk at it with pity as we speed by on I-75.

It's been almost 10 years.  I don't want to read any more stories from visiting writers expressing disbelief and dismay over the old ballpark being left to rot.  And soon, we'll have a generation of Tigers fans that won't even remember that the team played someplace besides Comerica Park.  I know this opinion won't make me popular with some people, but isn't it long past time to let go?

By the way, if you didn't know already, ShysterBall has moved to The Hardball Times site, which is the baseball equivalent of "you stuck your chocolate in my peanut butter, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate."  Two great tastes that taste great together.