Play ball! Let the loony and loopy off-season begin!

The Detroit Tigers - or as they are known 'round these parts: le detroit de Lac Erie Tigers - pounced on the customary Florida Marlins liquidation sale and snagged a couple of mean ball players last week.

I waited to post this article in hopes that Johan Santana signed with the Boston Red Sox but the bastards did not comply.

That was a little unfair; the Marlins do still have some great players and are stacked with great young players. Meh. They still unloaded two huge names.

Without getting into specifics (you can go to our "rivals" at ESPN for the boring, technical stuff) in an eight player deal, Detroit will get studs Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.  In return Florida gets highly regarded prospects left-hander Andrew Miller and outfielder Cameron Maybin and a bunch of other players along with spare car parts from General Motors; I’m not sure.

So, who will be taking bets on the Detroit Tigers to win it all in 2008? Anyone?

Alright, good point. The American league is one unforgiving place.

The Cleveland Indians are still in the mix as are the Anaheim Angels and some other team that is bound to surprise. Whatever transpires, the American League central seems poised to legitimately become the toughest and most competitive division in the AL.  The AL east is a 2 ½ team division - with the Blue Jays playing the part of “Jake” in Two and a Half Men. 

Speaking of the AL east, now the question begs, what will the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees do to keep up? Does anyone really care? For once, we’re talking about the fricken mid-west right? Apparently, the Sox have the inside track on Minnesota Twins pitcher Johann Santana. As for the Yanks, might they be shut out of any player sweepstakes? Let me take this a step further, Lil’ George Steinbrenner will probably turn the Bronx into a box of mediocre baseball.  When was the last time you saw the Yankees staring and drooling at other teams?

What kind of pressure will this have on other clubs like the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers with some pennies to spend?

As for the – growl - Tigers, it was a brutal year for Willis but he should be able to rebound as he joins a solid starting rotation that includes Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander. By contrast, Cabrera had a typically outstanding and productive season and he’ll be part of an offense that includes Ivan Rodriquez, Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and Curtis Granderson.

Man, just typing those names makes me want to drop a cool ten bucks in Vegas.