First, an apology for the long hiatus to the three or four avid readers that I have.

My defense is two-fold.  The Tigers’ soul-crushing loss to the Twins in Game 163 had a pretty intense emotional impact on me.  That, and I generally find it bad practice to take attention away from those who were fortunate enough to make it to the playoffs.

But with the Yankees back on top after a long, nine year drought and over $1.7 billion in payroll spent since their last victory, we can get back to business and talk about the Tigers free agent situation.

I mentioned towards the end of last season that, if things don’t turn out well, (and arguably, they didn’t) this Tigers team could look a lot different in 2010.

It’s already been reported that “Uncle Mike” Ilitch will not be handing GM Dave Dombrowski a blank check this off season, especially with tens of millions of dollars in unproductive pitching payroll obligations looming in 2010:

• Dontrelle Willis – $12 million (1-4, 7.49 ERA in 7 games)
• Nate Robertson – $10 million (2-3, 5.44 ERA in 28 games)
• Jeremy Bonderman - $12.5 million (0-1, 8.71 ERA in 7 games)

You could also lump Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez into the “unproductive” group, which would add an additional $28 million, but I’m not going to do that.

Maggs heated up towards the end and could very well return to competitive form in 2010.  Carlos had well documented health problems and a rather public spat with Manager Jim Leyland, so I’m going to give him a pass for 2009.

Nevertheless, this is the time where us optimists ignore all previous indications of performance, cross our fingers and hope that Detroit might get something productive out of the guys that might not have produced much bang for their millions of bucks.

Regardless of whether that happens, with $35 million worth of dead weight tied to the neck of this team going into 2010, you can’t blame ownership for being a little stingy.

Unfortunately, 2010 is a bad year to start minding your checkbook.  Why?

• Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson are both in for a pretty big payday after great performances in 2009.
• Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney are both Free Agents and have some good market value despite some problems.
  • Without one or both of their arms anchoring the bullpen, it could return to its 2008 form.
• Placido Polanco, the always reliable Second baseman is now a free agent.  And the Tigers’ minor league heir-apparent just broke his ankle in the Arizona Fall League.
  • Placido has high market value and the Tigers might not have the funds to sign him to a short term contract.
• Gerald Laird and Adam Everett were both rentals too.
  • Will the Tigers part ways with the offensively tepid Catcher and Shortshop, or will their sterling defense  in 2009 bring them back for an encore?

There is a silver lining to all of this, Tigers fans…

Despite the looming free agent questions going into 2010, at least we won’t be paying Gary Sheffield $14 million to hit home runs for the New York Mets.