My column: http://bit.ly/KY0f3j

There is still much angst among Tiger fans because Placido Polanco was not offered salary arbitration following the 2009 season, and second base has been a problem for the club since. It's reached alarming proportions this season because Ryan Raburn has slumped so badly he was optioned to Toledo last night, and Ramon Santiago hasn't hit well, in addition to displaying a propensity for turning routine double play balls into costly fielder's choice disasters.
But the biggest mistake, in retrospect, the Tigers made regarding their infield was choosing Santiago over Omar Infante following the 2006 American League pennant-winning season.
Infante has gone to make an All-Star team as a utility infielder when he was with the Braves, and has since moved onto the Marlins where, playing second base, he is currently 10th in the National League with a .319 batting average and tied with Prince Fielder in OPS (on base and slugging percentage combined) at .880. His OPS has been .750 or better every season but one since leaving the Tigers. He is easily a stronger, faster, more productive player than any of the Tigers' current second base candidates.
And the Tigers traded Infante to the Chicago Cubs for veteran outfielder Jacques Jones following the 2007 season. Just in case you need a reminder, Jones hit .165 in 90 plate appearances for the Tigers and by mid-May of the 2008 season was released.
Santiago has done some good things for the Tigers, but his 162-game average season is.247 with six home runs and 39 RBI. His career OPS is .653. Infante's average 162-game season is .277 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI. His career OPS is .719. Oh, and at 30, Infante is two full years younger than Santiago. The two have roughly identical fielding percentages at second base.
It wasn't like Infante was awful for the 2006 Tigers, either. He hit .277 and had a .740 OPS. He had some issues with manager Alan Trammell when he slumped in 2005, but those seemed behind him in 2006 under Jim Leyland. Also, Trammell was the bench coach in Chicago when Santiago played there with no incidents.
Infante was arbitration eligible for the first time following the 2006 season, so his salary was kicked up to $1.3 million from $385,000. But still, Jones was paid $5.3 million that season, most of it by the Tigers, and after he was released (he played briefly for the Marlins later that season, and never again following the 2008 season).
My commentary on the Nick Fairley situation and the Lions is during The Oakland Press News at Noon cast. Check it out:

Replay of my live video chat today. We talked extensively about the Nick Fairley situation, Jim Leyland's outburst and whether it was good or bad and replay in baseball. We do this every Monday for about 45 minutes around 12:30 at theoaklandpress.com (it was Tuesday this week because of the holiday). We give away a prize (today it was a Lions cap) to somebody with a good statement or question. A live chat is set up - and we answer back through video. Check it out every Monday and participate.

Video streaming by Ustream

My column: http://bit.ly/KYFzO9

Hindsight is always 20-20. I thought the Lions made a great selection landing defensive tackle Nick Fairley with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Seemed almost too good to be true he was still there, which is proving to be the case given his off-the-field conduct.
When Auburn won the BCS national title 2010, Fairley was to the Tigers' defense was Cam Newton was to the offense. He controlled games. There were suggestions before the draft that there were "character issues" involving Fairley, but they sure didn't translate to the field. When he was introduced to the Detroit media, Fairley did say all the right things.
But it is turning out there might have been reasons besides a run on quarterbacks that a dozen teams passed on Fairley in the draft. Two recent well-documented off-the-field issues have brought them to the forefront.
There are some issues that are obviously there, issues the Lions either didn't research properly and discover, or knew about and thought wouldn't matter. And they do matter. Fairley, whose injury-plagued rookie season netted just 15 tackles and a sack, could already be facing suspension from the league. Odds have gone up considerably that he will be bust rather than a star or even serviceable player. If that does prove to be the case, the Lions will have nobody else but themselves to blame.

My column: http://bit.ly/JOYy8i

My column: http://bit.ly/JNTykt

At the beginning of this season, one of the major issues surrounding the Tigers was how good they would be defensively with Prince Fielder at first base and Miguel Cabrera at third base. The answer: So far, not good. It was expected Cabrera would have some problems at third. I thought he would be disaster at third. He hasn't played as poorly as I anticipated, but he hasn't been even an average major league defender at the position, either.
What I didn't anticipate was Prince Fielder's struggles at first. He has been terrible there the last week (three errors, all costly). These are the numbers. They speak for themselves. And nobody can defend these stats based on "the reason they make so many errors is because of their range and they get to a lot of balls...."
- Both Fielder and Cabrera have six errors, one behind the American League leader regardless of position, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Robert Andino.
- There are only 10 players in the AL with six or more errors.
- Besides Fielder, no AL first baseman has six errors or five errors. Only one AL first baseman has four errors (Toronto's Adam Lind). Only one AL first baseman has three (Baltimore's Chris Davis). The rest have two or fewer.
- Fielder's .983 fielding percentage ranks at the bottom of those with enough chances to be listed on the MLB.com's stats site. No other first baseman listed is below .991. Cabrera's .946 fielding percentage is last among AL third basemen.
- Last year, Cabrera led AL first baseman in errors with 13 (by three) and had the worst fielding percentage at the position, .991. Fielder's fielding percentage this season is considerably worse (.983) and he is on pace to make 23 errors this season.
- The timing of Fielder's errors have been costly, especially the last two. Last Thursday vs Minnesota, he missed a throw to first base by pitcher Doug Fister for an error. The hitter, Josh Willingham, ended up on third and scored when Justin Morneau grounded out. It made a 3-0 game in the fifth inning a 4-0 game. The Tigers rallied late in the game, but lost it, 4-3. The miscue directly led to the deciding run
- Wednesday, with runners on a second and third and one out in the eighth inning of a 2-2 game, Travis Hafner of the Indians hit a routine grounder to first. Fielder threw the ball into the dirt, Tigers catcher Alex Avila couldn't hold it and Jason Kipnis scored the go-ahead run. The next hitter, Carlos Santana flew out, but instead of ending the inning, because of Fielder's error, it resulted in a sacrifice fly.
Early in the season, when people would compare this team to 2008's disaster, I didn't see it. But honestly, the last week, the Tigers have played the exact same way.
Their fielding has been awful, and it's started at the two corner spots, but especially at first base.
In addition to the breakdowns and obvious flaws mentioned above, the Tigers have been horrific when it comes to producing clutch hits. Fielder's error wouldn't have mattered Wednesday if they hadn't blown so many opportunities at the plate, particularly a bases loaded, nobody out situation that produced zero runs in the eighth inning.
But I still think eventually the run production will be there, but it will nullified if the Cabrera, and particularly Fielder, don't perform better defensively.
It's not like the Tigers have options to change the way they are setup. This is the bed they made when they signed Prince Fielder, and while he is a tremendous hitter, it's been painfully watching them sleep in it defensively.

My column: http://bit.ly/JT0RNV

You can debate the merits of the "it's early" and you must "be patient" or anything other sports cliches about the Tigers all you want.
Yet, I will guarantee this, they will not "snap out of it" if they don't play better fundamental baseball than did during their 5-3 loss at Cleveland Tuesday.
 - In the first inning, the Tigers didn't turn a routine double play ball hit by Indians' second baseman Jason Kipnis. Now, Kipnis has good speed and hustled on the play (sound fundamental baseball, by the way), and the ball was not hit really hard. But Kipnis isn't Usain Bolt, either. The double play should have been turned. Lets put it this way, the Rangers would have turned it. Routinely.
Ramon Santiago wasn't getting to the ball and then to Jhonny Peralta, and the relay throw to first wasn't particularly swift. It led directly to a run later in the inning, one that wouldn't have been scored. Lack of double plays is a major problem for the Tigers. They are last in the Major League with 26. It really hurts pitchers like Porcello and tonight's starter Doug Fister because they rely so much on ground ball outs. Later. Brennan Boesch dropped a line drive that led to another unnecessary run.
- The Tigers haven't played well defensively behind Porcello all season (the Brandon Inge debacle at second base vs. Texas very early in the season, Prince Fielder dropping a routine throw in the first inning of his last start vs. Minnesota, more Keystone Kops Tuesday). Yet, Porcello didn't help his own cause. When you have a team like the Indians just taking off running on pitchers like they did Tuesday, it's disturbing. Then, after Michael Brantley, who does have good speed, stole a base ridiculously easily off Porcello, he proceeded to tossed to first with the lead-footed Casey Kotchman there - and threw the ball away for an error. This issue of not holding runners must be paramount with manager Jim Leyland, and addressed immediately. Teams are taking advantage of the Tigers like they are a Little League team. And it not he catchers. Both Tiger catchers throw well.
- Indians starter Ubaldo Jimenez walked six hitters. That was handing the Tigers the game. Other than one big hit, a 3-run homer by Alex Avila, the Tigers didn't nothing to take advantage of these gifts.
- It was also disappointing, with two runners on in the ninth inning and the game on the line, that neither Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder came through. But if it weren't for blunders earlier in the game, it would have, at minimum, been tied.
- The lumbering Tigers aren't going to win games with their fielding, but they can't afford to lose them, either. They must begin to make routine plays and execute the fundamental elements of the game much better, or this long spring will become a tortuous summer.
I have a commentary on "The Oakland Press News at Noon," a new feature at theoaklandpress.com. This one is on Michigan and Michigan State football:

My column: http://bit.ly/JkhXD6