Tigers Den: How important is chemistry?

The Tigers acquired first baseman Sean Casey from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in exchange for pitching prospect Brian Rogers.

Casey has established himself as a reliable player in the bigs. At 32, he's a three-time All-Star who has batted .304 with 121 home runs and 634 RBIs in 10 seasons with the Pirates, Indians and Reds. In 59 games this season with the Pirates, Casey hit .296 with three home runs and 29 RBIs.

His addition, however, calls for the Tigers to send down everyday first baseman Chris Shelton to the AAA Toledo Mudhens. On paper, this makes sense. Shelton has been mediocre, at best, since his torrid start in April, when he hit 10 home runs in what felt like 10 consecutive games.

He's been warm of late -- hitting .303 in his last 19 games -- but overall, his .277 average and 16 home runs won't be missed. He's also not a terribly reliable player in the field; he has five errors on the season and committed one during Detroit's catastrophic eighth inning Sunday in a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

But the question must be asked: How much did baseball's best team need to make such a dramatic change? Although he's no All-Star, Shelton's presence at first base is a familiar one for his teammates, as are his bat in the lineup and presence in the clubhouse. By taking him out of the mix so late in the season, the surrounding players will surely feel something different.

While chemistry is not as important in baseball as in basketball -- a sport so dependent on togetherness -- it still matters. And when the ship ain't broke, why fix it?

I pose the question because all seems as though it's going swimmingly. The Tigers have the best record in baseball. Shelton's a big part of that. They've been winning two out of three games in every series since the All-Star break, and they've showed zero major weaknesses, no signs of slowing down.

That said, general manager Dave Dombrowski knows a thing or two more than I do about constructing a winner. (He put together the two Florida Marlins teams that won World Series in 1997 and 2003.) He must feel that Casey can integrate himself into the operations smoothly, and that by October, his presence will be more valuable than Shelton's. He must feel that as well as things are going now, the Tigers can still get better. That's a hard hunger to have when you're in first place. But I like that.

While I do feel a bit badly for Big Red, the Tigs may bring him back up for the playoffs. He's still a good hitter, even after his monumental slump this season, and he could be a great guy to have on the bench for pinch-hitting situations.

For the time being, I'm sure the Tigers and their fans will welcome Casey to the club with open, hopeful arms. First-place Case: Batter Up.

The recipe

The third installment of random thoughts and observations, long overdue...

Here's a question for all of you sports fans: What is the most grossly overcovered topic in sports, the "news" that when it comes on ESPN, you immediately change the channel? Here are three of my many:

- Michelle Wie. What has she ever done? Yes, she's talented. Yes, she can hit the ball 300 yards. But so can a million other golfers in America. Until she wins a tournament on the LPGA Tour, she shouldn't compete with the men, and she most definitely should not command headlines on SportsCenter and elsewhere.

- Barry Bonds. Is there one person on Earth who honestly believes this man has not taken steroids? It's obvious. So why do possible indictments and "new discoveries" become you've-gotta-hear-this news? I'll never understand. The legacy of this man is forever "asterisked," and it's sad. But whether it's proven in court that he took steroids ... that really doesn't matter.

- Barbaro. He's a fricking horse. Millions of his brethren are slaughtered daily so people around the world can eat. Just because he won one big race doesn't mean people care how he's feeling at every hour of the day. Seriously, one day, it's "Barbaro feeling under the weather, death not far off." The next, it's "Barbaro's condition improves, horse in good spirits." Give me a break. It was unfortunate that he couldn't compete for the Triple Crown, but come on. Once he went down, that was it. Tip your cap, admit it was a shame, and move on. That horse sure doesn't give a hoof about you.

So what do you think? Care to defend my picks? Care to chime in with some other topics (like Kobe/Shaq subplots, Roger Clemens retire/unretirements, Terrell Owens antics), feel free...

... So how about the Detroit Tigers? It's hard for me to contain my excitement after weathering the storm of futility for so many years. Now, they're the best team in baseball. The big question every loyal Tigers fan should be asking themselves: What will it take for this to continue?

I think Jim Leyland has them in a mindset where they never get too high, never too low after wins or losses. And that's a hard attitude to harness. I also think he has them focused on winning every day when they arrive at the ballpark -- regardless of what happened a day earlier or who their opponent is in the dugout next to them. If that sustains through the end of the summer, they'll be in good shape.

The big question mark will be if they can avoid injury. In baseball, it's hard. They still have 70 or so games to play, then potentially a long playoff run. Their current lineup is so well-balanced -- you never know who will be a hero one day, go 0-for-4 the next -- that one injury wouldn't throw them off too much. Plus, their bench can be counted on. If a guy like Carlos Guillen pulls a hammy and has to sit out for two weeks, Ramon Santiago and Omar Infante can fill in, and hardly anyone would notice.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski may make some personnel moves before the trade deadline at the end of July. Many people say he'll try to get a big left-handed bat in the lineup. To me, that's not their biggest area of concern. They rarely have trouble putting runs on the board. I'd still like to see them dump Todd Jones. He's not the kind of closing pitcher that wins World Series. Intimidation and his name are not synonymous.

But if they can stay humble, hungry and healthy, October is in their future. Let's root our stripes off to help them get there...

... Rob Parker of the Detroit News reported that Rip Hamilton has cut his braids and will sport a fade cut next season. I never really liked Rip's braids. He seems like more of a tight-fade type guy to me -- like he was at UConn. I just hope the lighter weight will help him hit his jump shot more effectively than he did in the postseason...

... I'm glad the World Cup is over, and only because of one thing. The flopping started to get to me. I'm no huge soccer fan, but when I lived in Spain, I began to like the sport a bit more. And because the World Cup comes on just once every four years, it's usually something I can stand. But to watch those Italians flop as they did, and to watch them win it all, I couldn't respect that. What was even sadder, though, was to see French star Zinedine Zidane go out like he did. Yes, the Italian who provoked him was probably over the line with family and race-oriented comments. But in any game -- especially on that stage -- you cannot do what Zidane did. Instead of being remembered as one of the greatest players of all time, he'll be remembered as the head-butting goat who blew the World Cup for this team and his country. It was one hell of a head-butt, though.

Breaking down Ben's departure

When I first heard that Ben Wallace would run with the Bulls next season, I put my head in my hands for a minute or two, and then I thought, "You know what? Ben did us well. For six years, he worked his ass off for the red, white and blue. Contagious defensively, reckless on the offensive boards, and fun as hell to watch -- I'll miss him. But, in the end, Big Ben did what most people would do: He took the money."

So that was my initial reaction. Nothing big; not terribly distraught.

Then, as I was driving on a rainy, Nashville road today, I heard about his signing with Chicago on the radio, so I naturally began to reminisce.

My fondest memories of Ben are sitting courtside, watching him erupt out of the tunnel, just smoking of intensity, then clanking jumpers in warm-up lines. I also loved Game 5 of the '04 Finals. He had two ferocious tip dunks that game, not to mention a 3-point attempt in the middle of a big Pistons run that missed horribly, but what made it great was that if he had made it, my friends and I would have torn my buddy Dave's house down -- that's how rowdy it was.

My point is, Ben was all about energy. And nothing represented that more than Mason's announcing of his name. That's what really got me when I was driving today. I realized, I will never again get to say his name that way. I love reciting Ben's name in the way Mason intended for it to sound. It gets me pumped up -- not just for Pistons games, for my games, too.

So the Pistons will never regain that energy. But is it the end of the world? No.

If Joe Dumars had chosen to spend what the Bulls spent on him, he would have kept Ben in Detroit. But he also would have made a commitment that, quite frankly, wouldn't have been worth it.

Ben showed us this year more than any other what a liability he is on the offensive end. Yes, he led the NBA in offensive rebounding, and yes, he can dunk the ball as hard as anyone. But he has small hands and such an erratic jump shot that no one really needs to guard him. He also outdueled Shaq this season for the prestigous The Biggest Joke at the Free Throw Line award.

What he gave us on defense can never be replaced. That said, the NBA is evolving -- actually it's reverting to what it used to be like -- into a high-scoring league with less and less defense. Could the Pistons have still won playing their style of old? Probably, but it would have been a much harder journey than their W versus the Lakers. These days, they'd have to play virtually perfect ball.

Now, minus Ben, we'll see the Pistons change. Expect a higher scoring starting five next year, one that might expend more energy on that end than in past years.

For them to get back to the Finals, they'll need another big man with a scoring presence. Amare would be an obvious choice, but there's no way Phoenix is letting him go. A more realistic idea is Chris Webber. They could trade somebody for him, I'm sure. Expect Joe to be dealing at some point before October. (They've already signed Nazr Mohammed, which doesn't really excite me. Nazr can walk and chew gum at the same time, and that's about it. They'll need someone who can add a third dimension or more for them to get back to the Finals ... or maybe Jason Maxiell could just blossom into a star, like Ben, with a little more touch on his J.)

Still, it's the end of an era. Never again will a 'Fro as mighty roam the Palace in red, white and blue. Never again will shots be altered so repeatedly. And never again will the Pistons be subject to Hack-A-Ben.

But, sometimes, it was worth it. You gotta admit, Ben made you smile a lot more than he made you cringe. Thanks for the memories, Big Ben. One more time, for what it's worth...

B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-Ben ... wwwwwwwwwwWWWWWWWWWWallace!!!