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.