Andy Oliver Gets The Call

2009 Upper Deck USA #USAB-AO Andrew Oliver

BIG news was brought to my attention by Bless You Boys: Andy Oliver has gotten the call to replace Rick Porcello in the Tigers' rotation. You might know Oliver as "The Tigers Best Pitching Prospect Not Named Jacob Turner"

Oliver is slated to start on Friday against the Braves. I would imagine that his stay in Detroit will be relatively short lived a la Justin Verlander circa 2005 or Andrew Miller circa 2006. Still, this is more than just a spot start, where we knew that these top pitchers were getting one start and then going back down. As far as I can tell the spot is ostensibly Oliver's until 1) Rick Porcello gets back on track or 2) Oliver sucks big time.

All of this is very exciting, as the lefty is a promising piece of the Tigers' pitching future. It will be interesting to see how he makes the leap.

WBC: Behind the Scenes

In his first day on Team USA, Curtis Granderson has experienced the Red Sox/Yankees Rivalry first hand (kind of).

Here's a snippet from the short source paragraph:

They played [Jeter's] music when he came up to bat, which I thought was interesting," Granderson said. "Then all of a sudden you've got (Kevin) Youkilis and (Dustin) Pedroia, before and after him, and the crowd is booing those two guys

H/T Bless You Boys

Batting Leadoff...

The Free Press is on a roll today. Here's a little side-by-side comparison of two potential leadoff men for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Manager Davey Johnson seems to have already made his decision.

Who would you choose to bat leadoff?

Games 137 141
At-bats 556 553
Runs 76 112
Homers 11 22
RBI 59 66
Steals 47 12
AVG. .277 .280
OBP .349 .365
Slug. % .437 .494

Me too. The player in the first column is Jimmy Rollins, our mystery star in column 2 is Granderson.

Granderson News Link of the Day

Here's some more pre-season fluff on Curtis Granderson, who is now almost sure to be the starting centerfielder on Team USA.

A taste:

Granderson has earned a high level of respect among his peers. Team USA reliever J.J. Putz, the Trenton native and former University of Michigan right-hander, talked Monday about how impressed he has been with Granderson.

"He's a talent, man," said Putz, entering his first season with the Mets. "He can do it all. He can be the new face of that franchise, without a doubt."

(From the Detroit Free Press)

Curtis Granderson Is A Collector!

Well, kind of:

Granderson was part of a six-member committee assembled by the International Baseball Federation (IBF) that met with the International Olympic Committee's Program Commission in November and lobbied for the sport's reinstatement in 2016. The commission is expected to vote on the matter in October.
During Granderson's 10-minute presentation, he gave each member one of his baseball cards and showed them a Team USA card of Mark McGwire which Granderson carries. He told IOC members that he had two major goals in life: to be a professional baseball player and to represent his country at the Olympics. Granderson said he carries the McGwire card as a reminder of his Olympic dream. He addressed the members by name and thanked them for listening.

This, from a wonderful Detroit News article that posted this morning.

Could Curtis be a collector? I mean, he's no Pat Neshek but clearly, this is a man who recognizes the subtle importance and pleasures of collecting.

This article also coincides nicely with a post that I was going to write anyway, to-be-entitled "Curtis Granderson Has A Degree In Marketing," in which I talk about Curtis Granderson's mind for business. The presentation for the IOC is one great example of the impact that a person with a sound educational background can make. My main evidence was actually going to be drawn from his upcoming "Celebrity Shootout" fundraiser next weekend for his Foundation (do you know of any other players that started a foundation in their first full MLB season?)

Curtis Granderson, a man who was born, raised, educated and still lives in and around Chicago, IL has the following celebrities at his shootout, joining Detroit/Michigan natives that have achieved national recognition elsewhere (H/T to Grandy Report)

Lloyd Carr: Former University of Michigan football coach
Desmond Howard: U-M Star, Heisman Trophy Winner, Beloved TV Personality
Braylon Edwards: U-M Star, Detroit Native, Current Cleveland Brown
Billy Sims: Detroit Lions Legend

With the exception of Carr, these players were all long gone before Curtis even started his career in Detroit. Not only does Curtis have a tremendous amount of respect for Detroit's storied history, but he understands the dynamics of fundraising in Michigan. Too many foundations try to "wow" people with national celebrities, which may or may not work to their advantage. In this case, Granderson has hauled in recognizable people (locally and nationally-and from diverse backgrounds) who are, in fact, big name stars in the Detroit area. While I certainly hope that Granderson has a long and prosperous career, clearly he'll be able to can get things done off the field--which is really all it takes to achieve in business and life.

(Curtis Granderson for Mayor--2035?)

Pre-Season Granderson!

Very exciting news around these parts as MLB.com is reporting that Curtis Granderson has accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. So, for all of you that don't follow the Tigers, this will be a chance for you to root for him as a part of Team USA. Thank you Curtis. This is such a breath of fresh air compared to all the players (and teams) who don't want to "risk" playing in the WBC.

I think that this is a great chance for Curtis to shine on an international stage, and should help him get up to game speed in time for a red-hot start to the regular season--as long as he can avoid another injury like the broken hand that landed him on the DL to start the season last year.

From a collector perspective, this is great news. I'm already drooling over the idea of WBC Granderson cards, assuming that the ones released by Topps this year were just a taste of things to come!