The Fister of Goodness

Hasta la vista, David Price. It was a fun 364 days with you donning the Olde English D.

Price - a free agent at the end of the year - was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays today for three minor league pitching prospects, as part of what the team has described as "rebooting" the roster.

I anticipate Price's stay north of the border will last until the winter, when he will sign a long-term deal (probably in the six years/$200 million range) with the Chicago Cubs and be reunited with his former manager, Joe Maddon.

During his stay in the Motor City, the Tigers went 82-81; not the record owner Mike Ilitch, general manager David Dombrowski, manager Brad Ausmus, or the bevy of Tigers Nation fans were hoping for. But much of this was for reasons beyond his control.

In his 32 starting assignments, Price went 13-8 with a stellar 2.90 earned run average. He struck out 220 batters in his 223.2 innings on the mound, and had a 1.122 WHIP (that's walks and hits per inning) ratio. And, of course, he represented Detroit as a 2015 American League All-Star.

His only real problem games with Detroit came in two starts against the New York Yankees. Last August 27, the Yankees scored eight times in the third inning, beating Detroit 8-4; this past April 22, New York beat the Tigers 13-4, scoring eight against Price in the first two innings. Remove those two starts, and Price went 13-6 with a 2.30 ERA while a Tiger.

I foresee good things for Price as a Blue Jay, as long as he learns to handle the Yankees.

What people seem to forget - or at least gloss over - is that the Tigers traded for Price last July as a trade-deadline response to the singularly worst deal Dombrowski has made while Tigers GM. That, of course, being the December 2013  of Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals for infielder Steve Lombardozzi, left-hander Ian Krol and minor league lefty Robbie Ray. Lombardozzi lasted until the spring of 2014 before being dealt away. Last December, Ray was dealt to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade that brought Shane Greene to the Tigers. Krol has been a major disappointment (1-3, 5.15 ERA, 1.697 WHIP the past two years), and Greene - after a strong April - has imploded (4-8, 6.72 ERA).

Meanwhile, Fister was good. Real good. He went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA with Washington in 2014, finishing eighth in the National League Cy Young Award voting.

That's a bad transaction - so bad, in fact, that a number of Detroit fans (this one included) still point at the Fister trade as the beginning of the end of the current Tigers era. Even Detroit winning the American League Central Division for a fourth consecutive year in 2014 didn't change that view.

But wait, there's more! The money saved by trading Fister led to Detroit signing closer Joe Nathan, who was supposed to be a bullpen anchor. Instead, he stunk (5-4, 4.81 ERA, 35 saves, 7 blown saves, and a 1.534 WHIP) in 2014, and the Tigers sunk (worse bullpen in the major leagues).

In order to try and rectify the situation, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Seattle pulled off a three-way trade last July, with Price coming to Detroit and Fister's replacement in the rotation, Drew Smyly, heading to Tampa Bay. While this was an upgrade, it didn't solve the glaring Tigers bullpen issues. A year later, those problems still exist, and the starting rotation has been abysmal as well. (Mind you, part of that is also because the Tigers chose not to re-sign Max Scherzer this past off-season.)

So for the first time in a decade, the Tigers are trade deadline sellers, not buyers. Price is gone. Outfielders Yoenis Cespedis and Rajai Davis, starting pitcher Alfredo Simon, catcher Alex Avila, and  relief pitcher Joakim Soria will also likely be gone by the time August 1 arrives.

Now, Dombrowski works his magic. This winter, assuming he is back (he's a free agent, too), he will ply his trade and bring in a few notable free agents. And in 2016, the retooled - rebooted - Detroit Tigers will take the field.

I feel like a Cubs fan. Wait 'til next year!

CAMPAIGN 2016 NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Daily Beast: "The Missing Hillary Emails No One Can Explain" - She must have subscribed to Comcast for two months.

FACEPALM NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Washington Post: "Tennessee man faces gun charges after asking to see White House" - "The officer saw a propane tank in back of the truck and what appeared to be an ammunition box. Police searched the vehicle and reported finding a .44-caliber revolver, unloaded and in a holster, a .22-caliber rifle with a scope, a 7mm rifle, a knife with a 12-inch blade, ammunition boxes filled with hundreds of rounds and three percussion caps." Nothing about lion poaching, though.

FLORIDA NEWS OF THE DAY:

From Raw Story: "Florida official mocked online after misrepresenting ‘third world’ sewage issue with Haiti picture" - Florida politicians, spewing garbage out of their mouths.

WEIRD NEWS OF THE DAY:

From The Mirror: "Most ridiculous 999 call ever? Time-waster calls police wanting cat arrested for eating his bacon" - Because bacon.

SPORTS NEWS OF THE DAY:

From Deadspin: "Taste Roger Goodell's Wrath With Our NFL Punishment Generator" - I long for the days of two minutes by myself, in the box, feeling shame. Oh, wait, that's hockey!

VIDEO OF THE DAY:

Might be a Tennessee man asking to see the White House.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY:

"Refugee," Melissa Etheridge