By all accounts, Craig Monroe was having an off-season with the Tigers, who asked Monroe to turn in his uniform and his pass to the players' parking lot
last Friday, when he was designated for assignment.
Here's what
Rotoworld had to say at the time of the move:
The Tigers are cutting a guy with 59 homers and 236 RBI since the start of 2005. He's even a pretty good defender in a corner outfield spot. The big negative is that he carries poor OBPs even when he's swinging well. Still, there are more than a few teams that would like to have him around and some would probably even play him regularly. Expect him to be traded before he can become a free agent.
So how far off was Monroe with Detroit this year?
|
'01-'06 |
'07 |
AVG |
.263 |
.222 |
OBP |
.312 |
.264 |
SLG |
.461 |
.373 |
OPS |
773 |
637 |
AB/HR
|
22.4 |
31.2 |
AB/K |
5.0 |
3.6 |
AB/BB |
14.8 |
17.2 |
The picture painted by the Inside Edge Scouting Service in their
mid-season report on Monroe was no prettier than those numbers. The 30-year-old earned a B for plate discipline--with an A+ for his ability to lay off bad pitches with two strikes!--but that was the highlight. His fastball-hitting, performance in the clutch, and overall effectiveness were all graded D+; in a couple sub-categories, he pulled F's.
Still, to paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in
Casablanca, Monroe and the Tigers will always have Paris...er, that is, the 2006 post-season, when Monroe hit five home runs, a franchise post-season record.
Here's what Tigers GM David
Dombrowski had to say at the time he officially excised Monroe from his roster:
"He had a lot of big moments for us. Craig has scuffled a little bit over the last couple of months. I think probably for him a change of scenery will be beneficial at this time. That's why it's with mixed emotions, because we like Craig and what he did for us."
If Monroe can offer any support to the Cubs' wobbly offense, represent an improvement over Matt Murton, and maybe help punch up the team's 12-19 record against lefties, he will be liked in Chicago as well.
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