We have heard this before, of course.
The Tigers have missed October’s playoff fest. Ownership decides payroll is at its peak and there’s nowhere to go but down with next season’s salaries.
And then: It is January. Or the early days of February. Tigers czar Mike Ilitch gets itchy. A particular player (see: Pudge Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez, Johnny Damon, Justin Upton, etc.) is available for a particular hole on the Tigers’ ever-welcoming roster.
Ilitch decides to spend cash that supposedly wasn’t available. The Tigers, having torn a fat page from their checkbook, get busy chasing a pennant with newly financed firepower.