I continue to be amazed at the number of people -- some of them, even knowledgeable -- who view the Tigers’ decision to dump Pudge Rodriguez now, instead of waiting until the end of the season to let him walk away, as evidence the front office has somehow given up on this season.
        Nonsense.
        As Jim Leyland says, “It was a no-brainer.”
        Once the Tigers decided they were not going to offer Rodriguez a new two or three contract for $20 to $30 million at the end of the year -- and given their pressing new for another reliable late inning reliever right now -- the only smart move was to get the best pitcher they could possibly get in exchange for Pudge.
        The fact that the pitcher they picked up, Kyle Farnsworth, may not prove to be the answer to the Tigers’ bullpen woes is irrelevant.
        Mistakes happen. However, trading Rodriguez was not a mistake.
        As Leyland put it on Thursday, “Whether Pudge Rodriguez or Brandon Inge is catching every day will have no bearing on whether we get to the playoffs or not.”
        But the presence of an additional relief pitcher, even Kyle Farnsworth, might.