One Detroit daily naively made a big deal late last week out of Jhonny Peralta's stated desire to play for the Tigers again next year.
    No wonder.
    Peralta was 7.25 million reasons to hope and pray the Tigers bring him back.
    But let's get real here: Peralta's reasons for wanting to return have nothing to do with his new teammates in the Tigers' clubhouse ("I like everybody here"), his high regard for manager Jim Leyland ("He's the kind of guy I feel comfortable around"),  or the city and suburbs that surround Comerica Park ("I feel happy here").
    Peralta wants to remain a Tiger because he knows he will make much, much more money here next season -- maybe twice as much -- than he stands to make anywhere else.
    If the Tigers decide to exercise the club option in Peralta's contract and bring him back next year, either as their everyday shortstop or as a replacement for Brandon Inge at third base "(I don't care about the position"), they will be obligated to pay him $7.25 million.
    However, if they elect not to exercise that option, they will only owe him a $250,000 parting gift and Peralta will immediately become a free agent.
    However, in Peralta's case, that opportunity is not nearly as inviting as it sounds.
    As a free agent on the open market, Peralta, a career .265 hitting who is batting .242 this season, probably won't be offered more than $3-4 million for one year or $6-7 for two -- if that.
    Remember, the Cleveland Indians, who know him best, let him go because they didn't want to pay him $7 million next year. And it was the Indians who agreed to put that onerous option clause in Peralta's contract in the first place.
    Peralta is making a career-high $4.85 million this year.
    If they so desire, the Tigers could let Peralta walk, then try to resign him as a free agent for a significantly reduced price.
    If that happens, we will see him much Peralta truly likes it here.

    Remember when nobody wanted to come to Detroit to play baseball?
    Now, nobody wants to leave.
    Not Johnny Damon, not Brandon Inge, not Magglio Ordonez, not Jeremy Bonderman, not newcomer Jhonny Peralta.
    What has changed?
    The biggest differences, I believe, have been owner Mike Ilitch's willingness to spend and the presence of Jim Leyland, who had modified the mind-set in the locker room.
    The clubhouse bickering and backstabbing has become a thing of the past.
    In addition, behind the scenes, Dave Dombrowski has overhauled the organization, upgrading the Tigers' scouting, drafting, and player development.
    Having said all of that, how many other big league ballplayers would have done what Damon did, turning down a chance to return to the big stage of a pennant chase to finish out this season as an also-ran?
    So much for the theory, so prevalent  last spring, that Damon and his wife enjoyed the bright lights of Broadway and Boston and maybe Chicago too much to ever agree to come to dingy, depressed Detroit.
    "I love Detroit," Damon declared in announcing his decision to veto a possible trade to the Boston Red Sox.
    It may not be obvious in the standings or on the stat sheet, but Damon has meant more to the Tigers this season than Mohawk haircuts and monogrammed bathrobes.
    And is desire to stay here has been loudly applauded.
    But whether Damon intended it that way or not, his decision came as a slap in the face to the Red Sox and their rabid fans..
    Columnist Dan Shaughnessy, writing in the Boston Globe, declared, "His decision to stay with the Tigers is downright idiotic.
    "Why would Damon want to stay with the moribund Tigers when he had a chance to join the Red Sox for 5 1/2 weeks of stretch-run fun?" Shaughnessy asked. "Why try to keep hitting at cavernous Comerica  Park when he could return to friendly Fenway? Why play games that don't matter when you can play games that still matter.
    "Think about it: For the next five weeks, you could live in downtown Boston and your wife could shop on Newbury Street. Or you could live in downtown Detroit, amid the boarded-up buildings and the proverbial skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets. Is this really a tough call?"
    I must admit, I, too, was surprised by Damon's veto.
    Both Damon and Dombrowski insist no decision has been reached regarding next season. No promises have been made. "There is no guarantee where I'll be next year," Damon admitted. "I hope I'm back."    What are the chances Damon, Inge, Ordonez, Bonderman and Peralta will get their wish and be invited  back next season?
    I rank them this way, from Most Likely to Return, to Least Likely:
    1. Inge
    2. Bonderman
    3. Ordonez
    4. Damon
    5. Peralta


   

    The Tigers signed Johnny Damon, further inflating their already-bloated payroll by $8 million, because they honestly believed they had a chance to win the American League Central and advance to the playoffs this season. Their willingness now to trade him to the Boston Red Sox confirms what all but the most die-hard Tiger enthusiasts acknowledged weeks ago: That dream is dead.
    Damon must now weigh the chance, however remote, to play some meaningful games in September and possibly October, with Boston against the bitterness that still lingers toward Red Sox fans who, after the then-bearded Damon signed with the Yankees, donned T-shirts that read: "Looks like Jesus, acts like Judas, throws like Mary."
    The thought of again being in the thick of a pennant chase tugs at his heart. Because Damon is, above all else, a winner.
    This is not about money. Damon is due about $1.8 million the rest of this year.
    Having said that, the prospect the Tigers would probably get from the Red Sox in return for Damon might help.
    As Damon discovered last winter with the Yankees, baseball is a business. And the 36-year-old Damon very much wants to play at least one more year.
    Damon's first choice would be to remain a Tiger. But I don't think the Tigers will come close to matching his current $8 million salary in 2011 -- if, indeed, they offer to bring him back at all.
    By performing well for the Red Sox in the national spotlight down the stretch, he could enhance his chances of getting a comparable contract offer for next year from someone else.
    It would mean a chance to, once again, prove his worth as a clutch player. Damon knows, if he helps the Red Sox reach the postseason, his image in Boston will change dramatically.
    There is no doubt in mind that the Red Sox claimed Damon, not because they want him back but because they wanted to block their rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays or the Yankees, from claiming him. I'm sure Damon suspects that, too.
    In that respect, the Red Sox have already succeeded
    If Damon, whose eight-team "no-trade" list includes the Red Sox, scuttles this trade -- as is his right -- he remain a Tiger for the rest of this year.
    But then what?

    Nobody ever said life, or baseball, was fair.
    There were a dozen reasons why the Tigers fell one win short of the postseason last year.
    But, no matter how you broke it down, the dismal, disappointing performance of Aubrey Huff had to rank near the top of the list:
    Forty games, just 20 hits, two homers, 13 RBI, and a .189 average.
    No other Tiger played so much and contributed so little down the stretch last year.
    But look at him now.
    Talk about rubbing salt in an old wound.
    Unceremoniously released by the Tigers who acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles in mid-August, Huff, who made $8 million last year, thought he had reached the end of the line last January.
    Then the phone rang. It was the San Francisco Giants. The Giants were only offering $3 million -- but that was $3 million more than Huff's next, best offer.
    After watching how little Huff did for the Tigers late last season, when one big hit would have been enough to put them into the playoffs, I couldn't believe he got that much.
    Now, incredibly, the 33-year-old Huff, who has played more than 1,440 games without ever once appearing in the postseason, and who had earned a reputation as a player whose commitment didn't always equal his ability, leads the Giants in just about every significant offensive category with 21 HRs,  70 RBIs, 128 hits, 76 runs, 64 walks, and 120 games played. At last check, he was batting .295.
    "I never really realized how the big leagues were supposed to be until I got here," Huff recently told ESPN.com.
    It was nice knowing you, too, Aubrey.
    And if that isn't reason enough to root against the Giants, shortstop Edgar Renteria -- remember him? -- is batting .278 in San Francisco.

    Just because the wheels may have come off the Tigers' bandwagon this season doesn't mean Mike Ilitch is going to change his free-spending ways where the annual amateur draft is concerned -- whether baseball commissioner Bud Selig likes it or not.
    The Tigers realize they are never going to be able to compete, dollar for dollar, with the filthy-rich New York Yankees on the free agent market. They believe they can get more bang for their big bucks in the draft.
    And they have the players, including Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello, to prove it.
    In addition, the Tigers traded Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, who were both originally signed to contracts that were "over-scale," to the Florida Marlins for Miguel Cabrera.
    They did it again late Monday night, risking the further wrath of the commissioner by bestowing $3.45 million on their top draft pick, infielder Nick Castellanos. It was the richest contract ever given a kid who had not been selected on the first round.
    And it followed the patterned the team set in signing Verlander (2004), Porcello (2007), Jacob Turner (2009) and others.
    In baseball, as in life, you get what you pay for.
    Castellanos was the 44th player selected in the June draft. In an effort to keep rookie spending in check, Selig's office recommends that such a player should only receive $776,700. In other words, according to Selig, the Tigers "overpaid" by about  $2.673 million.
    All of that money, of course, pales in comparison to the $9.9 million bonanza that Bryce Harper, this summer's No. 1 draft pick, reaped from the Washington Nationals. The commissioner's office had recommended that No. 1 pick receive $4 million, and not a penny more.
    But the 18-year-old Castellanos was not the only draft pick who benefitted from the Tigers' contractual largesse.
    The Tigers also signed their second and third picks, pitchers Chance Ruffin and Drew Smyly, for $1.15 million and $1.1 million respectively -- well in excess of the $728,100 and $537,300  suggested by the commissioner for those two slots.
    Although baseball doesn't have an official pay scale for draft picks, it tries to impose an unofficial system. And teams that have flagrantly exceeded the "recommendations" have frequently heard from the commissioner's office.
    But the Tigers, among some others, believe that fury is a small price to pay for acquiring premier players who would otherwise return or go to school and later sign with someone else.
    That opportunity will disappear if, as many believe, baseball adopts a rigid salary structure for draft picks in its next collective bargaining agreement. That would take effect in 2012, locking draft picks to specific bonuses and salaries which are sure to be a whole lot lower than this year's top rookie contracts.
     Meanwhile, the Tigers, to their credit, will continue to play the game in a manner which, they believe, gives them the best chance to be good.   

    How close did the Tigers come to shipping erstwhile rookie sensation Brennan Boesch back to to Toledo last week?
    Very close. In fact, as they say in boxing, it was a split decision.
    "It wasn't 100 percent send him down and it wasn't 100 percent keep him here," Jim Leyland admitted, in revealing the results of several clubhouse discussions and meetings involving the Tigers' manager, GM Dave Dombrowski and the coaching staff regarding the slumping freshman slugger.
    "What should we do? Do you want to send him out, relax him a little bit? Or do you let him grind it out?  Some people felt it was best to let him grind it out. Some felt it was best to send him down. What's best for the kid? There were several different opinions from people I respect. It goes to show you no one knew the answer."
    What the Tigers finally decided to do was to wait until the conclusion of last weekend's series at Comerica Park against the Los Angeles Angels.
    Then, if Boesch still looked lost at the plate, the Tigers would return him to the minors when they recalled Carlos Guillen.
    But Boesch, whose average had dipped from  .345 on July 4 to .282, went 2-for-9 with a home run against the Angels -- his first HR since June 27.
    That was enough to earn him a reprieve, at least temporarily.
    And Boesch rewarded that decision by collecting one hit in each of the Tigers' three games against Tampa Bay.
    So he is safe, for now.
    As the Tigers embarked on their road trip to Chicago and New York, Boesch was 7-for-29 in his last nine games after suffering through a 6-for-67 post-All-Star break slump.
    Maybe the worst is over. The Tigers can only hope.
    "I don't want him to be a deer in the headlights because we're not sending him down -- at least to my knowledge," Leyland declared.
    "You have mixed emotions because you want to do what's best for the kid. To be totally honest, I don't really know what the best solution is. It's a tough decision.
    "The only thing that helps develop a young player is time. In most cases it takes time.
    "For now we've decided to let him grind it out. I think it's best for the organization right now if we stay with him. I'll pick spots for him to let him breathe a little bit, but I want to see him grind it out. I don't want to tear the kid up. I don't want to hurt him in any shape or form. But I think he's relaxing a little bit now. I think he can handle it.
    "He's one for the future."
    But it is the present that the Tigers and their frustrated fans are most worried about right now.

    Jim Leyland had a heart-to-heart talk with Ryan Perry when the reliever and possible closer-in-waiting arrived at Comerica Park on Wednesday.
    The Tigers' manager was trying to figure out why, almost without fail, when Perry is called upon to pitch two days in a row, he doesn't fair as well the second day as he did the first.
    "I don't know if it's a mental thing, I just don't know," Leyland admitted. "That's kind of a mystery to us.
    "But I do know this: If he's going to be what we think he can be, he's going to have to do that.
    "For whatever reason, when he pitches two days in a row, his numbers are significantly different the second day. It's amazing," Leyland continued.
    "I think that's his major issue -- bouncing back with the same stuff the second day.  Some guys come back the second day with a dead arm. But that's not his problem.
    "You've got to remember, you're talking about a second-year guy who didn't have much minor league experience."
    Given all of the uncertainty that continues to engulf Joel Zumaya and his future, Perry could be the leading candidate to replace Jose Valverde as the Tigers' closer when Valverde's contract expires after the 2011 season.
    "He (Perry) is a real keeper," Leyland said.

    Miguel Cabrera walked three times over the weekend. He has been walked nine times on this homestand.
    Rookie Brennan Boesch's second-half return to reality, coupled with the loss of Magglio Ordonez, have left Cabrera more or less all alone in the middle of the Tigers' lineup.
    As a result, Cabrera, who leads the American League in RBI with 93, is third in hitting at .343, and third in home runs with 26, also leads the league in intentional walks with 15 and is fourth in walks overall with 62.
    Opposing pitchers know Cabrera is now the one guy in the Tigers' lineup who is most likely to beat them. And they feel free to pitch to him very carefully if, indeed, they don't outright walk him.
    And that cuts into his chances for base hits, HRs and RBI -- in other words, the Triple Crown.
    Cabrera's  last home run came on July 31. His last RBI came on Aug. 1. His batting average has dropped eight points (from .351) this month.
    "When Boesch was hitting, we had a legitimate guy hitting behind him. Right now, we don't have a guy hitting behind him who can protect him," Jim Leyland admitted.
    "Of course, Cabrera is so good, the only guy who can really protect Miguel Cabrera is Miguel Cabrera."
    And the Tigers only have one of those.
    "For the most part, they really haven't done a whole lot of pitching around him," Leyland insisted. "Sometimes that becomes a head game. 'Are they going to pitch to me? Are they not going to pitch to me?'
    "When a guy is as good as he is, he can expand the strike zone sometimes. But he can't expand it too much. If you start swinging at bad pitches, you're going to make outs."
    Cabrera was walked 68 times all last season. His career high is 86 bases on balls, with Florida in 2006.
    But the Tigers' team record for walks is safe. Surprisingly, that was set by Roy Cullenbine, who was hardly a slugger, in 1947 when he walked 137 times.

    Carlos Guillen will be eligible to come off the disabled list on Monday. As far as Guillen is concerned, he is ready to return to the lineup right now.
    Nevertheless, on Thursday the Tigers sent Guillen to Class A West Michigan in Grand Rapids, just as they did with Brandon Inge earlier this week, for what figures to be a brief rehab assignment.
    Guillen didn't have a vote. "It's not my decision," he said.
    But Guillen wasn't shy about making his feelings on the subject known.
    "Rehab!" the Tigers veteran said with a disgusted look on his face.
    "I don't think I need a rehab. I've been hitting almost every day. I feel ready to play," said Guillen, who has been sidelined since July 25 with a strained right calf.
    Guillen still hasn't forgotten his trip to Syracuse earlier this season when he was on a rehab assignment with the Toledo Mud Hens because of an injured hamstring.
    "The worst hotel, the worst clubhouse, the worst place to play," Guillen recalled.
    "Only one place to got to eat _ Denny's. I don't know if they have a downtown. I didn't see any buildings. I saw a couple of cars on the street. That was it."
    The Tigers' top two minor league subsidiaries, Toledo and Erie, are both on the road at the present time. And West Michigan, which plays at home on Friday, goes on the road to Dayton, Ohio, on Saturday.
    Oh well, it beats Syracuse. At least they have Skyline Chili in Dayton.
    "I don't want to go anywhere," said Guillen, obviously unimpressed.

    Tigers veteran Carlos Guillen agrees with the basic premise of the recent controversial rant by Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen regarding the disparate handling of Latino and Asia players in baseball and the preferential treatment the Asians allegedly receive.
    Tigers manager Jim Leyland does not.
    "I can't speak for other organizations, but we have all kinds of things to help them (Latino players) adjust to the language and the culture," Leyland insisted. "The Tigers organization has a good program in place.
    "I have a son (Patrick) playing in the Gulf Coast League and I know we have an actual teacher down there (in Lakeland, Fla.) teaching the Latin kids the English language," the Tigers' manager explained.
    "In fact, my son is trying to learn Spanish at the same time.
    "As soon as our Latin players come here to this country, we provide educational programs and English lessons  for them."
    Carlos Guillen, who like Ozzie is a native of Venezuela, knows all about baseball's English classes. He attended one when he signed his first pro contract with the Houston Astros in 1993.
    "It didn't work," Guillen declared with a grin.
    "My English is still screwed up.
    "I don't think it works," Guillen added "Do you think the kids want to learn English at that age?"    "I still don't feel comfortable speaking English," admitted the veteran Tigers, who has been in the big leagues since 1998.
    "We've got 20 percent of the big league players from  Latin America or South America. Do we have a translator? No. Do we have a personal trainer? We don't have one.
    "Good luck. They don't know if you speak English or understand what they are going to say.
    "Why don't they have English classes for the Japanese players?
    "How are you going to explain to a trainer or the doctor or the manager how you feel when you don't speak English?" Carlos continued. "It's hard. You can imagine how it is in the minor leagues.
    "It's hard for you guys (in the media) to understand what we're saying. Sometimes you put something wrong in the paper but it's not your fault.  And it's hard for us to understand your questions.
    "Communication is the key to everything. With your family, your home, with your kids. If you don't have good communication with your kids, they're going to learn it out on the street.
    "It's the same thing in here, in the clubhouse. You have to have good communication with your teammates and your team."
    Because of his understanding of the game, Guillen has often been mentioned as a possible candidate to be a big league manager when he retires.
    But he admitted his difficulty with the English language might make him reluctant to pursue a second career when his playing days are over.
    Then again, he added, "You don't have to speak perfect English to be a big league manager."
    Right, Ozzie?
   

 

    The good news is the Chicago White were thwarted in their efforts to trade for a slugger, namely Adam Dunn or Manny Ramirez, to juice up their offense.
    The bad news is, aside from stopgap third baseman Jhonny Peralta,  the Tigers weren't able to bolster their injury depleted attack, either.
    And, given their sinking status in the standings, the Tigers' need was definitely greater.
    Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins, who have suffered their share of major injuries, too, somehow keep on winning.
    That pretty much sums up the American League Central as we enter the final two do-or-die months of the season.
    Night after night, this once-promising summer is coming unraveled right before our eyes.
    Know this: There is nothing wrong with the reeling Tigers that a 10-game winning streak wouldn't help remedy.
    And they're 35-17 at Comerica Park, where their next 10 games will be played.
    But right now can anyone envision the shell-shocked Tigers sweeping the ChiSox, Angels and Rays on this homestand?
    I know I can't. Not anymore.
    The Tigers are hurting physically -- and mentally.
    Their just-completed road trip to St. Petersburg and Boston was grueling. And the way they lost those six games out of seven, especially the last two in Boston, was emotionally draining.
    That has to take a toll.
    Chicago's turnaround has been amazing. 
    That's why the four-game showdown with the White Sox, beginning with a challenging day-night doubleheader on Tuesday, is critical.
    It could signal the beginning of the Tigers' turnaround -- or seal their fate.