By Drew Sharp
Detroit Free Press
It’s already assumed that Max Scherzer is gone after this season.
Why?
Are the Tigers suddenly gun-shy about paying superstars a maximum price on the open market?
If so, then they’re admitting fraudulence, operating under the guise of freely running with baseball’s big-money dogs with the understanding that the potential high reward of big-ticket ballplayers comes with an equally high level of risk. It could also contribute to the increasing degree of pressure in this town that a high-payroll team isn’t quite living up to its bank accounts. The perception builds that if the Detroit Tigers can’t get to a World Series with the hottest pitcher in the American League right now, it might not happen for quite some time because Scherzer’s continued excellence just might price him out of Detroit.
Scherzer’s situation underscores the greater disconnect between a fan base that dearly loves its Tigers but allows that devotion to blind itself from the realities of modern baseball.
If you’re not willing to take a chance, then you’ve got no chance at winning a championship.
Scherzer gambled on himself when his agent, Scott Boras, turned down the Tigers’ reported six-year, $144-million contract extension offer in spring training. And he is winning. Big time. Who can honestly fault him for strongly believing in himself?
“You can’t not have confidence in yourself, regardless of what the circumstance is,” Scherzer said. “You have to believe that, every time you take the ball, nobody can beat you. I’ve always tried taking the mindset that you can only focus on what’s directly in front of you. Everything else doesn’t matter.”
It’s no secret that should the Tigers win their fourth straight American League Central division championship ad Scherzer will play a major role. A big enough role that could very well earn him a second straight AL Cy Young Award. And with free agency pending, that translates into a new contract that would probably set the new fiscal standard for starting pitchers - perhaps even more than $30 million annually.
If that scares off the Tigers, then they’re not interested in sitting at the big boys’ table.
The final weeks of this regular season won’t only determine the Tigers’ fate as it pertains to a fourth straight playoff appearance, but it will also gauge their willingness to further reward their stars at a fair-market value despite Justin Verlander’s physical struggles before he makes $140 million over the next five years.
If the Tigers fear the inevitability of dead money in the second half of those humongous contracts, then they’re basically dead as a perennial playoff contender.
Detroit’s a blue-collar town that has difficulty separating the perception of a player’s performance with the number of digits on his contract. That has been the underlying venom over the past week with Joe Nathan’s genuflections and the collective team’s overall on-field malaise. It’s hard believing that major leaguers can struggle without thinking that they must be playing casually because they’ve already cashed their checks.
It’s not fair to the players.
Baseball elected its new commissioner. Rob Manfred assumes Bud Selig’s throne with the mandate of making sure the goose keeps laying golden eggs. The game’s revenues have never been bigger - specifically from television. According to a 2012 Crain’s Detroit business report, the Tigers were expected to take in more than $110 million in national and local television revenues. They still wish to operate under a reasonable budget - meaning that certain additions must result in subtractions elsewhere.
Scherzer is having a season that is becoming a budget-buster.
If that scares everyone from taking the necessary risks in keeping him beyond this season, then the Tigers are telling everyone that they’re more at the little kids’ table.
