I don’t think signing Brandon Lyon in itself is necessarily a bad move by the Tigers. They sorely need veteran bullpen depth as a bridge toward the future and what looks like a good crop of relievers they are developing in the minor leagues.
It’s just the prospect of Lyon and Fernando Rodney closing games for the Tigers at the start of the season isn’t promising. Both have done well in stretches - Lyon in 2003 with Boston before having Tommy John surgery, and the first half of last season with the Diamondbacks - and Rodney in 2006 and toward the end of last season. Neither has been able to do so consistently. Lyon is a good middle reliever. He doesn’t walk many hitters and knows how to get out jams in those situations. He doesn’t throw that hard or have a real outpitch, which causes problems when ending the game. Rodney’s success seems totally predicated on how hard he throws. When he’s in the mid-90s with his fastball, it provides a separation in speed between his changeup, which is an extraordinary pitch, that makes him very difficult to hit. His struggles come when his velocity comes down, which is often. Then nibbles with his fastball early in the count and never gets to setup his changeup.
I do think Juan Rincon might help the Tigers. He hasn’t pitched well in recent years, but Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp is familiar from Rincon from both were with Minnesota. There is little risk because Rincon signed a minor league contract, but there would be high reward. Rincon is only 30.

Random Thoughts

- Scott Linehan as offensive coordinator is a solid move by the Lions. He wasn’t a successful head coach, but he did go through the process.
His ties to former Michigan State coach John L. Smith aside, Linehan’s offenses have generally been well-conceived and balanced. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out from the perspective of Daunte Culpepper. Linehan was Minnesota’s offensive coordinator during Culpepper’s most successful stretch in the league.

- Suspending Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datysuk for the first game back from the All Star break is preposterous. Those guys - particularly Lidstrom - should have been insulted from the standpoint of not starting. They're the ones with the beef, not the league because they are missing the game because of injury. The NHL All Star Game has run its course. It should be done away. Everybody knows that - except the typically clueless NHL.