Tell me the pros aren't mostly business!  The Tigers late Wednesday traded their catcher, 13-time all star Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez to the New York Yankees, straight up for pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, a hard throwing righthander who once played in Detroit.

     Pudge is making $13 million this season and he is a free agent at the end of the year.  The Yankees, who still consider themselves in the pennant race, lost catcher Jorge Posada for the season on Wednesday to shoulder surgery.  The 36-year old Rodriguez is hitting .295 with 5 home runs and 82 runs batted in.  The Tigers doubted they could re-sign him for next season considering their other issues.

     The Tigers need pitching.  I remember Farnsworth in Detroit a couple years ago as a hard thrower, but who had control problems, just like current Tigers Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya.  He was traded to the Cubs.  Farnsworth has also been with the Atlanta Braves.  Whether Farnsworth ends up as a closer or not remains to be seen.  Clearly Detroit is in a divisional race-- 56 games remaining and a 5 1/2 game deficit to the Chicago White Sox.

     The Tigers have a make up home game September 5th with the Yankees.  Pudge wearing pinstripes-- who woulda thunk it.  But the pros make all their decisions based on money and getting Farnsworth now gives them some pitching help, so they think, when they might not have received anything at the end with Rodriguez off to somewhere else next year.

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