Jones, Jones, everywhere a Jones

After the news earlier today that the Tigers had acquired Jacque Jones, they must have felt that more Jones' were needed on the roster. Thus, the announcement late this afternoon that Todd Jones signed a 1 year, $7 million deal to return as the Tigers closer.

This news was not surprising, as the shoulder injury to Joel Zumaya made the re-signing of The Rollercoaster a near necessity. That's despite the fact that we Tigers fans love to bitch, bitch, then bitch even more about Todd Jones. That he's a smoke and mirrors closer, he can't enter games with runners on base, he is over-dependent upon his defense, and he's a blown save waiting to happen. The thing is, you can't bitch about Todd Jones' effectiveness in getting 3 9th inning outs to close out a win, even if you have your hands over your eyes the entire time.

I want YOU to have a 9th inning coronary!

Jones' 115 saves (75 of those with Detroit) over the past 3 seasons will end any argument against his being the Tigers closer for another season.

Now all I ask is that the Tigers put the cash saved in signing Jones for 1 season, rather than giving a multi-year deal to a Mariano Rivera or Francisco Cordero, towards more pitching. There's still a gaping hole in the starting rotation, and like many of you, I'm still not all that confident in a bullpen minus Zumaya. Though Dave Dombrowski claims (H/T to Billfer) that Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones solidifies the back end of the bullpen, I'm not totally sold.

The off season is just starting, and the Tigers are moving fast to fill their holes. But they aren't done yet. A front line starter is an absolute necessity, and I'd be one Hell of a lot more confident about their 2008 chances with another solid bullpen arm.

In somewhat favorable ancillary news to the Todd Jones signing, local retail outlets applaud the return of The Rollercoaster, and have already upped their inventories of Pepto Bismol, Tums, aspirin, Advil, Tylenol, and Alleve. Local hospitals expect to increase staffing, thanks to an expected April to October spike in heart attacks, indigestion, hypertension, migraines, stress, and foot injuries that result from the kicking of TV's. As always, the Detroit Tigers are doing their part to help the struggling Detroit economy.

Word is out in regard to other players Detroit may be targeting. It's been reported that the Tigers have expressed interest in the following players...

Adam Jones, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Garrett Jones, Greg Jones, Beau Jones, Blake Jones, Brandon Jones, Christopher Jones, Daryl Jones, Desmond Jones, Fred Jones, Geoff Jones, Hunter Jones, Jason Jones, Joseph Jones, Justin Jones, Keltavious Jones, Kennard Jones, both Michael Jones', Mitch Jones, Nathan Jones, Travis Jones, and Tyler Jones.

If 2 Jones' are good, then 25 Jones' has to be great, right?