Redmond who will be 39 in May is a career

Even if the direction is rebuilding, the Tigers need to start moving toward the future soon, as they have a lot of things to address.. This week, the arbitration deadline came and went with few surprises. One player that became an unprotected free agent intrigues me as an option for the Chicago Cubs.The Minnesota Twins have decided to part ways with Joe Mauer's backup, Mike Redmond.Redmond's name on the availability list made me wonder who would be the better option to back up Geovany Soto in Chicago this summer between Redmond and Koyie Hill. Let's examine how these two backstops compare.Redmond, who will be 39 in May, is a career .289 hitter with no power. Hill's career OBP is only .286, though.According to FanGraphs, Redmond has significantly better plate discipline than Hill. Redmond swung at only 22.6 percent of pitches outside the strike zone in his career, while Hill is reaching at a 28.4 percent rate.

On pitches outside the zone, Redmond makes contact 69.6 percent of the time, while Hill only touched the ball 47.5 percent of the time. Advantage: Redmond.When you come inside the strike zone, the quality of Redmond's at bats is again superior. Redmond makes contact with 95.9 percent of pitches he swings at inside the strike zone, while Hill only puts wood on the ball 83.7 percent of the time. Again, substantial advantage to Redmond.Both players are good defensive catchers, and made less than $1 million last year. Redmond, however, has a World Series ring from the 2003 Marlins. (Salt in the wound, right)So looking at the two next to each other, Redmond looks like an older, but better, option.But why do I care about the Cubs' backup catcher Because Soto was awful last year.In 2009, Soto went through a rough sophomore slump. You cannot win a division if 37 percent of your games are played at that kind of a disadvantage.Therefore, it is my opinion that the Cubs should strongly consider upgrading their backup catcher position by adding Redmond. His experience and superior abilities in the batters box at a marginal increase to the bottom line make sense.

He would provide much better insurance against another bad season from Soto than Hill.. Many Notre Dame fans are clamoring for the ND Muckety Mucks to obtain one of the brightest shining stars in the college football solar system. Cincinnati Bearcat head coach Brian Kelly, 48, is, by far, the choice of most for the vacated job left by the firing of Charlie Weis.If the Fighting Irish faithful is certain Kelly will bring instant success to a mediocre team, they need look no further than Ann Arbor.Near the end of the 2007 season, the University of Michigan was feeling that since Lloyd Carr was retiring, maybe they would be able to find someone who could beat the Ohio State Buckeyes. Carr was 9-4 his last year at Big Blue, but most "fair weather" fans just remember that he lost six of his previous seven games to the Buckeyes.Stay with me Notre Dame faithful, I am painting a portrait for you.Michigan honchos began looking at other nests they could pillage from.

West Virginia, a Big East school which was one of the country's elite, much like the Bearcats are now, had a young coach named Rich Rodriguez. A man just coming off a season where he at one point drove the No 1 car in NCAA football. Clearly this would be their guy to beat Jim Tressel and Ohio State.Rodriguez has been with the Wolverines for two seasons, has compiled a record of 8-16 while just winning three of 16 Big Tenmatchups. He has guided Michigan to the biggest football shipwreck in school history. For the record, Rich is 0-2 against the Buckeyes with a combined score of 63-17.Why do I tell you this, you ask Because, by looking at Brian Kelly, they are truly looking at Rich Rodriguez in 2007.Kelly was 19-16 in three years at Central Michigan, before being hired by Cincinnati of the Big East.