Jair Jurrjens name must be echoing off the walls in baseball banter throughout the Detroit area nowadays. The ex-Tiger picked up his league-best 12th win in a 9-1 win last night against Colorado in what was his final appearance before packing up and traveling to the 2011 All-Star game in Arizona.
The last thing Detroit fans need is a kick in the gut just as they come down from the Matt Millen era but that’s what seeing Jurrjens take the mound in Arizona may equate to, especially if he gets the nod to start. While that buzz around the NL is whether Jurrjens should be the starter in Arizona, fans in Motown must be having recurring nightmares triggered by memories of the team parting with pitcher John Smoltz for the Braves’ Doyle Alexander back in the late 80’s.
After leaving Detroit, Smoltz blossomed into a sure Hall of Famer, posting 213 wins, 154 saves and joining the 3,000 strikeout club. In his inaugural year wearing the ‘D’, Alexander went 9-0 to help the Tigers make the playoffs but then pretty much fizzled out after that.
Seeing J.J. sitting at the top of the league with a 12-3 record and a league-best 1.87 ERA must rub salt in the wounds left in Detroit fans from that infamous Smoltz deal.
Jurrjens, a promising young pitcher from Curacao, was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tigers in 2003 before being shipped to Atlanta on Oct. 29, 2007 for All-Star shortstop, Edgar Renteria.
While still considered a rookie by MLB rules during his first season in Atlanta, Braves manager Bobby Cox referred to J.J. as “the most impressive rookie pitcher the Braves have had in over a decade.”
Donning the ‘A’ that rookie season, Jurrjens started with an 8-3 record and impressive ERA that was near the top of the NL at the time. That start created a buzz that led to his name being included in most NL Rookie of the Year debates. While J.J. was looking like a steal for the Braves, the Tigers would watch Renteria’s batting average drop from .332 to .270 before parting ways with the infielder after just one season.
Renteria would later head west and become a member of San Francisco’s World Series team while Jurrjens is becoming the ace of the Braves starting rotation continuing to improve…..to the point of arguably becoming the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.
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Originally from Detroit, Tom is an Atlanta-based sportswriter whose work has been published in the New York Daily News, Washington Times, Detroit Free Press and national hockey mags including The Hockey News (Canada) and USA Hockey Magazine. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomFerda
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