I know it's been slow around here lately. There are a number of reasons for that, and I could explain. But as the reader I'm sure it's kind of like when you go to a restaurant and get bad service. You don't really care to have the server explain why it's happening. You just want the problem fixed. This is me trying to do that.

I've been working on some things that are research heavy, and as I do that I've let a few stories involving the Tigers' minor leagues go without comment. So I'm going to hop in the way back machine and talk about a few stories we've seen pop up over the past month.

Tigers add Brennan Boesch, Audy Ciriaco, Scott Sizemore and Ryan Strieby to 40 Man Roster

I did a post before the deadline for setting rosters where I said the Tigers had some pitchers who might draw some interest in the Rule 5 draft. I also said none of those pitchers really seemed irreplaceable and if any one of them were lost to the Rule 5 draft it wouldn't be that big a deal. I don't know if the Tigers agreed with my thinking, but they didn't add any of them to their 40 Man.

Instead, they stuck to position players who offer skills that may not be so easily replaced. Scott Sizemore is the front runner for the 2010 second base job and I'm going to be doing a post devoted to him in an attempt to ease some of the fears of the more casual Tiger fans. (This idea came to me after talking to my next door neighbor and family over the weekend) He's as ready as he's going to be for a major league job and there's certainly nobody more ready in the minor league system.

Ryan Strieby has had his last two seasons shortened by a wrist injury, but has still pounded the ball. That's despite having a wrist injury that usually saps power. Concerns about the injury were significant enough to pull him out of his AFL assignment to give it time to heal. If that happens and the Tigers get to the end of April and think they want somebody to fill the role that had been held by Marcus Thames, Strieby could be that guy. He's never going to be a defensive cornerpiece, but his bat could potentially make up for a lot of defensive shortcomings.

Brennan Boesch wasn't the easy choice to add to the roster Sizemore and Strieby were, but you could probably make the argument he's more talented than those two. He was, after all, taken before both of them (Boesch third, Strieby fourth and Sizemore fifth) in that 2006 draft. The positives here are big time power from a left-handed bat and good athleticism for a corner outfield spot. The down side is he has a long way to go in either plate discipline, pitch recognition or both. He's struck out three times more often than he's walked as a pro and that ratio was closer to four in 2009. Like I said, that's a lot of room for improvement in an area where players generally struggle to improve.

Audy Ciriaco is the one who will make most people scratch their head the most. He just finished his best full season of pro ball and he hit .262/.296/.397 at Lakeland while making 30 errors at shortstop. What exactly made the Tigers think somebody was going to pop him in the Rule 5 draft? The simple answer is he has tremendous tools at his disposal and he plays shortstop. That's a resume that will get you chances with a lot of teams and it's a resume not a lot of players in the Tiger organization have. Clearly, they weren't interested in taking the risk of losing him.

The reasons for adding him aren't limited to trust in scouting reports, though. Ciriaco's line, cited above, isn't all that impressive but did you know it gives him a better than league average OPS in the Florida State League? It was pulled up by him improving in the second half of the 2009 season, and it was also elevated by his showing continued progress in being able to drive the ball with more authority. At 6'3" and 195 pounds, there would seem to be room for more progress in that area. I assume the Tigers are hoping there will eventually be enough to make him an attractive prospect even if he has to move off shortstop for one reason (better option at the position) or another (such as his own defensive struggles).

The reason these roster additions are relevant is they take these players out of circulation for the Rule 5 draft (pending roster moves this week), which takes place the final day of the Winter Meetings. The Tigers are assumed to figure large in the meetings because of trades at the major league level, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't factor into the Rule 5 draft at all. Their roster is currently full, so barring a change in that fact they cannot draft anybody for the major league portion of the draft. Remember, however, there is a minor league phase. They could snag somebody in that process. That's how they acquired Eddie Bonine.

Ronnie Bourquin suspended

I mentioned that Boesch, Strieby and Sizemore were all taken in successive rounds of the 2006 draft. Well, the player taken before those three has once again made the news for the wrong reasons. Ronnie Bourquin was taken in the second round of that draft and he's ran into problems on and off the field since. On the field, he's struggled to hit and I've never heard too much positive about his defense at third. The fact that he was moved off the position in a system nearly barren of third base prospects would seem to support that.

In 2009, he finally hit at West Michigan and it earned him a promotion to Erie to fill in for an injured Ryan Strieby. He eventually came back down to Earth against Double A pitching, but there was enough progress in the year as a whole to at least entertain the idea that he was not yet a second round bust. Well, he has seriously hampered any optimism he may have earned by getting nicked with a 50-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines.

That means in a pivotal season for his career as a pro, he's going to be missing the first two months. I'm curious to see how the Tigers handle this. I would've thought Bourquin would have been fighting for a job before this suspension. He doesn't have great defensive chops and he doesn't hit like a first baseman. With the suspension, this is the second time (that I know about) he's had to be reprimanded for off the field issues. I don't comment on player's personal issues, but personal issues have clearly been something of a problem and he's behind the developmental curve. It's hard to imagine he's not close to the point where the Tigers have lost their patience with him.

Tigers haven't named Brookens' replacement yet

Tom Brookens was called on by the Tigers to fill in for the departed Andy VanSlyke on the Detroit coaching staff. That obviously means they need to fill the position he vacated, manager of the Erie SeaWolves. Brookens earned his promotion a month ago, yet the Tigers haven't announced who will replace him in Erie. That's not terribly surprising to me. You could make an argument the Double A job is the most important managing job outside of Detroit.

Nearly every top prospect comes through Erie - the same can't be said of Toledo - and Double A is usually seen as the last big hurdle before the majors for a prospect. As Jair Jurrjens (and I'm sure countless others) was told when he was still with the SeaWolves, once you're in Erie you're just a phone call away from being in the majors. It speaks to how important the Tigers think the position is that the last two people to fill the job (Matt Walbeck, Tom Brookens) have left for major league coaching jobs.

I assume the length of time that has elapsed means they're not simply promoting somebody from within, and this post from Jason Beck seems to affirm that. My personal hope is the Tigers will use the opportunity to bring in a manager who's on board with the organizational goal of improving plate discipline. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's tired of having to look past the fact that our most talented players strike out three or four times more often than they walk.