A key reason the Tigers are the team being chased is they did what tradition dictated when making a trade with the Rays: robbed 'em.
Tampa Bay came into existence with the expansion draft in November 1997. The Rays took Bobby Abreu, an outfielder from Houston, early in the draft, then traded him to Philadelphia for shortstop Kevin Stocker.
Stocker was released a couple of years later. Abreu has played another 12 seasons, with 244 home runs and 1,105 RBI since Tampa Bay traded him.
The Rays spent more than a decade trying to equal the futility of that deal. They might have matched it finally by trading Jackson for the second coming of Gabe Gross.
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Tampa Bay wasn't a complete washout in making trades. It did send worn-out starter Victor Zambrano to the New York Mets for lefthander Scott Kazmir on July 30, 2004. The trade forced Steve Phillips to make the transition from Mets general manager to ESPN genius.
That deal aside, the expectation remained that trading with Tampa Bay was a fruitful pursuit. The Twins took the plunge on Nov. 28, 2007, with the first meaningful transaction for the Bill Smith regime.
The original deal had pitchers Matt Garza and Juan Rincon and shortstop Jason Bartlett going to the Rays for outfielders Delmon Young and Jason Pridie and infielder Brendan Harris.
The Rays saw how far the hook was set and refused to take Rincon. If the Twins had backed off right then, Detroit would have come to the Dome chasing them, not the other way.