It all seemed to fit in one cohesive narrative: The Tigers were cutting payroll where they could, and the days of being one of baseball's biggest spenders was over. At least for 2010. But, something funny happened on the way to mediocrity. The Tigers stared spending money. And, not an insignificant amount either. First, it was the signing of Jose Valverde to a contract, which could be worth as much as $23 million over three seasons to be the team's closer. Then, there was talk the Tigers may be interested in bringing Johnny Damon aboard. The 36-year-old could the cost the team $10 million -- and would certainly not be a signing which matches up with a team looking to get younger and cut payroll.

The D-backs, Tigers and Yankees reportedly agreed in principle Tuesday on a deal that would send Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson to New York in the first major deal of this year's Winter Meetings. In the seven-player trade, SI.com's John Heyman reported that the D-Backs would receive right-handers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy from the Tigers and Yankees, respectively, while the Tigers would get pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from Arizona and outfielder Austin Jackson and left-hander Phil Coke from New York.

In a cost-cutting frame of mind, the Tigers have let teams now that Curtis Granderson could be had for the right package, an NL executive told The Post. Granderson would be attractive to many teams, with the Yankees near the top of the list. They have long searched for a premium solution in center since Bernie Williams left his prime, but now they also face the loss of the lefty power of free agents Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. Granderson hit a career-high 30 homers last year. Brian Cashman met with Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski at the now-concluded GM Meetings, but it is not believed the two did any more than discuss needs and available players. However, the two have a good relationship and have done significant trades before, going back to when Dombrowski was in Florida and obtained Mike Lowell from the Yanks to the more recent Gary Sheffield deal and the swap of Kyle Farnsworth for Ivan Rodriguez. The Yankees have a touted center field prospect in Austin Jackson, who could be the centerpiece for a deal, though Detroit would have a market outside of just The Bronx.

In the eighth inning, with the All-Star Game tied and no one base, Granderson hit the ball off the base of the left-field fence. Seconds later, he slid head-first into third. Granderson trotted home on a sacrifice fly to deep right by Baltimore’s Adam Jones. That tie-breaking run became the winning run in the A.L.’s 4-3 victory. You can’t try to hit a triple, as Granderson has reminded us; nor can you save them up to use at key times. But after having only two triples all season, Granderson - on the biggest stage outside the post-season - unleashed his signature hit and then scored the winning run.

Detroit Tigers All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson won't start Friday against Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee. Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the left-handed hitting Granderson occasionally needs a break against southpaws and faced three in one series last week at Oakland.

Three Tigers have made the American League All-Star team: starting right-handed pitchers Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson and centerfielder Curtis Granderson. It is the second All-Star selection for Verlander and the first for Jackson and Granderson.