Forget Dunn and the gang, Tigers should focus on Lilly

What do Washington's Adam Dunn, Boston's Mike Lowell and currently unsigned outfielder Germaine Dye all have in common?
They are all players who should not be wearing the Old English D on their chests any time in the near future.
These three players, along with a host of others including (but not limited to) Jayson Werth, Ben Sheets and Jeff Francoeur have all been mentioned as possible trades or signings for the suddenly reeling Tigers.
But the Detroit baseball team needs to do something it hasn't been able to do much of over the last few years. It needs to be patient.
The team needs to pass on Dunn. Sure, he can hit with power, but he also strikes out more than a pimple-faced prepubescent at a debutante ball. And if the Tigers were able to trade for him, it would probably come at the cost of three top prospects. And one of them would almost certainly be star-pitcher-in-the-making Jacob Turner.
And, if he were to come to Detroit, it would probably only be for the rest of this season. Then he would very likely bolt.
So, is it logical to give up some solid young players for an established hitter who will probably make you better in the short term?
Sure, in some cases.
But this isn't one of them.
The Tigers can't make moves just for the sake of making moves right now.
Mike Lowell? Really? Mike Lowell is pushing 40 years old and currently on the disabled list with a strained hip. He probably owns socks older than me.
Germaine Dye? Sorry. I don't think bringing on a guy who hasn't even had a Major League at-bat this season is a good idea.
The only move that I think would make any sense at all is if the team could get Chicago Cubs' pitcher Ted Lilly.
The southpaw boasts a very respectable 3.88 ERA and a WHIP of 1.12 (For those of you who aren't statheads, a pitcher's WHIP is determined by taking the number of walks he registers plus the number of hits he gives up and then dividing that number by the number of innings he has pitched. Basically it is a way of putting a number on how many batters a pitcher is allowing to reach base per inning. Anything around 1.00 is considered pretty good.)
Despite having some pretty good numbers from the mound this season, Lilly has only one three games in 11 starts, but those numbers could see a big jump if he starts getting some more run support.
He is also 34 years old, which means the Tigers could probably get him relatively cheap, and might have the chance to sign him to a longer deal.
Is he the sexy pick?
No.
But he could add left-handed pitching to a struggling staff, and he might stick around for awhile.
Remember, it wasn't that long ago when another long-in-the-tooth lefty named Kenny Rogers joined the Tigers' staff.
And all he did was take them to a World Series.