I think this. It's easy, it creates a bit of a niche where he's not competing against anyone, and some people certainly do find it interesting, though the comment about Grossman enjoying success at the hand of his old team seemed almost to be gleeful at the thought of the Tigers losing, which is sort of ass for a your local reporter.
semi-related: I also saw Carlos Monarrez with another Tiger column (to say he thinks they will catch Minny) and he reported that he has been spending more time with the team. I wonder if one of the current Freep guys is about to move off the Tigers or if the Freep is just expanding the level of resourcing on the team.