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Tigers camp report
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Five things to know about the Detroit Tigers:
1. Magglio Ordonez last year became the first Tiger since Norm Cash in 1961 to win an American League batting title. Ordonez hit .363, led the AL with 54 doubles and ranked second in the league in RBI (139) and hits (216). Along with Pudge Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen, Gary Sheffield, Placido Polanco, Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, many folks think the Tigers can break the single-season club record of 957 runs scored set in 1934. Hank Greenberg led that club with 139 RBI and Charlie Gehringer led the team with 134 runs scored.
2. Gruff manager Jim Leyland on the anticipation: "We read pretty good right now. The papers read pretty good right now about our 'Murderers' Row.' This has a chance to be a real good team. Will it be? I don't know. I like to talk about my team after a season, not before. Then I can tell you if it was a special team."
3. Justin Verlander won 17 games and crafted a 3.63 ERA as a rookie in 2006, helping lead the Tigers to their first World Series berth since 1984. He followed that up with 18 wins and a 3.66 ERA last year. But after him, there are questions. Kenny Rogers is 43 and an arterial blockage limited him to 11 starts last season. Nate Robertson has talent but is 42-55 lifetime. Dontrelle Willis posted the worst ERA of his career in Florida last season and now is pitching in a tougher league. And Jeremy Bonderman battled a sore elbow and a 5.01 ERA last summer. "If he masters his changeup, he's going to go from a good major league pitcher to a big-time winner, in my opinion," Leyland says. "I think he's a consistent changeup away from becoming a big, big major league winner." If that changeup arrives this season, the Tigers would love it.
4. There are bullpen concerns here. Flamethrower Joel Zumaya continues progressing after shoulder surgery (he was injured moving things at his parents' house in last fall's San Diego wildfires) but isn't expected to pitch until midseason. Setup man Fernando Rodney (shoulder tendinitis) played catch Tuesday for the first time in several days. The expectation is that Rodney will be ready for opening day, but the way things have gone in the pen for the Tigers lately ... one long-shot option was eliminated when Matt Mantei's comeback ended Tuesday because of more soreness.
5. In a perfect Tigers world, they'd acquire a dependable reliever in a Brandon Inge trade. Inge, entering the second year of a four-year, $24 million contract, has requested a trade and, no doubt largely because of the contract, the Tigers have not been able to accommodate him. He was behind the plate the other day in Winter Haven -- he could become Rodriguez's backup -- threw a ball into center field and afterward was very vocal in saying that he does not want to catch. "It's obvious he does not want to catch," Leyland says. "I'm not going to force someone to catch who doesn't want to catch. He's made it plain and simple to everybody." Despite that, Leyland still calls Inge one of his "favorite" players and says he hopes he can go play third base everyday for somebody this year.