Detroit Sports Central

The Detroit Tigers will be starting spring training in a little more than 48 hours from now. Some regard this upcoming season as the most anticipated season in their long standing history. The expectations of the ballclub are simple it's a championship or bust, just like the Red Wings and Pistons. My expectation for this team is a world series championship.

Pitching: The starting rotation seems pretty solid going into spring training. Justin Verlander is the new ace of the team taking that away from Jeremy Bonderman. The new addition to the rotation is Dontrelle Willis who was aquired in a trade with the Florida Marlins.

Bullpen: This is the one spot that still needs to be adressed on this team. We lost Joel Zumaya for maybe the whole year, Fernando Rodney is not the most reliable person in the 8th inning and Todd Jones is what his nickname is a rollercoaster. The Tigers did give a minor league contract to Matt Mantei the former flame-thrower who has had arm problems over the past 3 or 4 years.

Lineup: Excellent, Tremendous, Perfect, Scary. Do I have to say anything else about the Tigers lineup? They are going to score over a 1,000 runs! Last year they scored 887 runs if I am correct and they have added 3 new bats to the lineup. Miguel Cabrera replace Brandon Inge which everyone see's as an upgrade. Edgar Renteria takes over shorstop as Carlos Guillen moves over to 1st base as the Tigers departed with Sean Casey. And Jaques Jones is going to play left field instead of Ryan Raburn, Craig Monroe, and Marcus Thames.

Prediction: I see this team winning around 98 games. The lineup and starting pitching is solid enough that is should cover for the bullpen. In the playoffs they will have trouble if they can't rely on the bullpen then when games are not deciding by 6 or more runs the team will run into trouble against a Boston or Los Angeles type team.

There is reason to hope for greatness from this team but in the end if you don't have a bullpen you can't win a world series and I believe that since we didn't improve the bullpen this team will take an early exit from the playoffs. But if the bullpen shocks us all or they grab another peace then you will see a championship banner being raised in early april of 2009.

Tigers Spring Training

Predictions look pretty good, the only thing I'd add is that the starting pitching depth maybe isn't what it could be. Nothing against Virgil Vazquez, Jordan Tata, and Yorman Bazardo, but if any of the starting 5 go down I will get very worried about the rotation. Bullpen is hard to predict, since most of the arms are the same as 2006 when they were great, but then they all had bad 2007s. I think if the starters can go 6-7 consistently and someone like Cruceta can step up to pitch the 7th, the pitching staff will be more than good enough to take us to the playoffs.

Can't wait for the 2008 season. Is it possible to skip through spring training and get to the regular season? With all the potential the lineup has I almost don't want to take the chance of injury in the spring.

Tigers Spring Training

I am concerned about the starting pitching, as well as the bullpen. A couple of them, Bonderman and Robertson in particular, have to step it up and be more consistent the whole year. Bondo started off great last year but faded badly after the All-Star break and Nate was inconsistent all year. Both had some arm problems and missed some time also. Plus, Rogers was hurt just about all of last year - who knows how he will be this year - his age could be catching up with him. We have high hopes for Willis, that he can get back to the pitcher he was a few years ago but pitchers moving from the NL to the AL have historically had difficulties - having to face 9 good hitters, rather than 8 and a pitcher. He needs to work on his control and get ahead of the hitters. Verlander is the only one who can really be counted on this year right now. Hopefully, he stays healthy all year and turns in another stellar performance for the year. No reason to think he won't. The rest of the starters have to be better than last year. You've already documented concerns about the bullpen. And the offense will be great - as long as they stay healthy. The Tigers will probably win alot of games with their offensive output (e.g., 10-8, 9-6, 12-9, etc.). Let's hope their starting pitchers can raise their game to the next level and the bullpen is adequate (or they pick up some bullpen help in the Spring). I'm hoping they are World Series Champions at the end of the year.

buckeye22 Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Oct 11, 2006	Posted on: February 12, 2008 10:55 pm Score: 94 Tigers Spring Training Predictions look pretty good, the only thing I'd add is that the starting pitching depth maybe isn't what it could be. Nothing against Virgil Vazquez, Jordan Tata, and Yorman Bazardo, but if any of the starting 5 go down I will get very worried about the rotation. Bullpen is hard to predict, since most of the arms are the same as 2006 when they were great, but then they all had bad 2007s. I think if the starters can go 6-7 consistently and someone like Cruceta can step up to pitch the 7th, the pitching staff will be more than good enough to take us to the playoffs. Can't wait for the 2008 season. Is it possible to skip through spring training and get to the regular season? With all the potential the lineup has I almost don't want to take the chance of injury in the spring. [ Reply to Comment ]
TigersMAN Reputation: 99 Level: Superstar Since: Jan 20, 2007	Posted on: February 13, 2008 11:20 pm Score: 91 Tigers Spring Training I am concerned about the starting pitching, as well as the bullpen. A couple of them, Bonderman and Robertson in particular, have to step it up and be more consistent the whole year. Bondo started off great last year but faded badly after the All-Star break and Nate was inconsistent all year. Both had some arm problems and missed some time also. Plus, Rogers was hurt just about all of last year - who knows how he will be this year - his age could be catching up with him. We have high hopes for Willis, that he can get back to the pitcher he was a few years ago but pitchers moving from the NL to the AL have historically had difficulties - having to face 9 good hitters, rather than 8 and a pitcher. He needs to work on his control and get ahead of the hitters. Verlander is the only one who can really be counted on this year right now. Hopefully, he stays healthy all year and turns in another stellar performance for the year. No reason to think he won't. The rest of the starters have to be better than last year. You've already documented concerns about the bullpen. And the offense will be great - as long as they stay healthy. The Tigers will probably win alot of games with their offensive output (e.g., 10-8, 9-6, 12-9, etc.). Let's hope their starting pitchers can raise their game to the next level and the bullpen is adequate (or they pick up some bullpen help in the Spring). I'm hoping they are World Series Champions at the end of the year. [ Reply to Comment ]
Det Redder Reputation: 0 Level: Amateur Since: Jan 7, 2008	Posted on: February 17, 2008 2:46 pm Score: 64 This comment has been removed. Tigers Spring Training

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Tigers Spring Training

Tigers Spring Training

Tigers Spring Training

Tigers Spring Training