Tiger Geist

This is probably the biggest issue going into the season. The more I think about it, the more this worries me. It could be fine But there are too many concerns for opening day… namely:

Health: Are we healthy enough to compete without dipping into AAA?

Fernando Rodney is a decent (I actually like him, but i may be in the minority) pitcher when healthy. He’s not. Joel Zumaya is a great pitcher when healthy; he’s not, and may never return to form — truth be told, even if he never throws 100 mph again, he can be an effective pitcher with his devastating curve ball. But he’s out for a number of months. Todd Jones is an effective closer when he’s on; he’s not on. Even worse, he doesn’t have the arm strength yet.. something of a concern at age 39. Those are serious health concerns about our end of the year projected 7th, 8th, and 9th guys. Can the team hit well enough, and can the starters pitch deep enough in the early part of the season to keep these pitchers from rushing back? Can hitting keep a big enough gap to allow Jones to get on track?

Middle relief: How long can we survive with Jason Grilli? Who else is there?

Grilli’s just not that good. Sorry. Zach Minor? Getting shelled. Who else do we have? Bobby Seay and Tim Byrdak are left handed specialists that make me dream of Jaime Walker. Danny Bautista is throwing lights out, but has a history of not finding the strike zone. Francisco Cruceta is a made up person who was invented strictly as a way for the Tiger organization to deflect questions about Brandon Inge. Actually, from now on I’m calling him San Francisco Cruceta. A made up name for a made up player. Yorman Bazardo seems to be the likely candidate filling the “Chad Durbin” role this year; not enough information to make too much of a decision yet. But doesn’t that sound like the rest of the bullpen?

AAA Depth: Do we have anyone ready to be called up in case of injury?

Enough said… who gets the call if someone gets hurt? With so many questions about the bullpen currently, is there any chance that said minor leaguer is any good?

Are there any values on the trade market: How deep do we have to go in order to get a quality relief pitcher?

This is the most troubling question… hopefully we could get some reinforcements without going too deep into our farm system. This is why a trade for Inge or Thames looks so appealing…