Tiger Geist

As I mentioned yesterday, I asked a few different Tiger Bloggers two questions heading into the season:

1) What was your biggest surprise of spring training?

2) Detroit opens with 10 straight games before their first off-day.  Is there anything you’re looking for during this opening stretch?

Here are a few of the responses:

Lee at Detroit Tiger Tales:

(1) The biggest surprise of spring training was the release of Gary Sheffield.   I thought it might happen some time during the season but I was not expecting them to eat $14 million right before opening day.  I do think it’s a a good move because it gives them more roster flexibility.  It’s hard to have a versatile bench when you have a full-time designated hitter.  They can now use the designated hitter spot to rest Carlos Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera on occasion without taking them out of the line-up.
The second biggest surprise was Ryan Perry’s strong spring.  I knew he had a lot of upside but, given his lack of professional experience, I was expecting him to have command issues.  He still might have problems once the season starts but he has definitely earned his spot on the roster for now.  Rick Porcello was less of a surprise because I knew that he was a very polished pitcher for his age and experience.
(2) I have faith that they will score runs and I believe their fielding is very solid.  Like everyone else, I’m concerned about their pitching staff so I’ll be looking for positive signs concerning both their starting rotation and bullpen.  Specifically, they need a big year from Justin Verlander and a couple of strong starts at the beginning of the season would be a nice boost.  From the rest of the rotation, I would be encouraged if I saw a good number of six plus inning starts.  As for the bullpen, I’ll be elated if they don’t blow any of the first ten games. Or at least not more than one blown game!

Kudos to Lee for being kind enough to answer AND not making fun of the grammatical errors in my email to him.

Big Al takes some time away from The Wayne Fontes Experience and worrying about Matthew Stafford:

1. In my mind, the biggest surprise of camp was the release of Gary Sheffield, if only for the amount of money involved. No matter how rich you may be, and Mike Ilitch is rich enough to weave his toupee out of $100 bills, $14 million is a huge amount to let walk away, getting so little in return.

Thing is, Sheffield was an impact player…for all of 2-3 months in 2007. Other than his great start in ‘07, Sheffield, thanks to his shoulder injury, had turned into a non-entity, and blocked any chance at giving Jim Leyland much needed roster flexibility. It’s sad to say about a possible Hall of Fame player, but Sheffield deserved to be released.

Which leads me to another big time surprise, the Tigers actually keeping the best 25 players on the roster, no matter their past reputation, money owed or veteran status. In cutting Sheffield to make room for the young, power hitting Jeff Larish, and keeping the even younger and untested pitchers Ryan Perry and Rick Porcello, all of whom outperformed their veteran rivals in spring training, the best 25 players in camp actually did go north.

By putting Perry in the pen, and Porcello in the rotation, the Tigers had to demote Dontrelle Willis (owed $20+ million) to Toledo, and Nate Robertson (owed $14+ million) to mop up man status. But it was something the Tigers had to do if they wanted to compete with the best possible 25 man roster.

2.  Not going 0-10. Seriously.

What I want to see in those first 10 games is the Tigers not end their season before it truly gets started.

The Tigers don’t need to go 10-0 or 9-1 in that opening stretch. It’d be nice, I’d be ecstatic, but it’s unrealistic. (A team going 9-0, 16-1, then 35-5 is a once in a lifetime event, and we’ve had it in ours. Well, in mine, anyway.) But I could live with 5-5, even 4-6. Hell, 3-7 wouldn’t have me in “EVERYBODY PANIC!!!” mode…yet.

If Jim Leyland wants the contract extension he was denied in the off season, he can ill afford another excruciating 0 for the season start. Ilitch’s rug covered head would explode, and the fanbase would go ballistic, wanting heads, preferably one with a lit Marlboro, to roll.

Detroit’s 0-7 first week in ‘08 immediately put the team behind the 8 ball, and left them scrambling the rest of the season. The Tigers never recovered, making for the most disappointing year of Tiger fandom I can remember…though I would prefer not to.

So win a few of those first 10 games, and I’ll be relieved. Not happy. Nor ticked off. But relieved the season isn’t over before it stops snowing in Detroit.

Yeah… 0-10… ouch.  That would be quite the kick in the shorts.  Let’s not forget those baseball posts after the NFL draft!

Last, Billfer at the Detroit Tigers Weblog was short and sweet:

1. That Gary Sheffield was cut
2. Pitching that doesn’t suck, Fernando Rodney surprising people, and bench players being overused.

Billfer’s season preview pretty much sums it up:  The 2009 Tigers — they might not suck

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