Always A Tiger.

[mfbmike]

Coming Soon!

[chazmaniandevil]

YAYAYAYYAYAYAYYYYYY

[The Messenger]

Crowd Chants: Holy Shit! Holy Shit! Holy Shit!

[LC AAU]

:jizz:

[mfbmike]

Tigers Ready To Put 2008 In The Past


Jim Leyland: "I think we're all embarrassed about last year."

DETROIT -- The end to the long, frigid Michigan winter is now in sight. The Tigers are about to warm up for the season.

And as players and coaches file in for Spring Training this week, they have plenty to address if they're going to get back into the heat of the American League Central race come summer.

If the early attendees are any indication, there's no shortage of determination toward that. Many Tigers have already filed into Lakeland, Fla., over the last week or two. Some, like Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis and Joel Zumaya, came to town soon after the holidays to try to work their way back into game shape following injuries and inconsistency last year.


Dontrelle Willis is one of several Tigers who arrived early to camp for informal workouts.

The workouts are still informal at this point, but the motivation behind them is pretty similar: The Tigers are looking for redemption after a 2008 season that proved humbling.

"I think we're all embarrassed about last year," Leyland said last month during a stop on the Tigers Winter Caravan. "Now, what that means for this year, I don't know, but I definitely think we were all embarrassed about what went on last year. Some of it was our fault. Some of it wasn't our fault. But I definitely think we were all embarrassed."

-tigers.com

[mfbmike]

Thanks for the early support guys. This will be my 1st mlb chise ever so hopefully it'll be a good one. Really looking forward to this.

You guys like that video? I thought it was awesome.

[Yawkey Way]

MIKE VENTURES OUT OF THE NBA CHISES, ALERT TMZ.

please make this good bro.

[mfbmike]

Tigers Will Give Willis Every Chance To Be A Starter



All things being equal, what should be the roles for Dontrelle Willis, Nate Robertson and Zach Miner?

If all things are equal, then all three will perform well at the major league level. That certainly wasn’t the case a year ago. But if Willis can work his way back to that level, then he should start and the other two should come out of the bullpen.

I’ll be very curious about Willis during the spring because, like most, I fear his struggles are more mental than physical. Even if he throws well in Lakeland, I’ll still need to see how he pitches in a real game. Guys like Rick Ankiel and Mark Wohlers threw well in simulations or in BP, but struggled when they got back on that hill. It’s the mental hurdle that they had to clear and never really could.

If he’s capable, Willis should start. First there’s the money. Sorry, but it’s a factor. You pay more for starters than long relievers. And if Willis shows some flashes, perhaps other teams will consider that monster contract. Not trade for him outright, but at least take him off the no-no never-in-a-million-years list. Plus he’s a lefty, and he or Nate would be the only ones in the rotation at this point. As Freep writer Jon Paul Morosi pointed out last weekend, Comerica Park is built to help left-handed pitchers. So you have to think that either Robertson or Willis will be given every opportunity to grab that spot.

Robertson and Miner are what they are — solid big league pitchers who might have a good outing or two. But they’re not going to blow anyone away and they’re not going to be consistent winners. With Willis, we know that the upside is so much more because we’ve seen it. Perhaps it’s gone. But with the contract he has, he’ll be given every opportunity to get it back.

-detroitfreepress.com

[Deviant]

LOL... I just posted your sig at the same time you updated.

[mfbmike]

MIKE VENTURES OUT OF THE NBA CHISES, ALERT TMZ.

please make this good bro.

I will do my best. I will more than likely ask for help/suggestions along the way from you guys.

LOL... I just posted your sig at the same time you updated.

Sweet! Thanks a ton.

i like willis...hope he will have a good comeback

Yeah dude. I loved him as a Marlin. He had a 22 win season, there is no reason he still can't be that good. I'm going to really try to make it work with him in the starting rotation when I get the game. Like the article said, he still has the physical capabilities, there is just some mental hurdle that's keeping him from returning to dominance.

[The Messenger]

D-Train is gone lol. The train has left the station.

Nah I'm jp, hope he can get back to where he was in his early years.

[Miggy]

OMFG! Mike the greatest NBA chise maker of all time! is now jumping on the best MLB team with the best player of all time.

Mike good luck with this bro

[mfbmike]

Tigers Look For Rebound From Pitchers


Justin Verlander was 11-17 with a 4.84 ERA last season.

Triple Play: 3 Questions That Need Answered

1. Was last season an abnormality for the rotation, or a sign of real problems?
The Tigers changed pitching coaches to try to answer that, giving Rick Knapp a chance to bring his strike-zone emphasis to the Major Leagues and work with Justin Verlander, Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis. All of them had disappointing seasons marked by inconsistent command, and all of them changed their offseason workouts to gear towards a rebound. For all the praise heaped upon Detroit's offense, their hopes of rejoining the American League's elite will only go as far as their starters allow. While Verlander is undoubtedly better than his 2008 stats, Spring Training should show whether Robertson and Willis can regain their lost form.

2. Can this bullpen hold up?
While several teams changed closers in a busy offseason market for top-tier relievers, the Tigers took scrutiny for their subdued approach, going into January before adding Brandon Lyon on a one-year deal. He's expected to take the closer's role this spring after earning 26 saves in Arizona last year, but the bigger question could be the setup crew behind him. Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya will both try to rebound from seasons they'd like to forget, and will be high priorities for Knapp. If they struggle, the comeback attempts of Juan Rincon and Scott Williamson take on much more importance, as would the fast track of first-round Draft pick Ryan Perry.

3. Just how much of a difference will an improved defense make?
The Tigers remade their infield with the belief that better fielders will make for better pitching. Enter Adam Everett, whose signing at shortstop teams him up with reinstated third baseman Brandon Inge to form a potential wall on the left side. They'll have all spring to work together and figure out each other's range, along with Gold Glove second baseman Placido Polanco and underrated first baseman Miguel Cabrera, but the more critical part will be for pitchers to develop trust in the glovework behind them and the willingness to pitch to contact.


Dontrelle Willis struggled so much in 2008 that he was sent to Class A to work through his control problems.

-tigers.com

[mfbmike]

Tigers 2008 Record:
74-88, fifth place, AL Central



Projected Batting Order:


1. CF Curtis Granderson: .280 BA, .365 OBP, .494 SLG, 22 HR, 66 RBI in 2008

2. 2B Placido Polanco: .307 BA, .350 OBP, .417 SLG, 8 HR, 58 RBI in 2008

3. RF Magglio Ordonez: .317 BA, .376 OBP, .494 SLG, 21 HR, 103 RBI in 2008

4. 1B Miguel Cabrera: .292 BA, .349 OBP, .537 SLG, 37 HR, 127 RBI in 2008

5. LF Carlos Guillen: .286 BA, .376 OBP, .436 SLG, 10 HR, 54 RBI in 2008

6. DH Gary Sheffield: .225 BA, .326 OBP, .400 OBP, 19 HR, 57 RBI in 2008

7. C Gerald Laird: .276 BA, .329 OBP, .398 SLG, 6 HR, 41 RBI in 2008

8. 3B Brandon Inge: .205 BA, .303 OBP, .369 SLG, 11 HR, 51 RBI in 2008

9. SS Adam Everett: .213 BA, .278 OBP, .323 SLG, 2 HR, 20 RBI in 2008

Projected Rotation:


1. Justin Verlander, 11-17, 4.84 ERA in 2008

2. Armando Galarraga, 13-7, 3.73 ERA in 2008

3. Jeremy Bonderman, 3-4, 4.29 ERA in 2008

4. Edwin Jackson, 14-11, 4.42 ERA in 2008

5. Zach Miner, 8-5, 4.27 ERA in 2008

OR Nate Robertson, 7-11, 6.35 ERA in 2008

OR Dontrelle Willis, 0-2, 9.38 ERA in 2008

Projected Bullpen:


Closer: Brandon Lyon, 26/31 saves, 4.70 ERA in 2008

RH setup man: Fernando Rodney, 13/19 saves, 4.91 ERA in 2008

LH setup man: Bobby Seay, 4.47 ERA in 2008

[mfbmike]

Into The Fire: Zumaya Hopes To Claim Closer's Role


Joel Zumaya hopes to regain the form that made him a dominant reliever in 2006.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Joel Zumaya believes he's ready to compete this spring.

He doesn't just mean competing against hitters in Spring Training games. He's talking about competing for the job.

Yes, the closer's job.

It's the role Zumaya was seemingly poised to assume after the 2007 season before shoulder surgery set him up for an injury-plagued 2008 campaign. The fact that he feels ready to pick up his career where it seemingly halted says a lot about his confidence heading into 2009.

"I've got two guys that I'm going to be fighting for the role," Zumaya said after throwing his latest bullpen session off a mound on Wednesday. "They're going to be friends. We're going to be part of the team. But when we're out there, it's going to be competitive."

The other two guys to which he refers are Brandon Lyon, whom the Tigers signed as the favorite for the role, and Fernando Rodney, whose struggles down the stretch last year set up the closer search this winter. Neither arguably has the potential of Zumaya, whose triple-digit fastball made him one of baseball's best setup men and a Detroit fan favorite in 2006.

If he earns the right to close, though, it might well be on the strength of his other pitches, including a changeup that has become his Spring Training project. Whether or not he throws 100 mph again, Zumaya is looking to be a little different pitcher, and better for it. Even with his injuries, he's a maturing one.


"I've been working on a really good changeup," relief pitcher Joel Zumaya said. "So I have a new toy to come up with, just to throw hitters off a little bit."

-tigers.com