Detroit Tigers 2008 Preview

The day the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera, Jim Leyland heard from Don Mattingly. Mattingly offered the usual congratulations, but he also had a warning for the Detroit manager. “He said the danger when you have a lineup like this is that guys start thinking the next guy will get the job done,” Leyland said later. “You’ve got to be careful about that.” Leyland will be careful about that and about everything else. He knows that the deal for Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, and an earlier trade that brought Edgar Renteria, will have people picking the Tigers to win it all in 2008. “The only loser in this thing — if we don’t win — is me,” Leyland jokes. “I’d be picking something with the chickens in Lima, Ohio.” The Tigers are happy with Leyland. But they’re also thrilled about the team they’ve given him, because it could be the most talented team the Tigers have had in years. “I feel very happy with our club,” Leyland says. “It does look good on paper. But that’s paper, and you still have to play.”

Rotation 
Like the lineup, the rotation has plenty of All-Stars. Three of them, in fact, and it easily could have been four, because Jeremy Bonderman was a finalist for the last American League spot last July. But along with All-Stars, the rotation has questions, plenty of them. Can Kenny Rogers stay healthy at 43 (as he couldn’t do at 42)? How about Bonderman, whose 2007 season ended three weeks early because of a sore elbow? Is Willis the 22-game winner he was in 2005, or is his 5.17 ERA from 2007 about to sky even higher now that he’s in the AL? Can Nate Robertson, now 13 games under .500 for his career, turn into a winner? There shouldn’t be any questions about Justin Verlander, unless you want to ask how much money he’s going to make later in his career. Verlander won 17 games as a rookie and 18 games in his second season, so it would surprise no one if he followed that up by winning 20 this year. If the other four starters pitch as well as they could, the only issue for the Tigers will be whether they all stay healthy. The Tigers had to use 12 different starters in 2007, and the winter of trades robbed them of the little depth they had.

Statistician
191	Tiger wins in two seasons under Jim Leyland (including postseason).
186	Tiger wins in three seasons under Alan Trammell.
9	Walks by Pudge Rodriguez in 2007.
41	Years since any other major leaguer had 9 walks with 500-plus at-bats.
5.95	Average runs for the Tigers before the All-Star break in 2007.
4.93	Average runs for the Tigers after the All-Star break in 2007.
12	Starting pitchers used by the Tigers in 2007.

Bullpen 
Maybe the Tigers will score so many runs that many games will turn into blowouts. Maybe the starters will pitch so many innings that they can simply turn late leads over to closer Todd Jones. More likely, the Tigers will need to find setup options that Leyland can feel comfortable with. With Joel Zumaya sidelined at least until midyear with a freak shoulder injury, Fernando Rodney would be the first choice. But tendinitis has sidelined him to start the season. Rodney was good in 2006, not so good (and not so healthy) in 2007. Filling in for him are Zach Miner and Jason Grilli from the right side, and Tim Byrdak and Bobby Seay from the left. If the Tigers can solve Francisco Cruceta’s travel issues, he would pitch critical innings. As for Jones, he got his 300th career save late in 2007, but he’ll turn 40 early in 2008. This is the one area that could be the downfall of the Tigers.

Middle Infield 
The Tigers love what Carlos Guillen has done for them, but not the 53 errors over the last two years, or the tender knees that always had them wondering if Guillen would be able to stay in the lineup. So Guillen is now a first baseman, and his replacement at shortstop is a good one. Renteria is a five-time All-Star, a sure-handed defender and a clutch hitter. He should team nicely with second baseman Placido Polanco, another clutch hitter who went through the entire 2007 season without committing a single error.

Corners 
Here’s the big change in the Tiger lineup. Sean Casey and Brandon Inge, who combined for six home runs and 50 RBIs after the All-Star break, have been replaced in the lineup by Guillen at first base and Cabrera at third. The defense could suffer some, particularly at third, but no one should be asking why the Tigers are so weak at two traditional power positions.

Outfield 
With top prospect Cameron Maybin gone as part of the Cabrera/Willis trade, there’s no longer a question of whether Curtis Granderson should remain in center field. With Cabrera and Renteria added to the middle of the lineup, it also seems certain that Granderson will remain in the leadoff spot, despite having some RBI potential of his own. Granderson doesn’t yet count as an All-Star, but there’s no doubt he had an All-Star-type season in 2007, and the Tigers will be counting on another one. A broken finger will cost him the first couple of weeks of the season, but he is expected to have another monster season. Ryan Raburn will fill in for Granderson. The Tigers probably can’t expect a repeat performance out of right fielder Magglio Ordoñez, who hit .363 and became the franchise’s first batting champ in 46 years, but who knows? As for left field, Jacque Jones gives the Tigers the left-handed bat they’ve wanted.

Catching 
Pudge Rodriguez didn’t have his best year in 2007, but he was still voted to the All-Star team and still won a record 13th Gold Glove. And when it came time for the Tigers to decide on his $13 million contract option, they decided there was no way they were going to do as well with anybody else. It’s been four years since Rodriguez drove in more than 70 runs, but he still hits close to .300 and still shuts down the opposing running game. Rodriguez still likes to play nearly every day, too, but the Tigers will feel more comfortable with the return of backup Vance Wilson, who missed all of 2007 after elbow surgery.

DH/Bench 
Gary Sheffield is 39, but shoulder surgery and a winter of recovery have the Tigers hopeful he’ll play like he did when he was young — or even how he did in the first half of 2007, before the shoulder really started bothering him. Sheffield may not be an outfield option anymore, though. Marcus Thames is an option, and his power could prove attractive if Jones struggles in left field. The Tigers shouldn’t be looking for too many pinch hitters, but they could make use of Ramon Santiago as a backup in the infield.

Statline Most RBIs By Player Born Since 1983
1.	Miguel Cabrera	523
2.	Jeff Francoeur	253
3.	Jose Reyes	242
4.	Joe Mauer	216
5.	Prince Fielder	210

Management 
It was quite a winter for GM Dave Dombrowski, who quickly delivered the shortstop the Tigers needed by trading for Renteria the day after the World Series ended. Dombrowski then stunned the baseball world by trading for Cabrera and Willis. He gave up a lot of young talent but set up the Tigers with their best chance of winning now. And who better to try to win now than Leyland, the 63-year-old skipper who brought the Tigers a World Series appearance in 2006 (and also brought Dombrowski his lone World Series title with the 1997 Florida Marlins)? It helps that Mike Ilitch has become one of the most aggressive owners in the game, allowing the Tiger payroll to soar past $120 million.

Final Analysis 
Sure, there are questions, in the bullpen and in the starting rotation. And sure, the Tigers are still as vulnerable to injuries as any team, particularly because they have so many players heading towards middle age. That’s fine. They’ll take their chances with this group, and they figure those chances are as good as anyone’s.

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Difference Maker

The Tigers didn’t go into the winter looking for offense. But they never thought that they’d be able to get Miguel Cabrera without giving up anyone they were counting on in 2008. They pulled it off, and now Cabrera joins a middle of the lineup that already included the AL batting champion and a guy closing in on 500 home runs. You could argue that scoring runs wasn’t the Tigers’ problem in 2007, but maybe the reinforced lineup will score so many runs that it will take pressure off the pitching staff.

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Beyond the Box Score

Sorry, Ozzie (Part I) When the Tigers decided to move Carlos Guillen to first base in 2008, they knew they’d need to acquire a shortstop. Edgar Renteria was the top name on their list, and GM Dave Dombrowski didn’t waste any time, acquiring Renteria from the Braves the day after the World Series ended. That didn’t make White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen happy. The Sox nearly traded for Renteria last summer, and he was one of their top targets this winter, too.

Sorry, Ozzie (Part II) Renteria was one thing. But the White Sox wanted Miguel Cabrera even more. Not only was he the big hitter they thought they needed, but he and Guillen are also close friends. How close? When Guillen found out about the Tigers-Marlins trade, he called his wife to tell her. “That’s funny,” Ibis Guillen told her husband. “Miguel is sitting right here in the car next to me.” The Cabreras were heading from Miami to their home in Venezuela, and Guillen’s wife was driving them to the airport.

Tickets, anyone? Last summer, owner Mike Ilitch said he wanted to look into adding some seats to Comerica Park. Nothing’s been done yet, but it looks like the Tigers could have used the extra space this summer. In the first two weeks after they traded for Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the team sold 3,000 new season tickets. It’s a good bet they’ll set a new Comerica Park attendance record for a third straight year, but without new seats, they don’t have far to go. The Tigers drew a club-record 3.05 million in 2007; with Comerica’s 40,000 capacity, even 81 sellouts would push them just a little over 3.2 million.

Team Venezuela The Tigers are popular in Detroit, and with the addition of Cabrera, they should be more popular than ever in Venezuela. They were already a big story there last year, because Magglio Ordoñez became the second Venezuelan player ever to win a batting title. Every major Venezuelan newspaper sent a reporter to cover the Tigers’ final series of the season in Chicago. Now they’ll have Ordoñez, Cabrera and Carlos Guillen, giving the Tigers a huge Venezuelan presence. But don’t count on many Venezuelans spending the winter in Detroit. When the Tigers had to cancel a game because of cold last April, Ordoñez said: “In Venezuela, if it gets this cold, people die.”

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