2010 Team Preview: Detroit Tigers
He seems so happy (and sane) here. It's like looking at a photo of a young Senator Palpatine, before the Sith got their claws in him.
For those of you in the New England / Tri-State area who are contemplating a 3-day baseball road trip, I highly recommend making the trek out to Detroit, and following that up with stops in Cleveland and Pittsburgh (in that order). All three stadiums are great places to watch a game, much more comfortable than the pygmy swamp gulag I have become accustomed to.
Anyway, If I were some sort of god or mystical being with unlimited powers, I would hover over Detroit and play a real life game of Sim City. You know the drill: demolish abandoned buildings here, build parks there, implement wind power, ensure that there is adequate coverage with evenly-dispersed police stations. Maybe I’d build a statue of myself. Hey, nothing Stalin-esque, maybe just a 20-footer in the center of town, so people could pay their proper respects. I don’t think that would be asking too much.
On to the baseball team.
Arrivals: LF Johnny Damon, SP Max Scherzer, RP Jose Valverde, RP Daniel Schlereth, CF Austin Jackson, RP Phil Coke, SS Adam Everett
Departures: CF Curtis Granderson, SP Edwin Jackson, RP Fernando Rodney, 1B Aubrey Huff, 2B Placido Polanco, RP Brandon Lyon
As you can see, there have been a ton of changes in Detroit, with perhaps more key-player turnover than any team in the league this offseason. Most of the changes stem from the Granderson trade. While that trade appears to be a very good move from a long-term standpoint, the impact on the 2010 team is something of a question mark. See below.
Projected 2010 starting lineup:
| Name | Offense | Fielding | |
| LF | Johnny Damon | 7.5 | 5.0 |
| CF | Austin Jackson | 6.0 | 6.5 |
| 1B | Miguel Cabrera | 9.5 | 6.5 |
| RF | Magglio Ordonez | 7.5 | 5.0 |
| DH | Carlos Guillen | 6.0 | |
| 3B | Brandon Inge | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| 2B | Scott Sizemore | 5.5 | 6.5 |
| C | Gerald Laird | 6.5 | |
| SS | Adam Everett | 4.5 | 9.5 |
Austin Jackson is the major wild card in this lineup, as he will be making his much-anticipated MLB debut this spring. He was good, but not great, in AAA last season, hitting .300/.354/.405 while playing competent CF defense. Jackson can run well, but his power never really developed like Yankee fans hoped it would. Now that he’s 23-years-old, I think we pretty much know what to expect from him.
Aside from another rookie, Scott Sizemore, the rest of the lineup should be familiar to most observers. The offense appears to be heavily concentrated in the middle of the order, with one elite slugger and a handful of decent hitters to support him, but there are few guys here that shouldn’t be counted on for too much production in 2010.
To be continued (pitching)
