Kuzul

Something tells me that Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn’t too enamored with Ryan Raburn.

Not that I can totally blame him. Raburn has never exactly hopped on any opportunity to show that he can be an every day player. Raburn’s early season struggles and mental lapses in defense have made him a player that is polarizing to fans.

Luckily—or perhaps unluckily—Brandon Inge is still on the Tigers’ roster. 

It’s lucky for Raburn because without him, Raburn would surely be the biggest target of public scorn that the Tigers have. It’s unlucky for him because Leyland’s infatuation with the Mendoza line straddling Inge likely means less at-bats for Raburn.

In 2011, Raburn’s story of his career came through once again in full fruition. After the first three months of the season, Raburn was hitting a mere .205 leading to a lot of DNP’s in his game log.

While it seems .205 would be a career year for Brandon Inge, a slow start like that just doesn’t cut it for Raburn, who is obviously depended on for his offense. 

In typical fashion, Raburn once again heated up and was good in the playoffs. Perhaps because of his annual early struggles he’s lost the complete trust of Leyland as a permanent, full-time answer anywhere in the field.

Raburn was thought to be the primary second baseman heading into the season, but it appears that Inge is going to be given every opportunity there and here’s guessing that he will open there to start the season.

The other likely position would be to play Raburn in left field. While he’s as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie in the outfield, he’s superior defensively to Delmon Young. However, Young hasn’t exactly been quiet about not wanting to be the DH and Leyland doesn’t like to make his players unhappy.

So it’s looking like Raburn is once again finding himself without a home in the field. He’ll still get some reps in the field, though—filling in at second when Inge or Ramon Santiago aren’t there or spelling Young in left—and he’ll fill in at DH whenever Miguel Cabrera or Prince Fielder aren’t there.

This year has the look of a 300 at-bat season for Raburn and then off to free agency. Unless, of course, he can reverse his first half struggles and force Leyland to get him into the every day lineup.

Follow me on twitter @detsportsczar or at www.thesportsczar.com.

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In the past couple of weeks, every ounce of excitement directed toward the Detroit Tigers has been matched with equal amounts of criticism.

The Tigers made arguably the biggest splash of the offseason, catching the baseball world by surprise and inking star first baseman Prince Fielder to a contract lasting nearly a decade. The nine-year, $214 million deal signed by Prince will provide Detroit with endless options in the lineup and the field.

Some of those options however, aren’t exactly considered to be favorable choices. Fielder’s arrival will push Tigers’ current superstar slugger, Miguel Cabrera, back to his original position at third base.

Perhaps the fear of facing Miggy and Prince in succession is what has critics suddenly zeroing in on just how the infield transformation could destroy Detroit’s title hopes. But I sense the move has some Tigers’ fans concerned as well.

Maybe the fact that Fielder and Cabrera finished dead last together in fielding percentage, among qualifying first basemen in 2011, has kept the some of the celebration at bay. Or possibly the letdown in ’07 that followed a World Series appearance and the massive trade that brought Cabrera to Detroit, re-appearing in the minds of Detroit’s followers.

But fear not fans, the Tigers will be just fine in 2012 and beyond. And here’s why:

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Everyone around the Detroit Tigers organization knew that the massive signing of first baseman Prince Fielder would create a shift in the way that the team plays baseball going into the 2012 season.

The biggest shift was thought to be the expected move of Miguel Cabrera from first base to third base, and how the slugger would react to such a move.

Cabrera didn’t mind the move at all, according to manager Jim Leyland. At that point, everything involving controversy should have ended.

But it didn’t. Enter underachieving third baseman Brandon Inge.

Now, Inge has had a great career as a Tiger. For many years he was considered one of the best defensive third baseman in the game. However, as time has gone by and injuries have accrued, Inge has found himself as a solid, yet not spectacular, defender.

Then there’s his 2011 campaign. Inge had a .197 average, and for most of the season he wasn’t even living up to that standard. While he had a few good games after coming back from his demotion to Triple-A Toledo, he spent a lot of the season splitting time with Wilson Betemit and Don Kelly.

This needs to be prefaced by saying that if Inge were getting cast away to the bench in favor of someone like, say, Don Kelly, there would be some room to be upset.

That being said, Inge has no room to complain after his 2011 season. He’s being replaced by Miguel Cabrera, who is arguably the best hitter on this team even with the acquisition of Prince Fielder. The fact that Leyland had to address Inge at all during Fielder’s press conference–the manager said that Inge was not a happy camper–is simply ridiculous.

The city of Detroit, for the most part, identifies with Inge. He’s always been considered a blue-collar player; that is, a grind-it-out kind of guy that puts on his hard hat and goes to work.

However, as of late, it seems as though he spends quite a bit of time complaining about his situation rather than actually playing baseball at a high level. This is a player with a superstar mentality and a bench player’s stat line.

It’s understandable that Leyland was merely addressing a question asked of him by the media when referencing Brandon Inge, but the fact is that until Inge starts playing at the level of Miguel Cabrera or Prince Fielder–something that he’ll likely never do–no one should care how Brandon feels about being on the bench. Is that harsh? Maybe, but that’s the way it has to be if you want a successful baseball team.

Will all of that being said, there’s still a place for Brandon Inge on this team, if he can accept the role. Since Leyland loves his “lazy Sunday” lineup, which includes a lot of role players, Inge could see a bit of playing time still.

All in all, this shouldn’t be a huge distraction going into the season. But if Inge wants to keep his fan base, he should probably let this go and just play baseball.

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It’s baseball time in Texas as the Rangers get home-field advantage and host the Detroit Tigers for the first two games in a series that determines who gets to play St Louis or Milwaukee in the World Series. Texas is coming off of a 3-1 series win over Tampa Bay while Detroit shocked New York by taking the series in five games.

Will home field-advantage be a factor for the Rangers? The Rangers are 3-5 at home since 2010 and the Tigers only won one home game in this year’s American League Division Series. This is the first ALCS appearance for the Tigers since 2006 where they swept the Oakland Athletics in four games. This will be the second straight ALCS appearance for Texas as they seek out another trip to the World Series.

Texas Rangers Starter—CJ Wilson

CJ starts Game 1 after a terrible ALDS performance where he gave up six runs on seven hits in five innings. But this southpaw has put up great numbers during the regular season, including 206 strikeouts in 223.1 innings pitched. He will need to locate his pitches early in order to shut down this offense that has already given him fits this season.

Detroit Tigers Starter—Justin Verlander

Verlander, the heavy favorite for the AL Cy Young award, has had an incredible season and plans to continue that season tonight in Arlington. His 24-5 record, along with his 250 strikeouts in 251 innings, is going to present a challenge to the potent Ranger offense. His only appearance against the Rangers was a complete game two-run showing that wasn’t enough to lead his team to a win.

Location: Arlington, TX

Weather: 84 degrees, mostly cloudy, 17 MPH wind coming east southeast, 40 percent chance of precipitation (90 percent chance around 8:00 p.m. CST)

Network: FOX

Tonight’s game begins at 7 p.m. CST. Check this live blog during the game for continuous updates and analysis.

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Imagine going to a magic show and the beautiful girl gets turned into a witch with a mole on her nose.

That’s what happened in Tigertown yesterday, when GM Dave Dombrowski managed to turn Placido Polanco into a journeyman left-handed reliever who’s on his third team this season.

Presto!

The Tigers’ trade of 2B Scott Sizemore to the Oakland A’s for lefty David Purcey completes the magic trick. Dombrowski is quite the magician; he’s also managed to make all the Tigers’ positional player prospects vanish, too.

The Tigers let hitting machine Polanco walk after the 2009 season and then handed the 2B job to Sizemore, no questions asked. Even after Sizemore snapped an ankle in Winter League ball, the Tigers were resolute: Sizemore would be the starting second baseman, gimpy ankle or not.

Mainly because the organization had no one else of note.

Sizemore limped around for two months last season before the Tigers wisely put him out of his misery and called up Will Rhymes, who did OK, batting .300 in about 200 AB. It looked like the Tigers might have, at the very least, some healthy competition at second base; at the worst, Sizemore would be the odd man out, given Rhymes’ performance in 2010.

Rhymes won the job in spring training from Sizemore, whom I got the feeling the Tigers weren’t quite ready to believe in, for whatever reason.

You know what happened to Rhymes—he couldn’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag, and became a bunting specialist. He became a National League pitcher at the plate, and batting second in the order, no less. So the Tigers called up Sizemore a few weeks ago.

This morning, the Tigers are on their fourth second baseman, and we’re not even to Memorial Day yet.

Manager Jim Leyland—we’ll get to him later—announced yesterday that Ryan Raburn will be the new second baseman until further notice.

Will Rhymes. Scott Sizemore. Danny Worth (don’t forget him; he was recalled this week). And now Ryan Raburn?

Raburn, who strikes out a third of the time while hitting .200 and whose glove has to be welded together, not laced, is going to be the Tigers’ everyday second baseman.

Unless this is all temporary until Dombrowski pulls off a blockbuster for a real second baseman, then you have my permission to curl up into the fetal position and sob.

Don’t forget the Tigers’ third baseman, Brandon Inge, who is playing on two bad knees, bats .200, also strikes out about a third of the time and whose power has been disconnected as if he forgot to pay his DTE bill.

Dombrowski’s MO has been to stockpile young power arms, which is fine, but position players have been an afterthought in his drafts and personnel development.

How else to explain the likes of borderline MLB players such as Raburn, Don Kelly, Rhymes, Sizemore, Worth and Clete Thomas—and I could go on and on—occupying spots on the 25-man roster in recent years?

Sometimes Dombrowski trades for or signs guys who can’t hit; he doesn’t always recall them from the minors.

Neifi Perez, Jacque Jones or Adam Everett, anyone?

Dombrowski has been the GM since early in the 2002 season. That’s going on 10 full seasons now. You can count the number of stud prospects the Tigers have produced in that time frame—not including those who toe the rubber—on one hand.

Unless Dombrowski is trading them away, like Matt Joyce and Cody Ross.

Look at the hitters who are worth a damn in the Tigers lineup. Not one of them came through the system.

Miggy Cabrera. Magglio Ordonez (yes, he still remains in this category until further notice). Victor Martinez. Austin Jackson. Jhonny Peralta.

Don’t come at me with Brennan Boesch. He’s still very much an unknown entity. I have no idea if the kid is going to be good or not. I wouldn’t wager on him with anything more than half a sawbuck, I’ll tell you that.

Dombrowski’s milieu seems to be the trade or the free-agent signing—not so much player development. And even the former has had its cockeyed moments.

Again, Jacque Jones? Edgar Renteria?

But Dombrowski, I must admit, has brought some good folks into the organization from outside it. Pudge Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Kenny Rogers, to name a few. But see the trend? Aging guys. Ordonez was signed in his prime, but usually Dombrowski brings in guys whose better days are behind them, with the distinct exception of Cabrera.

Dombrowski let Johnny Damon go because he didn’t feel that Damon could play the outfield on a daily basis, which he really can’t. But how would Damon look in the two hole right now, even if he plays a stilted left field? He is having himself a fine year down in Tampa.

The trade of Sizemore—and you can argue that it was a quick trigger—and the subsequent shift of Raburn to 2B combine to form an indictment of the Tigers minor league system. It was the white flag of surrender: we have no second baseman.

Dombrowski said after the trade that the Tigers weren’t in a “developmental situation” that would allow for Sizemore to work out the kinks in his MLB offensive game. DD said the Tigers didn’t have that “luxury.”

That’s GM speak for, “I’d better win now, because my contract is expiring at the end of the year.”

So is Leyland’s, and I’m losing faith in him by the day.

Let’s play a little game called “Which lineup looks better?”

See the below lineup:

CF Jackson
2B Raburn
LF/RF Boesch
1B Cabrera
DH Martinez
RF/LF Wells/Kelly
SS Peralta
C Avila
3B Inge

The above is a typical Leyland lineup, would you agree?

Now compare it to the following:

CF Jackson
SS Peralta
C Avila
1B Cabrera
DH Martinez
LF/RF Boesch
RF/LF Wells/Kelly
2B Raburn
3B Inge

Which one looks better to you?

Why Leyland insists on suppressing Peralta and Avila, two of the guys who can actually swing the bat, in the bottom third of the order is beyond me.

Can you imagine the increased quality of pitches Jhonny and Alex would see batting second and third? Especially Avila, who would be protected by none other than Cabrera.

The one-through-five slots in my proposed order—especially if Austin Jackson finally steps it up—certainly look better on paper, don’t they?

I heard Dennis Fithian on 97.1 The Ticket yesterday say that moving Avila to No. 3 might be a risk because the kid may not be able to handle it. And, Fithian said that if you move Avila and Peralta, what do you do if they go into a slump after the switch?

Good grief.

The Tigers have a division to win, despite their warts. The Indians, I’m convinced, are not for real—not yet. The White Sox and the Twins are down, though the Chisox are playing better as of late.

This is the time for ACTION, not for babying anyone—not for worrying about slumps that may or not even happen.

The Tigers need a shakeup, badly.

The Frick and Frack tandem of Dombrowski and Leyland are beginning to make people in Detroit look at them cross-eyed, and for good reason.

This is a team constructed from a blend of AAAA players and veterans, but it could still win the division, which speaks more about the division than the Tigers.

The Tigers have no second baseman. They have no third baseman, either, really. Nor do they have two-thirds of an outfield, as far as that goes. And they have a suspect bullpen.

But they can still win this thing, if the manager stops being stubborn and the GM gets off his duff and makes something happen. The owner isn’t getting any younger, and neither are we.

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Around 6:45 p.m. EST, Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays, facing the minimum 27 batters in leading his team to a 9-0 victory.

It is Verlander’s second no-hitter of his stellar six-year career and the seventh in franchise history. He threw the team’s most recent no-hitter in Detroit’s 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on June 12, 2007. 

The difference between that performance and this one is the fact that today’s performance was oh so close to being a perfect game. In fact, Verlander’s lone mistake came with one out in the eighth inning when he walked Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia on a 3-2 pitch after a back-and-forth 12-pitch at-bat.

With his performance today, he becomes the 28th pitcher in MLB history to throw multiple no-hitters.

Verlander improves to 3-3 on the season and lowers his ERA from 3.75 to 3.16. He is currently tied for fifth in the Majors with 55 strikeouts.

“I had really good control of my fastball,” said Verlander of his performance. “I was able to move the ball around, keep guys off balance and get some quick outs. Having been in this situation before, I was able to calm myself down a little bit better.”

The Tigers, who currently stand at 16-18, good for third place in the AL Central, were expected by many to contend for the division crown this season, yet have struggled through the first 34 games.

Who knows? This performance may be the spark the team needed to get them out of their early-season funk. Should Austin Jackson and Magglio Ordonez began to hit their stride, this lineup could look quite potent.

With a starting rotation that features three pitchers with an ERA under 4.00, it is reasonable to believe that the Tigers are on the verge of breaking out.

Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, scoring runs on a walk, a wild pitch and a groundout. Two home runs in the fourth inning pushed the lead to 6-0, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Verlander had some help from his teammates, as his defense came up with some stellar plays behind him.

In the fifth inning, after being hit on the forearm off a line drive from Edwin Encarnacion, Verlander picked the ball up and rifled a one-hopper to Miguel Cabrera, who handled it for the close out at first.

Cabrera outdid himself one inning later, jumping and catching a liner to end the sixth, and a great, back-handed scoop was made by shortstop Jhonny Peralta for the first out of the seventh.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, Verlander has been part of a resurgence in Detroit that has seen the Tigers go from perennial losers to legitimate playoff contenders year in and year out.

Going into today’s game, Verlander’s career stats showed that he had a 85-55 record with a 3.80 ERA in 1112.1 innings pitched with a K/BB ratio of 1016/370. Only once has he finished a season with an ERA above 3.66.

In just his short career, Verlander, with his second no-hitter, has etched his name with some of the game’s in the history books.

“It’s really amazing when you consider that Greg Maddux never pitched a no-hitter,” said ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst Tim Kurkjian. “Throwing two (no-hitters) puts you on a very special list in baseball history.”

And this may just be the beginning of greater things for the Cy Young candidate.

“Keep in my how young he is,” said Kurkjian. “It’s relatively safe to say at his age (28) that’s he’ll get another no-hitter.”

Could this be a signal that baseball is becoming more dominated by pitchers after an era that saw incredible performances from hitters in recent years.

There were six no-hitters last season, two this season, and we nearly had another one by Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo early in the day. Gallardo lost his no-hiiter when he gave up a single to St. Louis third baseman Daniel Descalso to lead-off the eighth inning.

“I’ve been charting this for years now,” said Kurkjian. “Pitching has been making a comeback for the last five years now. Look at how many players and how many teams are really struggling. Pitching is really close to being all the way back.”

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It may still be really early in the season, but as the weather heats up, so does the proverbial seat that each manager sits on.

A fast start can do a lot to assuage the demands of the fans, whereas a slow start can make the calls come louder and more bloodthirsty.

Again, I know that it’s early. I know that nobody’s getting fired anytime soon. However, what we can do right now is figure out who should start feeling uncomfortable if they can’t turn things around soon. 

I’ve tried to leave first-year managers off this list, since they should get a slightly longer leash to establish themselves.

Down the road, they may be in trouble. For today, most of them are safe. 

Did I say I know it’s early? This is all just speculation.

I realise I’ll catch flack for suggesting that people could be fired, just half a month into the season.

However, once again, I’m just looking ahead and predicting. That’s it. It might not come to pass. Who knows?

For now, let’s just enjoy the ride. 

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They are the Frick and Frack of baseball in Detroit. Some would call them Laurel and Hardy; on a good day, they’re Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

It’s gotten to the point that when you see either Dave Dombrowski or Jim Leyland, you’re half-surprised not to see them joined at the hip.

They’re two peas in a pod. Twin sons of different mothers.

Dombrowski, the Tigers‘ president, CEO and general manager—and what the heck, let’s call him the Grand Poobah while we’re at it—and the Tigers’ manager, Leyland, have been joining forces throughout various venues going on 30 years now.

When Leyland was a rookie coach with the Chicago White Sox in 1984, Dombrowski was also with the team at the right-hand of GM Roland Hemond.

After Dombrowski cut his own teeth as a GM, he found himself in Miami, running the brand new Florida Marlins franchise. Before long, there was Leyland again, as Dombrowski’s manager. In 1997, the pair won a World Series together.

In November of 2001, the Tigers tabbed Dombrowski as their new president. Four years later, Leyland and Dombrowski held a joint press conference announcing Leyland as the Tigers’ new manager.

Today, they’re into their sixth season together in Detroit, believe it or not; this is where the Frick and Frack thing comes into play.

Dombrowski and Leyland—we’ll call them “D&L” from now on because it’s easier for my lazy, fat fingers to type—are lockstep, one behind the other, walking a tightrope. Two men working without a net.

Neither has the security of a contract that runs beyond the 2011 season.

No pairing of a GM and a manager in Detroit baseball has been so closely linked as D&L. Not even Jim Campbell and Sparky Anderson, who worked together in the early-1980s before Campbell eased into semi-retirement, were fused together like D&L—and Sparky adored Jim Campbell.

Yet D&L are accepted as a packaged deal. If one goes, so should the other; same thing if one stays.

It says here that all this talk about contracts, “lame ducks” and “will they stay, will they go?” will end sometime before the All-Star break, when each is signed to a contract extension—but not as a tandem, contrary to what some would believe.

It would take a tortoise-like start by the Tigers out of the gate—the season starts next week—for owner Mike Ilitch to even contemplate a change in leadership.

Ilitch doesn’t have a history of sporting a hair trigger when it comes to rendering the ziggy. The owner’s pizza dough hasn’t always been spent wisely.

Since 2007, Tigers teams have had a fetish for going into the tank sometime in late-July. After nine years of Dombrowski having the key to the executive washroom, Detroit has made the playoffs once. Lesser teams than theirs have beaten them out in the Central Division more than once.

But Ilitch won’t fire either man because the fact of the matter is, before D&L came along, baseball in Detroit was bereft of hope and devoid of excitement.

When Ilitch brought Dombrowski in, it was like hiring Bob Vila to remodel Ma and Pa Kettle’s shack.

It wasn’t Dombrowski’s first tear down and rebuild either.

He built the Montreal Expos’ farm system into one of the best in baseball. In Florida, Dombrowski took an expansion team and had them winning a World Series in their fifth year of existence.

Read that last sentence again.

Throughout baseball history, expansion teams have been outfitted with a butter knife, squirt gun and plastic sword when sent out to battle. Expansion teams spent their first five years buried in baseball’s basement, unable to sniff the scent of the postseason until at least six years, or more, into their existence.

It took the New York Mets, born in 1962, eight years to make the playoffs. The Houston Astros, who also debuted in ’62, needed 19.

In 1969, baseball added the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots to the American League, along with the Expos and the San Diego Padres to the NL. The Royals needed eight seasons to make the playoffs; the Pilots lasted one season in Seattle and moved to Milwaukee, where they didn’t show up in the postseason until 1981. The Expos didn’t make the playoffs until 1981; the Padres, 1984.

In 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners joined the AL. Both languished. The Blue Jays made the playoffs in 1985, but the Mariners needed another 10 years before finally qualifying in 1995.

Expansion teams in every sport are stocked with the game’s dregs—players nobody else wants. The results on the field, ice, court and diamond are thus unsurprisingly bad.

Yet Dave Dombrowski, from scratch, built the Florida Marlins into a World Series winner in year five.

It hasn’t been so easy in Detroit.

The Tigers were almost an expansion team when Dombrowski took them over. They hadn’t made the playoffs since 1987, and the 1990s were mostly filled with bad baseball. The Tigers’ ballpark was old and decrepit before moving into Comerica Park in 2000. The players who performed in it weren’t old, but they were decrepit, too.

It didn’t take Dombrowski long to start cleaning house. He fired general manager Randy Smith and manager Phil Garner the same day, about a week into the 2002 season, and assumed the role of GM himself.

The Tigers were awful in 2002, historically awful in 2003 and not much more than mediocre in 2004-05. That’s when Dombrowski fired manager Alan Trammell, who was used as a stop-gap—someone the fans could reminisce with so as to distract them from the product on the field.

Dombrowski hired Leyland in October of 2005.

Hello, again.

Leyland then made a bone-headed mistake—he brought his Tigers to the World Series in his first year as manager. Expectations haven’t been the same since.

The Tigers have been stumbling in games played after the All-Star break ever since Leyland took over, including 2006. I have been one to say that enough is enough—the second half collapses must come to an end, or else the manager must go.

Yet this is inarguable: prior to the arrival of Dave Dombrowski, Detroit baseball—for more than a decade—was as enjoyable and well-anticipated every year as a root canal. The Tigers on the field prior to the Jim Leyland era were a joke.

Dombrowski essentially inherited an expansion team. In his fifth year at the helm, with Leyland as his manager, the Tigers made the World Series.

On Thursday—in March!—the Tigers open the 2011 season in New York, the sixth season of D&L. Neither man is signed past the last pitch in October.

Both will return though, barring a season more horrifying than our worst nightmares.

And let’s not go there, shall we?

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Even with Miguel Cabrera, don’t be surprised when the Detroit Tigers are in last place in the AL Central division after the first month of the schedule. 

The MLB schedule makers have done no favors for a team that has been abysmal on the road the last two years, and the team has one major and a few minor issues to deal with.

To begin their 2011 schedule, the Tigers open with road trips to the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. In New York, the Tigers will see CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes in front of a boisterous Yankee crowd; they then will travel to face an improved Orioles team.

The schedule eases a little as the Kansas City Royals come to town for the home opener, but the relief doesn’t last for long as the defending AL Champion Texas Rangers will make a trip to Comerica Park on April 11-13.

Next up is a seven-game AL West road trip against the Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners, followed by a home series against the AL Central favored Chicago White Sox.

The Tigers always struggle out West and the White Sox will be a very strong team this year.

Twelve of the first 17 games are on the road, where the Tigers have played terrible over the past three seasons. Despite being a nearly combined .500 overall, the Tigers have won just 40 percent of their road games over the past three seasons.

In addition to the rough schedule to start the season, the Tigers will be dealing with some lingering internal issues that could cause some distractions.

Of course, the Miguel Cabrera arrest will be a major distraction for this team. Rather than accept the penalty and admit fault (making the issue go away quicker), Cabrera and his attorney have decided to plea not guilty to the DUI charge against him.

Rumor is that Cabrera has a decent chance of getting out of the charge, as evidence seems to be lacking that he was actually behind the wheel when approached by police. 

In my opinion, Cabrera should accept the penalty, let the embarrassing situation die and learn from it.

The fact that he is fighting the charge will no doubt drag the incident as a discussion piece for the team as the litigation plays out in the public eye. It also raises further doubt that Cabrera is a changed man. 

Either way, it isn’t good for the team to start the season but the media frenzy will die down eventually.

I do expect Cabrera to struggle to start the season just as he has to start spring training.

Leyland has a nice problem with the fourth and fifth outfield positions. Well OK, it’s not exactly a problem, but it’s something that still needs to play out. 

Ryan Rayburn has done nothing in spring training to lose his stranglehold on the starting left field spot, but three young players have been outstanding for the Tigers in the outfield thus far, meaning the team has some decisions to make.

Brennan Boesch has shown he actually can still hit after his 2010 post-All Star break free fall. He’s also shown improved defense, which was a huge knock on him.

Casper Wells has picked up where he left off late in 2010 and non-roster invitee Andy Dirks has probably been better than either Boesch or Wells this spring and has played his way into the mix.

The way it’s going, two of these guys will probably make the team and Leyland’s favorite utility guy Don Kelly (or Ramon Santiago if Kelly is moved to strictly a backup infielder) might be in trouble. 

Leyland is going to have to get rid of a couple guys who deserve to be on the team.

Since Leyland tends to out-think himself, it might lead to some early lineup mistakes. Again, not exactly a problem, but something that will need to play out.

Finally, it wouldn’t be baseball season without Joel Zumaya injury news. Zumaya is expected to miss a little time as scar tissue has broken up from last year’s surgery on his throwing elbow.

Although the process of scar tissue breaking is normal, every bit of news related to Zumaya’s health needs to be taken seriously. 

Zumaya is extremely important to the Tigers bullpen and a prolonged absence would hurt them significantly. Expect the Tigers to use him with caution the first several weeks of the season.

Despite the fact that they will likely struggle early, Tigers fans should not worry too much about the team. 

The rotation has looked excellent thus far and the rest of the issues should resolve themselves in time.

I have a feeling that this season the Detroit Tigers will be making the late season run to the division title rather than the team blowing it.

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The Detroit Tigers begin the 2011 season with the goal to win a championship. However, if they want to be able to claim their first World Series title since 1984, they have some work to do.

For most of the past five years, the team has started strong out of the gate and faded down the stretch, the lone exception being in 2008, when the team became the MLB’s version of Murphy’s Law. This trend of second-half collapses was glaringly obvious this past year, when the Tigers went 7-21 from July 16 to August 13, dropping them from a half-game off the AL Central lead to 10.5 games back and an eventual third place finish at 81-81.

The Tigers generally don’t make big free-agent deals, but they have brought in Victor Martinez and Joaquin Benoit in efforts to shore up the C/DH and relief pitching, respectively. Brad Penny has also signed with the team as a starting pitcher.

Position battles may not be the big story of the spring, as most of the positions will likely keep the incumbent starter, but there is always the chance for someone to step up.

Offensively, the lineup will probably not receive much of an overhaul, at least early on. My Opening Day lineup for the team as of right now is as follows:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Carlos Guillen, 2B
3. Magglio Ordonez, RF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Jhonny Peralta, SS
6. Ryan Raburn, LF
7. Victor Martinez, DH
8. Brandon Inge, 3B
9. Alex Avila, C

Peralta and Raburn may rotate between the five and six spot, and they may even move into the two spot at times, if production starts to slip, or if they merit the move.

Defensively, most of the positions are set, barring injuries. Miguel Cabrera has found a home at first base, whereas Carlos Guillen may have trouble holding on at second, if Scott Sizemore shows signs of improvement. Shortstop and third base will feature Peralta and Inge, though Inge’s bat still leaves something to be desired. The outfield will be interesting to watch, as Ryan Raburn and Brennan Boesch may split time, or perhaps one may shift to right to give Ordonez an occasional day off. Austin Jackson did well in center field last year as a rookie and should improve with time.

The starting rotation will likely contain Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello, Brad Penny and Phil Coke. Barring a new signing, this will likely be the rotation on Opening Day. Joaquin Benoit and Joel Zumaya are the likely setup men coming out of the bullpen, at least if Joel can stay healthy, and Jose Valverde will reprise his role as the closer.

Of course, injuries were a big story last year, so the important thing will be to try and stay healthy, especially down the stretch. The season is a long one, and while injuries are unavoidable, smart play and smart coaching can minimize their impact. I believe the Tigers have the talent to compete and win the division, but time will tell for sure.

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