Magglio Ordonez - Miguel Cabrera - Gary “Shef” Sheffield - Dontrelle Willis - Justin Verlander - Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez - Jaque Jones - Carlos Guillen - Kenny Rogers - Curtis Granderson - Placido Polanco - In names alone, the new Detroit Tigers lineup looks promising.
The best of the old and the greatest of the new have teamed up under the tutelage of coach Jim Leyland to make it one place they didn’t make it last year…the playoffs. Sure, the race was tight and injuries plagued some of the team’s best players. Personal goals were met and legends were made (see Magglio Ordonez). That just didn’t seem to be good enough against a young, powerful, Cleveland Indians team.
We’ll get to see just how impressive the Tigers’ new team is when Spring Training begins on Wednesday in Lakeland, Florida. Long has Lakeland been home to the Tigers, one of the oldest teams in MLB. The Tigers may not have the greatest baseball legacy, an honor bestowed to the New York Yankees of yesteryear, but the current lineup shows amazing promise and a team that suffered many disappointing loses throughout the 80s and 90s is bound to do great things.
Leyland has set up a prospective batting order and pitching rotation that places some of the top players in every inning of the game. For batting, the list looks somewhat similar to last year’s order, though there are “obviously” a few modifications:
1. Curtis Granderson
2. Placido Polanco
3. Gary Sheffield
4. Magglio Ordonez
5. Miguel Cabrera
6. Carlos Guillen
7. Edgar Renteria
8. Jacque Jones
9. Ivan Rodriguez
The lineup will add in players like Marcus Thames and Ryan Rayburn as needed, just like last year. For pitching, the lineup is as follows:
1. Justin Verlander
2. Kenny Rogers
3. Jeremy Bonderman
4. Dontrelle Willis
5. Nate Robertson
Fans of the Tigers can only hope that the faith Leyland has placed in the less than stellar Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson will be worth keeping them in the starting rotation this season. Fans will also be pleased to know that pitchers Todd Jones, Bobby Seay, and Fernando Rodney are back to close for the Tigers.
With so much promise, all eyes from Michigan to both coasts will be waiting to see if the Tigers have what it takes, this year, to be the champions we all know they are.
Technorati Tags: Detroit Tigers, Jim Leyland, Spring Training, Todd Jones, Justin Verlander, Magglio Ordonez, Dontrelle Willis, Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, Jaque Jones
Written by Dominick Evans - Visit Website
No comments yet.