Yesterday, the Tigers played a watered down version of the Mets in their second exhibition game of Spring Training 2008. Detroit got the win 4-2, but from the sounds of it the game wasn't pretty for the Tigers stars.
The good news about yesterday's game was that the bullpen looked very solid. Grilli, Miner, Byrdak, and Bautista all threw a scoreless inning or two, and the first three didn't even give up a hit. It may be a promising sign, or it may be that we faced all of the Mets' backups.
The bad news about our exhibition with the Mets is that, once again, Jeremy Bonderman struggled in the first inning. He ended up pitching two innings, giving up two runs on four hits and one walk. If Bonderman isn't already seeing one, the Tigers franchise needs to sign him up with a sports psychologist immediately. This can't go on.
Michael Rosenberg of the Free Press has a pretty good article this morning explaining why Detroit should hold on to Brandon Inge. After reading his points, I completely agree with him at this point. I also found an article by Tom Gage of the Detroit News, and he says the same thing.
Back to the bad news, it seems that Fernando Rodney's shoulder is still bothering him. Leyland has decided to rest him until next week and even said that he's "concerned." Hopefully this ongoing saga will quietly go away, but I'm doubting it.
I was excited to read yesterday that Leyland has announced his batting lineup. Like I've been calling for, Miguel Cabrera will bat fifth with Sheffield and Ordonez batting 3rd and 4th. If all goes well, Miggy should have some staggering RBI numbers.
Joel Zumaya was able to throw his first session since his shoulder surgery, and claims that his shoulder was pain-free. I usually would want Leyland to rest him as long as possible, but with Rodney's shoulder falling off, its seems that we need Z sooner rather than later.
John Donovan of SI.com has a fun piece on Dontrelle Willis. One thing that I got out of this article is that Willis had his best years in Florida when the guy catching for him was none other than Pudge Rodriguez. Maybe Dontrelle needs Pudge's guidance to get him back to top form again.
Curtis Granderson has a quick blog post about Black History month and how kids in the inner cities aren't playing baseball anymore. He doesn't really say anything new, but since Curtis is my boy I will always link to his new blog posts.
In a quick Q and A with the Detroit News, Granderson says that he'll be attempting more bunts this Spring Training.
I'm out of town this week, but I'll try to get a weekend links up if I find the time. Next week, look for both the starting pitching and bullpen previews. Have a good weekend.
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