Weekend Roar - 2/23 and 2/24

Danny Knobler's MLive blog lets us know that Pudge is likely to bat 8th this season. A quick excerpt into our lineup:

• Leyland doesn't like to discuss his lineup publicly in the spring, and he didn't provide any other details. But batting Rodriguez eighth likely leaves Jacque Jones in the ninth spot. Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco will bat first and second, and Magglio Ordonez will remain in the cleanup spot. Gary Sheffield and Miguel Cabrera will hit third and fifth, one way or the other, and Carlos Guillen and Edgar Renteria will hit sixth and seventh.

More on our most likely lineup, the Detroit News says Sheffield is the best bet as our 3-hitter. I'm a huge fan of Sheffield, Magglio, Cabrera hitting 3-4-5 because of Sheff's patience and ability to take a walk. The more guys we consistently have on base for Maggs and Miggy, the better.

The Free Press has an article on how Curtis Granderson's likeability is off the charts. Women want him and men want to be him. Is that cliche enough for ya?

Another Free Press article about the Tigers' number one prospect Rick Porcello. He has the makings of a future star. You gotta love our ability to draft Scott Boras' guys.

I usually end up forgetting about the "player to be named later" in Tiger trades. Here's a look at one of our PTBNL's in the Mike Maroth trade. Apparently he threw a one-hitter over six innings in Triple-A Toledo last year.

Ryan Raburn is doing everything he can to stay up with the big boys this year. Now that even includes catching. With Vance Wilson's injury starting to look worse for the start of the year, this is a smart move by Raburn.

The Macomb Daily sheds some light on the price of putting together a team with this much star power. Sounds like our roster has a nice collection of wheels.

One of the biggest wildcards the Tigers' lineup has this year is the play of newcomer Jacque Jones. The Detroit News writes that Jim Leyland likes what he sees in his new left fielder. I've had the chance to watch Jones in the Metrodome quite a few times and he can look spectacular at times and a below average starter at times. A nice season from Jones would make our lineup ridiculously deadly.