Dontrelle Willis had his second start of the spring yesterday against the Braves, pitching three scoreless innings in a 5-4 loss. Willis struck out three and gave up two hits in what seemed like three pretty easy innings.
So why did the Tigers lose? Armando Galarraga gave up all five runs in the 5th inning. Not a good sign for his bullpen chances anytime soon. Other than Willis' great start, Todd Jones pitched in a more normal late inning role and pitched a scoreless inning.
At the plate for Detroit, Ramon Santiago improved to 8-11 this spring with a 3-3 day. Tigers hitters had a nice third inning off Tom Glavine, with Curtis Granderson scoring on a Brandon Inge triple. Inge then scored himself after three straight walks by Glavine.
MLB.com has more on Santiago; it's nice to hear that he spent his offseason working on his hitting and trying to learn from Placido Polanco. Ramon's defense is pretty stellar, so a hot bat off the bench would make him really valuable.
I didn't hear about this auction last year, but here's a story about how a guy from Detroit bid $10,000 to manage the Tigers for a day. That's a lot of money, but what a fun day it would be.
This article makes me more than a little nervous, but Jim Leyland has concerns about the health of three of our best hitters. Hopefully he's just being overcautious.
Jamie Samuelson wonders what the big deal is with the Brandon Inge ongoing drama. I like the way he ends his quick article, "What’s next? Let’s break down how Arron Afflalo feels about losing playing time to Juan Dixon. It’s every bit as relevant. Probably more so!" It's so true, yet Inge is still a compelling character in Detroit.
Also, it looks like Inge is trying to say that he was misquoted when he complained about catching. I don't buy it, but I like that he's at least making an attempt to be a team player.
Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal looks at the Mets situation and how they've inquired about Marcus Thames. It doesn't seem like New York has a lot of options in replacing Moises Alou for a while. If you scroll down, there's also a blurb about Rick Porcello with very bright comments from a scout.
Good news about Fernando Rodney. He had a good workout this morning and looks to be on track to come back soon. This Detroit News article also mentions a bullpen candidate who has not been mentioned much this spring: Aquilino Lopez. Leyland seems to think highly of him.
Bob Wojnowski gives his five players that must succeed for the Tigers to do well. Pretty obvious stuff, but he makes some good points.
Wondering who is going to replace Vance Wilson early this year? Here's a nice look at our possible 2008 backup catcher: Dane Sardinha. Sounds like he can't hit worth a lick, but is an impressive defensive catcher. With our lineup, I think we can afford to have one hole on Pudge's off days.
Video of the Day: Yesterday I posted a preview on our biggest hitting addition. Today, a similar video on our new starting pitcher, Dontrelle Willis. My favorite part is the beginning, showing Leyland coaching Willis on fielding grounders. I also like the announcers point that Willis may take over for Sean Casey as the clubhouse guy everyone loves. Here it is:
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