Tigers beef up for World Series run

After bringing in Miguel Cabrera, Edgar Renteria and Dontrelle Willis in separate winter trades, Jim Leyland and the Detroit Tigers are poised to return once again to the World Series.

The fire that Jim Leyland lit under the collective tails of the Detroit Tigers in 2006 died down a bit last season. Some of that was to be expected after a spectacular showing the season before; following up a 95-win season is never easy, and considering Motown’s Cats still managed to win 88 games, it’s not like the fire went completely out.

The offense actually improved in 2007, a feat that mirrored the huge progress that Curtis Granderson made. But the mound, which was so strong in 2006, fell off thanks in large part to that old injury bugaboo. Injuries are just part of the game and will bite every team, including the Tigers who will start 2007 without the services of reliever Joel Zumaya.

GM David Dombrowski set out this past winter to fine tune the Tigers and push the team back to the top of the American League. Red Sox fans were still suffering hangovers from their World Series win in late October when Dombrowski shipped speedy young outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and promising pitching prospect Jair Jurrjens to Atlanta for shortstop Edgar Renteria. About six weeks later a deal was struck with the Marlins that sent left-hander Dontrelle Willis and slugging third baseman Miguel Cabrera to Detroit for a package of a half-dozen youngsters, including young southpaw Andrew Miller, the sixth pick overall in the 2006 draft.

Missing the playoffs is not an option for Dombrowski and Leyland this year. And just getting back to the World Series will be seen as a disappointment.

PITCHING
Pitching got the Tigers to 95 wins and the AL Pennant in 2006. This was a staff that led the AL in ERA, tossing an AL-best 16 shutouts. While the top four in the rotation – Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson – certainly contributed to those numbers, the bullpen was nothing short of outstanding that season.

When that bullpen fell off in 2007, so did Detroit’s fortunes. After playing such a large role setting up in ’06, injuries and downturns kept Fernando Rodney and Zumaya from being much of a factor in 2007. Zumaya won’t be a factor again, at least in the early going after offseason surgery on his shoulder that was injured while trying to move items out of his California home in advance of wildfires last October.

Rodney might also be a non-factor again after reporting to camp this spring with shoulder soreness. If it’s more than just sore, Detroit’s hopes for 2008 could be dashed before they ever get to Opening Day.

Todd Jones will close despite watching his numbers decline since coming over from Florida following the 2005 season. He’ll be 40 shortly after the season begins, and his age coupled with his un-closer K/BB ratio has to be a concern, especially with the Zumaya/Rodney news.

Two names who could negate some of this bad news are Zach Miner and Francisco Cruceta. After beginning primarily as a starter in the minor leagues, Miner now seems ready to settle into a middle relief or setup role. Cruceta has a long and somewhat sordid career behind him that includes a 50-game suspension for a drug violation last season; still, Detroit grabbed him off the waiver wire from the Rangers in late November. Like Miner, Cruceta will be 26 to start this season, and both will be counted on heavily to solidify the pen.

Left-handed roles in the bullpen will go to Tim Byrdak and Bobby Seay most likely. Clay Rapada, who the Tigers picked up in the Cubs deal for Craig Monroe, could push one of those two aside. And trying to work his way back to the majors since last pitching in July 2005 is Matt Mantei who inked a minor league deal in the winter. Early reports on Mantei are quite promising.

Most staffs are lucky to have one strong lefty in the starting mix; Detroit has three now with the acquisition of D-Train from Florida. Veteran Kenny Rogers, who missed the first five months last year after elbow surgery, is back after re-signing with the Tigers. Robertson is coming off a sloppy season that saw his ERA shoot up almost a full run from 2006.

Justin Verlander is the undisputed ace after going 35-15 with a consistent ERA the last two years. He’s joined by fellow 25-year-old right-hander Jeremy Bonderman to complete the staff.

OFFENSE/DEFENSE
The new look on the left side of the Tigers infield is going to get a lot of attention this spring, and that might be fine with Dombrowski and Leyland since the addition of Cabrera and Renteria will cover some of the concerns they must have right now on the mound. Cabrera is at least a slight downgrade at third defensively from Brandon Inge (more on him later), but Renteria will be an upgrade defensively over Carlos Guillen at short. Cabrera will be an incredible upgrade offensively, no question, but Renteria will have something to prove after his previous one-year stint in the AL was something close to a disaster.

Guillen will move from short to first, another defensive upgrade, with the underrated Placido Polanco back at second. Ramon Santiago and Ryan Raburn are the best bets right now to serve as infield reserves.

Ivan Rodriguez is behind the plate for his 18th MLB season, a career that should eventually land Pudge in Cooperstown. Backing him up, at least on paper, is Vance Wilson who missed all of last season following elbow surgery. Not knowing if Wilson will be ready Opening Day is currently slowing any plans Detroit might have to trade Inge. If the word on Wilson – who is only going to be needed for 30 games or so with Pudge in front of him – is good, then look for the Tigers to try and swap Inge for help on the mound.

The outfield should be all but set, not counting unforeseen health problems. Magglio Ordoñez is in right with a Jacque Jones/Marcus Thames platoon slated for left and Granderson in the middle. Timo Perez is the leading candidate for the fifth outfielder’s job, though Freddy Guzman could step up and claim that job.

Gary Sheffield will be the primary DH and could also get in some outfield time, occasionally giving Ordoñez a day off to serve as DH.

The offense, as it was in 2007, should once again be the strength of this club with Leyland’s lineup probably going Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordoñez, Cabrera, Guillen, Renteria, Rodriguez and Jones/Thames. Not bad, not bad at all.

Key Player(s): Having a healthy Rodney in the pen and finding at least another arm or two to work the seventh and eighth innings until Zumaya returns is going to be big. Getting Robertson and Bonderman back on track is also big. And I’m still not sold on what Todd Jones can do as the closer once again. He’s fooled me before and rebounded from a bad season.

Futures: The Tigers were consistent winners in my sims, averaging 91 wins and hitting a high of 96. For that reason, I grabbed them in a futures bet to win the AL at just over 3:1 a while back. Detroit is currently getting +425 at 5Dimes to win the Junior Circuit flag, and they’re a chalky -125 at the same shop to win their division with +600 numbers to win the Series.

The Greek and BetCris set their wins break at 93½, which is a little high for me.