Detroit

Yesterday I made my guess at which hitters will be named to the Tiger's opening day roster -- I'll finish up with the pitchers today.

The locks:
Justin Verlander (R)
Rick Porcello (R)
Ryan Perry (R)
Jose Valverde (L)

We're not quite halfway through the spring campaign yet, but I can already see that Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski will have some tough decisions to make before naming the 25 guys they'll take back to Detroit to begin the season.

We're probably looking at thirteen hitters on the opening day roster (12 pitchers), so let's try to figure out who it will be.

The locks:
Gerald Laird
Miguel Cabrera
Adam Everett
Brandon Inge
Johnny Damon
Magglio Ordonez
Carlos Guillen

Nearly locks:
Austin Jackson
Ryan Raburn
Ramon Santiago

Word got out the other day that Major League Baseball's "special committee for onfield matters" has discussed a "radical floating realignment" idea.

While I believe that competitive imbalance issues in baseball are widely overstated (more on that later), I understand the need for new, revolutionary ideas.

One idea struck me as I read the story: Why do we need divisions, anyway?

I try not to get too carried away with spring training stats. Usually at least one veteran will slump heavily only to perform as expected in the regular season, and at least one minor leaguer will get hot only to be assigned to a farm club where he fails to impress.

But that doesn't mean I ignore spring stats—I'm a stats geek at heart.

Today—as usual—I checked up on the Tigers box score to see who's hot and who's not down in Lakeland.

The Detroit Tigers, as nearly everyone knows by now, were on the wrong end of one of the most exciting baseball games in years. But losing to the Minnesota Twins in a playoff play-in game was just the culmination of what had been a horrific September/October collapse.

Full Name
Keith Anthony Phillips

DOB
April 25, 1959

College
None (Roswell High School, Roswell, GA)

Drafted
1978, First Round, 10th pick, Montreal Expos

MLB Seasons
1982-1999

Tiger Seasons
1990-1994

Career Stats
.266 Avg, 160 HR, 819 RBI, .374 OBP, .763 OPS, 1319 BB, 109 OPS+

Career Leader Board
All-Time: 35th in Walks (1319)

In 2006, rookies Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya helped the Tigers to their first World Series in 22 years.

The inexperienced tandem matured as the season progressed and led a suprising Detroit team to the playoffs after the franchise's worst ten year stretch in history.

Who has the potential to repeat this performance in 2010?

Let's look at 10 baby Tigers who may be called to task this season:

Begin Slideshow

Point: Yes, I hope the Tigers bring Johnny Damon in. It makes perfect sense.

Counterpoint: The Tigers might as well turn over left field to Ryan Raburn.

P: Raburn? I like Raburn as a fifth outfielder. He won't put up what Damon will.

CP: Signing Damon would make the Tigers awfully crowded with outfielders. They have Raburn, Clete Thomas, Austin Jackson, Wilkin Ramirez, Magglio Ordonez, and possibly Carlos Guillen.

CP: Forget Ramirez and Thomas. Now you are down to four guys. Guillen could play a lot at third base considering Brandon Inge's injuries.

We’re in the thick of baseball’s Hot Stove League right now, and I must say, I love the Tigers’ chances in 2010.

Yes sir, I think they’ll do just fine. All they have to do is have every starter pitch a complete game every outing and oh yeah, hold the other guys to no more than two runs per pop.

That’s all.

Ladies and gentleman, the return of JAYRC. He is a permanent writer here at the site and will start shouldering a huge chunk of the load once a computer issue is resolved...

On Sunday, Billfer of Detroit Tigers Weblog had a link suggesting that the recently non-tendered Kelly Johnson would be getting a healthy amount of consideration from teams.

In the article, Dan Wade of Baseball Daily Digest had this to say: