Jim Leyland

Zach Miner.....does that name even ring a bell to anyone? Certainly not in 2010. Ok, you might remember him from such exciting shows as Imploding 'Pen 2009 and Fail 'Pen 2008. 

Miner is an everyman reliever and sometime starter most notable for not being notable. The story is always the same—average stuff, below average strikeout rate, above average walk rate, never an exceptional outing, and usually pitches as if he belongs on the trash heap.

So a couple nights ago I'm dinking around on the computer, trying to figure out what my fantasy baseball team's pitching rotation is going to look like this year, when my buddy Paul texts me out of the blue to see if I want to go to the Tigers' home opener at Comerica Park.

"Oh, hells yes," I answer. I've never been to a Tigers game in my life before, and what better place to start than the '10 home opener?

When you commit $64 million dollars to three pitchers over the span of two years, there are certain expectations that need to be met.

Take a look at the San Francisco Giants. Their three headed monster of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Barry Zito are making $54.05 million collectively in 2009 and 2010. Last year they won a combined 39 games in 98 starts and struck out 586 batters in 635 innings pitched. Those numbers are produced by, what some regard, the best top end rotation in the league.

Before we begin, a (slightly) brief introduction:

The year ended badly for Detroit Tiger baseball. There was so much hope over the course of the year that when the team began to fall apart in September, there was almost a consensus of disbelief among the fans.

Imagine you're Jim Leyland and you have the task of putting together a batting order for the 2010 Detroit Tigers.  Now I know Spring Training has just started and positional players aren't even in camp yet, but nonetheless it's fun to speculate.  Here's my go at it:

1.  Johnny Damon (DH / LF) / Clete Thomas (OF)

2.  Austin Jackson (CF) / Ryan Raburn (OF)

3.  Magglio Ordonez (RF)

4.  Miguel Cabrera (1B)

Mark McGwire is back in St. Louis. Big Mac will join the Cardinals' coaching staff as the hitting coach.

We've all heard the various complaints, criticisms, and even praise for the Redbirds' new hitting instructor, but how much of it is warranted? Should a player get a coaching job just because of his superstar status as a player?

Without a doubt, some superstars have gone on to excel as a major league manager—John McGraw, Joe Torre, and Frank Chance come readily to mind.

It's been a slow, painful ride, but the Detroit Tigers have managed to defy all odds and handed over the division title tonight in Minnesota.  No team had ever blown a three game lead with four games to go until the Tigers did this season.

But, the past is the past, and there is no reason to reminisce about the less-than-stellar 2009 Tigers campaign any longer.  We must look to the future and fill in some major voids that were apparent down the stretch.

Notable nattering nabob of the Detroit Free Press Drew Sharp recently took a break from his negativity to proclaim Tigers manager Jim Leyland as the easy pick for American League Manager of the Year.

When Sharp writes, I instinctively believe exactly the opposite.

But maybe he's on to something.

Leyland won the award in 2006. In just his first year in Detroit, he guided the Tigers from perennial bottom-feeder to their first playoff appearance since 1987.

Sparky Anderson was miserable.

Sleepless nights. Constant worry. Fear of being strung up on the center field flagpole at Tiger Stadium (no joke). Ghoulish thoughts of bitter disappointment.

Yep, the Tigers’ 1984 World Championship season almost wrecked the team’s manager.

The ‘89 season of 103 losses almost wrecked him too. When Sparky took a few weeks off during the season due to mental exhaustion he said: “I ain’t never lost no 100 games before.”

But 1984? It was nearly poison to him.

Jacques Demers, as the irrepressible coach of the Detroit Red Wings, wasn’t happy.

In 1987, around the beginning of his tenure in Detroit, Demers had to make changes. His team was slumping and wasn't putting in the effort needed. He could not abide this.

So one blustery winter morning, he called practice at 7:30 a.m.