buckeye22

Coming off their AL title in 2006, the Tigers were expected to be among the top contenders for the World Series in 2007. Unfortunately for them, the injury bug hit early and often, and the pitching couldn't duplicate their successes of 06. Injuries to Kenny Rogers, Joe Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, and later on Jeremy Bonderman led to pitchers like Jason Grilli, Tim Byrdak, Chad Durbin, and the obviously not yet major league ready Andrew Miller to be thrown into key roles.

But for all the disappointments in 07, there were plenty of bright spots. Magglio Ordonez won the franchise's first batting title in over 40 years. Curtis Granderson became the 3rd player in major league history to have 20 homers, doubles, triples, and steals in a season(the group later expanded to 4 with Jimmy Rollins). There was also a no hitter by young phenom Justin Verlander, and 88 wins, marking the team's 2nd winning season since 1993 and the first time they were above .500 in consecutive seasons since they had winning seasons in 1982-88.

This year, the Tigers look to take the positives from 2007 and build off of them. Of course, offseason trades bringing in Edgar Renteria, Jacques Jones, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis help the cause as well. If the pitching holds up, this is one of a handful of teams who should contend in the always strong AL.

2007 record-88-74.

Key additions-Renteria, Jones, Cabrera, Willis
Key subtractions- Sean Casey

Strength- Obviously the lineup, which will likely feature Jacques Jones, Pudge Rodriguez, and the powerful Marcus Thames in the 9 spot on most days.
Weaknesses- Pitching. This is close to the same staff that put up the best ERA in the AL in 2006, but they also struggled heavily in 07. Injuries to Zumaya and Rodney don't help matters coming into this year.

Key Questions- 1 Can the offense co-exist? Everyone knows that this offense has the potential to be as good as any in the recent history of baseball. But will Ivan Rodriguez bat 8th or 9th without letting his ego get in the way? Will Gary Sheffield stay healthy or keep his mouth shut? Will everyone get too complacent thinking that the next guy will pick them up?

2 Can the starting pitchers stay healthy? This rotation is coming off of a year in which Kenny Rogers missed much of the season with a blood clot and Jeremy Bonderman tried to pitch through an elbow injury after starting the season 10-1 with a sub 4 ERA. He ended up 11-9 with a 5.01 ERA before finally being shut down on September 9th. If they can stay healthy, the rotation could take some pressure off of both the bullpen and the lineup.

3 Can the bullpen hold leads? Assuming the rotation is healthy and pitching well and the offense does what expected, they should have many leads of the 6-2, 8-1, and 7-3 types in the late innings. Is there anybody in the bullpen who can get outs and keep these leads preserved? Zumaya is out until June at the earliest, and Rodney has the same shoulder problem he did in spring training last year, which ended up costing him over a month of the season. Their most likely replacements are Zach Miner, Jason Grilli, Denny Bautista, or Francisco Cruceta. None of these names strikes fear in opposing hitters, and getting at least 1, and even better 2 of them to contribute could be the key to the season.

4 How will Dontrelle Willis pitch in the AL? This is perhaps the most interesting question of the year. On one hand, the pressure of being an ace is now off and he can just pitch. He also is pitching in a league who isn't used to his high leg kick. On the other hand, the AL is the much better offensive league and many of the top pitchers in the game have struggled when moving over. Will the D-Train go back to his old, 2003-05 form when he was one of the top pitchers in the league, or is he basically finished at 25? I think the answer is somewhere in between, which on this team could lead to a solid season.

5 What if there are injuries? Let's face it, after looking at the Tigers moves this offseason, they're in a win now mode. That's fine, as long as everyone stays healthy and performs. They traded their top 2 pitching prospects and their top 2 outfield prospects. There are some solid players left in the minors who could come up and fill in for a week or two, but if any major players go down there are very few who can perform in the majors for the long haul. They also have an everyday lineup consisting of a 38 year old DH with a history of shoulder problems, a mid 30s RF who as recently as 2005 missed a large portion of the season, a SS turned 1B with a history of knee problems, and an aging catcher, along with the afformentioned pitching risks. It's very possible that they have multiple injuries and that could dampen hopes this season.

Projected lineup:
1 Curtis Granderson, CF
2 Placido Polanco, 2B
3 Gary Sheffield, DH
4 Magglio Ordonez, RF
5 Miguel Cabrera, 3B
6 Carlos Guillen, 1B
7 Edgar Renteria, SS
8 Ivan Rodriguez, C
9 Jacques Jones/Marcus Thames, LF

Projected Roation:
1 Justin Verlander
2 Kenny Rogers
3 Jeremy Bonderman
4 Dontrelle Willis
5 Nate Robertson

Worst case scenario- Multiple position players, including Cabrera and Granderson, get hurt, the pitching falls apart, and the team, with their lack of depth, finish below .500 in 4th place.

Best case scenario- The offense performs as expected, scoring 1000 runs. Meanwhile, the pitching takes a huge step forward, including the bullpen. No minor leaguer is needed for any long stretch, and those who fill in do a pretty good job. The team wins 100 games and runs away with the Central, setting up a battle with the winner of the East in the ALCS.

Most likely scenario- The pitching is inconsistent, as they have their on and off nights. The offense isn't quite as good as everyone thinks, but still is the among the top 5 in the game. The AL Central proves too tough to win 100 games, the Indians take a small step back, and the Central turns into a 2 team dog fight for the title deep into the season.