MLB First Pitch 2010

2010 Detroit Tigers

Special points of interest:

· Key Fantasy Player: Justin Verlander

· Three Keys to Victory:

*Rookies To Gel
*Bonderman to Bounce Back
*Ordonez Renaissance

· The X-Factor: Austin Jackson

· Over Rated: Brandon Inge

· Seasons End: AL Central Champions

1. Johnny Damon LF
2. Scott Sizemore 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 1B
4. Magglio Ordonez RF
5. Carlos Guillen LF
6. Austin Jackson CF
7. Brandon Inge 3B
8. Gerald Laird C
9. Adam Everett SS

SP) Justin Verlander RH
SP) Rick Porcello RH
SP) Jeremy Bonderman RH


SP) Nate Robertson RH
SP) Armando Galarraga RH

RP) Jose Valverde RH
RP) Joel Zumaya RH

Key Departures
One of the things I love to do over the long and painful baseball-less winter is to watch as much MLB-TV as I possibly can. The content is not always great. Very little new news is reported. Much of the programming is old ball games from years gone by. But it was during a weekend this past January, while watching game-1 of the 2006 World Series, I made a very interesting observation about the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers lost in five games to the Cardinals in 2006, but they were, none-the-less a very dominate American League team that year. However as the 2010 season begins, two key components from that 2006 team will be gone. Those two players are none other then Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco. And who will they now be playing for? Well none other then the two teams who were in the 2009 World Series. (Granderson with the Yanks, and Polanco with the Phillies.) Their departure leave the two biggest question marks in the 2010 season for Detroit. In order to finish at the top of AL Central again this year, Detroit will be relying an awful lot on rookie Center Fielder Austin Jackson, and rookie Second Baseman Scott Sizemore. If they can fill the big shoes left to them, then the Tigers will win the central.

2009's Worst Pick
Last season I projected a massive drop in attendance, payroll, and thus quality in the Detroit Tigers. But when I am wrong I am wrong! Lee Jenkins wrote a terrific September cover story for Sport Illustrated. In his three page article, Lee sings the praises of Tigers owner Michael Ilitch. The founder and creator of Little Ceasers pizza, Ilitch is as committed to the city of Detroit as he is to his Tigers on the field. In a market where small teams are scaling back and on the defense, Michael is on the move. He added talent to his team while only mildly cutting payroll. He lowered ticket prices, working with season ticket holders in an effort to get them to keep their tickets. And he cut deals with corporate sponsors like Chrysler to keep them within the Tigers organization. It’s fair to say that Tigers owner Michael Ilitch is responsible for my worst projection of 2009.