Detroit Tigers Preview

Detroit Tigers Preview

Summary: About the only good news for Detroit Tigers fans in occurred at the end of the season. In October it was announced that Jim Leyland was coming out of retirement and had accepted the Tigers managerial job.

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Article Body: Overview:

About the only good news for Detroit Tigers fans in occurred at the end of the season. In October it was announced that Jim Leyland was coming out of retirement and had accepted the Tigers managerial job. Leyland is looking to help change the teams fortunes for and beyond but he will have his work cut out for him. The Tigers managed to win only total games in posting a lackluster - record. Yet somehow the Motown offense was able to score a total of runs which was only fewer then the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. Of course it didnt help matters that the Tigers also allowed a total of runs - mostly due to an inconsistent and underperforming pitching staff.

The offense was led primarily by outfielder Craig Monroe (. ), and DH Dmitri Young (. ). Rookie st baseman Chris Shelton (. ) also provided some much needed offensive spark with veterans Ivan Rodriguez (. ) and Rondell White (. ) posting respectable numbers. The rest of the offensive production was supplied by rd baseman Brandon Inge (. ) and nd baseman Placido Polanco (. ) who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a midseason trade.

The Tiger starting pitching in had very few bright spots. Starters Jeremy Bonderman (- .) and Mike Maroth (- .) managed to combine for total wins, while the rest of the starters struggled for much of the entire season. Both starting pitcher Nate Robertson (- .) and Jason Johnson (- .) turned in forgettable performances in . The Tigers used a combination of five different closers with Ugueth Urbina (- . saves) performing the best, prior to his being traded midseason to Philadelphia.

For Detroit Tiger fans, the season couldnt end soon enough.

Off Season Moves:

The Detroit Tigers signed free-agent lefty Kenny Rogers (- .), to a -year, $ million contract, hoping to provide some better stability in the starting rotation. The Tigers also signed closer Todd Jones (- . saves) from Florida in order to help upgrade their bullpen. Jones a year veteran experienced a renaissance year with the Florida Marlins by holding opposing hitters to a . batting average while saving a total of games (his highest save total in five years).

Analysis:

Rogers is an improvement to the starting rotation as is bringing in Jim Leyland from out of his retirement to help. Leyland has worked in similar environments before and has proven he knows how to handle the challenge. The starting rotation is still lacking. Detroit made a run at a few different free agents this winter, but little materialized. The Tigers have some hitting and can score runs. There's also some talent in the bullpen, but the rotation doesnt appear to be much stronger than it was last season (. ERA, th in the AL). Fans will need to be very patient as Leyland attempts to rebuild from within.