The grapefruit season has passed
posted in 2008 Spring Training |And just like that, spring training, which seemed to take forever to begin, and seemed to drag on and on ad infinitum, has ended. The Tigers flexed their muscle against Philly on Thursday, packed the trucks, got on the bus to the airport, and left yet another Grapefruit season behind. Now, looking back on it, it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Lynn Henning was feeling a bit emotional about the whole thing, and why wouldn’t he? It’s pretty darn cold up here and who wouldn’t prefer to enjoy the peaceful days in Florida to shoveling in nearly April.
The Tigers head for Houston for a short two-game tuneup and a few decisions left to be made:
1) Do they really need a second left-handed reliever?
I say sorta. They need a second reliever who can get out left handers. I don’t care which hand he wears his glove on. It appears both Aqualino Lopez and Yorman Bazardo have made the club unless a trade occurs. This follows Denny Bautista being named a Tiger by Jim Leyland earlier this month.
2) Do they need a defensive replacement in the outfield with a little pep in his step on the basepaths (Clete Thomas) or do they need a backup catcher (Dane Sardinha) to allow Brandon Inge more time to think about hitting the baseball?
Of course the Tigers could pick someone up off the waiver wire and disappoint both players, but assuming that doesn’t happen (and I don’t have a clue whether that’s a safe assumption) I think I still go with Sardinha. I like the idea of a backup catcher being a backup catcher. All he thinks about is catching and getting the other team out. Inge is already juggling quite a bit. Inge could fulfill what is expected of Thomas: defensive replacement better than he could fulfill backup catcher, in my mind. But either way the Tigers go, it’s exciting to see what the newcomer can do.
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