Tigers#1
02-24-2003, 06:33 PM
Holding interest will be a test for Tigers
By LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press
2/24/03 4:28 PM
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- The Detroit Tigers are engaged in a winning situation during spring training.
After all, they're not losing.
That's a plus for an organization without a winning season since 1993.
They don't play until Thursday.
Watching how former Tigers stars Alan Trammell manages and Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish coach -- for the first time as a group -- has provided hope for long-suffering followers, and players.
But the true test will come months from now.
Will a team with a $56 million payroll -- and not much proven, major-league talent -- still attract attention when the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons complete their playoff runs?
The past several years, when the Red Wings and Pistons were done, fans quickly discovered that the Tigers were a losing team: again. They stopped going to games, or continued to stay away from Comerica Park, and ceased talking about them because there was nothing new to discuss.
If Trammell and his staff can somehow do enough to lead the Tigers back toward respectability and people are paying attention in July, August and September, they will have accomplished quite a feat.
It will not be easy.
Last season, Detroit tied Tampa Bay for the worst record in baseball at 55-106, and there are reasons to believe the 2003 team could be worse.
The Tigers were forced -- or chose to -- get rid of the best players from a bad team because their modest payroll would have increased.
And they must have figured, if things can't get worse, why not go with young and inexpensive players rather than pay millions to players like Robert Fick, Randall Simon, Mark Redman and Juan Acevedo?
Fick, Detroit's lone All-Star, led major league outfielders with 21 assists while batting .270 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. Simon, the team's MVP, had a team-best .301 average and 83 RBIs and was tied for the team lead with 19 home runs.
Redman was just 8-15, but his 4.21 ERA and 203 innings were quite respectable for the left-handed starter. Acevedo had 28 saves, and the rest of the bullpen saved five games.
Detroit will miss those four players, but it was a poor team with them and they were due for raises, so it's not tough to understand why they're gone.
The Tigers will need to replace those four players successfully while many other issues are resolved to make this season look different from the past nine losing seasons.
Carlos Pena, acquired as part of the Jeff Weaver trade last season, has a good chance to replace Simon's power production. The 24-year-old hit 19 homers in 115 games with the Tigers and Oakland during his first full season in the majors.
Some believe Franklyn German, also acquired in the Weaver trade, could take care of Acevedo's role as the team's closer if Matt Anderson does not bounce back from an injury-plagued season and is not traded.
The Tigers are hoping that shifting Bobby Higginson from left field to right will minimize the loss of Fick. But that's assuming Dmitri Young can play left and become a .300 hitter again as he was for four straight seasons before signing a big contract with the Tigers before last season.
The Tigers have a slew of unproven pitchers vying for places in the starting rotation, so finding somebody to replace Redman's 200-plus innings and solid ERA may be difficult.
If those obstacles are somehow overcome, then Trammell can focus on finding more starting pitchers, a center fielder, a third baseman, a shortstop and middle relievers while developing power and discipline at the plate, sound baserunning and reliable fielding.
With such challenges, it's no surprise that Trammell is focusing on intangibles such as attitude, work ethic and tradition.
By LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press
2/24/03 4:28 PM
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- The Detroit Tigers are engaged in a winning situation during spring training.
After all, they're not losing.
That's a plus for an organization without a winning season since 1993.
They don't play until Thursday.
Watching how former Tigers stars Alan Trammell manages and Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish coach -- for the first time as a group -- has provided hope for long-suffering followers, and players.
But the true test will come months from now.
Will a team with a $56 million payroll -- and not much proven, major-league talent -- still attract attention when the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons complete their playoff runs?
The past several years, when the Red Wings and Pistons were done, fans quickly discovered that the Tigers were a losing team: again. They stopped going to games, or continued to stay away from Comerica Park, and ceased talking about them because there was nothing new to discuss.
If Trammell and his staff can somehow do enough to lead the Tigers back toward respectability and people are paying attention in July, August and September, they will have accomplished quite a feat.
It will not be easy.
Last season, Detroit tied Tampa Bay for the worst record in baseball at 55-106, and there are reasons to believe the 2003 team could be worse.
The Tigers were forced -- or chose to -- get rid of the best players from a bad team because their modest payroll would have increased.
And they must have figured, if things can't get worse, why not go with young and inexpensive players rather than pay millions to players like Robert Fick, Randall Simon, Mark Redman and Juan Acevedo?
Fick, Detroit's lone All-Star, led major league outfielders with 21 assists while batting .270 with 17 homers and 63 RBIs. Simon, the team's MVP, had a team-best .301 average and 83 RBIs and was tied for the team lead with 19 home runs.
Redman was just 8-15, but his 4.21 ERA and 203 innings were quite respectable for the left-handed starter. Acevedo had 28 saves, and the rest of the bullpen saved five games.
Detroit will miss those four players, but it was a poor team with them and they were due for raises, so it's not tough to understand why they're gone.
The Tigers will need to replace those four players successfully while many other issues are resolved to make this season look different from the past nine losing seasons.
Carlos Pena, acquired as part of the Jeff Weaver trade last season, has a good chance to replace Simon's power production. The 24-year-old hit 19 homers in 115 games with the Tigers and Oakland during his first full season in the majors.
Some believe Franklyn German, also acquired in the Weaver trade, could take care of Acevedo's role as the team's closer if Matt Anderson does not bounce back from an injury-plagued season and is not traded.
The Tigers are hoping that shifting Bobby Higginson from left field to right will minimize the loss of Fick. But that's assuming Dmitri Young can play left and become a .300 hitter again as he was for four straight seasons before signing a big contract with the Tigers before last season.
The Tigers have a slew of unproven pitchers vying for places in the starting rotation, so finding somebody to replace Redman's 200-plus innings and solid ERA may be difficult.
If those obstacles are somehow overcome, then Trammell can focus on finding more starting pitchers, a center fielder, a third baseman, a shortstop and middle relievers while developing power and discipline at the plate, sound baserunning and reliable fielding.
With such challenges, it's no surprise that Trammell is focusing on intangibles such as attitude, work ethic and tradition.