Preview/Prediction

The following is an elaborate spin-off of an essentially live blog entry I wrote in August as the New York Mets bullpen blew a lead for Johan Santana for the sixth time in the 2008 season.

Last season, the Detroit Tigers finished 74-88, last in the AL Central, in large part due to their disastrous pitching. The Tigers' 4.90 team ERA in '08 was the fourth worst in the major leagues.

Detroit's hyped lineup was good, but it didn’t produce the galactic numbers that a lot of people expected. The Tigers may be facing some difficult financial decisions if their disappointing play continues. 

The Tigers were top three in player spending in 2008, along with the Yankees and Mets. They spent about $138 million. 

In the final piece of this series of articles laying out the players that are going to make up the Texas Rangers’ 2009 season, I’m going to to finish up with the biggest piece of the puzzle for Texas.

Whenever you hear about the Texas Rangers in national media it always seems to be about the pitching, or really the lack there of. 

This season is going to be a huge part on how the team will develop into the next couple of seasons, and I’m going to breakdown this players and what to expect this season and in the future.

Note: Originally posted by Tommy Barbee on BaseballDigest.com (March 6, 2009)

Although there are plenty of questions this season, there’s a palpable feeling of optimism about the young players the White Sox brass has proudly assembled.

That said, there are plenty of position battles that need to be addressed, and with that in mind, here are five things to keep an eye on as Spring Training progresses:

1. Who’s going to lead? (aka the battles at CF and 2B)

Today, we move from Washington to the top, where we take a look at the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies, our next team in 30 clubs in 30 days.

The Phillies once again ousted the Mets to win the NL East, going 92-70 on the year, while putting up an impressive 17-8 September record, with an even more impressive 11-3 postseason record that included the Phillies first World Series title since 1980, and only the second championship in their history.

Spring Training Game 15

Yankees @ Tigers
Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, FL
Game Time: 1:15 p.m.
TV/radio: none

Here are the lineups.

YANKEES

Melky Cabrera, CF
Johnny Damon, LF
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Jorge Posada, DH
Nick Swisher, RF
Cody Ransom, 3B
Angel Berroa, 2B
Ramiro Pena, SS
Kevin Cash, C

Pitching: CC Sabathia, Alfredo Aceves, Brian Bruney, Jose Veras, Mark Melancon, Steven Jackson

TIGERS

Joba Chamberlain has been hailed as the future Ace of the Yankee pitching staff. At the very least, he is considered the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera’s closer role.

Chamberlain has burst onto the scene in his first two big-league seasons, capturing the hearts of the Bronx and haunting the nightmares of the league’s hitters.

As Spring Training is going on, Bleacher Report asked all the community leaders for Major League Baseball teams to write an article debating a certain question against another community leader. Here is my side of the debate, which has to do with the Braves and Nationals.

The Topic of Debate

*From Protect the Plate

After a busy offseason spent making upgrades to the offense, many experts had the Tigers as the team to beat in the American League in 2008.

While the team scored plenty of runs, its pitching staff fell apart. The end result was a last-place finish in the AL Central.

The question marks still surround their pitching staff, but the Tigers are hoping their lineup can power them back into contention in 2009.

Pitching woes

Ryan Theriot made his Cubbies debut back in '05 but only played in nine games. In '06 his MLB career started to look more promising, playing in 53 games. In those 53 games he had 134 plate appearances and put up a .328 avg. and .412 OBP.

In 2007 Theriot made the opening day roster as a utility player. He played in six different positions in '07 but snagged the reins at shortstop full-time from the struggling Cesar Izturis, which later led to Izturis being traded that July.