Pitchers and Catchers report in just over seven days (a week from Friday) and outside of the Justin Verlander signing, things have been pretty quiet.  The Tigers outrighted Eddie Bonine to the Mud Hens and that’s probably where he’ll pitch in 2009.  With Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis and Zach Miner all vying for the fifth spot in the rotation (I’ll give Chris Lambert a very outside chance as well), someone like Bonine would need multiple things to happen to see time with the Tigers.  In addition, the Tigers needed to make room for Brandon Lyon.  Of course there have been reports that the Tigers are trying to shop either Roberton or Willis so that could clear some room for someone down the line.  Of course you could also argue that the person who claims the fifth spot could just be a placeholder for Rick Porcello,

I was over at Baseball Prospectus and I was a little surprised by some of the Value Over Replacement Player numbers (VORP).  Number one on the list was no surprise (Armando Galarraga) but Aquilino Lopez was second and he wasn’t even offered a contract (I’m still a bit surprised by that) and third was Zach Miner (who I think will end up as the fifth starter this year). Yorman Bazardo came in at third from last and he did it despite throwing just three innings.

Killshot psp The Tigers first spring game is February 25th.  There’s a few less teams in the Grapefruit League so you’re going to be seeing a lot of the same teams more.  The opener is against the Braves (their Florida Southern game isn’t until the following Monday).  They also play Venezuela and Panama that week before the WBC kicks off on March 5. 

I’m on the fence as to whether I’ll get MLB.TV or just the radio package.  I’m usually doing some kind of work in the evenings but I have a second computer.  I just don’t usually stay up late and the Tigers are on more nights then not.  I like the new DVR like function though and some of the new features look pretty cool.  I didn’t use it as often as I should have and Mosaic seemed to do a number on my desktop too so we’ll see.  They did bring down the price but it’s still a $100 difference and since I’m a dinosaur and grew up listening to the games on the radio, that’s usually my preference anyway.

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