Alright, we’re five days away from the Tigers first spring game against Florida Southern and there’s a few stories of not.  First off is Jose Valverde is off to a rough start and he’s sat the past few days with flu like symptoms.  The hope is that he’s tomorrow but if it’s the flu, you also hope he didn’t pass it on.  Jason Beck also reported that Jose Valverde is going to be on a pitch count of sorts.  He wants to avoid what happened in early September when Valverde threw three innings and 60 pitches back on September 2 against the Twins.  After that game, he was practically shut down and threw only five innings the rest of the season (giving up just one run).

The other news is, Miguel Cabrera isn’t going to be suspended, but we’re not sure how long he’s going to be out as he deals with his personal issues.  For now, it looks like doctors from MLB will evaluate him and then make a recommendation so if they think rehab is the best option, we might not see Cabrera much this spring.

It looks like the first non-exhibition spring game is Friday with the Diamonbacks and Giants squaring off.  The Tigers first game that counts (if you want to call it that) is Saturday afternoon against the Blue Jays.  That game isn’t going to be on the radio but Sunday’s contest against the Blue Jays (they’re playing a home and home) will.  MLB.com doesn’t have their viewing schedule up yet so I’m not sure when the first game is that I’m going to be able to watch.  Baseball is a week away folks, so the wait is almost over.

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