FOR BETTER OR WORSE....

That appears to be the 2010 mantra for your Detroit Tigers.  Despite the infusion of a pair of rookies into key positions up the middle, the 2010 Tigers strategy is heavily reliant upon come back seasons from five veterans of the storied 2006 campaign.   A last hurrah, of sorts, for the fab five.

Magglio Ordonez suffered what appears to be more than a temporary power outage after several seasons of being the RBI king for the Tigers in the heart of the lineup.   The hope here is that Maggs will have a season more like the second half of 2009 than the first.    Maggs was plodding along, hitting just .243 with one homer and 15 RBI vs RHP's in over 200 AB's at the break.  He was the short side of a platoon with Clete Thomas, and it looked like that $ 18 million option for 2010 would not vest.    But inexplicably, he was put back into the lineup every day, as Thomas tanked (batting third in Leyland's lineup), and he led the league in batting after the break with a .378 average.    Still, he crossed the finish line with just 50 RBI.   He seemed to accept the power outage as permanent, serving pitches into right field just about every game, then plodding along on the bases, being yanked for a defensive replacement or a pinch runner in the late innings.   If the Tigers are going to contend in 2010, it's difficult to imagine them doing so without Maggs hitting the come back trail, even sans power.  Whether he does or not, this could be Magglio's swan song as a Tiger.

Carlos Guillen is half way through a four year $ 48 million contract, Carlos is the one guy in the fab five that has a contract for 2011.   He was given money as an All Star shortstop, but was moved to first, to third, and put out to pasture in left field when he wasn't on the DL in 2009.   Seems obvious to most fans that he's now a DH, but he played the violin after the 2009 season, blasting Leyland's managerial moves, and begging for an infield spot back.   Jimbo seemed to relent, saying that Guillen was the every day left fielder.   Guillen can still hit, still has some power, and is a decent base runner, by Tiger standards at least.    His main challenge is to stay healthy, and that is best done if he doesn't put on a glove.   Expect Guillen to split DH duties with Ordonez.   I'll take the over on his production, too.

Brandon Inge was the fans choice for last man on the All Star roster last summer, whiffed in the home run derby, and it was all downhill from there.   Inge batted under .190 for July, and for August, and for September.   All the talk this spring is about his knees, as if he's a sure All Star when he's healthy.  NOT.  It was quite apparent that the Tigers HAD to get more production from Inge than he has shown in the past.  Like every season of his career, in order to be able to carry Laird and Everett at the bottom of the lineup.   In the first half, it worked.  In the second half, it didn't.   In many ways, Inge could be the biggest key to the Tiger lineup.   The difference between his good times and bad is probably bigger than any other player.  He's also in the last year of his contract, and there isn't any real backup for him at third base should he come up lame- and he can be healthy and lame at the plate.     Big question mark. 

Jeremy Bonderman is being handed a spot in the rotation, though not exactly his old spot as the No. 1 or 2 starter.   Bondo has yet to be able to put two good halves together in the same season, and he still doesn't have a third pitch that he can throw with any regularity.   His slider was one of the best in the league, and when he could set it up with the fastball, he could be deadly.   He started to throw a change up only against lefties before he hit the DL.  He's a season and a half removed from pitching effectively.  In order to just break even in the rotation vs 2009, the Tigers need Bondo to at least top the performance of Galarraga last year, since we should expect some drop off from Jackson's 13 wins with Scherzer taking the three slot. Bonderman is also in the last year of a four year contract, and it looks like his last season as a Tiger.

The fifth spot is said to be a contest between Robertson, Willis, Galarraga, Bonine and Figaro.  Some want to include Phil Coke in the conversation, but that's not how Leyland is looking at the situation right now. I actually give Galarraga as much chance of rebounding as I do Bonderman or Robertson, but they'd like to have at least one lefty in the rotation, and they'd like to get some value for the $ 22 million they're spending on Robertson and Willis this season, so those guys get dibs on the last spot.   Both are in the last years of their contracts with the Tigers and are likely to be gone after this year, if not sooner.   With a bevy of talented lefties in the bullpen, it looks like do or die for these two.   I wouldn't bet on either of them out performing the other rotation candidates, but the Tigers are hoping otherwise.  The egg will be dripping on DD's face with those two contracts until he wipes it off.  

For better or worse..... the fab five must come through!