Justin Verlander's New Car, Prince Fielder's Big Homer, Manny Ramirez's Contract - Morning Prowl

Tigers links:

Tigers' Justin Verlander gets extra velocity with $200,000 Mercedes - The Detroit News, Tom Gage
I agree with Verlander, the Ferrari 458 Italia is soooo last season.

Spring is here. - Roar of the Tigers, Samara Pearlstein
Jim Leyland looks less than enthused to be a... well, whatever kind of flower he is. Paws, on the other hand, seems confident about the upcoming season.

Max Scherzer is on Twitter! - (max_scherzer)
Lost amid the rest of the hoopla yesterday was the news that Max Scherzer finally created a Twitter account (and is also a big Eastbound and Down fan). The Tigers have confirmed the account, also via Twitter.

Prince Fielder Already Leaving His Mark On Tigers Spring Training - SB Nation Detroit, Sean Yuille
One of Prince Fielder's first home runs as a Tiger knocked down a tree branch beyond the right field fence, presumably to be used as his next bat.

Why Brandon Inge has become, well, Brandon Inge - The Oakland Press, Pat Caputo
Of course, it's not a true BYB post without a mention of Inge. Pat Caputo is firmly in the pro-Inge camp this season. It's a little hard for me to agree when Inge is one of the few players still not in Lakeland, however.

Around the AL Central:

'Pounds of muscle' and the White Sox: A brief, bleak history - South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
Adding some offseason muscle seems to have a negative impact on you if you play for the White Sox. This is unfortunate for Jordan Danks -- yes, John Danks' younger brother -- who would like to make the Sox' 40-man roster this spring.

Carlos Santana's 'rest' from catching could focus on DH duties for Cleveland Indians - Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes
Indians manager Manny Acta says that he's more willing to use Carlos Santana as a DH next season now that Casey Kotchman will be manning first base. I have a feeling that he's basing this decision on a successful duo of catchers from 2011, but I just can't put my finger on who they might be...

Scenes From A Preseason, Volume 1 - Twinkie Town, Jon Marthaler
Say what you want about Tigers trainer Kevin Rand, but at least he knows how to clean a fish.

Elsewhere in Baseball:

Bryce Harper arrives at Nationals spring training intent on making the majors - The Washington Post, Adam Kilgore
And the award for least believable statement of yesterday's workouts goes to Bryce Harper, who says that he's going to "keep his mouth shut." Like, when he's chewing? During showers? Because I highly doubt it will be that way in front of the media.

Manny meets Moneyball, signs deal with A’s - Big League Stew, Kevin Kaduk
Joke all you want about "Manny being Manny," but this $500k minor league deal for Manny Ramirez could be huge for an A's team that is desperate for some offense. I didn't want him on the Tigers, but I like this deal for Oakland.

Mariners Demote Ichiro, Find Surprise Leadoff Man In Figgins - Baseball Nation, Rob Neyer
It looks like someone on the Seattle Mariners coaching staff finally took a look at Chone Figgins' career splits. Meanwhile, Ichiro Suzuki seems like the kind of professional that should be able to take this move in stride.

The Amy K. Nelson Podcast, Episode 1: We're New At This - SBNation, Amy K. Nelson
This isn't baseball-related, but significant nonetheless. SB Nation's Amy K. Nelson (formerly of ESPN) launched her first video podcast (vodcast?) yesterday. Nelson is one of the best in the business -- as evident by her article on the Armando Galarraga-Jim Joyce aftermath -- and SB Nation is lucky to have her.