It's safe to say Casey Fien's past month has been more hectic and stressful than most.
After coming up with the Tigers, he was designated for assignment when Detroit needed to open a roster spot for outfieder Johnny Damon. The Red Sox claimed him. They promptly put him on waivers. Then lost him to the Blue Jays, who claimed him off waivers before Fien could make his way to the minor leagues. Then they released him.
Not fun for anyone to go from preparing for the upcoming season to being seemingly rejected repeatedly. Not good for the ego, either.
Fortuantely, the story may end happily enough, now that the Tigers have signed Fien to a minor league contract.
Tom Gage of the Detroit News had an excellent article on the entire thing.
That's when John Westhoff of the Tigers called him and said "come on home."
"I thanked him for not throwing away my jersey," Fien said. "This game can be cruel sometimes. Nobody gave me any answers. I asked the Jays why and they told me I was a liability.
"A liability? I haven't thrown to a hitter all spring. It's been like a twilight zone, a nightmare. Nobody gave me a chance. That's the first time I'd ever thought of quitting baseball."
Fien told Gage all he wants to do is throw the ball to a batter again -- an experience he hasn't had since leaving the Tigers.
More stories to pay attention to:
- Oh, great. Leyland wants Tigers to bunt more. Even acknowledging that baseball goes through different periods and the power period has taken a bit of a step back, I don't like the thought of giving away at-bats. Of course some might argue as long as the sixth through ninth batters are standing by the plate, what are you really giving away?
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Spring training notes: Dontrelle Willis ready to pitch in any role for Tigers. Willis is saying all the right things. He just wants to play, no matter where that may be.
- And it's possible he could still be in the bullpen, MLB.com's Jason Beck tweeted in response to a question about whether Lynn Henning's recent column on Willis being released holds any water. (hat-tip to SabreRoseTiger)
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Porcello and Matusz are maturing rapidly - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
Young pitchers Rick Porcello of the Tigers and Brian Matusz of the Orioles could dominate the AL for many years. - Major League Baseball news - NY Times: Religion’s Role in Hank Greenberg’s Pursuit of Babe Ruth. An interesting article about a rather famous Tiger. Was Greenberg being walked because he was Jewish? Greenberg's family thinks so. Apparently Greenberg himself didn't, however. (Hat-tip Big League Stew)