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Pitchers and catchers must report to the Tigers' spring training facility in Lakeland, Fla., today. The truth of the matter is, many have been there for days to weeks already, champing at the bit to get the season started too. Position players too. But today's the day that makes it official, the words we love to hear. The next date to remember? The Florida Southern game is coming up Feb. 25.
As you can imagine, we'll start ramping things up again on the blog after some of us have laid low a bit in the weeks heading up to spring training.
Prowl time:
Tigers.com Energetic Penny arrives at Tigers camp
Brad Penny arrived in Lakeland on Friday after a long overnight flight and got straight to work. He is obviously a key factor in how many wins the Tigers are able to get this season.
Beck's Blog: Leyland (and Leyland) arrive at Spring Training
Where's non-roster invitee Patrick Leyland's locker? "I told him he's down there on the end, where they usually go fast," his father joked.
Detroit News: Like father, like son: Jim, Patrick Leyland go to work -- together
Tom Gage adds a bit more to the family business angle of the story.
Freep: Tigers manager Jim Leyland: 'We've got a lot of work to do'
Leyland spends a lot of time talking about the second base competition. He thinks Scott Sizemore looks a lot better than he has in the past. Leyland also states he's staying away from talk about when Carlos Guillen will be healthy again.
DetNews: Tigers manager Jim Leyland expects fun, a 'few more' strategies
Lynn Henning writes that Leyland believes defense will be fine, and that the Tigers will concentrate on being better at baserunning this season.
Freep: Five questions for Tigers spring training
John Lowe adds his questions as spring training opens.
MLive: Left field, second base among questions Tigers must answer as spring training begins
I thought three was the magic number? For sports writers, it's five. Steve Kornacki asks his five questions.
Tempering Our Expectations For Austin Jackson’s Sophomore Season
Matt Snyder jumps into the cautionary business for those who might expect too much of Austin Jackson this year.
Old English D: A Subtle Rift
Jen shows that her ability to make obscure references is far superior to any of us. She's like the Dennis Miller of Tigers blogging.
Tiger Tales: A Detroit Tigers Blog: PECOTA Comparables
Lee looks at the players PECOTA "thinks" of when looking at several Tigers and Tigers prospects. Most notable? Max Scherzer compares to Roger Clemens and Zack Greinke. Daaang!
DesigNate Robertson: 2011 Tiger Staff Appears to Have More Questions Than Answers
Local optimist Rogo is at it again. Definitely, he is not happy as a, uhm, what was that again Jen? A scimitar? A sassenach?
Tiger Den: Brad Penny the 2011 Version of Johnny Damon?
Josh sees that Brad Penny is pretty darn excited to be a Tiger, and thinks of another player who sounded the same ...
Fangraphs: Is Phil Coke The Next C.J. Wilson?
Mike Axisa compares the Tiger to the Rangers' former lefty reliever turned above-average starter.
MLB reportedly looking into Joyce-Galarraga book deal
Almost perfect? The book deal between Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce might have been a bit too perfect for baseball's liking. (h/t Mario Impemba on Twitter)