Monday Tracks: Lineups, Fien, Nate, and Miggy
A few quick tidbits of news and other interesting stuff from today in Tigers camp.
–So long Casey Fien– The righthander was claimed off waivers by the Boston RedSox today. He was designated for assignment last week to make room for Johnny Damon. Jason Beck says the Tigers were faced with a tough decision, and Fien was the odd man out.
–Welcome back, Nate?- The mothership has a fluffy piece on the Tigers lefty, who is making his bid for a rotation spot in what could be (and probably will be) his final camp with the Tigers. Robertson pitched fairly well down the stretch last season after being inserted into the rotation. His numbers the past few years are down-right ugly, however. He says he’s feeling good and the bite is back on his slider, for what it’s worth. But then again, everyone feels good in March.
–El Martillo still sober– MLive’s Steve Kornacki has a story on Miguel Cabrera’s battle with alcoholism today. Well, they call it that, those aren’t Miggy’s words, but he says he has had no problem staying off the sauce, instead drinking water or fruit juice with his meals. For his part, Cabrera says he isn’t upset with the questions. He really seems to be tackling his issues the right way.
–First look at the Opening Day lineup?– The Tigers announced (most of) the lineup versus Florida Southern for Wednesday. Via Beck, it reads as follows: cf Austin Jackson, lf Johnny Damon, rf Magglio Ordonez, 1b Migueal Cabrera, dh Carlos Guillen, 3b Don Kelly or Kory Castro, 2b Scott Sizemore, c Gerald Laird, ss Adam Everett. Sub in a healthy Brandon Inge at third and that looks like the lineup Zack Greinke can expect to face on April 5.
–Did You Miss This?– Yours truly answered some questions for C70 at the Bat previewing the Tigers upcoming season. This was done as a part of BBA founder Daniel Shoptaw’s annual preview of all 30 teams. Spoiler alert: I like the Tigers to win more games than last year, thanks to a nice bounce-back from Maggs.