Detroit Tigers

Good old Ernie Harwell welcoming the beginning of Baseball and Spring.

The Tigers reached an agreement yesterday with former Washington Nationals’ star right-hander Jordan Zimmermann. The deal is pending a physical. He’s expected to sign a five year contract worth $110 million according to a source close to the situation.

The Tigers made a deal on Wednesday for relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. “The Tigers have given me this opportunity and I take it with a lot of pride” Rodriguez said. “It’s something that me and my family are looking forward to.”

JD Martinez capped off one of the best years of his career by winning the 2015 Tiger of the Year award.

You’d think that Brad Ausmus would loose his job at the end of a season where Ian Kinsler made bizarre decisions in the field, Anthony Gose forgot how many outs there were and David Price didn’t know he was expected to go back into a game. But Tigers GM Al Avila says he’ll retain Ausmus as manager of the Tigers for 2016.

Tigers closer Bruce Rondon was sent home for the season due to his ‘effort level.’ No further explanation was provided by Brad Ausmus. Alex Avila, however, did make a few comments. “To be a big component of the team, you've got to be here, on the team” he said. “You want to put out your best effort everyday. No matter the situation.”

For the first time in his career, Miguel Cabrera is on the disabled list due to a calf injury. He left Friday night’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth inning. “It is a Grade 3 calf strain and it’s probably going to be six weeks” said Brad Ausmus. “When you lose the best hitter on the planet, it’s a huge blow.” Grade 3 is the most severe strain.

Some of the best seats at a baseball game are sitting in the first row down the first or third base line.

Catching a homerun ball at a Tigers game is a dream come true, until you realize that the ball you caught was a Grand Slam from the other team.

Victor Martinez has been put on the 15-day disabled list by the Tigers with inflammation in his left knee after struggling in his return from offseason knee surgery. He appeared to aggravate the already injured knee in Monday’s game against the Brewers while trying to beat out a ball at first.

Watch Miguel Cabrera hit the 400th home run of his career against the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday. Cabrera’s 425 foot shot deep to centerfield in the first inning passes Al Kaline’s record of 399 career home runs. It gave The Tigers a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals and was his fourth home run in his last three games.

Watching Kinsler and Iglesias turn two against the Twins yesterday definitely reminded any tiger fan of the Trammell/Whitaker days.