Apparently, the long layoff from baseball has affected our bat speed, and we missed the opening of Spring Training 2009. In 2008, the Detroit Tigers dropped like a fly ball at a peewee game. They began the long climb back to the top last week with spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.
Spring Training Schedule & Tickets
You can get the Tiger's spring training schedule and tickets from Spring Training Online. We used to link to MLB.com for this but they decided to go after bloggers a couple years ago and we're scared of them! The home opener is Wednesday and Justin Verlander has the start. As Roar of the Tigers reports in comic strip form, Justin also has a birthday ... and a special surprise!
Meet your 2009 Detroit Tigers
Mack Avenue Tigers has decided to take on the fool's errand of projecting the Tiger's achilles heel bullpen. He also offers his thoughts on the Tigers rotation and likely batting order. Brian at Tigerblog.net weighs in on who he thinks will assume the mantle of fifth starter for the Bengals. Ian over at Bless You Boys went on his morning prowl and found some tasty morsels including Tiger prospects, Jack "I think I belong in the Hall of Fame" Morris and a little something about Adam Everett's glove. At the Daily Fungo, Mike is profiling Tigers, wishing Tiger legends and happy birthday and also doing an interesting podcast.
Something went haywire with the 40-man roster page at Tigers Central but you can weigh in at their forums on all kinds of topics including your expections for the 2009 Tigers. Bob Wojnowski from the Detroit News thinks that while the quieter Tigers of 2009 have some promise, he's not going to get all giddy ... yet. The Freep takes a video look new Tiger left fielder Carlos Guillen.
Tigers on TV, Tigers on the Field
I think the MLB operatives have probably wandered off to check for steroids in the water cooler, so I'll let you know that the Tigers will be featured in MLB TV's 30 Clubs in 30 Days tonight at 8 PM. All 162 Tiger games in 2009 will be televised, mainly on FOX Sports Detroit, which will also show four spring training games on March 16, 19, 22 & 29. The Detroit Tigers 2009 Schedule has them opening away (at Atlanta on Friday, April 3) with the home opener on Tuesday, April 6 at 7:15 vs the Blue Jays. You can see more Tigers video from their web site and also
Here's a cool local blog from Lakeland, FL called "Lakeland Local". In addition to spring training coverage coverage from a Lakeland resident's perspective, the blog features photos and links to photographers, local news & blogs and a nice Lakeland area event calendar (perfect for the spring training visitor who might not be all that interested in spring training). For the duration of spring training, you'll be able to find Lakeland Local in the Absolute Michigan blogroll to the right!
Lakeland, Joker Marchant Stadium, Tiger Town and Tiger Spring Training history
The Detroit Tigers began coming to Lakeland, Florida for Spring Training in 1934 and have been coming back every year, making for the longest lasting relationship between a Major League baseball team and a Spring Training host city. According to Lakeland's page on Joker Marchant Stadium, "Joker" Marchant was the longtime and popular director of Lakeland's Park and Recreational Department. When not hosting the Detroit Tigers, the stadium and Tiger Town complex are the home of the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Also see the google map of Tiger Town and check out Ballpark Digest's visit to the Joker Marchant!
Get your Tiger on with these Bengal bookmarks...
- Mack Avenue Tigers, Detroit Tigers Weblog, TigerBlog.net, Roar of the Tigers, Bless You Boys and The Daily Fungo are all excellent Detroit Tigers blogs
- If you're looking to talk it up with other Tiger fans, check out TigersCentral.com (great history there too!) and MotownSports.com's Tiger Board
- The Tigers official web site through MLB always has great photos and video
- Photos: Keep an eye on Detroit Tiger photos at Michigan in Pictures, the Detroit Tigers photo group and recent photos tagged with "detroit tigers".
- Even MORE photos: the photostream of MLB photographer Emily Smith!
- Absolute Michigan keyword "tigers" has a bunch more Detroit Tigers stories & links.
- Got another link? Add it below! Also, if you go to spring training or come across any stories we miss, please post a comment below!
3 Comments
I am so ready! Bring it on!
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I think The Daily Fungo (http://www.dailyfungo.com) does a great job on the Tigers too.
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The one thing I enjoy about being a Detroit sports fan and especially a Tigers fan is how classic the franchises are. It's so cool to think about how long people how been cheering on these teams and to think of all the great players that have played for the teams. Be proud to be a Detroit native and fan, Go Tigers.
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6 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] Read Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers at Absolute Michigan [...]
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[...] this "snow, wind and teens" has me looking south, to Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Florida. Head over to Absolute Michigan for a whole lot of preview and if you make the journey to Lakeland, [...]
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Michigan Sans Snow...
During Spring Training Lakeland becomes the capital of Michigan's Southern Peninsula. For the next six weeks we're going to expand coverage aimed at all those snowbirds coming to roost in Lakeland. If you're in Michigan, and have a question about......
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[...] thanks to Absolute Michigan for being so kind in their Spring Training Preview. —- I think that’s all but this could be updated later today… Sphere [...]
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[...] course, first up is Absolute Michigan. Each year Andy puts together a handy page for Tigers fans. Bookmark it. You’ll use those links all season. Leave a comment [...]
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MLB Note: Damon Decides To Stay In Detroit...
Getty Images Recently, Johnny Damon was placed on waivers by the Detroit Tigers. This left him free for any team to pick him up. The Boston Red Sox claimed him yesterday and Damon had a couple of days to ponder his decision. Well, today he said no to h...
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