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Ausmus begins spring days with light-hearted meetings.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Brad Ausmus might be doing a few things a little differently if he were managing elsewhere. The Tigers manager said Sunday he probably would cover things in a different way with a younger roster, and he likely would approach the roster-trimming process with a different mentality.

One thing Ausmus said he wouldn't change, however, is the meeting he holds each morning with the Tigers.

He wouldn't go into the specifics of each meeting, before which players drag their chairs from in front of their lockers to one side of the clubhouse. Instead, he described it generally as "just a mixture of baseball discussion and some team fun." Ausmus said he didn't pick up the tradition from any of his previous managers, but he saw Bud Black do something similar in San Diego.

"It's really just a lot of times getting to know younger players. I don't know if I like the phrase, but in some sense, it's some team-building-type stuff," Ausmus said. "It's fun. We laugh at each other. We laugh at things that are happening in the world. Nothing earth-shattering. It's a way to get to know each other."

There is some baseball discussion, of course, but that aspect of the meetings would remain the same no matter the audience, Ausmus said. The Tigers' roster is full of proven, veteran players with postseason experience, but Ausmus said he remembered learning new things about the game at that stage of his career.

"I make it a habit of trying not to assume that somebody knows something, even if I sound like a moron telling them. If you assume they know it and they don't, then I think it's my mistake," Ausmus said. "But if I tell them and they think I'm an idiot for telling them because it sounds elementary, I'd rather that they think I'm an idiot and have them covered."
from the Tigers official site
 
Pitch counts to factor more for certain Tigers pitchers.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- How much will Tigers manager Brad Ausmus consider his starters' pitch counts before he heads out to the mound and signals to the bullpen? To answer that question with another question: Who's on the mound that day?

Justin Verlander threw more than 120 pitches four times last season, nine times in 2012 and 10 times in '11. Max Scherzer topped 115 pitches seven times last year, and Anibal Sanchez eclipsed that mark four times, including a 130-pitch, one-hit shutout on May 24. Those three have proven their durability, and Verlander in particular is known for his ability to get stronger as the game progresses.

So what does the Tigers' new manager think about pitch counts?

"It'll factor," Ausmus said. "Somewhere along the line, people got married to that 100-pitch count, to the point where even Minor League guys, when they were coming out, they were staring at the pitch count on the scoreboard saying, 'All right, my job is done.' I don't think you have that as much here."

Ausmus admitted he could take on a different approach, perhaps a more cautious one, with lefty Drew Smyly, as he's entering the rotation after spending all of last season in the bullpen. But don't expect Verlander, Scherzer and Sanchez to start eyeing the scoreboard when they've thrown their 100th pitch.

"I don't think guys like Verlander, Scherzer or Sanchez are concerned about the 100-pitch count," Ausmus said. "I don't know that I will with those guys."
from the Tigers official site
 
Position players arrive early before Tuesday's workout.
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Detroit's position players aren't scheduled to report until Monday, and their first full-squad workout isn't until Tuesday. But the Tigers clubhouse was already full of hitters Sunday.

Ian Kinsler, Torii Hunter, Austin Jackson, Rajai Davis and Steve Lombardozzi were among the crowd of position players that rolled into Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday, a growing group that "really impressed" manager Brad Ausmus.

They'll get into the batter's box quickly, too, as Ausmus said he plans to begin live batting practice Tuesday during the first full workout.

At this early stage of Spring Training, the drill is mostly about helping pitchers get used to seeing a hitter at the plate. Some hitters will swing, while most will just track pitches into the catcher's mitt.

"It's something that, really, 95 percent of hitters don't enjoy," Ausmus said. "You don't enjoy getting in there against your own pitchers, especially if it's [Bruce] Rondon or somebody like that throwing 95 or 100 [mph.] ... As a position player, you don't really love those days."

To illustrate that point, Ausmus recalled a time during Rockies camp that he took a 95-mph fastball right to the ribs. No pitcher wants to be the guy who accidentally beans Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez, either.

"I don't think [pitchers] love it," Ausmus said. "I think it's one of those necessary evils."
from the Tigers official site
 
February 17 in Tigers and mlb history:

1900 - Mary Hamilton Von Derbeck is to become owner of the Detroit American League franchise and of Bennett Park, in lieu of unpaid alimony. However, her ex-husband George Von Derbeck files the required bond with a Michigan court to cover the alimony due, regains ownership of the club, and sells it to Tiger manager George Stallings on March 6th.

1909 - The National League deprives umpires of the power to fine players and decrees that relief pitchers must retire at least one batter before being relieved.

1943 - Joe DiMaggio, drawing $43,500 from the Yankees, trades in his salary for the $50 a month as an army enlisted man. DiMaggio, in his customary quiet style, gives no notice to the club.

1964 - Former White Sox SS Luke Appling is elected into the Hall of Fame by a special vote. In 1953, Appling's first year of eligibility for Cooperstown, the Sox great received just two votes. He holds the single-season highest batting average for his position, hitting .388 in 1936.

1995 - With the strike still unresolved and spring training set to begin, Tigers manager Sparky Anderson is put on an involuntary leave of absence as he refuses to manage replacement players.
The Orioles announce they will not play exhibition games against teams using replacement players.

2011: The Society for American Baseball Research announces the second class of recipients of the Henry Chadwick Award. Sean Forman, founder of Baseball-Reference.com and the BR Bullpen is one of the five honorees.

Tigers players and coaches birthdays:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/onsloed01.shtml
Eddie Onslow 1912-1913.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Wally_Pipp
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pippwa01.shtml
Wally Pipp 1913.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/philled01.shtml
Eddie Phillips 1929.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/collior02.shtml
Orlin Collier 1931.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crimija01.shtml
Jack Crimian 1957.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Roger_Craig
Roger Craig coach 1980-1984.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/patteda04.shtml
Danny Patterson 2000-2004.

from Baseball Reference
 
#Tigers sign RHP Jose Valdez, LHP Casey Crosby, C Ramon Cabrera, IFs Jordan Lennerton and Eugenio Suarez and OF Daniel Fields.
 
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