With Team USA and Team Venezuela officially eliminated from the WBC, the Tigers will very shortly have all of their players back in spring camp.  The question is, what kind of shape will they be in when they return?  While the virtues of the WBC can be debated until we are all blue in the face, the fact remains that Jim Leyland must now find a way to assimilate his WBCers back into camp.

Leyland will not publically say how worried he was about the threat of injury to any of his horses, but it was evident that it was a major concern.  Now that Armando Galarraga, Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson and Carlos Guillen escaped the injury bug, the skipper can breathe a little easier.  While everyone is healthy, there are some concerns in terms of how much work his players received the last two weks.

For example, Curtis Granderson had just 17 at bats in the tournament.  While he was away, the Tigers played 14 games, which would have given Leyland plenty of opportunity to to get him more than the paltry 17 at bats he received.  By comparison, other starters such as Placido Polanco (47 at bats), Adam Everett (40 at bats) Brandon Inge (38 at bats) and Gary Sheffield (37 at bats) have all received plenty of work.

Guillen, Ordonez, and Cabrera did each receive around 30 at bats each, so it is not as much of an issue with them.  However, a big part of spring training is the mundane drill work that focuses on fundementals.  Pickoff plays, rundowns, pitcher's fielding practice and running the bases are all an important part of getting a team ready for the season.  WBC participants have missed out on those drills the last two weeks.  The good news is, there is still a good two weeks of camp remaining.  That should be enough time to get everyone caught up, including Galarraga who pitched only seven innings in the WBC.  By comparison, other Tigers starters have gotten a lot more work, including Edwin Jackson (17 innings), Justin Verlander (20 innings) and Nate Robertson (14 innings).

The WBC is a great tournament and a terrific vehicle to enhance the poularity of the game.  While I am a fan of the Classic, it is hard  to ignore the impact it has on every club's ability to get ready for the season.

Encouraging news from Lakeland today as Nate Robertson makes his fifth appearance and third start of the spring season today.  Nate was hoping to piggyback this outing with three scoreless innings of work his last time out against Toronto.  Good news, Robertson was very good and it was an encouraging sign to see two straight good outings.  Four innings of 2-hit ball with five strikeouts was great to see, but it was the stuff that Robertson featured that was even more encouraging.  Nate's slider had more bite and his fastball was in the upper 80's.

Based on Dontrelle Willis' struggles last night, Robertson appears to be seperating himself from the other contenders for the fifth spot in the rotation.  It will be interesting to see how Rick Porcello pitches against the Yankees in Tampa tomorrow.  With Bonderman's strong showing last night, and the way Porcello has been throwing, Jim Leyland has to be feeling a litle better about his rotation.  And, some tough decisions may have to be made in the coming weeks.

Here is the latest from the skipper's office...Rick Porcello is set to make his next start on Saturday at Tampa against the Yankees....Leyland feels that if he is a legitimate candidate to make the team, then the bigger stage of Tampa playing the Yankees will be a good test.  That is subject to change however depending on how Porcello feels.  He was hit on the finger during PFP and it is coming along slowly.  If the finger has healed, he will go on Saturday.

The Astros are in Lakeland today and there is plenty of talk surrounding the pending signing of Pudge Rodriquez by Houston.  Jim Leyland described his relationship with Pudge like this:  "I had only two run ins with him in three years, that's pretty good for a superstar player."  Leyland said that Pudge played hard and he played hurt and that there was a mutual respect between the two.

Marcus Thames is getting better.  He took batting practice today and may be ready to play this weekend.

Today was a big day in Tigers camp.  Jeremy Bonderman and Joel Zumaya were scheduled to throw in an intrasquad game on the minor league fields at Tigertown.  As it turned out, it was a mixed bag of news.  Bonderman threw 30 pitches this morning and responded extrmemley well.  Jeremy reported no pain and threw free and easy in his session.  He was throwing 88-91 which was great for basically his first spring outing.  Jim Leyland was very pleased.  "I was tickled to death today, but tomorrow is the test," the skipper said.

Tthe real test will be how Bonderman feels tomorrow morning.  There were no phisical limitations on him today and if everything goes according to plan, he will pitch in our televised game on Thursday from Disney against the Braves.  The hope is that Jeremy will throw between 30-35 pitches.

The other half of the pitching plan this morning was shut down.   Joel Zumaya was also scheduled to throw today, but could not go because of a cramp/spasm in his neck and shoulder area.  Jim Leyland could not provided a timetable for his return.   Meanwhile Ryan Perry continues to stick in big league camp in part because of Zumaya's uncertainty.

Tigers and Mets today at Lakeland.....I've learned that there is one big difference between the Yankees and the Mets here in Spring Training:  there is plenty of room in the press box when the Mets are in town.... wall to wall scribes when the Yanks visit......

Talked to Zach Miner before the game today about his bid to make the rotation...he is concentrating on throwing strikes as the Tigers are trying to cut down on their staff walks...his strikes are getting hit though...Zach feels he is trying too hard at this point, but there is still plenty of time....tomorrow is a critical day in Tigers camp concerning the rotation...as mentioned before, Jeremy Bonderman throws to live batters tomorrow....30 pitches tops and as Jim Leyland outlined today, there is no room for error.  If he doesn not come out ot the session feeling good, it will be very unlikely that he would be ready when the Tigers break camp....one thing to keep in mind, if all goes well and Bondo feels good, he will be slated to make the start on Thursday the 19th against the Braves at Disney...that by the way will be our second telecast of the spring.   If all goes well, you'll be able to watch Bonderman make his first spring start on Fox Sports Detroit....

Brent Clevlen's name came up today with the skipper in light of his extended playing time. Like 2006, Brent is getting a long look because of the missing Tigers in the WBC.....Leyland:  "I think he has made a concious effort to make adjustments at the plate to shorten his swing.  I've always been one of his biggest boosters."

Speaking of outfielders, Clete Thomas is scheduled to begin throwing (off season Tommy John surgery) around the same time the WBC ends.  It brings about an interesting situation in that Maglio, Granderson and Guillen will be getting most of the at bats when they return, yet at the same time the Tigers have to make a determination as to whether Clete will make the team.  The answer:  Thomas will probably see a lot of game action in minor league camp.