This AP article on the Tigers shows how in flux this Tigers team is. Seems that only two pitchers are guaranteed jobs, and the middle infield may be up for grabs. Looks like the new manager certainly has his work cut out for him.

In looking at the Tigers from last year, the one thing that really stands out is the number of HR given up by the pitchers. They allowed only 61 at home, but 102 on the road. Meanwhile, the offense was evenly split (61 home, 63 road). The Tigers, in putting this team together have to realize that no matter what they do they aren't going to score much at home, and build the team for the road. They were 22-59 on the road last year, a .373 winning percentage. The Tigers have to build a team that can homer on the road offensively, and at the same time keep the ball in the park. If they take the tack that their ballpark stifles offense, and build a small ball team like the Astros used to, they'll never win. They have to be willing to play long ball to win on the road, and hope that the pitching staff is good enough at home that 3 or 4 runs will win games for them.

I've often thought that extreme pitcher parks (like the Astros in the Dome) needed home/road platoons. They'd have sluggers for the road games, and speedy bunters for the home games. Maybe someday some clever manager will try it out.