• The Tigers lead off MLB Network’s Spring Training series “30 Clubs in 30 Days” on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET. Based on photos from someone’s Twitter stream today (can’t remember whose) it looks like the show will be hosted by the unfortunate Hazel Mae.

• I might be the last to find this, but Lynn Henning of the Detroit News and John Keating of Fox Sports Detroit have put together some interesting two-minute video updates from Lakeland. You can find them here.

• Individual game tickets, including Opening Day, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. According to the Tigers, you can purchase tickets at the Comerica Park Box Office on Witherell Street, online at tigers.com, at outlets inside select Meijer stores in Michigan, and by calling 1-866-66-TIGER (84437). Good luck.

I won’t be buying any tickets that day but I will be going to see the Giants and Diamondbacks play in Cactus League action. In case you were wondering, of course.

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• March 15: 1 p.m. – Toronto Blue Jays @ Detroit Tigers
• March 16: 10 p.m. (tape) – Detroit Tigers @ Philadelphia Phillies
• March 18: 1 p.m. – Houston Astros @ Detroit Tigers
• March 20: 1 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies @ Detroit Tigers

The March 15 and 18 games will also be available on Fox Sports Detroit (MLB Network is likely picking up that feed). FSD will air two other games, March 21 versus the Yankees in Tampa and March 25 against the Blue Jays in Lakeland.

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[Tigers owner Mike Ilitch] whipped out his checkbook and, just like that, Damon became the Tigers’ left fielder for 2010.

Luckily for Dombrowski. And for manager Jim Leyland. Both are consummate pros with solid track records, but without Damon they were headed pell-mell for disaster.

Were the Tigers headed for disaster without Damon? No way; they’d have made some other move to steady the offense, but probably not as nifty a move as Damon.

On the other hand, this wire report appearing in the Miami Herald says “not so fast” in anointing Damon as the Tigers’ 2010 elixir:

As far as the Tigers go, I am not quite sure how he makes them better. People are sadly mistaken if they think he will come anywhere near the 24 home runs he hit last season.

The only real advantage I see is that he is an instant upgrade at the top of the lineup, where the Tigers were going into the season with rookies Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore at the top of the order.

But let’s face it, he is not Torii Hunter in the outfield. He may be an upgrade defensively over Carlos Guillen, but that is really not a compliment.

Not to mention, he is 36 years old

Of course, if Ryan Raburn could hit like Damon, this wouldn’t be an issue. But he can’t. So here we are.

And closer to home, Lynn Henning tells us there’s much to look forward to this season — due to and not in spite of the rookies and newcomers.

During decades of covering spring training, rarely, if ever, has one player so energized a ballclub already at camp as Johnny Damon’s signing this week lifted the Tigers.

- snip -

Damon has changed that outlook sufficiently to make the Tigers a better bet to at least break even in 2010. They have the pitching to be a solid club, and now they’re closer to having just enough offense to surprise some of the fans (and media) who aren’t expecting much in 2010.

I agree with one point in particular that Henning makes in this column: the vast majority of Tigers fans hasn’t seen Jackson, Sizemore, Max Scherzer or Daniel Schlereth perform. Ever.

So why all the angst?

Fans in Detroit have groaned for the better part of a decade about the Twins’ uncanny ability to develop their own talent and, you know, win. The Tigers embark on a similar, though smaller-scale, path and it’s doomsday.

I’m not buying it.

P.S. Happy 51st Birthday, Bryan Kelly.

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… [He] played all last season with a bone spur in his right elbow, about the size of a piece of pea gravel.

– snip –

Renteria hit a career-low .250 with 19 doubles, five home runs and 48 RBIs in 124 games before the Giants turned to hot-hitting Juan Uribe as they fought for a playoff berth down the stretch. It was the fewest homers for Renteria since 1998 and resulted in a season that he called simply “embarrassing.”

… don’t you wonder how he would characterize his 2008 season with the Tigers?

In case he comes up short, here are a few suggestions: slothful, unprofessional, disrespectful, arrogant, dreadful.

Any I missed?

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Wearing number 27, he hit a wispy .211 in his only season in Detroit with 14 home runs and 23 doubles — just one fewer than Magglio Ordonez hit last year.

He wasn’t a total loss for the Tigers though. He came to Detroit along with Aurelio Lopez and was traded (with Phil Mankowski) to the Mets for one my all-time favorites, Richie Hebner.

Most of his success came with the Cubs. In seven seasons he batted .275 with 59 homers … for some really bad teams.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Julio!

• Phil Coke #40
• Max Scherzer #37
• Jose Valverde #46
• Scott Sizemore #20
• Austin Jackson #14

For whatever reason, Daniel Schlereth hasn’t been tagged yet. But we’ll be sure to break into regular programming when it’s announced. I’m guessing it’s #36.

Update 11:19 a.m. ET: I was wrong; Schlereth will wear #55.

• Did you see that Hall of Famer and Detroit Stars centerfielder Norman “Turkey” Stearnes will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on Friday? The article in the Nashville Tennessean begins with this anecdote:
  

  Norman “Turkey” Stearnes could work for Walter Briggs. He just couldn’t play for him.

  During the offseasons between leading the Negro League in home runsseven times, the Nashville native worked in a Detroit car factory owned by Briggs, who also owned the major league Detroit Tigers.could work for Walter Briggs. He just couldn’t play for him.

  Stearnes hit .400+ three times and posted a .350 career batting average with the Stars, the Nashville Elite Giants, the Montgomery Grey Sox, and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues.

• I’ve had it with the Johnny Damon saga. Here’s hoping that Dave Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch gave up dealing with Scott Boras for Lent. Assuming they’re Catholic, of course.

• I tweeted about this but it’s worth repeating (at least I think it is): On this date in 1995 Sparky Anderson lit the flame that burned his bridge to Mike Ilitch when he refused to manage replacement players. He was put on an involuntary leave of absence but probably would’ve been fired if someone hadn’t talked Ilitch down from the ledge. Quick quiz: Who managed the faux Tigers in Sparky’s absence? Answer: Tom Runnells.

Whew! I made it.

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• If you, like me, are inexplicably fascinated by the uniform numbers worn by Tigers players, you’re going to be disappointed that the Tigers haven’t yet assigned numbers to the new guys.
• Arm troubles limited Doug Brocail’s career trajectory but not his longevity — he pitched for four clubs, including Detroit, for 15 season. (In four seasons with the Tigers he notched a 17-14 record with a 3.06 ERA; he also started four games in 1997.)

  The flame-throwing setup guy is retiring after countless surgeries and a serious heart issues. ESPN’s Buster Olney caught up with him to discuss his career highs and lows, and to my delight a lot of his best memories come from his years in Detroit. Here are a few snippets:

  “When I think about it … the best pitch of my career — the most important pitch — was getting a double-play ball in the last game that was played in Tiger Stadium. I think Joe Randa was the hitter. I loved that place.”

  His favorite park was The Corner:
  

  “I was in awe of that place. The first time I ever walked in there, it was winter, and I got to the stadium. I didn’t know how to get anywhere, and you stood there, and it was like there was this weird presence.”

  And you don’t often hear players mention Buddy Bell as a sage, but he was for Brocail:
  

  “He told me, ‘Look, dork, you’re spending way too much energy out there as a starter. You’re going to the bullpen.’ It was the best thing that could have happened to me.”

  His favorite teammate of all-time? Willie Blair.

• Happy 55th Birthday to Chet Lemon. You can read the bio of Lemon that I wrote for an upcoming book on the 1984 Tigers. In doing the research on the piece I spoke with former White Sox GM (and current Diamondbacks exec) Roland Hemond; he’s the man who acquired Lemon from the A’s and later traded him to the Tigers. Anyway, I asked him what he thought of Chet’s predilection for diving headlong into first base. “Oh, God, we hated that,” he said.

  You weren’t alone.

• Today is also the birthday of Gary Knotts (33) and the late Pat Dobson.
• Personally, I’d love to see Ken Williams and Ozzie Guillen get stuck with Johnny Damon and then try to figure out where to play him.
• Speaking of Damon, if things pan out as they seem to be headed, and Damon dons number 18 for the Tigers, it would come a surprise to respondents of the Fungo Pulse Check. Here are the results of our recent poll question, Who is the Tigers Opening Day centerfielder?:
  • Austin Jackson: 53 percent (49 votes)

  • Clete Thomas: 22 percent (20)
  • Damon: 19 percent (18)
  • Wilkin Ramirez: 6 percent (6)

  Then again, maybe they see Damon in left field. Be sure to weigh in on our latest poll, available in the sidebar –>

Enjoy the Winter Olympics and have a great weekend.