Elbows and Ankles, Old Tigers, Oh My!

Placido Polanco - elbow.

Indeed, checking in on our old Tiger players we see elbow issues, and an ankle issue.  Nate Robertson will be missing his shot to get a roster spot in the Seattle Mariners starting rotation as he recovers from elbow surgery to have "three loose bodies" removed from his elbow.  Not as serious is Placido Polanco's elbow injury causing him to miss several Spring Training games with the Philadelphia Phillies.  The normal sure-handed "Polly" has made some uncharacteristic errors this Spring with the Phillies and hyperextended his elbow on March 15th, but expects to start with the team on opening day.  Dontrelle Willis on the other hand missed several games in his bid to be on the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff after spraining his ankle stepping on a bat while backing up a play at the plate on March 12th.  Dontrelle has pitched well in his return to pitching this week.  See the "Where Are They Now (2011)" page for the current numbers on the old Tigers and the "WATN Player Trends" page to see what direction they are headed this Spring.

In other news, as predicted last week former power-hitting lefty 1st baseman Jeff Larish was cut from the Phillies Spring Training camp following former Tiger Eddie Bonine in being released to the Phillies Minor League camp.

Gerald Laird hitting .364

Hitters who are still in Major League Spring camps include a pair of former Tiger center fielders and a pair of old Tiger infielders who are making statements.  The first pair are no surprise to Tiger fans, Curtis Granderson is hitting .361 this Spring with the Yankees, and former Tiger Cameron Maybin is lighting the Padres Spring camp up hitting a whopping .394 so far.  The second pair ARE a surprise to those of us who saw them hit with the Tigers last year.  Spring has done something to the bats of former Tigers Adam Everett and Gerald Laird.  Everett is hitting .355 in Cleveland's Spring camp and Laird is hitting .364 in the St.Louis camp.  Can it last for these former Tiger hitters?  Watch the "WATN Player Trends" page to see what happens in the last 10 days of Spring Training.

Opening day for the Tigers is on the road March 31st against Curtis Granderson and the Yankees, only 2 days after the Tigers play their last Spring Training game against those very same Yankees.  It should make for an interesting week to start the season.  Stay tuned, and..


GO TIGERS!   ---Rob






Photo Credits:
Placido Polanco by Mark Cunningham - MLB Photos via Getty Images
Gerald Laird by Marc Serota - Getty Images