Remember, folks, those halcyon days of early April when Harold Reynolds said we'd look up in August and find that Phil Coke had 20 or 30 saves for the Detroit Tigers?
Tigers shift to Plan C for ninth innings
USA TODAY Sports
Well, now it’s slightly less early April and ... well, maybe not so much:
On the day that Jose Valverde began working out for the Tigers at their Spring Training complex, manager Jim Leyland reiterated his stance on his bullpen.
"On a lot of the days, if it's doable, I think Benoit is the most experienced and versatile enough against righties and lefties to pitch the ninth," Leyland said. "But it's not going to be doable every day. You're liable to see anybody at any time ... until something else happens, if it does happen."
Benoit’s a decent enough pitcher, but he’s home-run prone and that gets annoying after a while. Prediction: Phil Coke won’t have 20 or 30 saves, nor will Benoit or anybody else on the club. Maybe Bruce Rondon comes up and wins the job or maybe there’s a trade in July. But I suspect the closer in September is somebody who’s not on the roster today.
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