The 2008 Detroit Tigers finished dead last in a division they were supposed to fight with the Indians over (that didn't happen either). Their 74-88 record had to do with one thing, pitching. Nearly every Tiger was appalling when they toed the rubber last year except for righty Armando Gallaraga, who went from a player put on waivers by the Rangers at the start of the season to a 13 game winner with a 3.73 ERA. But what about the 2009 Tigers? David Buona breaks them down for us. 2008 Recap:

The Tigers finished dead last in a division they were supposed to fight with the Indians over (that didn't happen either). Their 74-88 record had to do with one thing, pitching. Nearly every Tiger was appalling when they toed the rubber last year except for righty Armando Gallaraga, who went from a player put on waivers by the Rangers at the start of the season to a 13 game winner with a 3.73 ERA.

2009 Outlook:

The lineup should improve with acquired Ranger catcher Gerald Liard providing a bit more pop, and the defense will be improved with slick fielding Adam Everett manning the shortstop position, but if pitchers Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson don't improve, it'll be all for naught.

Hello: SS Adam Everett, RHP Edwin Jackson, C Gerald Laird, RHP Brandon Lyon

Goodbye: RHP Freddy Garcia, RHP Todd Jones, OF Matt Joyce, SS Edgar Renteria, LHP Kenny Rogers

If the Tigers Were an 80's Movie They'd Be:

Howard the Duck. Big budget... check. Howard cost $37 million, a lot for a flick in '86, while the Tigers are looking at $134 million this season. Explosive special effects... check. Howard was produced by Lucas Films and Duckworld and the Dark Overlord were especially awesome, while the Tigers had offensive fireworks all year, scoring the fifth most runs in the majors. A "p" word that ruins the entire thing... check. In Howard's case it was plot, although I did like it when the Dark Overlord used the semi's cigarette lighter to power-up. In Detroit's case it'll be pitching, which is downright awful. Case in point: their bullpen was equally as atrocious as their starting pitching last year, so they solidified it by signing closer Brandon Lyon, who sported an underwhelming 4.70 ERA himself last season.

The 2009 Projected Lineup:

CF       Curtis Granderson
2B       Placido Polanco
RF       Magglio Ordonez
1B       Miguel Cabrera
LF       Carlos Guillen
DH      Gary Sheffield
C         Gerald Liard
3B       Brandon Inge
SS        Adam Everett

The Tigers had the 6^th best batting average last season with .271, and it would be no shock to see that number improve this year.  First baseman Miguel Cabrera took to the AL nicely when it came to bombs (37), but his .292 average was 17 points off his career mark. Another hitter due to rebound is left fielder Carlos Guillen, who is now three years removed from back to back .320 seasons, but a move to a less demanding outfield spot may be just what the doctor ordered to bring his numbers back up.

Centerfielder Curtis Granderson was the biggest disappointment though in '08, seeing a drop from '07 in every important offensive category. His averaged dipped 22 points to .280, his runs dropped 10 runs to 112, his RBIs feel from 74 to 66, and his steal from 26 to 12. If he doesn't improve upon his numbers this year, it may prove that 2007 was just a fluke.

Undervalued right fielder Magglio Ordonez has become the model of consistency for his career, driving over 100 runs for the third straight year while batting over .300 again while improving upon his career .312 average.

Newcomers Gerald Liard and Adam Everett will greatly improve the team's defense, and while Laird can hit (.276 last year), Everett is the prototypical old-school shortstop, all glove, no bat. Last year he hit .213 and for his career is only a .246 hitter.  

While second baseman Placido Polanco has turned himself into a pretty tough out (he averages a K every 14.6 at bats) and solid hitter (.341 and .307 the last two years), DH Gary Sheffield is looking his age. The whiny one hit only .225 last year, and its been four years since he last drove in 100.  

The 2009 Projected Rotation and Closer:

RHP    Justin Verlander
RHP    Armando Gallaraga
RHP    Jeremy Bonderman
RHP    Edwin Jackson
LHP    Dontrelle Willis / Nate Robertson

RHP    Brandon Lyon

The Tigers had the 4^th worst pitching in baseball last season, giving up 4.90 earned runs a game. The personification of bad pitching, the Tigers ace Justin Verlander lost 17 games, most in the American League, after losing a combined 15 in '06 and '07.

Even worse than Verlander was Dontrelle Willis, who spent the vast majority of '08 trying to figure himself out pitching in Toledo. The funky delivering lefty was abysmal last year, finishing with a 9.68 ERA with 35 walks in only 24 innings.

Bonderman and the newly acquired Edwin Jackson may be the key to the staff's success. Last year Bonderman only pitched in 12 games because of blood clotting issues in his right shoulder. When he's healthy he's great, but he hasn't been healthy since 2006 when he won 14 games. Jackson pitched well for the World Series chumps Rays, making 31 starts for the second straight year and winning 14 of them. It's been a long time since he was the "can't miss" Dodgers prospect from '03, but he's still only 25 years old and may prove all of his detractors wrong once and for all.

The bullpen of Tigers is just plain bad and full of underachieving arms. Joel Zumaya hasn't been right since his Guitar Hero injury, throwing only 24 innings despite his electric stuff (18 pitches over 100 MPH last year). He still strikes out people in gobs (22), but he walks just as many (22). Closer Brandon Lyon was pretty bad last year for Arizona, but his main competition for 9^th inning duties this year is flamethrower Fernando Rodney, who saved 13 games for Jim Leyland last year but also had a 4.91 ERA. His K numbers are nice though, making 49 hitters walk back to bench shaking their head in 40 innings.

So Magic Eight Ball, do the power-prone but piss poor pitching Tigers have a shot in '09? "Outlook not so good."