New rotation for 06?

[redsrbetter]

CHICAGO -- Roman Colon is the only change in the rotation for now. By next spring, it could be the first piece of a larger transition.
While manager Alan Trammell talked with reporters Sunday afternoon, the topic turned to evaluating his starting pitchers. It's not an easy question for this team, weighing an extremely effective first half from the rotation against its current late-season tailspin.

Nonetheless, it's something that'll need an answer during the Tigers' end-of-season meetings, now just weeks away.

Changes or no changes, decisions are necessary. Jason Johnson is a free agent at year's end. Mike Maroth and Jeremy Bonderman become eligible for arbitration this winter. While Roman Colon just broke into the rotation, youngsters Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya are knocking on the door.

And while Trammell won't make decisions now, he admits that their recent skid has had an effect.

"My thoughts were when we first came in [to this season] that we were going to give guys an opportunity to continue to develop," Trammell said, "and I think we've done that. It hasn't been good over a few weeks, but I think it gives us an indication of who do we think we can count on and who we don't think we can count down, and where we might have to make some changes."

How players perform down the stretch, Trammell believes, is just about an equation to how they perform in the clutch.

"If they can't make it in August and September, that's not good," Trammell said. "Ultimately, everybody's going to tell you we want to get into the playoffs. Well, if that's the case, then you'd better be up to the challenge in August and September, not just pitching, but with our offense being sporadic. It just tells you about where we're at. We're not there yet. Flat out, after watching us, we still have some things we have to get better at."

In other words, "running out of gas" is not an acceptable excuse. When Trammell used the term a couple nights ago in the form of a question, it was a sign of how tough this road trip has been, not that the team has given up. He doesn't believe the players are on empty for the rest of the season, but he believes they're definitely low on momentum.

"I think we're going to respond," Trammell said. "We need to win a game so we can get back to something positive. It's been a tough trip, but it's not a shock."

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NASApp...=.jsp&c_id=det

[RockSports17]

Change is always inevitable. With the young and upcoming pitchers in the Tigers minor league system I expect some changes. I feel Johnson should be resigned, he can still be a servicable SP who can eat up innings. I don't see Colon being a long term SP in the rotation, he's better suited for the bullpen.

I've been reading a lot about how Tigers may just go after a big name SP this offseason.