Gathright's Pena's stolen base in the third was not only the first steal off of Rogers since 2006, but the first stolen base attempt against him in two years. Coco Crisp stole second off of Rogers with Vance Wilson behind the plate on June 2, 2006. Jason Phillips and Gregg Zaun were the last to try to steal on Rogers on Sept. 28 of that season, both trying for third on two separate double-steal plays.

It's very odd for players to meet prior to a day game after a night game (at least around the Tigers clubhouse, it is), but apparently it was a spur of the moment decision on the players' part to bring everybody together as soon as the players on the later bus arrived at the park. There weren't many details afterwards, but one player said the focus was to get guys to relax a little and do what they're capable of instead of trying to be a superhero out there. It did not appear to be a tense meeting by any stretch, because the players were very loose and in a pretty good mood when the clubhouse opened up afterwards. But these guys have done a pretty good job of not carrying the previous day's frustrations into the next day.

A couple lineup switches for the day game after the night game, but Leyland said those were more about getting Ramon Santiago and Brandon Inge a day in the lineup than giving Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria a day off. After all, they had back-to-back days off Sunday and Monday.

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, DH
7. Joyce, LF
8. Inge, C
9. Santiago, SS

The Royals give Alex Gordon, David DeJesus, Mark Grudzielanek and John Buck the day off, but Jose Guillen is still in there. Keep an eye on Alberto Callaspo, who made his name as a very exciting player on Miguel Cabrera's winter ball team and in the Caribbean Series:

1. Joey Gathright, CF
2. Esteban German,3B
3. Billy Butler, 1B
4. Jose Guillen, DH
5. Miguel Olivo, C
6. Mark Teahen, RF
7. Alberto Callaspo, 2B
8. Ross Gload, LF
9. T.J. Pena, SS

As a footnote, Jacque Jones passed through waivers and was released this afternoon. He's now a free agent who can sign with any team he chooses who wants him, including the Florida Marlins.

Gary Sheffield's outfield work isn't over, but it's going to be drastically cut back. Manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday he's worried about Sheff's shoulder, as well as his throwing arm, and he doesn't think playing him in the field a lot is going to help.

"The one thing I do know," Leyland said, "is that with the physical conditions and trying to get the bat going, the longer I think about it, it doesn't make sense [to play him in the field all the time]. ... He DH'ed fine last year when he was healthy."

Matt Joyce, Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn will be mixed into the outfield now, but Leyland said he'll play Sheffield out there once this weekend at Arizona.

Joyce is starting in left tonight. Here's the rest of the lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Joyce, LF
7. Thames, DH
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

For the Royals:

1. David DeJesus, LF
2. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
3. Alex Gordon, 3B
4. Jose Guillen, DH
5. Billy Butler, 1B
6. Mark Teahen, RF
7. John Buck, C
8. T.J. Pena, SS
9. Joey Gathright, CF

Didn't really have time to get into the debate on here after the game, but I spent a good portion of the game story last night getting into the question of whether Edgar Renteria should've tried for the out at second on that Mark Teahen ground ball or eaten it and let Francisco Cruceta take his chances with John Buck at the plate and the bases loaded.

Everyone who was asked about it (including Ross Gload, who was running to second on the play) last night seemed to say that you take a chance to try for the out, but of course, that's in hindsight. On the other hand, Renteria and Jim Leyland point out, nobody's asking about it if Renteria gets the ball there for the out -- or even if he gets the ball close enough that Polanco can stop it without Esteban German scoring.

The question already seems to be floating in the comments from the last post, so I figured I'd break it out and give it a headline.

Checking in from Kauffman Stadium, where the ballpark improvements are already started to get noticed, none moreso than the huge -- I mean, massively huge -- new video board in center field. It doesn't have the crown on it like the old one did, but given how big it is, maybe they couldn't build a crown large enough to put on top of it. Hopefully the sight of it on the broadcast does it justice, because looking out at it beyond center field from the press box behind home plate, I get that feeling like I'm sitting too close to the TV at home.

With Sheff in left and Magglio in right, the task of DH falls again upon young Matt Joyce, who will bat seventh.

Here's the lineup the Tigers throw out against Zack Greinke:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Joyce, DH
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

And for the Royals, who will throw four left-handed hitters into the lineup against Nate Robertson:

1. David DeJesus, CF
2. Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
3. Alex Gordon, 3B
4. Jose Guillen, DH
5. Billy Butler, 1B
6. Mark Teahen, RF
7. John Buck, C
8. Tony Pena, SS
9. Joey Gathright, CF

I was traveling to Kansas City tonight and didn't have a chance to follow Willis' rehab start except to look at the boxscore. The numbers weren't good -- five runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings at Charlotte. Three of those runs and four hits came in the sixth, suggesting he might have run out of gas. He walked three, but one was intentional. He gave up a pair of solo homers in the second inning before Charlotte rallied with singles and doubles in the sixth. On the positive side, he was efficient, falling one out shy of six innings with 79 pitches thrown, though just 46 went for strikes.

How much does it mean? Dunno. He has at least one more start for the Hens coming, of course, so a solid outing Saturday will make this one moot.

According to Leyland, it came down to having off days the next two Mondays. Because of that, Justin Verlander was scheduled to start Wednesday at Kansas City with an extra day of rest, then would've had another extra day of rest before his next start. The decision was that it's best to keep Verlander on his normal routine.

"We need to get Verlander going," said Leyland, who added that Verlander feels fine.

This decision seemingly backs up the idea of Verlander's shoulder being fine. If he was hurting, or even a little more sore, it would be hard to imagine him turning down an extra day of rest for two turns.

Instead of Galarraga starting Tuesday's series opener at Kansas City, he won't pitch again until next Saturday at Arizona. Everyone else will move up a day to take advantage of the off-day. Thus, it'll be Verlander, Rogers and Bonderman at Kansas City, then Robertson, Galarraga and Verlander at Arizona.

He threw a successful bullpen session today and is now set to resume his rehab assignment for the Mud Hens with a start Tuesday at Columbus. He'll then rejoin the Tigers in Kansas City to work with pitching coach Chuck Hernandez before starting again for the Hens the following Sunday at Columbus. Where it goes from there isn't clear yet, but take notice that Willis is starting on the same days as Armando Galarraga and you can figure out where he might slot in.

As for the lineup today, it's all right-handers as expected against lefty Kei Igawa. Pudge returns to the leadoff spot, while Ryan Raburn bats ninth and plays center field. Here's the full lineup:

1. Rodriguez, C
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Renteria, SS
8. Thames, DH
9. Raburn, CF

For the Yankees:

1. Melky Cabrera, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Hideki Matsui, LF
5. Shelley Duncan, 1B
6. Jason Giambi, DH
7. Wilson Betemit, 3B
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Chad Moeller, C

He gets a much-needed rest tonight with Ramon Santiago starting in his place. It's something Jim Leyland says he might a little more often now to keep Renteria fresh. Gary Sheffield is off as scheduled, with Matt Joyce back in the field in left. Marcus Thames gets the first of what should be at least two straight games.

Here's the Tigers lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Joyce, LF
7. Thames, DH
8. Inge, C
9. Santiago, SS

For the Red Sox:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Coco Crisp, CF
9. Julio Lugo, SS

So why pinch-run for somebody who just legged out an infield hit? Leyland said after the game that he had discussed it with Gene Lamont earlier. The thinking was that Raburn is a little faster, but also more experienced. He was less likely to be tentative, Leyland said, and Lamont knows him better and could feel more confident sending him around.

As for why Renteria wasn't bunting to get the runner over to second, Leyland said he didn't want to play for the tie, not with Boston's offense and with limited options remaining in the Tigers bullpen. Todd Jones would not have come out for the 10th had the game gone to extras.

I know, on the surface, having Matt Joyce at DH while Gary Sheffield in left looks crazy. But Leyland wanted to give Sheffield three straight days in the field before a day off, and he wanted to put Magglio back in right. That left Joyce as the DH for tonight, assuming they play.

Right now, it looks like they'll wait it out. The radar looks like it should clear before too late in the evening. Since this is the only time the Red Sox are in town, and they travel to Minnesota after Thursday's game, they have plenty of motivation to try to get it in.

Here's the Tigers lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Joyce, DH
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

And for the Red Sox:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Jed Lowrie, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youklilis, 1B
7. J.D. Drew, RF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

That didn't take long. The Marlins and Padres have shown interest in ex-Tiger Jacque Jones, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It continues a long-running interest from the Marlins in Jones, whom they nearly traded for last summer. From the story:

Jones was designated for assignment on Monday. If the Marlins move in quickly on the outfielder, a deal could be worked out in the next day or two.

The Padres, according to a second source, also have inquired about Jones.

It's hard to envision anyone trading for Jones with his salary when they could wait a while and grab him as a free agent for the minimum, leaving the Tigers to pick up the rest.

He won't be doing it today, but Brandon Inge is going to be going behind the plate a little more, according to Jim Leyland. He'd suggested that before, but Inge went to Leyland late last week and told him that he was happy catching and was willing to embrace the spot.

"I think he'll fall more into the catching mode here shortly," Leyland said today, "and may start getting more playing time."

Is it a balancing act with an eye towards 2009?

For today, Inge is at third for lefty Nate Robertson, with Carlos Guillen getting a day at DH. Here's the full lineup the Tigers will send up against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, DH (he'll bat right-handed vs. Wakefield oops ... never mind)
   
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Renteria, SS
8. Rodriguez, C
9. Inge, 3B

For the Red Sox:

1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. J.D. Drew, RF
8. Kevin Cash, C
9. Julio Lugo, SS

1. Jacque Jones designated for assignment.
2. Matt Joyce called up from Toledo and is in RF.
3. Sheffield is batting sixth and playing in LF, the latter per his request.
4. Carlos Guillen will hit third.
5. Magglio is still batting cleanup, but is DHing again today and will probably do that part-time while splitting time in RF.

Got all that? OK, here's the lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Guillen, 3B
4. Ordonez, DH
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Sheffield, LF
7. Joyce, RF
8. Renteria, SS
9. Rodriguez, C

Whoever wrote on here that they noticed Dontrelle Willis favoring his knee in Toledo on Friday was onto something. Apparently Willis aggravated his right knee when he fielded a ball along the third-base line during his rehab start. He threw his bullpen session this morning, but he will not start for the Mud Hens on Wednesday. Instead, he'll throw a side session Friday or Saturday, and doctors and trainers will evaluate him from there.

As a formality, the Tigers have recalled Willis from his rehab assignment. That stops the clock on the 30 days he has to pitch in the Minors before he has to be activated from the DL.

UPDATE @ 5:30pm ET: Dontrelle says he did not tweak his knee. He said the Tigers are doing this as a precautionary measure to make sure he doesn't to anything to hurt his arm. He said he threw his full bullpen session Sunday morning, but that he felt the same soreness in the knee that he has been feeling.

Those lineup changes Jim Leyland was going to sleep on resulted in one significant change: With Gary Sheffield off, Leyland moved Miguel Cabrera up into the third spot in the order ahead of Magglio and Carlos Guillen. That's about it today, but other changes are coming, starting on Monday.

"I'm going to shake things up a little bit here shortly," Leyland said. "I don't know what I mean by that."

It probably won't involve different players; Leyland said there will be no personnel changes. However, the same players could be in different spots.

"I think you'll find it pretty drastic," Leyland predicted.

The problem right now is twofold. The Tigers aren't hitting the humdrum pitching they were expected to punish, and because they don't have a lot of speed, they can't do most of the tricks a manager would normally do to spark an offense, such as hit-and-run and having runners take an extra base. That was exposed on Friday.

Here's the lineup today:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Ordonez, DH
5. Guillen, 3B
6. Thames, RF
7. Renteria, SS
8. Rodriguez, C
9. Jones, LF

The Twins have a pretty standard lineup in place against Kenny Rogers, including Carlos Gomez back in the leadoff spot after being hit in the head Friday night. Mike Lamb gets a day off at third, with Matt Tolbert taking his place, and Nick Punto moonlights for Adam Everett at short:

1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Brendan Harris, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Craig Monroe, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Matt Tolbert, 3B
9. Nick Punto, SS
   

His start was done after three innings due to what the team is calling a mild re-aggravation of his right groin. The move was apparently precautionary.

The Tigers put Denny Bautista on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. An MRI exam turned up negative for any structural damage after he left Friday's game with shoulder soreness, and he should be ready in about a week. That's too long, though, for the Tigers to go a man short in the bullpen.

If he's ready in a week, the Tigers can send him out on a brief rehab stint, which could have the added benefit of letting him work on his command -- which Jim Leyland strongly hinted just isn't good enough right now after his 46-pitch performance for four outs last night.

"Either you have to be resilient, or that's not good enough," Leyland said.

Taking Bautista's place for now will be Freddy Dolsi, who was the recommendation of player development director Glenn Ezell and pitching instructor Jon Matlack. Dolsi threw three scoreless innings with a walk and strikeout for Double-A Erie after striking out 11 batters over 7 1/3 innings with five runs on seven hits for Class A Lakeland.

Greetings from Minneapolis, where there isn't a cloud in the sky and it's still pretty cold and windy.

Brandon Inge is behind the plate again today. The plan was to catch him one of these final two games on the trip, but with Pudge feeling some soreness in his left hip area, Saturday made sense. Marcus Thames, 3-for-8 with two homers for career against Scott Baker, is in left. Other than that, the lineup is the same, including Placido Polanco.

The lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Sheff, DH
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Guillen, 3B
7. Renteria, SS
8. Thames, LF
9. Inge, C
   

For the Twins, who are starting Craig Monroe in center with Carlos Gomez out:

1. Brendan Harris, 2B
2. Mike Lamb, 3B
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Jason Kubel, DH
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Craig Monroe, CF
9. Adam Everett, SS

He felt something in his shoulder on that final pitch. According to Leyland, he was to be evaluated shortly.

It's the everyday lineup for the Tigers in the series opener. Look for Gary Sheffield to play the first two games of the series before he gets Sunday off. Brandon Inge will catch again either Saturday or Sunday. There's a chance that Placido Polanco could play all three games this series, which is a very good testament to how good his back feels right now. It's having a direct correlation to how he's performing at the plate.

Anyway, the lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Sheffield, DH
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Guillen, 3B
7. Renteria, SS
8. Rodriguez, C
9. Jones, LF

Nate Robertson was running the Metrodome stairs about four hours before game time as part of his post-start routine. He said later he received about 15 text messages after his win last night, and all but two were about his slip and fall.

"He looked like a cow on ice," manager Jim Leyland said.

Leyland, meanwhile, was talking about concentration every at-bat, specifically with Miguel Cabrera. As good as Cabrera is now, Leyland wants to see what he can do if he bears down every at-bat for a week or so. He used Albert Pujols as an example of talent and steady concentration in the same package.

As voted on by the beat writers on the road for this trip, it's Magglio Ordonez and Armando Galarraga. Ordonez batted .301 with seven doubles, five homers and and 19 RBIs in 28 games. Galarraga, of course, has a 2-0 record and 1.50 ERA (18 IP/3 ER) through three starts. Aquilino Lopez had a case based on what he did for the Tigers in long relief earlier in the month; he basically won that game in Chicago the night Dontrelle Willis was injured. In the end, Galarraga's ability to step in cold and give the rotation a boost won out for me.

Agree? Disagree? Don't care?

On a side note, it's a dizzly, foggy, basically Seattle-like day here in downtown Minneapolis. The forecast calls for 20-30 mph winds and 1-2 inches of rain a mix of rain and possibly snow tonight. It's the type of day where you're glad they have a dome here, but you're reminded that they won't in a couple years. That could/will be a situation that emerges when the Twins move into the new ballpark. If you believe that the Tigers got off to a rough start in part because of the cold weather, how will the Twins handle it when they play the first week of a season at home? Not a criticism, just a question. That could make it good for pitchers and bad for hitters. It's a city where you can have unseasonably warm weather in April and May, thank goodness, but it can also turn like that.

It was the first real-intensity mound session for Zumaya since his shoulder surgery last fall, and it was the first mound session for Rodney since getting good news from Dr. Andrews a few weeks ago. Both threw for about six minutes, with Zumaya limited to fastballs and changeups, and both felt good during and afterwards. Rodney, particularly, felt very good.

"He felt this was his best bullpen [session] to date," head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said. "He felt his delivery was closer to his normal delivery."

As long as they feel fine in the coming days, both will throw again off the mound this weekend -- Zumaya on Saturday, Rodney on Saturday or Sunday depending on how he feels. If Rodney continues to progress, he could be on a relatively fast track to getting back to game action.

As for the lineup tonight, both Pudge and Renteria have the night off. Jim Leyland said he'll probably also give Pudge one game off in Minnesota, allowing him to work in another game for Inge to keep him fresh while easing the wear and tear on Pudge.

The Tigers lineup:

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Sheffield, DH
4. Ordonez, RF
5. Cabrera, 1B
6. Guillen, 3B
7. Jones, LF
8. Inge, C
9. Santiago, SS

For the injury-depleted Yanks, who shuffled their order a little to break up the string of left-handed hitters that Leyland was bringing in Seay and Rapada to face:

1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Shelley Duncan, 1B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Melky Cabrera, CF
7. Morgan Ensberg, 3B
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Chad Moeller, C