I had a chance to meet Sam Walker, the author of “Fantasyland”, this evening. Nice guy, and he gave a great presentation on his book at the Borders in Ann Arbor. If you haven’t picked up “Fantasyland” yet, I highly recommend you do so. Especially if you’re a fantasy baseball fan. You can read my review of the book at the Hardball Times.
The fifth starter spot for the Tigers is still wide open. Justin Verlander, who was probably the favorite heading into the spring, hasn’t exactly lit it up. And now after a solid outing by Jason Grilli, I see his name’s being mentioned as the potential fifth starter. Grilli threw four shutout innings on Monday and Jim Leyland has thrown his name into the hat. Grilli had limited time on the mound for the Tigers last year and made three appearances in September. In his best start, he went seven innings and gave up only one run on two hits. Grilli’s a Royal Oak native and he’ll be 30 in November.
Sure, give Grilli the job after a couple of good outings! 30 year old pitchers who have never been good are always suddenly turning a corner…
--Posted by Dan on March 15th, 2006 at 12:08 pm