Tiger Town

It's some time between the ungodly hours of seven and eight am when Brandon Inge comes stumbling into the clubhouse looking half-dead. "Ingy's not exactly a morning person," says teammate Jeremy Bonderman. "But he looks especially rough today." A chorus of laughter erupts from the rest of the pitching staff seated near Bonderman, but they aren't reacting to him. Jim Leyland has been tearing back and forth through the players for the past few minutes repeating: "Port Saint Lucie still available!" and they're giggling at their skip. The Tigers are scheduled to play the Reds tomorrow in Port Saint Lucie and the drive is long enough to make everyone want to use their one allotted day off to skip the trip. "Everyone is hiding right now," observed one anonymous Tiger hurler. "It's pretty funny."

The outside wall of the clubhouse doubles as Rotation Row. Mike Maroth, Justin Verlander, Bonderman, Nate Robertson, and Kenny Rogers sit in a line and brag about their video game and golfing exploits. The staff likes to go arcades together during the season to race Indy cars and shoot things in the wilderness. "Bondo plays Safari Hunter but Nate's the best at hunting games," says Verlander. "I'm pretty good at--"

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," interrupts Bonderman.

"Do they even have that game?" asks Verlander.

"I don't know," says Bonderman. "But if they did, you'd be good at it."

During Spring Training in Lakeland, Florida, the rotation goes golfing at either Eaglebrook or Bridgewater. Rogers is the best of the group, playing with a handicap of 2. He's also the ace poker player. "Being as old as he is, he better be the best at everything because he has the most practice," says Verlander, who then adds: "Can you at least mention I said that with a wry grin so I don't get in trouble?"

Curtis Granderson stands in the corner with a bat in his hands, talking about how knowledgeable Tiger fans are. "Old, young, male, female--they know everything," he says. "Most of them tell me I remind them of Chet Lemon. I don't know much about Chet, so I probably need to go and watch some tape."

Across the way, Gary Sheffield and Sean Casey greet each other loudly, hug, and then begin comparing the batting stances needed to collect inside-out hits. Sheffield looks strangely and insanely happy to be here, and why not? Tiger Town is home to one of the most cohesive, friendly clubhouses I've ever been inside. Maybe it's because the team is fresh off a World Series appearance, or maybe it's early enough in the season where they're not yet sick of each other. "It's good to be here," said Verlander. "We've missed each other."

-by Molly Knight