Rodriguez reassumes the helm behind the plate in '05 Following is the first in a series of weekly stories on MLB.com examining each Major League club, position-by-position. Each Wednesday until Spring Training c amps open, we'll preview a different position. Today: Catcher The Tigers had plenty of offensive positions from which they could upgrade with a big bat this offseason. Catcher wasn't one of them. A year ago at this time, Detroit's backstop situation was so severe that their young starting catcher had a .198 career batting average and several questions over how much longer that career would continue. His veteran backup had a caree r average of .240 Now, the Tigers not only have a 10-time All-Star behind the plate, a Gold Glove collector who's one of just three hitters in the last 25 years to bat .500 in a calendar month; they have a budding young hitter behind him if he should get hurt. In retrospect, Pudge Watch was all worth it. So was the hefty contract thrown a t Ivan Rodriguez. By now, the praise has easily summed up all that Rodriguez brought to the Tiger s in 2004. On the field, he became the first Tiger to start an All-Star Game si nce Cecil Fielder in 1991. His .500 average in June made him the first Major Le aguer to hit break-even in a calendar month since Todd Helton in May 2000. He g ave Detroit its most dangerous No. 3 hitter since Bobby Higginson's prime, and provided the clubhouse with much-needed leadership. Off the field, he became the front man for the organization. "He's the face of the Tigers," manager Alan Trammell summarized. That pretty much sums up what he accomplished this past season. The question no w is how he can follow up those kind of numbers. His age is the major factor to raise any doubt. He turned 33 years old in November, an age which served as a separation for other greats at the position. Johnny Bench, whose standard for A ll-Star starts and Gold Gloves Rodriguez broke this past season, had to give up catching as his primary position once he turned 33. Roy Campanella, by contras t, enjoyed his third and final MVP season at age 33. However, Rodriguez has plenty of other factors working in his favor. His rigoro us workout regimen has become a model for some in the game, and he adheres to i t almost religiously in and out of season. He went the last two seasons without a major injury, and the minor nicks and aches that sidelined him for a day or two at a time in '04 weren't symptomatic of the potential lower back problem th e Tigers cautioned against when they signed him. Trammell said near the end of the 2004 season that he plans to rest Rodriguez m ore often in '05 to ward off any late-season breakdowns. The way his team's ros ter breaks down at this point, though, he'd have to rest his All-Star catcher w ith his everyday third baseman. Brandon Inge was the catcher of the present and future until Pudge came to town , and he'd undoubtedly catch again if Rodriguez was sidelined with a longer-ter m injury. But losing his job behind the plate opened a new opportunity for Inge , allowing him to find out something unexpected both to him and the club: For a catcher, Inge can play a lot of positions really well -- not just every infiel d position besides shortstop, but also center and left field. For now, his list of positions starts with third base. It's where he unseated E ric Munson last summer, and it's where the Tigers want to start him regularly a nd he wants to play regularly in 2005. He entered into the position switch relu ctantly but ended up liking third base as much or more than catcher. Without th e physical and mental fatigue of squatting behind the plate every day, Inge was finally freed up energy-wise to show off the underrated right-handed bat that impressed instructors years ago in the low minors. When he did catch to give Pu dge days off, he was just as strong defensively. Between Rodriguez and Inge, the Tigers have both an All-Star and a stellar defe nsive policy behind the plate for potentially the next three years. However, th ey'd still like to add a veteran backup, both to keep Inge from shuttling too m uch and to serve as further injury insurance. It's a somewhat ironic twist, con sidering the Rodriguez-Inge duo was solid enough that both Bobby Estalella and Mike DiFelice were cut loose at different points last year to give them a chanc e at finding regular work. With Munson non-tendered, Chris Shelton is the closest the Tigers have to an em ergency catcher. However, catching is more like a secondary position for him th an a regular job, and he'll spend most of his season at Triple-A Toledo shaking off the developmental rust from his 2004 season on the Tigers bench as a Rule 5 Draft pick. -- ★opengoodbook 你什麽时候设我为好友啦?!XD To opengoodbook: 第一次丢你水球之後阿XD ★opengoodbook 我会害羞(跑) To opengoodbook: :P ★opengoodbook 这麽主动...... --

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