"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."

Photo: Getty Images

Believe it or not, it's almost time for baseball season. But before we gorge ourselves with hot dogs, peanuts and those yard-long slushie drinks, Dave Dombrowski, Jim Leyland and the Detroit Tigers' staff have decisions to make. Who will be the team's fifth starter? What about the second left-hander in the bullpen? And who's going to be the infielder off the bench?

Here are the locks to make the team:

Yes, Matt Tuiasosopo is going to make the opening day roster. The organization signed him as a minor league free agent in December, and extended him an invitation to spring training. All he's done is hit .327, with a .411 OBP and .694 slugging percentage through March 25. He has hit four home runs and 10 RBI in 25 spring appearances. After the Tigers sent back Jeff Kobernus to the Washington Nationals (because he was a Rule 5 draft pick, he must either make the 25-man roster, be sent back to the original team, or the two teams must agree to a trade), they gave that right-handed hitting outfield spot to Tuiasosopo.

That leaves four spots up in the air, probably three pitchers and one hitter. 

The final man on the bench is between Danny Worth and Ramon Santiago. Both have been good this spring, with Worth hitting .316 and Santiago at .294. I think that the Tigers simply like Ramon Santiago more, hence his two stints with the team. Santiago is also due to make more money ($2.1 million) than Worth (about $500,000). Santiago is also a more comfortable fit at shortstop, a position where the Tigers do not have a ton of confidence in the starter.

Fighting for those final bullpen spots are Darin Downs, Brayan Villarreal, Al Alburquerque and Drew Smyly. Reports today out of Lakeland say that Drew Smyly will start in the bullpen, where he finished last season. That gives the team two lefties, with Smyly primarily occupying the long relief role.

Darin Downs has been one of the team's best pitchers this spring, posting a 0.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. Since Smyly will likely be the emergency starter and "pitcher-who-comes-in-the-5th-inning-after-Rick-Porcello-gets-shelled", might they take Downs north to be that second left-hander?

The final spot is then between Villarreal and Alburquerque. Villarreal hasn't allowed a run in his last five games this spring. Meanwhile, Alburquerque gave up six runs in two innings againts Washington and Houston last week, and skipper Jim Leyland said his command isn't where it should be. For a guy who only pitched in eight games last season, is coming off an injury and is having command issues in the spring, it doesn't look like Alburquerque will start the season in Detroit.

Final verdict: Santiago beats out Worth for the infield job. Downs, Smyly and Villarreal join the bullpen.

From The Big Lead:

"Chris Webber is still the best. TNT diminishing Webber’s role in the studio in favor of Shaq might have been the worst idea since Greedo shooting first. Here, C-Webb breaks down some footage from Tuesday’s Pacers – Magic game on NBA TV that shows a young couple sharing ice cream."

From The Big Lead:

"Fernando Rodney pulled out a banana plantain during the Dominican Republic’s introduction before Monday’s World Baseball Classic game against the Netherlands. According to Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan, it is Rodney’s “lucky plantain.” And it speaks to him:

It had a message for him, too, because what good is a piece of produce if it doesn’t talk to you? 'If you keep me close to you,' the plantain said, according to Rodney, who did not indicate whether it spoke Spanish or English or maybe Fruitish, 'you’re going to get the win.'"

Seeing what Bruce Rondon has done this spring, do you secretly wish you had Fernando Rodney back to close games for the Detroit Tigers? Remember he had 48 saves with an ERA of 0.60 last year with the Tampa Bay Rays.

"North Platte Community College’s girls basketball team, the Lady Knights, celebrated winning their district championship by attempting to douse their coach in Gatorade. Unfortunately, the girls could only manage to soak coach Richard Thurin from the waist down."

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