But a funny thing happened on the sprint to the finish -- the Tigers tripped at the starting line, losing their first seven games and falling out of contention before the snow was gone in the Upper Peninsula.

Pitching and defense drew a lot of the blame for that, and the general staff weakness cost Chuck Hernandez his job as pitching coach.

Leyland selected Rick Knapp, the minor league coordinator with Minnesota who was credited with developing the strike-throwers the Twins seem to come up with every year, to be his new pitching coach.

When the economy went into the dumpster, the decision was made to hold the line on payroll and avoid bidding for free agents who in most cases weren't a match anyway.

Three seasons of watching so-so defense prompted the decision to revamp the lineup on the field.

Brandon Inge's highlight-video glove was returned to third base, Gerald Laird was pried from Texas to catch, free agent Adam Everett and his superior defensive play was brought in to play shortstop and Carlos Guillen's aching back was shifted to left field.

On paper, the moves seem to improve the Tigers' defense, but there are questions with each of those moves.

Guillen, an outfielder as a teenager, might require frequent rest for his back and knees, Laird has caught more than 100 games only once in his career, Everett was limited to 66 and 48 games the last two years because of injuries and Inge's bat has a propensity to resemble a straw way too often.

Detroit might have a problem at the bottom of the order because Inge and Everett can be automatic outs, and Laird has a history of falling off offensively in the second half.

That means Guillen and right fielder Magglio Ordonez can be worked around late in games.

Leyland declared at the end of last season that only right-handers Justin Verlander and Armando Galarraga were certain to be back in the rotation. Since then he has added right-hander Jeremy Bonderman to that list, and the organization added right-hander Edwin Jackson via trade with Tampa Bay.

Bonderman pitched in only a dozen games last season because of a right shoulder blood clot that required surgery and the removal of a right rib to make sure his circulation wasn't impaired.

Jackson won 14 games for the Rays but didn't make a single postseason start.

Verlander is being counted on to return to the form that gave him 35 victories in his first two seasons, not the 11 he struggled to in 2008.

Galarraga went 13-7 with a 3.73 ERA for a team that was eons under .500. He needs to approach those numbers again.

Bonderman said he feels much better than a year ago -- but he hasn't faced a hitter yet and isn't trying to snap off his trademark sliders.

The vacant starting spot will be decided in a competition that includes disappointing left-handers Nate Robertson and Willis and right-hander Zach Miner.

Reports have Willis and Robertson in excellent physical condition and significantly down in weight from last winter -- but their numbers were awful and both have a lot to prove. Miner is a viable alternative.

Detroit finished last season without a certified closer and will enter spring training the same way, although free agent right-hander Brandon Lyon was signed in the hope he could replicate over a full season his fine first half for Arizona last year.

If Lyon's ceiling proves to be as a setup man, Leyland will entrust his closer duty to erratic right-hander Fernando Rodney or right-hander Joel Zumaya, who can't be counted upon until he shows he's recovered from two seasons of injuries.

The Tigers drafted four closers last June and believe at least two of them (right-handers Ryan Perry and Cody Satterwhite) could pitch themselves into the bullpen at some point in the summer.

At least three bullpen positions could be won by newcomers, including veteran right-handers Juan Rincon and Scott Williamson plus rookie right-handers Casey Fien and Rudy Darrow. Another candidate is right-hander Freddy Dolsi, whom Detroit would prefer to have open in the minors.

The Tigers need a second lefty in addition to Bobby Seay, and that could turn out to be Rule 5 pick Kyle Bloom.

Weakness in the bullpen killed Detroit last year, but it also was severely overworked because the starters had to come out in the fifth and sixth innings way too often.

Those two deficiencies must be fixed, and that's what Leyland and Knapp will be looking to do this spring.

The bench is three-fourths set with catcher Matt Trainor, infielder Ramon Santiago and outfielder Marcus Thames, but it's possible rookie infielder Jeff Larish could unseat utilityman Ryan Raburn even though the veteran is the lone backup to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

There's enough veteran talent in place for Detroit to do well. If all Detroit's "ifs" work out well, the Tigers could have that monster year predicted for them a year ago. If not, then Leyland might be looking at retirement or another job next winter.

WHERE, WHEN: Joker Marchant Stadium, Tigertown, Lakeland, Fla. First exhibition game is Feb. 25 against Atlanta.

TOP CANDIDATE TO SURPRISE: 1B Miguel Cabrera led the league with a career-high 37 home runs and had a career-best 127 runs batted in last year in his first look at American League pitching even though he didn't really start mashing until midseason. His manager, Jim Leyland, preached all year to Cabrera about bearing down on every at-bat because he plays the game at a higher level than most, and it seemed he finally started taking that message to heart late in the season. His .292 average was his first below .300 in four years, and many insiders believe Cabrera has Triple Crown potential. At 26, he's only now reaching his physical peak, and instead of going down, he could be headed for new performance milestones.

TOP CANDIDATE TO DISAPPOINT: LF Carlos Guillen followed seven straight years in which his batting average rose with two straight seasons of decline. He played through knee and hamstring ailments in 2007 but missed most of last August and all of September because of a balky back, and at age 33 those could be signs he's hitting the wall physically. Moving him to the outfield is part of a plan to improve Detroit's overall defense (he came to pro ball as an outfielder), but injuries were a problem for Guillen early in his career and it could be that he's on the verge of simply wearing out.

AUTHORITY FIGURES: Manager Jim Leyland is 257-229 in his three seasons with Detroit, but his win total has dropped each year since the Tigers lost the 2006 World Series. That's one reason the organization decided to deny him an extension as he heads into the final year of his contract. Disappointed because his lame-duck status will be a news topic until it's resolved, he has acknowledged that if Detroit has a good year he will be back but if it doesn't, he'll be gone. The front office fired his pitching coach, Chuck Hernandez (and his bullpen coach, Jeff Jones, who was quickly returned to his job) in favor of Minnesota minor league pitching coach Rick Knapp.