LAKELAND, Fla. -- Gerald Laird is a perfectionist on a mission. The new Detroit Tigers catcher wants to learn how to catch all of his new pitchers and only has seven weeks before the season opener April 6 at Toronto.
He came here several days before training camp started to get a jump on that by catching the handful of pitchers who came in early, too. When pitchers throw their bullpen sessions here in the mornings, Laird and new backup catcher Matt Treanor usually are paired with pitchers likely to make the team. Every pitch counts.
"I grab 'em when I can and go over film with them and ask questions," said Laird, 29. "I also ask questions of Brandon Inge, Dusty Ryan and Dane Sardinha because they caught these guys last year.
"I want to see what their stuff does, where they miss. In a game, you need to have that feel. And I like to play golf with everybody and get out of the clubhouse to know them in a different way."
On a recent day, he lined up a foursome with pitchers Macay McBride, Zach Miner and Justin Verlander.
"They'll get to know the pitchers," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "This is a very good time, a casual time, to sit back on the bench and talk to the pitchers and look at tape of them. It's a bit of a force feed, but not too much.
"I've been very impressed with Gerald Laird ever since he came into the league, and I feel very comfortable with our catching."
It's a wholesale change since last spring.
Ivan Rodriguez, the future Hall of Fame catcher, was traded to the New York Yankees last July and Inge took over. But it was decided that Inge would move to third base and Ryan would get more seasoning.
So, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski obtained Laird, a four-year veteran with the Texas Rangers, for minor league pitching prospects Carlos Melo and Guillermo Moscoso. Laird caught a career-high 120 games in 2007, when he hit .224 with a career-high nine home runs and 47 RBIs. He batted .276 with six homers and 41 RBIs in 95 games last year.
Treanor, 32, signed as a free agent. He was called up by the Florida Marlins on June 2, 2004, and played with them until being released Dec. 15. Treanor is a career .237 hitter with eight homers and 70 RBIs in 723 at-bats.
Leyland said it is important for catchers to have a solid rapport so they can discuss pitchers and openly share observations and experiences.
"It's huge to do that," Laird said. "I can see things when I'm not playing that can help Matt, and he will see things that can help me. You learn a lot because you might miss things the other guy sees."
Leyland makes it clear that Laird is the lead catcher but is not sure how many games Treanor will end up starting. Both hit right-handed, eliminating a modified platoon approach.
"A lot has to do with production," Leyland said. "But the backup catcher -- and I don't like to use that term -- will get his playing time."
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