But instead of going to the Home Depot, he went to Baseball's winter meetings in Las Vegas and came back with a starting catcher, shortstop, a Rule 5 draft reliever and the bonus of a starting pitcher. Then, he continued picking the brains of his inner circle to maximize the use of available dollars and sign the right closer and more bullpen help.

Discussing position changes to improve the defense and hiring a new pitching coach upon recommendation of manager Jim Leyland also were important tasks on his fix-it list.

Everything is checked off now.

Brandon Lyon, with 26 saves during an up-and-down season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was the best free agent available at cut-rate prices. And while he doesn't have a track record that elicits supreme confidence, Lyon certainly is much more reliable than any alternative on the roster.

Adding veterans Juan Rincon and Scott Williamson and Rule 5 southpaw Kyle Bloom to compete for spots with farm system talent such as Ryan Perry, Casey Fien and Rudy Darrow increases the likelihood of finding the right bullpen mix.

Trading outfielder Matt Joyce for Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson (14-11 in 2008) is a real boost for a rotation that has its fingers crossed about Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Justin Verlander and Dontrelle Willis having comeback seasons.

Rick Knapp was hired as pitching coach after Chuck Hernandez was fired with hopes that a different voice gets different results. He's been well received by the pupils, making minor adjustments to the mechanics of some and taking an innovative, high-energy approach to practices.

With Ivan Rodriguez gone, Gerald Laird was obtained from the Texas Rangers for a pair of minor league pitching prospects. Even if he's mediocre at best offensively, he's adept at handling pitchers and has strong defensive skills.

Free agent shortstop Adam Everett also was added for his glove. His range is considerably better than that of Edgar Renteria, whose contract for 2009 was bought out by the Tigers.

Brandon Inge was moved from catcher to third base and Carlos Guillen from third base to left field to significantly upgrade a defense that ranked 24th among 30 teams in fielding range.

Inge and Everett will be the pitchers' best friends, taking away infield hits and singles through the hole.

Dombrowski could have done better, obviously, with more to spend. But he did the best he could with a modest fix-it budget, adding players who bring the intangibles clubs need to mesh and win.

"This potentially is a very, very good team," Leyland said. "This has a chance to be a very effective club. It's got a lot of ingredients. You get the right ingredients and make sure you set the oven at the right temperature."

But are the Tigers fixed? Will they perform the way a team making about $130 million should?

Ken Bell, 73, a long-time Detroit fan who swears he had a bad feeling about the team that finished 74-88 when everyone else was clearing their October calendars for playoff games, has a good feeling about all the changes. He has reservations mind you. But the vibes are good.

"It's still too early to tell," said Bell, who has been coming to spring training every year since 1983. "But last year, on the last day of spring training, I said something was wrong. I predicted it.

"But pitching and defense always does it. With Brandon at third base, I'm really happy. And with Everett at shortstop we are certainly better. But will (Joel) Zumaya come back? Will Velander be back? What will they do with Robertson and Willis?"

He took off his Tigers cap to ponder while squinting into the sun.

"But hopefully they will be better this year," Bell said. "I think they will be. They can't be much worse."