By Sean Gagnier
@SeanGagnier
Doug Fister, perhaps the biggest acquisition the Detroit Tigers in years, stood on the mound in front of the first sell-out crowd for Game 2 in Tigers history and after allowing just three hits in 3.2 innings, something didn't feel right. In the middle of an at-bat by Boston's Ryan Sweeney, Fister seemed to languish after a pitch, Tigers catcher Alex Avila noticed and immediately signaled to the dugout that something was wrong.
Avila, Tigers trainer Kevin Rand and Manager Jim Leyland jogged out to the mound to check on their pitcher. Fister motioned to his left side, right around the rib cage area, and indicated that it was sore and tense. With it being early in the season Leyland and Rand made the decision to take Fister out of the game for precautionary reasons.
While not much was known at the time, when Detroit placed Fister on the 15-day disabled list they indicated that he had suffered a left costochondral strain. For the non-doctors, that means that he strained his left side. In an interview Leyland did not indicate that the injury was anything more than a side strain, which eased the worries of Tigers fans who were fearing an oblique injury.
However, Leyland did indicate that he now has "no clue" what he's going to do with his rotation. Tigers ace Justin Verlander is set at No. 1, but now there is a hole at No. 2 and the pitcher that filled that role last season, Max Scherzer, had a less than impressive outing on Sunday afternoon.
Detroit has Rick Porcello in the rotation but he is their No. 4 at the moment and rookie Drew Smyly, after being named the No. 5 starter had a rocky start in Toledo in a game to keep him loose. The injury isn't one that would require the Tigers to make any moves with any other teams, but Leyland will have to look into his stable of young pitchers that missed out on the rotation in Spring Training to find a temporary stent.
With the off day the Tigers had on Monday Leyland made the drive to Toledo to catch a start by potential stop-gap Casey Crosby. Crosby didn't impress a whole lot, he pitched ok, but the MudHens defense didn't help him out very much either. According to The Detroit News' Tony Paul, who attended the game, Crosby's off-speed stuff looked good and his fastball touched 94, but he allowed Louisville some good swings too. He lasted 4+ innings while throwing 77 pitches and allowing six runs on five hits.
Detroit won't have to solve the pitching problem right away, as the probable pitchers for their upcoming series with the Tampa Bay Rays are Porcello, Verlander and Smyly. At that point Scherzer could start on normal rest on Friday, but then the Tigers would be back in the same situation looking for a starter for Saturday in Chicago.
A Saturday game would put Crosby on normal rest, but after his first Triple-A outing turning out the way it did, he is unlikely to have his phone ringing. Another possible candidate is Andy Oliver, who impressed through much of the spring before falling apart in his last start. He didn't fair too much better when he started for the Mud Hens on Sunday. Oliver struggled with control, walking five batters in just 3.2 innings.
Duane Below was in the final pairing for the No. 5 spot with Smyly, just missing the job heading into the season. He has since returned to the team to come out of the bullpen, looking good so far with two wins on the season. However, Leyland has said that he likes to have three lefties in the bullpen so he has more options during the game - Below's success in the pen could keep him there.
Odds are best on Adam Wilk to be tapped for the role, another lefty he was an outside candidate for the No. 5 spot during the spring. In his first start with Toledo he went five innings while giving up just one hit and fanning six while getting the win.
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