"Left" Out? Several Detroit Tigers Go Overlooked

Lefty Nate Robertson rounds out the Tigers' All-Star pitching rotation, yet while newspapers interview Dontrelle Willis on his new home and Justin Verlander on his role as the team ace, Nate sits at his locker and waits. Once every five games, Mr. "Gum Time" himself takes the mound and goes about his business. No marquee writing, no headlines, just a major league pitcher going about his business.

He may be the least celebrated pitcher in the rotation, but his 119 strike-outs and nine wins last year shouldn't go unnoticed by opposing hitters. He was acquired in a trade with the Marlins with Minor league player Rob Henkel and Gary Knotts in exchange for Mark Redman and minor league player Jerrod Fuell.

Left fielder Jacque Jones was one of the first moves that the Tigers made in the off season and it got the ball rolling. Bringing in a quality left-handed hitter (.280 career batting average) initially helped the Tigers lineup and was quickly forgotten when the likes of Renteria and Cabrera came to town. Jones has 164 career home runs, which is only two behind big-name slugger Johnny Damon who is two years older than Jacque.

His run production last year with the Cubs (66 RBI) provides a good late in the order hitter that can keep a late inning rally going. He not only provides a good bat, he also is a solid fielder who is likely to platoon in left field with Marcus Thames and give Curtis Granderson the occasional day off with his ability to play center field as well. Jones came in the off season from the Cubs for the bargain price of infielder Omar Infante.

These two lefties are a critical part of the Detroit Tigers' lineup and for the most part have been overlooked, but if opposing managers are smart they won't be overlooking these two. Are they all-star players? probably not, but on a team full of all-stars a few hard working role players may be just what they need to win day in and day out.

Many people say that the biggest roadblock the Tigers have to overcome this  season is the possible injuries that also hurt them last year. If any players do go down this season you can expect the Nate and Jacque will be more than ready to step into a bigger role, and if not they will continue to fill their roles and push the team up the standings from behind the scenes.

There have also been comparisons made of this year's Tigers team to the recent New England Patriots team. So this raises the question, who will be the Tigers' Wes Welker? Who will be the guy who comes out of nowhere to be a tremendous asset to the organization? It could very well be either of these two and come playoffs it could be Nate winning a key playoff game or Jacque knocking in the winning run. Only the future will tell, so stay tuned.