00:00Hey Tigers fans, welcome back, we are just days away from the full squad reporting to
00:05Lakeland, but the intensity is already ramping up on the backfields at Tigertown, we got
00:10a glimpse of our ace on Friday morning, and it started with a pretty funny moment, as
00:14Tarek's skewball stepped off the mound, his pitchcom device started blaring, he yelled
00:19over to catcher Jake Rogers, asking if he could hear the noise, Rogers wearing the other
00:24end of the headset, yelled back that his ear was plugged and he couldn't hear a thing,
00:28it was a light-hearted moment between the reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner and his
00:33long-time catcher, but realistically, even if they had gone to radio silence, skewball probably
00:38would have been just fine against the hitters. This scene is becoming more common in modern
00:42spring training, manager AJ Hinch noted how prepared the guys are coming into camp, explaining
00:47that they are actually starting live batting practice, sessions, before, the full squad
00:52arrives for the first time in his career there. It's all about adapting to where each individual
00:57pitcher is at, in their throwing progression, some guys have been off the mound three or
01:02four times, while others, have done it ten times. The old method of matching everyone
01:07up for the same progression to games is gone, as for skewball, he made it clear he would much
01:11rather face hitters than throw another bullpen session. He mentioned, he's already, thrown
01:17eight bullpens this offseason, and frankly, he's over it. He's ready to see the reactions
01:23from the batters. He said this has nothing to do with preparing for the World Baseball
01:28Classic. He just needs a new challenge. Speaking of the WBC, the batters who stepped
01:34in against him on Friday were Gleyber Torres, who will play for Venezuela, Jumai Jones for
01:39Korea, and Haoyu Lee for Chinese Taipei. They got the honor of facing Scooble in a 20-pitch
01:45session, and it might have been the most intimidating at-bat they'll have all spring. All three of them
01:50swung and missed at least once, and none of them made solid contact, Jones actually walked
01:55out of the box shaking his head. His role with the Tigers focuses on hitting left-handed
01:59pitching, but facing Scooble is an entirely different challenge, regardless of the setting.
02:04Looking ahead, there is a lot of talk about Scooble's future, he's eligible for free agency
02:09next offseason, so there is a chance this could be his final spring training in a Tigers uniform,
02:15but he made it clear that the possibility of leaving, along with the recent arbitration hearing
02:20and the offseason trade rumors, has no impact on his focus right now. He said the business side is
02:25done, his message was simple, he's trying to win, and he wants to bring a championship to the city
02:31of Detroit, a place he called special to him, he even said he's never been more motivated to win
02:37a title here. So, with that kind of energy coming from our ace this early in camp, it makes you
02:42wonder,
02:43does this year feel different to you guys? Do you think this is the season they finally put it all
02:48together? Let me know what you think.
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