New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers Tickets

Tigers News:
When Jim Leyland took over as Tigers manager last fall, he almost immediately began filling out potential starting lineups. A year and an American League pennant later, he's at it again.

While the Tigers sit around quietly and listen to potential trade offers during baseball's Winter Meetings, a restless Leyland has a pen and pad of paper handy trying to figure out how to shuffle his players. He's not using up nearly as much paper this time around, but he has more ideas than others would think for someone who says he doesn't expect his team to make a major move before it leaves town on Friday.

He's trying to figure out what to do for a leadoff hitter. He's looking at what spot best fits Gary Sheffield and where he can best affect the hitters around him. And he needs a way to find at-bats for Marcus Thames if he's still on the team.

"It's a little more subtle than it was," Leyland said of his options.

The leadoff spot is one area he's playing around with. Curtis Granderson spent most of this past season there and figures to return there next year, but his struggles to cut down on strikeouts this past season leave Leyland considering alternatives.

"I ran through some lineups last night," Leyland said on Wednesday afternoon, "and there's a scenario obviously where he is the leadoff guy, and there's another scenario where he's not, if we wanted to go that way, depending on if I want to space out the left-handers."

One option, not surprisingly, is Placido Polanco. The other is Ivan Rodriguez -- the 35-year-old catcher who drove in 69 runs last year and had a .332 on-base percentage despite batting .300.

Yankees News:
The Yankees learned once again this October that good pitching beats good hitting. With that in mind, New York will likely spend the winter bolstering its pitching staff.

After all, offense was not the Yankees' problem in 2006, as the Bombers ranked first in the Majors with 930 runs scored. With nearly all of the starting lineup set to return in 2007, the only offense the Yankees have to concern themselves with in the coming months will be their bench players and possibly a first baseman.

That's because Jason Giambi, who started 64 games at first and 70 as the designated hitter last season, is on the road to becoming a full-time DH. Among the free-agent first basemen on the market are Sean Casey, Darin Erstad, Shea Hillenbrand, Doug Mientkiewicz and Kevin Millar. Andy Phillips also remains under the team's control, which would be another option at first base.

Beyond that, the rest of the infield is set with Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, though rumors of an A-Rod trade are sure to surface throughout the offseason. General manager Brian Cashman said last month that he has no plans to move the two-time American League MVP, though you can never say never.

"You always reserve the right to change your mind over time, but I fully expect to have him at third base for us next year," Cashman said. "I know he's motivated to get this job done."

The Yankees added pitching depth to their system on Friday when they traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handers Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.

With the Sheffield trade complete, the starting outfield is in place with Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu, not to mention Melky Cabrera as the fourth outfielder. Free agent Bernie Williams could also return for a 17th season in pinstripes, though that would be in a smaller bench role, which he was supposed to fill this season until injuries forced him into semi-regular duty.