LAKELAND, Fla. — Tigers manager Jim Leyland doesn't
miss a thing, even if others do.
While reporters have asked him about nearly everyone in camp, there was one
name that had not come up until Leyland brought it up Saturday morning — David
Pauley.
In case you also forgot, Pauley was the right-handed reliever that came from
Seattle along with Doug Fister in the trade that sent Charlie Furbush, Casper
Wells, Chance Ruffin and Francisco Martinez to the Mariners.
With the Mariners, Pauley dazzled, going 5-4 with a 2.15 ERA. But with the
Tigers, Pauley fizzled, going 0-2 with a 5.95 ERA in very limited action, just
19 2/3 innings in 14 games.
"He's got a track record that was pretty good at Seattle," Leyland
said. "I'm not one of those guys you get a player and maybe he doesn't
come in like gangbusters right away and you just write him off or forget about
him. That's not the case. He can potentially be a big part of our team."
Leyland didn't just tell reporters that, he also made a point of telling Pauley
the same thing.
"Of course there's a confidence level there, to know that you're back and
know that they have trust and belief in you," Pauley said. "You are
who you are. It helps make our job a little bit easier."
Following the trade, Pauley made seven appearances out of the bullpen in August
and another seven in September. There were two long stretches where Pauley didn’t
take the mound at all, Aug. 15-23 and Sept. 4-11, but that’s because the
starters were pitching late into games, usually getting to Joaquin Benoit in
the eighth and Jose Valverde in the ninth.
But Pauley had already pitched 54 1/3 innings in 39 appearances with Seattle
before the trade.
"He might have been a little tired," Leyland said. "Coming over
to a new team, sometimes it just clicks right off the bat. Sometimes it takes
time with guys. Whole new surroundings, thrown into a pennant race right away,
I think sometimes that's different for guys."
Pauley, 28, admitted that jumping from a non-contender to a playoff chase was a
bit intimidating.
"When you go from a situation that we were in Seattle, where we were all
just playing to better ourselves, it was a pressure-free situation,” Pauley
said. “Then to come over here and be in a pennant race, you want to do that
much better to show that you want to be a part of that situation."
Pauley did not appear in the postseason, leading him to wonder what was going
to happen this season.
"It was an offseason of a lot of questions," Pauley said. "You
can only control what you can control. So I just had to look at it as kind of,
I didn't do what I could, I have to show that I'm better, if it's here or if
it's somewhere else."
Pauley spent the offseason in St. Joseph, Mich., the southwest corner of the
state. His wife, Samantha, and her family are all from the area.
"Being in Michigan, this year was good because it didn't get too
cold," Pauley said. "It wasn't too bad at all. We really didn't get
any (snow). At times they were calling for 10-12 inches, we were getting two.
Usually when they call for 10, we would get 15. It was a very, very mild
winter."
It was also an exciting winter for Pauley as his family grew bigger. Son
Cameron was born Jan. 6, joining daughter Emme, who turns 3 in June.
Pauley is hoping for some job excitement as he aims to contribute to a long
playoff run for the Tigers this season.
"This is a great group of guys and they're all here for one reason — to
win and to go further than what we did last year," Pauley said. "It's
something special."
Welcoming group
Many of the Tigers have already remarked that it seems like Prince Fielder has
been part of the team for a while as he has fit in seamlessly.
Leyland believes that is a tribute to his team. He related a conversation he
had during Saturday's workout with non-roster invitee Matt Young, who was with the
Atlanta Braves last season.
"He came in today and he said the first day he walked in, everybody was
shaking hands with him, acting like he'd been here forever," Leyland said.
"We really got a good group."
Point of emphasis
Leyland has a few things that he likes to emphasize with his players.
One of those thing is "working hard and working smart." Leyland saw
that in action Saturday during batting practice.
Alex Avila was in a group with Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and
Brennan Boesch.
"What I liked about that group today is Alex Avila's in that group and he
didn't change his stroke at all, trying to start hitting it like those guys are
hitting it," Leyland said. "He's hitting it all over. He can turn on
it, too, but he had a great batting practice."
Avila, 25, has plenty of power. He hit 19 home runs last season. But he's not
considered a power hitter.
"He can hit them over the fence whenever he wants but that's not his
stroke," Leyland said. "He's trying to keep his stroke going. That's smart.
That's working hard and working smart.
"That's what I'm talking about. He would have worked hard if he was just
trying to hit them out and hit a few out but he wouldn't have worked smart. He
worked smart."
