Lakeland, Fla. — Matthew Boyd has been in the room for several of Christopher Ilitch’s spring training team addresses over the years.
This one was different.
“Yeah, it seemed a lot different,” Boyd said. “And that’s no knock on his conversations with us before. But, you could hear the fire behind it, just how badly he wants to win.”
Ilitch, the Tigers’ chairman and CEO, addressed the team before workouts Tuesday. He did not make himself available to the media. But, according to the players, Ilitch apprised them of the plans that were underway to upgrade the clubhouse at Comerica Park — in addition to the installation of new LED lights, the lowered and better-padded outfield walls and shortened dimensions in center field.
Oh, and he’s planning to buy a new team plane.
“It’s not just that,” Boyd said. “It’s how he sees everything going. He’s all-in on finding wins in the margins. That’s been the common theme here. Let’s maximize every rep. Let’s make the most out of every drill. Let’s have intention with everything we do.
“Some of it may sound mundane or useless. You know, like having better food or improving the clubhouse conditions. But there’s a million other examples of ways to find wins in the margins.”
Ilitch has poured millions of dollars into the club’s infrastructure — data, technology, sports science, new medical and training staff and procedures. The player-development operation has been fully overhauled and enhanced.
“There are so many more resources here now,” Boyd said. “All these things are in place so we can understand what to expect from ourselves and how we need to get better, how each of us can get incrementally better. If you can get a whole locker room full of guys getting incrementally better, who knows what the results will be?”
Getting a new team plane won’t hurt, either, right?
“Well, the other one was getting older,” Boyd said, with a sheepish grin.
Invest in Vest
The upgrades in the clubhouse will include more space for biomechanics equipment and technology. Something reliever Will Vest could have benefitted from last season.
“Last year, I was at a good point; I want to say I peaked in July or early August, as far as my velocity goes,” he said. “That’s when my body was feeling good. Now, I need to find a way to continue that.”
The wear-down factor was stark. Vest posted a 2.10 ERA in his first 23 games through June 20. He held opponents to a .177 batting average and had 29 strikeouts and just nine walks in 25.2 innings. His fastball velocity was sitting at 96 mph and hitting 98.
But, in his final 36 appearances from June 26 on, covering 37.1 innings, his ERA shot up to 5.30 with opponents hitting .309. By the end of the season, he was fighting to keep his fastball at 95 mph.
“I was pleased being healthy and being able to go from start to finish,” he said. “But, I would’ve liked to finish a lot better, as far as just maintaining what I did the first two months and carry it through the season. That’s the ultimate goal.”
To help all the pitchers attain that goal, the Tigers have added Robin Lund, a former professor and biomechanics expert, to the big-league pitching faculty, joining Chris Fetter and Juan Nieves.
“I’m going to have to do things like altering my weightlifting schedule during the season or alter my throwing program so I don’t throw every day, stuff like that,” Vest said. “Having Robin and the new technology that we’re going to be installing, I think it’s going to streamline that process a lot.
“It’s going to be game-to-game where we’re going to know, ‘Hey, this is a little out of whack or this is how you are moving or this is what you were doing good.’”
Through the biomechanical data, the coaches will be able to detect even the slightest effects of fatigue — slower arm speed, lowered arm angles, mechanical changes. Corrections should be able to be made faster.
“Yeah, last year it took a little bit to figure that stuff out,” Vest said. “I think that’s going to be a huge plus.”
Moving into leverage?
With the departures of Michael Fulmer, Joe Jimenez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Chafin, there are leverage roles to be won in the Tigers’ bullpen. Vest, who got a small taste of it last year, certainly has the arsenal and intensity to make a case for one of them.
“We spoke to AJ (Hinch, manager) before camp and he wants to have us prepared for anything he might throw our way,” Vest said. “You know how AJ works; he’s not really a role person. It’s more of just matching you up to your strengths. There’s going to be teams I match up well against and I might get an up-and-down against those teams.”
Vest’s changeup and slider both had whiff rates over 30% last year. Those pitches were especially tough against right-handed hitters (.196).
“I think it’s super important for us to get into the strike zone,” Hinch said when asked about Vest’s potential role. “When he gets ahead (in the count), he’s just different.”,
True. When he got ahead in the count last season, Vest limited hitters to a .202 average with 40 strikeouts and no walks, covering 102 plate appearances.
“We’d like him to work on the slider and be able to attack some left-handed hitters and for him to be a more complete reliever,” Hinch said. “He really only had a few stretches in the middle of the season where he struggled with his command. He can pitch in a variety of roles.
“We are going to ask for one-plus innings from him and for him to hold his stuff.”
Around the horn
… Catcher Eric Haase is certainly OK with getting a new team plane. But, he’s taken way too many long bus rides in the minor leagues to ever say a bad word about the old one. “It’s kind of funny to complain about the plane,” he said. “We’re flying a private chartered plane across the country. I always find it hilarious to be complaining about stuff like that.”
Twitter: @cmccosky