Who will take Dontrelle Willis’ spot in the rotation Saturday remains a mystery. There is no obvious answer. Brooks Brown pitched poorly in his start for Toledo Tuesday. Lucas French didn’t pitch well the previous night, either. The Tigers could start Zach Miner and call up a reliever if they release Willis, or if he accepts assignment in the minor leagues. But none of their high minor league relievers has pitched consistently well. It wouldn’t be an earned promotion, lets put it that way.
At Double-A, Alfredo Figaro has pitched well in his last two starts. He is, by the way, Fernando Rodney’s cousin and has a pretty good fastball. He does tend to run hot and cold. He seems to be hot now. Had 10 K’s and eight K’s in his last two starts.

Random Thoughts

- The idea of the Lions holding training camp at Grand Valley State University in 2010 isn’t necessarily a bad one. An issue is why not Saginaw Valley State instead? It’s a two-hour drive for most fans as opposed to four hours for Allendale. It’d be nice if the Lions considered their fans in this decision. That’s one thing that is truly missed by fans - the opportunity to watch training camp. It’d be a lot easier to do so at Saginaw Valley than Grand Valley.

- Sammy Sosa on steroids? There isn’t a person alive surprised by that. All this most recent disclosure does is make you think back to the summer of ‘98 and what a sham and a shame it was.

- Detroit Southeastern defensive end/linebacker William Gholston and Detroit Renaissance cornerback Mylan Hicks committing to Michigan State were huge coups for Spartan coach Mark Dantonio. While Michigan is still doing well overall in recruiting under Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines are losing their foothold in the state. These are PSL players that basically could have committed anywhere - especially Gholston. Can’t help but think not doing well in-state, whether it’s losing players to MSU or elsewhere, isn’t going to comeback and haunt Rodriguez. It might be wise for him to step up his recruiting in the state.