The Numbers
	2002 record: 55-106, .342 (tied for 29th overall) Runs scored: 575, 14th in AL Runs allowed: 864, 11th in AL Run differential: -289 (30th overall) Starters' ERA: 4.99, 10th in AL Bullpen ERA: 4.78, 10th in AL Payroll (Opening Day): $55 million (20th overall) Attendance: 1.50 million (26th overall) 3-year record: 200-285, .412 (28th overall)

2002 in review
What went right?
Broadcast dignitary Ernie Harwell ended his 55-year career, and the voice of the Tigers departed in style (he's got Ernie Harwell Day and his own statue at Comerica Park.) We'll miss Harwell's folksy way -- "out for excessive window shopping" was a called third strike -- because his soothing style made even Tigers baseball sound like poetry. Not much else went well in 2002, but at least GM Dave Dombrowski provided the team with clear direction for the first time in ages. The former brains behind the Marlins '97 title laid groundwork for massive, extended rebuilding -- Detroit's only option at this point -- by trading away talented, highly-paid players for young prospects. For a team that looked rudderless for the better part of the last decade, that's a start.

What went wrong?
Have a seat and get comfortable. The Tigers started the year 0-6 before new prez Dombrowski fired manager Phil Garner and GM Randy Smith, taking over Smith's position, then the team went to lose five more under new skipper Luis Pujols before finally winning one and then Pujols got canned at the end of the year and was replaced by Tiger icon Alan Trammell, who will now try to guide this thing out of the gutter (pause to catch breath). But the 55-106 finish, tied for league-worst with Tampa Bay, wasn't entirely Pujols' fault -- injuries to third baseman Dean Palmer (neck and shoulder), first baseman Dmitri Young (hernia) and closer Matt Anderson (shoulder) made the Tigs short-handed from the get-go. They were overmatched from Opening Day, as they posted their ninth straight losing April record.

In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Firing Garner and Smith. The April 8 move sent an immediate (it tied the quickest axe for a manager since 1900) and unmistakable message that Dombrowski was dead serious about changing the franchise's laughable ways. When Pujols didn't fare any better, he also got pink-slipped, and now it's up to Trammell.

	Carlos Pena First baseman Detroit Tigers Profile
	2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM AB R HR RBI AVG 115 397 43 19 52 .242

2. Trading Jeff Weaver. Dealing Weaver to the Yankees in early July scrawled Dombrowski's long-term game plan in permanent ink: the Tigers were looking toward the future, and none of the big-name players -- even the No. 1 starter -- were safe. The prize catch in the three-team deal between the Yanks, Tigers and A's, first baseman Carlos Pena, was Oakland's top prospect. Now, as Detroit's everyday first baseman, Pena is the poster boy for the new Tigers, exactly the type of player they need more of: Talented. Hungry. And still in the 18-to-24 demographic.

3. Moving the fences in at Comerica Park. Finally. The cavernous left field is the reason Juan Gonzalez's honeymoon with The Motor City lasted about three days in 2000 -- CoPa's spacious left-field pasture has been gobbling up right-handers' homers for three years now. The left-center fences will be shortened from 395 feet to 370 this season, which should make the guys who have to play 81 games there a little happier.

Looking ahead to 2003
Three key questions
1. Are Tiger fans suckers for nostalgia? Let's hope so, because it's going to be a while before Detroit competes. Yet with the hiring of Trammell, the shortstop on the Tigers' 1984 World Series champion team (and the subsequent addition of'84 staples Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish -- we're still waiting on Tom Brookens to get that base-coach job), the Tigers' most recognizable names this season are going to be in the dugout rather than on the field. Let's hope fans want to come out and see blasts from the past, because last year's attendance, 1.5 million, was down one million from 2001.

2. Who's first on the treadmill? Not surprisingly, the Tigers were all about strength and conditioning at a recent January mini-camp, with Gibson presiding over tortuous running sessions, early notice that guys must show up to spring training in shape. The thinking: the better shape guys are in, the less chance they'll get hurt. Last year, Palmer, Young and Anderson combined to play 70 games. Palmer is lifting weights right now for the first time in two years, as shoulder injuries hindered him for most of 2001. The Tigers need everyone healthy -- when the talent level is spotty to begin with, a few injuries and they're playing the equivalent of T-ball.

3. Who's going to be the obligatory All-Star? Until they improve, Detroit only gets one guy in the Midsummer Classic; last year, outfielder Robert Fick got the gimme. But now Fick is with the Braves. (Actually, all the Tigers' All-Stars seem to skip town -- of the eight they've had in the last eight seasons, only second baseman Damion Easley, from '98, is still here). Just for the record, we're saying it'll be Bobby Higginson this year. If the other bats stay healthy, there's no reason why he can't put up numbers (.300-30-102) like he did in 2000.

Stats Corner
In letting Robert Fick (.270-17-63) go and trading Randall Simon (.301-19-82) to the Pirates, the Tigers lost 29 percent of their home run total and 27 percent of their RBI from 2002. Remember, that's only two players. The Tigers 55-106 (.342) mark in 2002 was their third-worst winning percentage in franchise history. They were 53-109 (.327) in 1996 and 50-104 (.325) in 1952. The Tigers had the worst offense in the big leagues last season, scoring 575 runs, 52 behind second-to-last Milwaukee. In order to score as many runs as the No. 1 New York Yankees (897), the Tigers would have had to play a 252-game season. The Tigers led the American League with 142 errors. Most of it was Fick's fault -- he led all MLB outfielders with 12 miscues.

Can expect to play better
Pena. The 24-year-old had respectable power numbers (19 HR, 52 RBI in just 397 at-bats) as a rookie, but his average (.242) was depth-charged by an early-season slide when he was straining to be The Next Jason Giambi in Oakland. The move to Detroit allowed Pena to play every day and gave people a glimpse at the masterpiece swing that had many calling him the best prospect in baseball during his time as a farmhand. The left-hander hit an encouraging .315 in his first month in Detroit, and also found his power stroke in August, hitting seven long balls. And unlike most first-sackers, Pena's not a goon between the lines -- his .996 fielding percentage was third among MLB first basemen.

Can expect to play worse
Steve Sparks. Sparks is a lot of things. The oldest player on Detroit's roster. A cagey knuckleballer who manages to win games in the age of the power pitcher. But there's one thing Sparks is not, and that's a No. 1 starter. Yet as the only experienced member of a still-undecided starting rotation, Sparks will likely be forced to play that role, what with Weaver gone and the promising Mark Redman recently dealt to the Marlins. After going 14-9 with a 3.65 ERA and posting an MLB-high eight complete games in 2001, Sparks got snuffed out last year, going 8-16 with a 5.52 ERA. He doesn't strike many guys out (averaged 3.2 per start last year) and is really better suited to be a quirky complement to a powerful ace, like he was with Weaver, than a No. 1 guy himself.

Projected lineup
CF George Lombard
2B Damion Easley
RF Bobby Higginson
LF Dmitri Young
3B Dean Palmer
1B Carlos Pena
DH Eric Munson
C Brandon Inge
SS Ramon Santiago

Rotation
Steve Sparks
Mike Maroth
Andy Van Hekken
Nate Cornejo
Shane Loux

Closer
Matt Anderson/Franklyn German

A closer look
When the Tigers paraded around their January mini-camp wearing t-shirts with their season motto -- "We're Raisin' The Bar" -- people took one look and groaned. Not because the slogan was cheesy (aren't all team mottos?), but because it's the same one Marty Mornhinweg tried to use to fire up the Detroit Lions this season. Not exactly a good model for success -- the Lions' 2002 mark of 3-13 (.188) makes the Tigers' .342 finish last season look like a title run.

But some Tigers, especially those who have been around for lean year after lean year, think any change is good. "Hey, whatever slogans we've had the last eight, nine, 10 years haven't worked either," said Bobby Higginson, who has played each of his eight big-league seasons in Detroit and suffered through five 90-plus loss campaigns. "So we're going to try something."

This year, that something the Tigers are trying is an infusion of new blood, spearheaded by a trio of names Tigers' fans and players equate with success. Tram. Gibby. Lance. As a member of the only two Tigers teams to make the playoffs in the last 30 seasons, new manager Alan Trammell's job is simply going to be bringing back the pride and professionalism that prevailed in the clubhouse when he played. Tram talks often about how that '84 championship team was prepared every day -- something the '02 Tigers will admit that they were not.

"It was as if guys couldn't care less if we lost a game. It was like no more than 15 minutes after a game, guys were yelling and having a good time again," catcher Brandon Inge told local media at the mini-camp. "I think that's what they went out and changed this year."

The 44-year-old Trammell has no previous managerial experience, so his hiring is more of a public relations maneuver than a marked improvement (at TigerFest, a yearly fan-based event in Joe Louis Arena, highlights of the '84 season played on the video screens). But there's nothing wrong with that. The won-loss record isn't going to bring people in by itself. And now Trammell, bench coach Gibson and bullpen coach Parrish serve as guys who have been there before, guys who can offer advice, support, the occasional expletive -- whatever it takes.

Trammell is being realistic and knows the Tigers won't be a playoff team any time soon. They still have ungodly sums of money sunk into aging players -- Higginson, Sparks, Palmer, Easley, Anderson, reliever Danny Patterson and third baseman Craig Paquette are due about $40 million this season, which is about 75 percent of the Tigers' likely payroll, taken up by just seven players. GM Dave Dombrowski caught heat last season for calling attention to these untradeable players at a luncheon and while he has since apologized, he has a good point -- there's not a whole lot of wiggle room to add anyone else.

But maybe those well-paid veterans will respond differently with a proven winner and Tiger legend filling out the lineup card. Some of them are already saying they notice a difference, that the Trammell Regime is a little less warm and fuzzy than the previous one.

"You want your players to have a little fear in them," said Palmer. "I'm not looking for my manager to be my best buddy. I'd rather have a general."

Andy Latack covers baseball for ESPN The Magazine.