On a Tigers team defined by its youth, few pitchers have more big-league experience than Shane Greene. And he's seen a lot in his five seasons, from debuting as a starter with the Yankees to becoming the closer in Detroit. There were more than a couple trips to the minors in between.
This affords Greene, 30, a keen perspective on his peers. He knows what it takes to make it. When it comes to the youngsters in the Tigers system trying to do the same, Greene can probably tell which ones are on their way.
Of the many young arms he's seen in spring training, Greene says two have stood out. The first won't surprise you.
"It’s hard not to watch Casey Mize," Greene told the Karsch and Anderson Show on 97.1 The Ticket. "I mean, he was the first pick overall, so he’s got a lot of weight on his shoulders. I can only imagine walking into a minor league clubhouse and everybody knows who you are right away, where you came from, how much money you signed for, all those kinds of things. You kind of have a target on your back."
It doesn't faze him, says Greene.
"Just watching him do his thing on a daily basis, I think he's going to be really good at handling that target. He’s one of the first guys here, one of the last ones to leave, he has his own program where he’s in the weight room doing his things that he doesn’t need somebody holding his hand. Then you watch the guy get on the mound, and you’re like, 'Okay, no wonder he was 1-1 (in the draft).' So I’m excited to see what he does."
As for the second pitcher who's made an impression on Greene, it's not quite as obvious a choice.
"Funkhouser," said Greene. "I've seen him throw a couple bullpens and that guy’s got some ridiculous stuff, too. As far as the really young guys, I’m pretty excited to see what they do."
"We got some young guys, too. Maybe not so much age, but big-league time can make you young, too. You got some learning curves," Greene said. "Joe (Jimenez) has obviously proved that he’s one of the best in the game being an All-Star (last season) and everything else, but it’s still early in his career. The sky's the limit for that guy, too. It’s going to be fun to watch. We got great relationships in the bullpen. If one of us strikes out the side it feels like all of us strike out the side, so it’s going to be really fun to be a part of.
Other highlights from Greene's interview on 97.1 The Ticket:
"Everybody's going to hit a skid. So hopefully when we hit it this time, instead of it being 30 games it’s 10 games and we’re right back in it. But baseball’s a crazy game. If we stay healthy I think we can surprise a lot of people."
"One of our bullpen catchers, he’s no longer with us, we used to do what we called the Point and Laugh. If there was one heckler that's just going at it for innings, and the more beers he has the more words are coming out, John (the catcher) would kind of give me a head’s up, like, ‘Hey, Point and Laugh, we got a guy.' I’m like, alright, cool, so he’ll call me over and pretend like he’s saying something to me and I’ll look over at the guy and point and we’ll both start laughing. And then we’ll call somebody else over and do the same thing, and next thing you know the whole bullpen’s over there pointing and laughing, and normally they shut up. That’s probably the most fun we have out there, when we get a candidate for the Point and Laugh. And it works every single time."