No money-back guarantees on young arms

Originally Published: March 3, 2006

Justin Verlander and Kyle Sleeth aren't the only young Tigers pitchers with lightning bolts in their arms.

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By Rob Neyer
ESPN Insider
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Late February in Lakeland, Fla. -- spring training home of the Detroit Tigers. It's foggy, but the day is young and everybody's seen mornings like this before; well before noon the fog will be gone, leaving only a perfect blue sky.

If only the Tigers' future were so clear.

It's the first day of full workouts, and just about everybody (except Ivan Rodriguez) is ready to go. After a little conditioning ("Take a lap, men!") and agility work ("Nice work, men!"), the hitters head off to the practice fields and the pitchers pair up for an easy game of catch. One's eyes are naturally drawn to two young men throwing to one another: Kyle Sleeth and Justin Verlander.

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