The Curious Case Of Nate Robertson

Upon learning that he'll begin the 2009 season in the bullpen, left-hander Nate Robertson wondered aloud Thursday whether his time has run out in Detroit. "The cycle of a player's time in an organization comes and goes, and maybe my time is nearing its end," he said. (Quote is courtesy of MLive.com's Steve Kornacki).

Robertson, 31, has gone 49-65 with a 4.90 ERA since showing up on the scene in 2003.  His '08 season was a disaster, however, and probably nullified any trade value that he once had.  (He finished with a 7-11 record and a 6.35 ERA).

Tigers manger Jim Leyland spoke briefly about Nate's fall from grace on Thursday morning: "If someone had told me in 2006 that Robertson would be in the bullpen, I'd have told him, 'You are crazy.'"