Around The Beat: Detroit’s Henning talks Upton, Castellanos, Ausmus and Earl Weaver

Perhaps the coolest thing about doing the weekly “Around The Beat Podcast” is it gives me an excuse to talk at length with friends who have been around the game of baseball for so long. It’s amazing the insight they bring, not just about the team they cover, but the sport in general.

This week’s installment is with Lynn Henning, the fantastic baseball columnist of The Detroit News. You can check out his work here, and at his Twitter handle, @Lynn_Henning.

The primary purpose of our discussion was to preview the Orioles-Tigers series, which begins Thursday and ends Sunday at Camden Yards (weather permitting, of course).

We did the preview. Henning hit on all the major topics currently surrounding these flummoxing Detroit Tigers: Brad Ausmus’ job security, Justin Upton’s struggles, the rotation’s inconsistency, Miguel Cabrera’s power disappearance, Nick Castellanos’ emergence, potential trade bait players and what Henning called the Tigers’ No. 1 offseason flub.

But these podcasts, I’ve learned so far, often veer at an unexpected angle on occasion. And Henning, who has covered baseball for decades, ended up discussing his interactions with Earl Weaver and, with my prodding, how he would compare the “Earl of Baltimore,” to two tremendous managers he knew well: Sparky Anderson and Jim Leyland.

It was great stuff – and I hope you listen to it and the other insights Henning provided as the Orioles wait to see which Tigers club shows up this weekend.