More than his bat, Pudge Rodriguez's work behind the plate is critical for the young Tigers' pitchers. Chuck Solomon/SI

LAKELAND, Fla. -- There may not be a player in baseball who is expected to do more for his team this season than Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.

Of course, there's no team in baseball that more can be done for than Pudge's new team, the Detroit Tigers. Rodriguez doesn't have to be Babe Ruth -- heck, he doesn't even have to be Dr. Ruth -- to make a difference with the Tigers. A 10-game improvement, with or without Rodriguez, should practically be a given. Twenty games is very possible. Even then, the Tigers will be standing awfully close to a 100-loss season.

What Rodriguez is supposed to do for the Tigers -- what they're paying him millions to do -- goes way beyond a bump in the win column, though. Rodriguez is in Detroit to teach, to set an example, to change the wayward ways of the Tigers. The All-Star catcher and, most recently, World Series champion will be playing in the Motor City with a simple goal: show the Tigers how to win.

It sounds simple. But, given their 119-loss disaster of last year, teaching the Tigers how to win should be only slightly easier than teaching George Steinbrenner not to spend.

"I'm just going to do the best I can," says Rodriguez, lounging on his gear bag just inside the right field fence during the last throes of an exhibition game in Lakeland. "That's all I'm trying to do. Day in and day out."

The thinking of Detroit's brain trust -- and, yes, there is a brain trust in Detroit -- is that with Rodriguez in town, the Tigers have a player who has been there, done that and is willing to share it with his young teammates. Rodriguez has driven in 100 runs only once in his 13-year career, and he's had more than 25 homers only twice. He hit 16 homers last season with the Series champion Florida Marlins.

But he's a lifetime .304 hitter, he's been named an All-Star 10 times, he's a 10-time Gold Glover and he was the 1999 American League MVP.

And, again, he's willing. That's big. Getting anyone to come to Detroit willingly has not been easy lately.

Detroit, it's safe to say, was not Rodriguez's first choice. But the Marlins wouldn't give him the money ($10 million a year) or the length of contract (four years) he wanted, and apparently no one else would, either. The Tigers offered $40 million over four years, but they added a clause that voids out the final two years if he misses significant time because of his balky back. That was close enough for Rodriguez so, after a week of stewing on it, he accepted. The Tigers couldn't be happier.

Already, Rodriguez is busy showing everyone what he expects out of the Tigers. He's not been shy about telling coaches, too, what he thinks. And that's fine with them.

"We don't need someone not to say something," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. "We need input."

Rodriguez's presence might be felt most with the Tigers' pitching staff. Rodriguez was given a lot of the credit last season for the success of the young Marlins' pitching staff, which included Series MVP Josh Beckett and NL Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis.

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Detroit has some youngsters, too, but they've had it much rougher. Mike Maroth lost 21 games last season, Jeremy Bonderman was 6-19 and Nate Cornejo posted a 6-17 mark. But Maroth is just 26, Bonderman 21 and Cornejo 24. There's plenty of time to turn these guys around.

"One thing he brings is the experience he has, knowing the hitters. He's been around, so he knows how to pitch them," Maroth said. "Once we get in a game situation, we'll get a better idea of how we both work. But that'll take some time. But I believe he knows what he's doing. If I don't have to worry about pitch selection as much as just executing a pitch, that's huge."

Getting to know the pitchers -- what their best pitches are, when they like to throw those pitches, what pitches need work, how long they can go -- will take some time. Rodriguez said he didn't watch any tape of the pitchers before coming to spring training. But he's watching now. All the time.

"Every time I throw," says reliever Franklyn German, tugging at the skin under his eye to show a big, round, scary looking orb, "he watches."

Rodriguez is not alone in trying to make the Tigers better. Detroit signed longtime Cardinals infielder Fernando Vina, outfielder Rondell White and ex-Orioles pitcher Jason Johnson, among others.

But there's no everyday player that can affect a game, day in and day out, more than the catcher. He's a key part of the defense, often positioning other players. He works more closely with the pitching staff than even the coaches. That's why, regardless of how he hits, Rodriguez's contributions will be a critical part of whatever success the Tigers have.

"We're going to learn to throw the fastball, a lot. I have to make the pitchers throw the fastballs on the corners, and keep the ball down. It's not easy to keep the ball down," he says. "I think they feel excited when I'm behind the plate. They want to work hard. That's good."

It's all good with the Tigers right now, thanks to Rodriguez and the new attitude he brings. Of course, it couldn't get much worse, could it?

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.