Success hasn't changed talented young Tigers ace

                    

	Jeremy Bonderman got the start on Opening Day from the Tigers, who expect a huge season from the 24-year-old right-hander. Leon Halip/WireImage.com
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Jeremy Bonderman is sitting in front of his locker, wearing a camouflage shirt and spitting chewing tobacco into a Gatorade cup that he lifts up to his lips every so often.

He's surrounded by dozens of reporters sticking microphones and recorders into his face, but he hardly flinches or changes his demeanor as the horde continues to grow. Even when a cameraman falls onto Bonderman's right knee and nearly hits him with his lens, Bonderman simply looks down at the guy and shakes his head as he spits into his cup again.

This is Bonderman in a nutshell. He's a man of few words with expressions that are as diverse as a poker player's. In fact, his demeanor on Monday, after getting a no-decision in the Tigers' 5-3 Opening Day loss to the Blue Jays, is the same as it was nearly six years ago when he became the first player to ever to be selected after his junior year in high school.

"I am who I am," says Bonderman, as he cleans up his locker, which has a wallet sized picture of his 10-month old daughter, Mailee Blaize, taped to the side. "I'm the same person I was back in Pasco [his hometown in Washington]. Nothing's changed."

Well, nothing except for the four-year $38 million contract he signed in the off-season after posting a career best 14-8 record with a 4.08 ERA. "Money isn't going to change me," he promises. "I don't need that much to live."

While Bonderman's personality hasn't changed, his talents on the mound certainly have and he'll be the first one to admit that. Last season Bonderman came into his own, establishing career highs with 34 starts, 214 innings pitched and 202 strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander continued his career year by leading the Tigers to an improbable World Series berth; he started both series-clinching games of the American League playoffs, against the Yankees and A's, respectively.

"The playoffs were awesome," he says. "Nothing compares to the playoffs. I had a great time but I can't look at the past. Our goal is to get back there. I look at the playoffs as an experience that will help me in my career. I'm always going to be playing to get back there. That's why I've worked so hard."

The hard work came together in 2005 when Bonderman established a career best with 14 wins after struggling to learn the difference between "throwing and pitching."

"I think it just happened over a period of time," he says. "You work hard and you put a lot of time in your delivery and try to be more consistent with pitches and it just happens. I'm not where I want to be at by the end of my career, but I feel like I made a lot strides. Earlier in my career I wouldn't have come back after giving up three [runs] so early [as he did during his Opening Day start]."

One of the things that have helped Bonderman stay grounded on and off the field is the pitching staff, which is widely considered the best in baseball with Justin Verlander, Nate Robertson, Kenny Rogers and Joel Zumaya.

"We're a very close group," he says of the staff. "It's really a great group of guys. They're not just great pitchers but they're great people. We gel together and we understand each other and try to help each other during games and throughout the season. If a guy is struggling we're always there to pat him on the back. This team and this staff is so tight and we just believe in each other."

Bonderman admits that he and the staff aren't going to be the same until Rogers returns. The 42-year-old left-hander will be out until at least July after having surgery to remove a blood clot and repair a couple arteries in his left shoulder.

"I can't lie and say not having Kenny out there doesn't hurt. It does," says Bonderman. "But we can't let it effect us. We know Kenny is going to be with us. He'll call us and he'll talk to us and I think he's going to travel with us a little bit but Kenny is one of those guys that you just can't replace.

Until Rogers comes back, Bonderman says he will take it upon himself to make up for his loss by continuing to do what he does best -- throwing one of the nastiest sliders in baseball. "I want to go out there and make every start," he says. "I want to give my team a chance to win. I don't really have expectations on how many wins or strikeouts I get. I don't care about any of that stuff. If our team wins I'm happy."