Tigers' hopes riding on $105 million knee of Ordonez

Sitting alone on that airplane and heading toward an uncertain future -- with his wife ready to deliver in Miami -- you bet Ordonez was uncomfortable.

"I was really nervous," he says. "You're going to Europe, knowing nobody, it took a lot of guts to go there. It was hard because they speak German and I don't speak German. My first language is Spanish, and my second language is English. But the doctor was very open and very friendly. He was a very smart guy."

Two days after he arrived in Europe, Ordonez's wife, Dagly, delivered Sophia -- the couple's third child and second daughter.

Meanwhile, in Austria, Ordonez's career was at a definite turning point -- and the doctor to whom he entrusted the surgery told him he might wind up with an even better knee than he had before.

Six months later, Ordonez is finding no reason to doubt that.

"I'm very glad that I went over there," Ordonez says. "Exactly what the doctor said is exactly what's happening right now. He said that within the first week, you'll start feeling very, very good, and within 12 weeks, you'll feel better and better. He said there will be pain when you start running, and you will have to work through it. Everything has been exactly as he said."

Ordonez says he worked through the pain weeks ago and that he's running pain-free now.

Trammell says he expected Ordonez would be limping and behind when he reported to camp and was very surprised to see his new right fielder was well beyond that point.

"We knew we were going to hold him back initially," Trammell says. "But we're holding him back now only as a precaution."

The Tigers protected themselves well in case the knee gives out, signing Ordonez to a complicated contract that takes several paragraphs to spell out in detail. Essentially, it most likely will range anywhere from five years and $70 million to seven years and $105 million. But if Ordonez spends 25 games or more on the disabled list this summer as a result of the knee, the Tigers can opt out immediately following the 2005 season having paid him only $6 million. (If Ordonez is OK this season, he'll make $6 million in base salary and another $6 million afterward as a delayed signing bonus.)

A far as Ordonez is concerned, where people once were doubting whether he was finished at 30 (he'll be 31 on opening day this year), the four-time All-Star would love to add another feather to that particular cap this summer with his new team.

And the game just happens to be ... in Detroit.

"It would be nice," Ordonez says of the idea of him representing the American League in his new place of employment. "It would be really nice. I'm looking forward to performing and to winning. I want to win the division."

That might be a stretch for the most improved team in baseball in '04, but the simple fact that somebody in a Detroit uniform could say that with a straight face shows how far these Tigers have come since their 119-loss season two summers ago.

They struck gold on the free-agent market a year ago with catcher Ivan Rodriguez and shortstop Carlos Guillen. It would be almost too much to hope for to do it in two consecutive seasons ... wouldn't it?

"The day after the Super Bowl last year, we signed Pudge," Trammell says. "This year, the day after the Super Bowl, we signed Ordonez. That's two pretty good years in a row, two impact players that make you a much better club.

"We'll see. There's some excitement around here. Detroit fans have been starving for a better product for a long time."

Ordonez, meanwhile, has no doubt that things are going to come together for him in a big way.

How sold is he on the procedure he had done in Vienna? "Austria is beautiful," he says. "I'm going to go back there this year for vacation."