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Meet the Detroit Tigers coach who gives spring training its structure

Anthony Fenech shares with us the sights and sounds from Lakeland, Fla., as the Detroit Tigers' pitchers throw off mounds. Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. — Joe Vavra is very disorganized right now, he says, probably the worst he’s ever been.

He is sitting at a long oak table inside the Detroit Tigers’ coaches conference room on Monday afternoon, in front of a laptop, many sheets of paper and his reading glasses.

Vavra, the Tigers’ quality control coach, is not known for being disorganized. Quite the opposite. But on this day, two days before the first formal pitchers and catchers workout of spring training, it is crunch time: Plans for the team’s spring training workouts need to be finalized.