So much to fix, so little time.
        Given all that the Tigers need to correct and repair this spring in the wake of last summer’s debacle, Feb. 14 will mark the beginning of the most important  training camps in many years.
        But the Tigers may have to do much of their work without many of this season’s key ingredients.
        No Justin Verlander. No Fernando Rodney. No Miguel Cabrera. No Magglio Ordonez. No Carlos Guillen. No Placido Polanco. No Armando Galarraga.
        All because of something most Tiger fans couldn’t care less about: The World Baseball Classic.
        Thanks a bunch, Bud Selig.
        In all, the Tigers could be missing as many as 14 players, including a couple of key non-roster invitees and a top minor league prospect, for much of training camp _ making them among the hardest hit of all big league teams by the WBC.
        And at a time when they need the extra work the most.
        All in the name of  patriotism.
        Rodney will prep for the season ahead by pitching for the Dominican Republic _ that is, provided he makes the Dominican team, which like the United States, is loaded with relief pitchers.
        Verlander, whom the Tigers are counting on to bounce back from last season’s 11-17 pratfall and again perform like an ace,  will spend much of the spring in a U.S. starting rotation that will probably include Jake Peavy, Scott Kazmir, Roy Oswalt, John Lackey.
        Guillen, who is changing positions for the third time in two years, will have to get acquainted with leftfield while playing for Venezuela.
        Earlier this month, the Tigers signed non-roster relievers Juan Rincon and Fu-Te Ni to add depth to their bullpen. But Rincon will pitch for Venezuela this spring, and Ni for Taiwan _ which will do nothing to enhance their chances of making the cut with their new team.  
        And, of course, injuries are always a worry in international competitions like this.
        What if Cabrera gets hurt? Or Ordonez? Or Granderson? Remember what happened last year when Curtis was sidelined at the start of the season.
        It is hardly the ideal situation.
        For what it’s worth, the good ol’ USA is a 6-5 favorite to win it all this time around.
        And Jim Leyland can take solace in the fact that three years ago, the first World Baseball Classic preceded the Tigers’ first visit to the World Series in 22 seasons.
        “Obviously, the WBC didn’t affect us that much in 2006,” Leyland pointed out.
        “Maybe, being gone, the players didn’t get so tired of me in spring training.”
        That’s one way to look at it.