Andy Dirks (back) has begun ramping up his baseball activities. "He's been throwing, he's been running bases, some soft toss. Tee work, soft toss, batting practice," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "I don't think he's got the live batting practice, but that's gotta be somewhere here in the near future." The Tigers projected sometime in June as a rough timetable for Dirks after he underwent a microdisectomy, but it would be a surprise if he's back this month. Still, it appears he's moving in the right direction.