Tigers win opener!!

[Dannomyte]

Offense looked great even with Magglio going hitless(the only starting Tiger to go hitless). Magglio did score his 1st run as a Tiger after drawing a walk.

Bonderman was very solid but looked spent in the 6th and 7th inning.

Dmitri Young was obviously the story today. He is now 1 of only 3 MLB players to mash 3 HR on opening day. He finished the day 4 for 4 with 5 RBI and was also hit by a pitch after his 2nd HR.

This offense is going to put up a ton of runs this year lets just hope the starting pitching doesn't give up more.

Da Meathook watching one of his record tieing 3 HR on opening day.



This kid is going to be special.

[cmchampa2]

Nice pics.

The Tigers looked REAL good in the opener.

Them: "It's just the Royals!"
Me: "You're all idiots."

The Tigers should be fine. The staff (all 5 of 'em) should be able to keep them in most games and the scoring will come. When they have a lead, the bullpen will keep it.

[cmchampa2]

"It's just the Royals" Part II

Those underestimating the Tigers must not know or must have forgotten how good Pudge is... how good Magglio is... how good Da Meathook is... how good Guillen is... how good Percival is... and how solid Pena, White, Monroe, Urbina, Ing, Infante, and Co. are.

I just can't understand why people are writing them off. These are great players.

[Dannomyte]

Yeah funny how some Tribe, Twins and Sox fans are all saying "It's just the Royals" but you know when they have a decent game against them they will all be talking smack.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

You guys are so right on target - keep the faith. We are division contenders this yr and will be the favorites in 2006 and beyond.

I dont know what you guys saw yesterday, but let me take a stab at it...

- Det's offense is mean and unrelenting. Name a better 5-9 in all of baseball... I'll wait while you think about it. The weakness is obviously Infante right now, but I fully blame his injury that caused him to miss time this ST, He'll be fine in a week.
- Our SPs are fine, but Tram really needs to make sure he goes to his bullpen strength before its too late.

- The White Sox and Indians - some say they were in a pitchers duel yesterday - I say they cant hit. I guess we'll see.

- The Twins looked awful yesterday - Bartlett and Rivas are their starting MI and they are still projected by every "expert" to win the division? Good luck with that.

Its gonna be a good yr fellas.

[Dannomyte]

While Infante may struggle to get his timing down at the plate because of time missed in ST he is always a great asset on defense.


I'm not as sold on our SP as you seem to be. Bonderman should be very good. I think Maroth and Robertson will be fine. I just worry about Ledezma and JJ. We all know Ledezma has loads of talent but is he ready for the big show at 23 years old??? No idea what to say about JJ other than I'm glad it was only a 2 year deal. Hopefully Mr. I. will throw some money at 1 or more of these possible FA SP Ben Sheets, AJ Burnett or Brad Penny. If Matt Morris and Chris Carpenter stay healthy and have good seasons they may not be bad options either. There is always the chance of a trade happening as well.


As far as the bullpen goes. Tram always seems to wait too long to bring in another pitcher but that may be because our pen has been crap in years past. Hopefully he doesn't cost us some wins trying to give his SP too many chances to "work" themselves out of trouble. One question I have about the pen is who is going once Rodney is healthy?? Ginter?? Maybe, but who would be out 6th starter and long reliever then?? Certainly not our only lefty in the pen Jamie Walker. German??? Possibley if he struggles but he is too young and too talented to just give up for nothing. It's not likely that Farnsworth and his 101 MPH fastball are going anywhere any time soon. That leaves Urbina. Proven closer with decent trade value. The only other option is to leave Rodney in Toledo until someone gets hurt or traded.

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Dannomyte - Im not that big on our SPs at all - I think they are good enough, but ideally we would trade for another SP in the very near future - the guys you mentioned would be awesome. I still hold out hope we can land Burnett - he has been priced to move this yr, and I really dont think Mota will be as good a closer as others think (blowing 4 of 7 save opps last yr is bad,mmkay). Anyway, yeah I would love another top of the rotation SP.
The big question is are the current SPs good enough to hold down the fort for 5-6 innings every game until Tram goes to the pen, and like you mentioned - is Tram wise enough to go to the pen before games get out of hand.
As for what long relief - I believe they are targeting Ginter and possibly German for that role currently. I would think they send Ginter down once Rodney returns. But having options and depth in our bullpen is something us Tiger fans are just now getting used to.

[cmchampa2]

Well, Detroit is in a very good position with starting pitching. Some may not be sold on Ledezma and JJ, and perhaps even Maroth and Robertson, but we're talking about the end of the rotation... these guys are supposed to struggle once in a while. These are all guys, in my opinion, that can pitch well enough to keep a high-scoring offense within striking range, which is all you need when runs can come in hurry.

And besides that, top pitching talent is easy to find at the trade deadline if the Tigers are contending. Free agent SP on a last place team, free agent at year's end... Detrot, with its spacious field and solid offense, is inticing.

[Dannomyte]

Go figure, Maroth gets rocked in his 1st start and JJ doesn't give up a run. I'm going to the game tonight so hopefully Nate doesn't disappoint!

[Cornbread Maxwell]

Go figure, Maroth gets rocked in his 1st start and JJ doesn't give up a run. I'm going to the game tonight so hopefully Nate doesn't disappoint!

Me too! Beautiful weather for a game - cant wait.