Winning! The Tigers are now a winning baseball team.

Thanks to an outstanding effort by Bad Brad Penny (to be distinguished from Brad “Bad” Penny), some timely hitting by about everyone, and a hint of clown show by the White Sox, this afternoon is now the closet game of the 3-game series.

The Tigers send Max Scherzer out to grab the broom.  The Sox will try to keep the closet locked by means of John Danks, the backwards lefty.  Backwards because:

• career RHB BA vs Danks:  .248
• career LHB BA vs Danks:  .260

Consequently, Leyland has loaded the lineup with RHB, because Danks is a LHP (not to worry; it will somehow turn out geniusy).

Danks has a good mid-90ish fastball, a cutter,  a sharp slider, and a good changeup. He also has a big slow curve which he sometimes throws, often on the first pitch.  I’m not sure if any of this really explains his backwardness.  Perhaps it’s just part of an inherent dankness.

But Mad Max is armed with broom, and poised to become the 4th AL pitcher with 4 wins, joining Jared Weaver (5), Dan Haren (4), and Justin Masterson (4).

While Max is 3-0, 4.30, Danks is 0-2 3.00, which gives you some idea how much fun it is being a White Sox pitcher at the moment.

If Max is going to get run support today, where will it come from?  Not likely Inge or Raburn (combined .215 and 13K in 42 AB) or, sadly, Cabrera (.211, 4-19, all singles).  Which leads us to:

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Magglio Ordonez

• Magglio career vs Danks:  .609 (14 – 23), 2 HR, 7 RBI
• He is also playing his former team
• He also needs 1 more double to become the first player to hit 100 at Comerica
• There you go Maggs, you couldn’t ask for a better set up
• You’ll notice this sounds familiar.  You have a 2nd chance.  Do you hear me Maggs?

Today’s Lucky Nickname lineup:

1. Tex Jackson CF
2. Ryan “Three True Outcomes” Raburn 2B
3. Magglio “Enemy of Dankness” Ordonez DH
4. Cabby Cat 1B
5. H-Factor Peralta SS
6. Bashin’ Brennan Boesch LF
7. The Ghost RF
8. Strokin’ Alex Avila C
9. Walkoff Inge 3B

OK, let’s try this again.  This afternoon the Tigers have a second chance at attaining that elusive first winning record.  They will be working against an old friend, Edwin Jackson.  The Tigers counter with the to-this-point underwhelming Brad “Bad” Penny.

I seem to remember Mr. Jackson had quite a proclivity for the high pitch count; perhaps his teammates remember also and we can get to the Chicago bullpen early today.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Brennan Boesch

Boesch continues to bash; sandwiched between the always dangerous Cabrera and the suddenly hot Raburn, the Boesch Bash will be the key to putting runs on the board.

Today’s Raburn-homers-then-dropped-in-the-order lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Will Rhymes 2B
3. Magglio Ordonez DH
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Brennan Boesch RF
6. Ryan Raburn LF
7. Jhonny Peralta SS
8. Alex Avila C
9. Brandon Inge 3B

Detroit returns to Comerica for some home cooking with a 3 game series against the Chicago White Sox.  They likely will be fed a diet of cutters and changeups by Mark Buehrle, who faces Justin “Hop-Throw” Verlander.  Verlander was 2-0 vs the White Sox in 2010; Buehrle was also 2-0 vs Detroit in 2010.  May the best man win (and the best man’s initials are JV).

The Tigers catch the White Sox at a good time:  they have only won 2 of their last 10, and like the Tigers, have had all sorts of trouble generating offense, batting only .202 in that 10-game span.  And like Detroit, most of their offense has come from one player, Paul Konerko, who is hitting .320 with 4 HR and 15 RBI.

You might want to take the “under” on this one.

One big difference is that the White Sox don’t strike out as much as the Tigers:  111 to 133.  And it isn’t because they are more patient at the plate:  they only have 53 BB compared to Detroit’s 72, and have the lowest Pitch-Per-Plate-Appearance in the AL at 3.66 (Detroit is 2nd to Boston at 4.00). So the Sox will be up there taking their hacks.

Against Buehrle today discipline at the plate will be necessary.  Buehrle features an inside cutter and an outside changeup.  Apparently, the key to beating Buehrle is to lay off of the changeup, which lately he has had trouble getting in the strike zone, and then to look for the cutter.  There appears to be a direct correlation between the effectiveness of his cutter and the location of his changeup.

Today’s Player of the Pre-Game:  Magglio Ordonez

• Magglio career vs Buehrle:  .469 (15 – 32), 2 HR, 2 2B, 5 RBI
• He is also playing his former team
• He also needs 1 more double to become the first player to hit 100 at Comerica
• There you go Maggs, you couldn’t ask for a better set up

Today’s Jhonny-Phrotecting-Cabrera? lineup:

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Ryan Raburn 2B
3. Magglio Ordonez DH
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Jhonny Peralta SS
6. Brennan Boesch LF
7. Brandon Inge 3B
8. Alex Avila C
9. Casper Wells RF

Well, it’s the rubber match of the Mariners series as the Tigers bring their 1-6 record in games to decide a series to Safeco, before an off day and then a home stand.

We just got through the first inning of the season (18 games), and it wasn’t very good.  Pitching-wise, the Tigers were just awful, posting a 5.02 ERA, worse than every AL team other than Boston (5.58).  Their WHIP of 1.49 is worst in the AL, and they allowed 71 BBs, second worst in the AL.  Our bullpen is 12th in the league with an ERA of 5.47, and the starters are marginally better with an 11th best ERA of 4.81.

Incredibly, our hitting is in the middle of the pack with a .244 BA (8th), .703 OPS (9th) and 16 HR (7th).

With all of that, the boys are only 2 games under .500.  So there should be hope, right?  I expect the bullpen to get better, and Jacob Turner and Andy Oliver look primed to contribute sooner than later.

On the other hand, despite an AL-wide hitting slump, I do not see our bats getting much better unless someone in the farm can step up and contribute.  AJax has been exposed, Inge is Inge, and Maggs’ next XBH will double his 2011 total through 30+ ABs.  That’s right, Maggs is on pace for 270 ABs, and I think he’s being overused now.  Guillen should be an improvement at 2B, but there is still no timetable for his return.  VMart’s 1st trip to the DL is unlikely to be his last, and Peralta is regressing as a hitter.  Unless Raburn can turn into the above average hitter I think he is and we get some more help from below today, .500 baseball is going to be about right for this team.

Erik Bedard goes for the Mariners.  After sitting out all of 2010 recovering from shoulder surgery, Bedard has been hammered in his three 2011 starts to the tune of 13 ER in 13.2 IP and 1.97 WHIP.   Which sounds just like the type of pitching that has shut down the Tigers recently.

Porcello climbs the hill for the Tigers looking to follow-up on a strong start against Oakland last week.  In that effort he only lasted 6 IPs (103 pitches), but allowed just 1 ER on 7 hits and 1 walk.

Fun stat of the day – did you know that Austin Jackson is tied for fourth on the team with 1 HR? That’s one more than Maggs.

Today’s Peralta is protecting Cabrera? lineup:

1. AJax – CF
2. Raburn – 2B
3. Ordonez – DH
4. Cabrera – 1B
5. Peralta – SS
6. Boesch – LF
7. Inge – 3B
8. Ghost – RF
9. OMirG I’m starting – C

The Tigers look to lock-up a series victory tonight against the Mariners, as Phil Coke takes on Doug Fister.

The not-so-hard throwing Doug Fister takes the mound for the Ms tonight.  Fister is in the majors because he throws a four seamer, a two seamer, a change, a curve and a slider.  Though none of them are particularly effective, when he locates them well he can win a few ball games.  His fastball tops out at 88-89, though that lack of speed certainly had the Tigers fooled for most of last night.  He’s got a career WHIP of 1.29 (good), and a career K/9 of 4.99 (not good).

Coke was nothing short of phenomenal in his last start, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks and 0 ER over 7 IPs against the Athletics.  Couple that with the last 4 2/3 innings of the KC game, and he’s thrown 11 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings.  The over/under is set at 15.  Any takers?  Coke dominates in April, posting a career 2.29 ERA for the month.

In roster news – VMart may be headed to the DL.    Omir Santos was called up as an emergency back-up catcher, and they’ll have to send someone else down today before 1st pitch.  My guess would have been Austin Jackson, but he’s listed in the starting lineup.  I can’t see them sending down a reliever, so either VMart will be placed on the DL, or Don Kelly will have a lonely drive this evening.

Your incredibly suspect top of the order lineup (see if you can determine who I’m rooting for tonight):

1. AJax – CF
2. Rhymes – 2B
3. Don Kelly – RF
4. Cabrera – 1B
5. Boesch – DH
6. Raburn – LF
7. Peralta – SS
8. Big Bad Al Avila – C
9. Inge – 3B

The Tigers mosey into Seattle tonight after letting a golden opportunity to take their second series go whizzing by their bats, mostly with runners on third and less than two outs.

The Tigers’ offense set a two-game mark for futility over the weekend, failing to capitalize even once in 5 R3L2O situations, and going 0-10 on Saturday with RISP, and 0-10 for Saturday/Sunday.  Yeah, that’s right, 0-10 on Saturday, and 0-0 on Sunday.  Other than the Wells HR, not a single runner reached second on Sunday.

Even with a paltry .240 team BA, the Tigers can scoff at 6 teams below them in the AL, including the Mariners who are hitting a top of the Tigers lineup friendly .214 as a team.

Jason Vargas has sandwiched 2 very good starts around a terrible one in which he gave up 7 earned in 3.1 innings against the Indians.  Remove that game and he’s given up 2 ER in 13.1 IPs with 13 Ks.  He held a capable Toronto lineup to 5 hits and 1 walk over 6 2/3 last time out against Toronto.  The Tigers can not take too much for granted, he did record 21 quality starts last season.

Scherzer’s 4.76 ERA still reflects his game 1 bashing (which he won), but has shrunk considerably over two quality starts.  Though he has allowed 7 hits in each of his last two outings, he’s managed to keep the runs down in those games (1, then 2), and has K’d 16 in 17 innings overall this season.

Fun stats of the day – Tigers pitchers have not allowed a home run in 10 games, most since StL pitchers went 11 games in 2009.  The Tigers’ record is 17 consecutive games back in 1947, aka Leyland’s rookie year.  Mariners lead the majors in bases loaded walks with 5.  That’s 1/2 as many hits as AJax has this year.

Your Magglio Ordonez outfield circus lineup is:

1. AJax – CF
2. Raburn – 2B
3. Ordonez – RF
4. Cabrera – 1B
5. Martinez –  DH
6. Boesch – LF
7. Peralta – SS
8. Avila – C
9. Inge – 3B