Well, that is the A’s for you–beating you with a guy like the testosterone-deprived Bartolo Colon, who really did manage to shut down the Tigers, who, with the exception of Prince Fielder, were helpless against his array of, um, pitches and stuff, and who suffered a virtual shutout (no runs in the last 9 innings of the game).

Not that he had stuff like Max Scherzer. Maxwell had the silver hammer out last night, striking out 11 in 6 innings, with only 1 walk and 5 hits, and even had an error, which is a Tiger pitcher way of saying hey, I’m ready for the postseason.

[By the way, how good does the Granderson/Edwin Jackson for Scherzer/Coke/Austin Jackson trade look right now?]

Anyway it’s too soon now, and hopefully in two weeks this will seem like a silly question, but at what point would one be willing to say uh oh, Victor has lost it? The All-Star break? And what is Plan B?

*****

April 27 is Reggie Jackson bobblehead night in Oakland. OK, who would YOU schedule bobblehead nights for? These things need some lead time, you know. They have to design, produce, and distribute the things, so the bobblehead nights now were probably planned months ago, and the A’s lineup seems to turn over quickly.  Actually I would go for a Josh Reddick bobblehead night, but only if the bobbleheads could have real hair beards and not just plastic mold ones. That would make all the difference.

Speaking of Reddick, I have pursued all avenues to answer a nagging question I have, without satisfaction. Bud Selig, the Major League Umpires Association, this guy I know who knows a guy, nobody will answer my question. Which is: if Josh Reddick continues growing his beard, say to chest length, and it is blowing in the breeze, all blonde and fluffy, and a pitch flips it aside–does he go to first base? You might laugh now, but it will be no laughing matter when this happens in the playoffs (Brandon Inge nods his head in agreement).

*****

Today’s Jet-Lagged, Sleep-Deprived Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Tuiasosopo, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Infante, 2B
9. Pena, C

Yes, the game post picture is a mite creepy. But then again, it is a 10:00 pm EST game, and creepiness is thematically apt.

Whenever the Tigers play at Oakland, there are three unavoidable questions that come to mind:

1. Will anyone stay up late enough to watch?
2. Who named O.co Coliseum, and how much would it cost to rename it? And what civil or criminal remedies are available? and
3. The team name. I mean, Athletics is easy to work with, but A’s? It seem so…possessive. And what would the possessive of A’s be? A’s’s? As in the A’s’s record so far is best in the American League?

And it is. Against all odds, the A’s seem to be doing it again.

The Tigers just played the anti-A’s, and came within a bullpen meltdown from a series sweep. The Blue Jays spent the offseason stalking the Marlins and others like some crazed Ebay mavens, and gobbled up half a team’s worth of star players: Jose Reyes. Josh Johnson. Mark Buehrle. Melky Cabrera. R.A. Dickey.  It was like a fantasy league draft. And yet currently the Blue Jays sit at a glum 3-6, and just claimed Tiger (and Mariner!) castoff Casper “The Ghost” Wells.

The A’s, on the other hand, after surprising everyone with their unexpected run into the playoffs last season, bolstered their team for 2013 by…well, what, exactly? After making a big fuss about how important the clubhouse presence of Brandon Inge was, they flicked him aside without much ado. They lost Dallas Braden, Brandon McCarthy and Stephen Drew, and added…umm, Chris Resop? And yet there they sit at 8-2, with the best record in the American League, having just swept the “juggernaut” California Angels.

It’s still early, but still impressive.

Tonight they send out the Reanimated, Rehabilitated Bartolo Colon to face Mad Max Scherzer. Bartolo has no business being in a Major League Baseball uniform, which means he will probably shut out Detroit.

*****

By the way,  one of the best value tickets in all of Major League Baseball: the tickets behind the bullpens in Oakland, which are on the field between 1st/3rd and the outfield. I had the pleasure of watching Brayan Villarreal, Al Alburquerque, and Daniel Schlereth warm up there from about 20 feet away, and it was most informative.

*****

Stat of the Day:  Teams who rest two .400 hitters on a West Coast trip opener win 66.6% of the games on the road trip.

Really Weird, Check-It-Out-Yourself, No-Really, Stat of the Day: This is the ONLY West Coast road trip. All season.

Player of the Pre-game: Don Kelly. With the fearsome Ramon Santiago hitting behind him finally Kelly will get some good pitches to hit. And having Kelly on base in front of him will clearly get Santiago “going.”

Today’s Clearly-Hunter-And-Infante-Need-A-Rest-From-The-Long-Plane-Trip Lineup:

1. Jackson, CF
2. Dirks, LF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Avila, C
7. Peralta, SS
8. Kelly, RF
9. Santiago, 2B

Victor Martinez back in the lineup already, what a trooper. Martinez is on the unlucky side of BAbip at the moment. Ain’t nothin’ but a thang.

How about that bullpen? Abysmal with inherited runners. 6 of 6 scored… in one game?? But it’s early, much too early to contemplate Villareal and Alburquerque being sent to Toledo and replaced by Rondon and Valverde, so I won’t even mention it.

Rain in the forecast threatens to seriously delay or postpone today’s game, but in the unlikely event it comes off, here’s one angle on the pitching matchup:

Josh Johnson has, for all practical purposes, never faced the current Tigers. Doug Fister’s OPS-against (90 PA, 0 HR and only 8 XBH) vs. current Blue Jays is a sparkling .668 vs. a sparkling  career .676. Too bad if the game is rained out, because Fister could be Fister against the Jays and rule Toronto, unless we factor in regression to the mean, in which case Fister gets bombed. Prayers for rain would appear to be unnecessary today, in any event.

Actually, the Tigers bullpen is making the starting pitcher matchups somewhat irrelevant. Unless that turns around (in a good way, not a reversal of failure), it might be more informative to pit bullpen vs. bullpen in my little OPS-against doo-dads.

And now today’s starting lineups, courtesy of the dejected but resilient…

POST-GAME: Tigers 11, Blue Jays 1. Sometimes a lopsided score makes a great win. This time a GREAT win makes a lopsided score. Pitching, baserunning, hitting, defense – the Tigers had it ALL going on. Detroit (5-4) takes the series from Toronto (3-6) in what could easily have been a sweep. In keeping with a game to remember, Miguel Cabrera had a career first – same game triple and stolen base (a brilliant steal of third by the smartest baserunner on the team). Doug Fister did indeed rule the Blue Jays. Watch the Arencibia at bats.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Doug Fister, Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter

HONORABLE MENTION: Jhonny Peralta, Austin Jackson, Miguel Cabrera, Andy Dirks

NOT SO GOOD: Josh Johnson, Esmil Rogers

Turning point: 1st inning,  Miggy catches the Jays sleeping and steals third (two outs!), scores shortly thereafter. Game winner: 2nd inning hit parade, kicking off with 6 hits wrapped around a sac fly. Game keeper: 3rd inning, Peralta ranges to keep one in the IF that could have sent Reyes to 3B, then ranges right again to get the force on Reyes at 3B. And then Dirks nails Melky at the plate to take the wind out of Toronto’s sails for good. Two on with no outs and nothing to show for it. Beauty.

Houston (Dallas?), we have image. Thank you, man!

Victor Martinez is day to day after cutting his thumb badly enough to require stitches. I think it’s time for some bat rack modifications. Jason Beck says no Kelly and no catch if V-Mart is in there. I say more runs for Tigers if Kelly isn’t. Not to take away from Don’s awesome play.

Today the Tigers are up against that old nemesis archetype, the crafty lefty, while Rick Porcello would do well to avoid mistakes against a team far more liable to make you pay for them than the Twins were.

Mark Buehrle’s OPS-against vs. current Tigers (360 PA) is .752 vs. a career .734, and when he’s hittable, these Tigers find him hittable for extra bases. Porcello’s OPS-against vs. current Blue Jays (78 PA… 3 strikeouts)  is a whopping 1.150 (BA is .446!) vs. a career .770. This could be a game of Toronto speed (they’re going to get on base against Mr. P)  vs. Detroit long ball. Or worse. Or better. Rick appears to have taken it up a notch so far this season. This is not your grandfather’s Porcello.

And now your starting lineups, courtesy of the alert and helpful…

POST-GAME: Blue Jays 8, Tigers 6. Tough loss, a win handed right back to the opponent. Long rain delay before the game and some rain during the game. Dangerous game to be a pitcher, batted balls bouncing off them, knocking them down, and worse.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: J.P. Arencibia

HONORABLE MENTION: Miguel Cabrera, Phil Coke, Prince Fielder, Mark De Rosa

NOT SO GOOD: Brayan Villareal, Octavio Dotel, Steve Delabar, Emilio Bonifacio

Turning points: Both 5th inning: Plus side, Hunter not trying to score on Cabrera double and Buehrle being pulled for Delabar; minus side, rally-fizzling ABs by Avila and Infante. Game loser: Villareal losing batters on 3 straight full counts and Dotel serving it up to Arencibia on a tee for the 3-run double. Tough luck: Martinez ahead 3-0 and flies out deep left in the 6th, Avila’s heartbreak flyout to the RF track in the 7th. Funny, kind of: Dotel taking one for the team where it hurts. Really tough luck: Pouring rain in the home 9th and a home plate umpire calling balls as strikes to get the game over with.

I know. It’s invisible ink, that’s all. Hold a candle to it.

After a Monday off for both teams, the Toronto Blue Jays (2-4) come to Detroit (3-3) for a three-game series. There is rain in the forecast for the Detroit area Tuesday through Thursday, and cooler temps those last two days, so the weather is likely to become a factor in the games at some point. Game time is 1:05 PM ET each day.

Probable starters for the series:

Tuesday, April 9: RHP Brandon Morrow vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez

Wednesday, April 10: LHP Mark Buehrle vs. RHP Rick Porcello

Thursday, Aptil 11: RHP Josh Johnson vs. RHP Doug Fister

The Blue Jays, like the Tigers, are a star-studded team with big fan expectations that has scuffled a bit out of the gate. Maybe more than a bit. Toronto’s team BA is .223 and OBP .295; fully half their runs (of 3.7 per game) are home runs, which doesn’t even include from home runs. Pitching? Team ERA of 4.82 and WHIP of 1.5. Compare Tigers: BA .282 & OBP .341 (but only 9 of 58 hits were XBH), ERA and WHIP of … um, OK, it’s a wash, 4.64 and 1.41. The Blue Jays have been sloppy defensively and erratic overall. The Tigers have been good defensively, and are technically without an error through 6 games (but we know better). Detroit’s major weakness has been a shaky bullpen, one game blown and two more put out of reach. If it’s less who you’re playing and more when you’re playing them, in Toronto’s favor is that they may choose this time to get it together. In Detroit’s favor is that the Jays will be attempting this in the face of better starting pitching than they’ve faced in three consecutive games so far this season. I like Tigers chances for a series win, myself. The Tigers have stolen as many bases as Toronto this year, by the way.

Brandon Morrow’s OPS-against vs. current Tigers (61 PA) is .635 vs. his career .695. He’s also struck out this bunch at a higher clip than his already impressive 9.6 K/9 would suggest. Anibal Sanchez’s OPS-against vs. current Blue Jays (113 PA) is .858 vs. his career .712, and he’s a bit more walk-happy against them as well. All this can only mean one thing: Anything. My guess is that Sanchez dominates and Morrow doesn’t make it through the 5th.

Back later with the post-game.

And now, may I present the up-to-the-minute and accurate starting lineups, courtesy of the wildly amusing and highly mobile…

POST-GAME: Detroit 7, Toronto 3. Wins don’t get much more satisfying than this. Sanchez got better as the game went on and showed off his considerable arsenal of pitches. Cabrera was just plain great.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Miguel Cabrera, Anibal Sanchez

HONORABLE MENTION: Don Kelly, Torii Hunter (who picked up career hit #2,000)

NOT SO GOOD: Jhonny Peralta, Joaquin Benoit

A turning point: Don Kelly’s tremendous HR-robbing catch of Arencibia’s smash to LF in  the 2nd. A potential turning point: Another questionable attempt to take an extra base by Hunter, nailed at the plate in the 3rd. The game winner: Miguel’s sneaky 2-out, 3-run HR in the 4th. Backbreaker: Izturis’s throwing error in the 8th.

When I first took a look at the schedule, I thought that the Tigers should be able to take each of the first 2 series, and get out of the gate 4-2. After a disappointing games 2 and 3, the Tigers can get to 4-2 with a sweep today, which would be the first regular season sweep of the Yankees since ’08, and first in Detroit since 2000.

The Tigers face Yankees ace CC Sabathia. In his career, Sabathia is 18-12 with a 4.43 ERA against the Tigers. Over his last 8 starts at Comerica, he’s 2-5 with a 6.80 ERA. Which segues nicely into my next point – is Sabathia losing his stuff?

Looking at Fangraphs Pitch f/x data, you can see that Sabathia’s fastball has lost a few mph. Early in his career he averaged about 94 mph and topped out at 99. Last year he averaged 92.4 and topped out at 96.3. He looked slow in spring training, and in the Yankees opener, his fastball averaged 89.9 mph and topped out at 91.3. I recognize that one game doesn’t make a sample size, but his 2011 and 2012 have begun the downward trend. I don’t know if he can reverse it at this point in time. As we’ve discussed here before, losing a few mph on your fastball is killer for a starting pitcher, and low 90s got Jose Valverde booted from the big leagues.

This is CC’s 10th time to match up against JV, he’s 4-4 with a 5.01 ERA. Both Cabrera (1.147 OPS) and Fielder (1.098) rake against CC. Peralta (1-17) not so much.

Let’s see if JV can pitch into the 6th today.

*************

A few notes:

– Austin Jackson has led off each game by reaching base, and has scored 4 times. He has 7 runs scored in 5 games this season. And he’s Kd 2 while walking 3 times.

– ESPN did a touching article on Max Scherzer and his brother yesterday.

– I’ve gotta take back my “6.74” post yesterday. The Tigers bullpen ERA is actually a bit lower because none of the ERs were charged to Al Al yesterday, despite a 3.0 WHIP performance.

– Off day tomorrow – so root extra hard today.

Today’s Series Sweeping Lineup (coming soon – update, gotta jet, someone please post). I think we’ve established that Pena will be starting, look for Tuiasosopo to start in left.

Now that was a Hope Opener.

Like most of you, I surmise, I came into baseball consciousness well before the internet, streaming scores and instant updates. Growing up in Arlington, the only way I could get Tigers scores was to maybe catch a glimpse on the evening news (if I was allowed to stay up that late), or hopefully catch the “out of town scores” during the Rangers radio broadcast. I didn’t understand how they got those scores, but I wasn’t complaining. I don’t remember the TV guys being too concerned with the AL East back in the day (or AL Central post 1994). Typically, I did not get the Tigers score until the next morning when it was a race against my brother downstairs to grab the sports page and dive into the box scores. I used to stare at them for what seemed like an hour a day.

Then, however, there was the magic of the ballpark – and the out of town scoreboard. I didn’t quite understand how, but ballparks had mystical powers which allowed them to get updated scores every inning! And they would even let you know who was pitching (if you knew their numbers)! I yearned to see the wormhole in time which allowed the scoreboard guy at Arlington Stadium to get instant score updates; but I was content to just watch the numbers roll over.

Well, I went out to the Ballpark yesterday, and thanks to cell phone connectivity issues in crowded places, I was transported back to my childhood and found myself scoreboard watching. And it was fantastic.

2-0. Nice start.

2-3!?! I hate the Yankees!

5-3!!! There must have been a home run, right? 5th inning – I wonder if one of the big boys hit one out? Did Cabrera get another RBI?

6-3! That was fast. Maybe a solo shot? A double then single? Not enough time to load the bases and WP one in. When did I last check the scoreboard?

8-3. Final. I couldn’t wait to get home and read about it.

Just like I had hoped.

**************************************

Remember that today’s game is the Fox Game of the Week.

1. Jackson, CF
2. Hunter, RF
3. Cabrera, 3B
4. Fielder, 1B
5. Martinez, DH
6. Dirks, LF
7. Peralta, SS
8. Avila, C
9. Santiago, 2B

Being a fan is tough. In baseball, even in the best years, it means you’re going to have at least 70 lousy baseball days, and a few dozen of those will rip your sports heart out.

I just want you to know, that however frustrated/angry/disappointed/amused you feel regarding yesterday’s bullpen (lack of) effort. I feel the same way.

Hope opener today. Short and Sweet for the Win.

I’m headed out to Rangers Ballpark for their home opener, someone please post the lineups when they are released.

Since the big question going into the season was the Tiger bullpen, it was almost inevitable that the big topic of discussion early on would be bullpen problems. These sorts of things become self-perpetuating don’t they? At the first sign of trouble it becomes “see, look, it’s happening!”

I am not the only person who suspects that Jim Leyland really isn’t buying the Closer by Committee business, and is itching to slap the closer tag on the back of someone’s warmup jacket.  And if you were going to try one guy to start with, who better than Phil Coke, he of the postseason heroics?

Well, the first go of that did not work out so well.  Coke hung fastballs on two consecutive bottom of the order boys and before you knew it the Tigers’ bid for an undefeated season was finished at one game (that last fly by the way was frustratingly an almost-playable one).

It is hard to blame anyone for remembering what Coke did in the playoffs, but it is also worth remembering this: Coke gave up a .396 average against right-handed hitters last season. One of the advantages to a Closer by Committee system is the ability to play match ups. Maybe let’s give that a try.

The game yesterday was only partly about the bullpen though. The basic story was that the Tigers just didn’t score enough runs to win a Major League baseball game, struggling against the very ordinary Kevin Correia. In fact, the vaunted Tiger offense has managed to grind out a paltry season OPS of .542 so far. This won’t continue, although hopefully they won’t have to wait for warm weather.

The good news from yesterday: the Tigers’ starters now have a season ERA of 0.00, as Anibal Sanchez turned in 5 innings of two-hit baseball.  The rubber game mound belongs to Rick Porcello, he of the sparkling Spring Training.  So when he leaves the mound with the lead after 5 innings, try not to think “oh no, here it comes.”

Today’s Not-So-Fun Fact: Tiger left-handed hitters so far this season are 3-for-27 (.111), with an OPS of .291.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Don Kelly, who becomes the first bench player to get a start. The Donkey will bat 6th, naturally, because that is where the Left Fielder bats.

Today’s Chillin’ With DK Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Torii Hunter, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Don Kelly, LF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Omar Infante, 2B

Well after a day to savor their Opening Day victory, and to let Minneapolis warm up a bit (game time looks to be a relatively balmy 45), the Tigers hand the ball to Anibal and look to keep their perfect record intact.

Today’s Tigers-Twins game is also the MLB.TV Free Game of the Day.

While most of the talk about the opener was related to the bullpen use (or misuse, if you prefer). The play of the game may have been in the first inning, when the Tigers took an early lead and never looked back. After Austin Jackson led off with a single, he took off for 2nd, and Torii Hunter executed the hit-and-run to perfection, and before you knew it the Tigers had runners at the corners with nobody out.

As it turns out though, Jim Leyland said that there was no hit-and-run called on the play. Jackson was stealing second, and when Hunter saw the space open up between first and second he reacted; it was just something Hunter did on his own. I am looking forward to having a real #2 hitter this season, which the Tigers have been missing since the days of Placido Polanco (who, by the way, opened the season for the Marlins batting clean-up. Oh dear).

Speaking of the Marlins, the Tigers claimed pitcher Evan Reed off waivers from Miami and assigned him to Toledo. This tops off their 40-man roster at 40.

Today’s fun fact: According to Baseball Prospectus, the Tigers have a 76.1% chance of making the playoffs.  The Twins chances are a slim 0.9%.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Miguel Cabrera, who is 9-for-19 lifetime against Correia.

Today’s Undefeated Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Torii Hunter, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Andy Dirks, LF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Omar Infante, 2B

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Once the turtle has had his say he is likely to duck back into his shell, and wait out the cold Minnesota winds there. But winter weather or not, it is still Opening Day, which should warm the hearts of baseball fans everywhere. Let’s Play Ball!!

Series Summary:

Mon Apr 1 4:10 pm: Verlander vs. Worley

Wed Apr 3 4:10 pm: Sanchez vs. Correia

Thurs Apr 4: 1:10 pm: Porcello vs. Pelfrey

Well, this looks to be a cold one (game time temperature is predicted to be 34, and that is before wind chill is figured in), so let’s get this out of the way now:  don’t worry, the Tigers will start hitting once the temperatures warm up.  There does seem to be a slight advantage to the pitchers in colder weather (slight).  Here are the average OPS numbers by month:

• April .727
• May .731
• June .734
• July .737
• Aug .734
• Sept/Oct .723

This particular Twins pitcher, Vance Worley, has the added advantage of being unfamiliar to the Tiger hitters: only 2 Tigers have faced him before, Prince Fielder (1-for-3) and Omar Infante (0-for-6). And I’m sure the Twins hitters wish they had never faced Justin Verlander before. Joe Mauer is the exception, who is a career .351 against Verlander (although it should be mentioned he was 0-for-6 last season).

Speaking of Verlander, his new contract carries a $22 million vesting option for 2020–and the deciding vesting clause is how he finishes in the 2019 Cy Young voting. If he makes the top 5, the contract vests. This could make for a rather uniquely suspenseful Cy Young vote

Today’s fun fact: today will be the first opening day in Target Field history.

Today’s Player of the Pre-game:  Torii Hunter. Torii returns to the city (if not the stadium) of his heyday, and tries to start up a little Ducks on the Pond (or Ice).

Today’s Defending AL Champions Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Torii Hunter, RF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Andy Dirks, LF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Omar Infante, 2B

Today’s Seriously, We Have to Face Verlander in this Cold? Twins Lineup:

1. Aaron Hicks, CF
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Josh Willingham, LF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, DH
6. Chris Parmalee, RF
7. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
8. Brian Dozier, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS