Surprisingly, last night turned out well, thanks mostly to a career performance by The Pride of Butler, PA, Don “The Donkey” Kelly.

As expected, the game turned into a strikeout duel, with Rick Porcello doing more than expected, and the Tiger hitters a little less so.

The key play of the game could have easily turned out to be Tuiasosopo being thrown at at home in the 11th.  I will go on the record as saying that the move by Brookens was absolutely the right one, usually: on the road, extra innings, 2 outs, the odds are in your favor to be aggressive and to send the runner home, every time. Think of it this way:  if the next hitter is a .200 hitter, the odds are 1 in 5 that the next batter will hit the runner in. The odds are much better that the defense will not throw the runner out.

On the other hand, you need to consider the variables. As in: Ankiel in RF, and Tuiasosopo on 3rd base. Tui might be a tad faster than Victor Martinez (who should never, ever again be sent home in anything other than a gimme situation). I like the aggressive approach of Brookens, but he needs to know when he is working against elite arms, armed with leadfoots.

OK, time for a new nickname: Tuiasoslopoke.

*****

Tonight Doug “The K” Fister faces a guy named “Bud.”

*****

If the game is sparsely attended tonight, you have to forgive the Houstonians. At 8-21, there is hardly joy in Mudville. And the real fans were all up late waiting out that extra-inning downer. And on top of all that, apparently the Main Event in town is a culture war.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Don Kelly. DK gets the rare start after his heroics last night.

Today’s No-Jack Lineup:

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

The Tigers travel to Houston to take on the newly-American-League Astros, who have so far been welcomed into the AL to the tune of a league-worst 8-20 record.

The probable pitchers for the series are:

• May 2 8:10  Porcello vs. Lyles
• May 3 8:10  Fister vs. Norris
• May 4 7:10  Scherzer vs. Harrell
• May 5 4:10  Verlander vs. Humber

If there is any good news for the beleaguered Astros it’s that they get to start out the series with Porcello, the one Tiger pitcher who is not putting up huge strikeout numbers. Houston has struck out a MLB-leading 276 times; the K-stros hitters meeting the Tiger pitchers should make for a perfect storm of strikeouts this weekend.

*****

Not surprisingly, Bruce Rondon was returned to Toledo, just in time to be fitted for his Chewbacca uniform, as the Mud Hens honor Star Wars Weekend. Why did no one tell me about this? It is far too late to get a decent costume now. Anyway Mud Hen players will hope that the increased attention the uniforms will give them will help in their Wookie-of-the-Year bids.

OK, I can’t help it, had to look up a picture of the things. Words fail me.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Jose Valverde. Finally another save situation arrives, and Valverde comes out especially animated against his former team.

Today’s Welcome to the AL Lineup:

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. Infante, 2B

The Tigers have a new closer (same as the old one).

And they are lucky to get him:  “A lot of teams wanted to sign me,” Valverde said. “Like the Yankees and Mets. A lot of teams.” Count on the Yankees to spoil the fun: Yankees GM Brian Cashman told WFAN radio: “False, false, false.” Then Buster Olney piled on and said the Mets didn’t make an offer either.

At any rate, an optimist (or something) can say that Valverde is the missing piece that completes the bullpen. “Valverde could be the answer. Truly, the answer…Leyland will be able to use his bullpen cast in the slots to which they’re best-suited.” As Vince said, the greatest gain from signing Valverde may be that Leyland can manage more comfortably now, and doesn’t have to think about who pitches when.

Not that there are not opposing views. Setting aside the whole debate about how important having a designated closer even is, some are calling the signing of Valverde in particular a panic move.

For what it is worth, he did look like a different pitcher last night. He still came in with a spit and a hop (although without the trademark glasses), but has a different delivery now, and a quicker one by the way. His fastball seems to have picked up a couple mph from the end of last season.  But where was that supposed improved slider? (All 18 pitches were fastballs. It may have been just too cold for anything else). Does he have a strikeout pitch? The three outs were hit rather hard. And how will he pitch with men on base? Valverde’s celebration dance was subtle and subdued, as should be ours until those questions are answered.

*****

This afternoon is the marquee pitching matchup game, James Shields vs. Justin Verlander. Look out for Billy Butler, who has tormented Verlander at a .396 pace over his career.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Victor Martinez. V-Mart finally became unstymied with some “in play, no out” balls. Let’s stay on a roll here.

Today’s Kelly-Time Lineup:

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

Well, what to do on a rainy day with no baseball? If you are Dave Dombrowski, sign Jose Valverde, that’s what. Jim Leyland didn’t waste any time either: Valverde is coming back as The Closer (“one thing you know about him, he’s done it before”), and you can expect the bullpen to settle into The Role type of bullpen, as The Committee is disbanded. What Rondon’s role will be remains to be seen, and he may just be a placeholder until the team figures out what exactly is going on with Octavio Dotel.

Valverde will be available to close today’s game, if the situation arises, and how can one hope that it will not?

So The Big Potato has come full circle now from The Closer to the Struggling Closer to the Postseason Disaster Closer to The Unsigned and Unloved Former Closer to the Aww What The Heck Minor League Signing to…The Closer. Dave Dombrowski says that “his stuff is back throwing like he did a couple years ago.” Well, we shall see. What is undeniable is that there will not be any dull moments the next time a save situation arises. Jason Beck has an amusing timeline of the circular evolution of Jose Valverde from Tiger Closer to Tiger Closer.

Of course, with Valverde back, someone had to go. Brayan Villarreal was the one thrown onto the bus from Detroit to Toledo. Villarreal has stuff that has been described as “unhittable,” but unfortunately teams have figured out that they don’t need to hit him, and that standing there like a house by the side of the road can actually work when he is on the mound.

The 41st man on the 40-man roster turned out the be the sort-of-forgotten Duane Below, who was Designated For Assignment, and can now be claimed on waivers. The Blue Jays may be his next stop–they have already claimed Aaron Laffey, Casper Wells, Mauro Gomez, and Edgar Gonzalez this month.

*****

Speaking of Casper Wells, The Ghost will be haunting Oakland now. The Blue Jays Designated Wells 5 days after claiming him on waivers, and the Oakland A’s acquired him for “cash considerations” (and moved former Tiger Scott Sizemore to the 60-day DL to make room for him). Wells seems like he would have been a good fit for that RH LF platoon role: he has outstanding numbers against left-handing pitching, and his glove is a plus at all 3 outfield positions. The Tigers have virtually no chance to claim anyone on waivers (every MLB team but one has to pass first), but it seems like they could have come up with “cash considerations.”

And since we’re at it with the former Tigers: Inge is back up with the Pirates (1-4, 2B, RBI). Cue the peanut gallery. And Delmon Young had his first rehab assignment for Philadelphia. Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that Young is expected to step in as the Phillies’ everyday right fielder, but not until he’s “adequate” in the field.” Oh, stop it Ruben, you’re killin’ me!

*****

Today’s starting pitchers are still Max and Wade, so I will stick with the lucky slump-busting picture.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Well, Max still figures in the equation, but the POPG obviously has to go to Jose Valverde, whose appearance or non-appearance alike will be the topic of the game.

Today’s Powerless Lineup (reverse jinx in effect):

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. Infante, 2B

Well, we needed that off-day. I’m not speaking for the team; the fans certainly did though.

The news of the day is that Octavio Dotel has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation, the 2nd time he has suffered this ailment (the first just landed him on the day-to-day list). Whether the elbow inflammation caused his ineffectiveness or his ineffectiveness caused the inflammation diagnosis, the Tigers decided it was time to give Rondon a roll in the bigs. Rondon solved some control problems from Spring Training (he hasn’t walked a batter in his last 4 Mud Hen outings), and he has been rewarded. It remains to be seen how this might effect the Valverde situation–Valverde continues to pitch well, and has a May 5 call-up deadline in his contract.

*****

Surprisingly though, the bullpen had very little to do with the Tigers slumping on the 2nd half of their West Coast trip. The bats simply disappeared, especially with runners in scoring position. (For those wondering why Phil Coke was left in to face Trumbo, by the way, Dotel’s injury meant there were no right-handers left in the bullpen to bring in anyway).

The Tigers have a meager 12 home runs for the season, and an anemic .379 slugging percentage, good for 12th in the league (they are being outslugged by the Royals). With runners in scoring position they are only hitting .230, with a .654 OPS (12th), and with bases loaded it only gets worse, an astounding .087 BA with a .301 OPS.

Prince Fielder, after being named Player of the Week, began striking out like his body had been snatched by Inge, and had a golden sombrero and a platinum poncho to add to his luggage for the return trip.  It would be easy to just say “that’s baseball,” but the more astute fan would detect the working of a jinx, and blame John Lowe for wondering if the Tigers could have two .400 hitters this season.

*****

A big part of the offensive malaise of course is the continued struggles of Victor Martinez, which have left the Tigers with a Ramon Santiago-like OPS of .542 from the DH position (14th) and from the 5th spot in the lineup (13th).  Martinez has had some bad luck on balls in play, but he is not making any excuses.  At any rate, the Martinez situation could turn into one of those Raburn/Boesch/Ordonez situations:  it is too early to do anything but stay with the course, but if the Tigers end up on the other side of the All-Star break with a 5-hitter with a .600 OPS, that spells trouble.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Max Scherzer. Max will strike out a bushel of batters, but more than that, we are going with the slump-busting, Creepy Max Glare game picture to hypnotize the Royals. If Max gets in trouble, look for Leyland to bring Rondon in for his first MLB appearance with bases loaded and nobody out.

Today’s Powerless Lineup (reverse jinx in effect):

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. Infante, 2B

After a three-HR assault, a three-hit six-inning Verlander gem, and a three-K 9th by Joaquin Benoit to end some bullpen drama, the Tigers go into today with a chance to start their only West Coast trip with a series win.

The Tigers give the call to Anibal today. Sanchez has had two strong outing so far (1-0, 1.50 ERA), and has struck out 13 in 12 innings so far. Look for some more today, as Anibal faces an Oakland lineup missing Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes to injuries, and seems to have a game plan of taking a lot of pitches against the Tigers staff.

Left Fielder Seth Smith is one guy that Sanchez might want to be careful with: Smith is a career 7-for-15 with 3 home runs agains Anibal.

When Anibal does need to hand over the ball the A’s will get to face a bullpen that is not only shaky, but depleted: not many pitchers will be available today. Dotel suffered elbow soreness in Friday night’s game). Coke should be available, as is Wild Brayan. And of course Don Kelly. But beyond that, who knows? The main option though, is likely to be…Rick Porcello.

You may have noticed Porcello warming up last night. Since the one off day on the West Coast trip falls on Monday, Porcello will skip his normally scheduled Tuesday start and Fister will take Tuesday, leaving Porcello as a fill-in bullpen guy.

Speaking of bullpen guys, Jose Valverde pitched to his first live batters in an extended spring training game in Lakeland (1 scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout). Only one walk per inning? That is looking good these days.

*****

We had a lot of good input on the potentially controversial BHIP (beard hit by a pitch) situation inspired by Josh Reddick. I should add that it should be pretty clearcut that if his beard is in the strike zone (even if his body is not), the correct call would be a strike. I think there are also potential issues such as interfering with the catcher’s throws that should be considered while forming a MLB beard policy.

Today’s A of the Day is Eric Sogard, who is one the few position players in MLB in this century to sport eyeglasses. Here we have a proposed All-Time players-with-glasses list, which overlooks a certain Tiger closer for the closer spot, preferring instead a fictional character.

*****

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Victor Martinez. Snakebit or not, the longer his slump goes the more pressure it will create. A three-hit day would solve that nicely.

Today’s Sub-less Lineup:

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. Infante, 2B

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

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