Opening Weekend - Wow!

I hadn't quite seen an opening set of games like that before.  If this is a season of destiny for the Tigers, well, it certainly got a storybook beginning.

I caught parts of the Thursday game - the first two or three innings and the ninth.  I had to leave just as Verlander started to get that Look.  You know, the one where he's found his groove.  I got back in time to see that Valverde blew the save and the Tigers come back up to bat.

I watched all of both weekend games. 

Here's what I learned:

1) Verlander looks dominant.
This guy doesn't seem to have skipped a beat.  He'll have bad days, but he looks like he's ready to win another AL Cy Young. 

2) Valverde's blown save is a blessing in disguise.
Mark my words on this - having the pressure of no blown saves in 52 attempts, in more than a calendar year, was not something we wanted on Papa Grande.  By blowing the first save of the year, everyone can laugh it off, Valverde can relax, and he'll be fine the rest of the way.

3) Cabrera and Fielder really are two of the best hitters in the game.
Cabrera looks ready to go.  One of the Fox Sports Detroit announcers said this might be the year he wins an MVP.  If he plays with this intensity all year, I agree.  Fielder, likewise, looks dialed in and ready go.  What's amazing is how relaxed both look.  And it's not just the HRs - both of them just know how to get it done, like Fielder's single in the 11th yesterday.

4) The clubhouse chemistry seems top-notch.
Everyone seems really relaxed.  Given, they're winning.  But still, no one seems like they feel like they need to hold the team on their shoulders.  Everyone seems to be comfortable relying on each other.  And they all look like they're having fun.  A happy clubhouse with a team that stacked?  Scary.

5) Is there a weak spot in the lineup?
Nope.  There just isn't.  If Austin Jackson halves his strikeout numbers and keeps hitting (not at a .560 clip, but at, say, a .300 clip) it'll make this team even more dangerous.  And who are you pitching around past that?  Boesch?  Young?  Avila?  Peralta?  Raburn?  The only weak spot is the 9-hole and it's still better than many. 

6) Don't overreact to the Fister injury.
It's early in the season and the guy pulled a rib muscle.  Later in the year, this might not even be a DL trip.  But right now?  No reason not to play it safe.

7) Don't overreact to Scherzer's first outing.
Guy had a bad game, probably got overconfident from the big lead.  It's one game and he was relatively solid last season.  Like Porcello, though, he's going to have bad days.

8) The bullpen is much improved.
Sure, they gave up some runs.  But this bullpen is vastly improved over the 2011 incarnation... and that's without Al Alburquerque.  This is not the glaring weak point it was last year.

9) Boston isn't as good as people think.
This is a very mediocre Boston team.  Trouncing them doesn't mean the same thing it would have meant two or three years ago. 


10) Tampa Bay will provide a better test to gauge this team by.
One of the best pitching teams against one of the best hitting teams.  Tampa is a better team than Boston this year (by a lot).  Let's see how the Tigers hit against that squad.

There's still a lot of season left, but it's hard not to be encouraged by the most exciting Opening Weekend ever, right?  And after two walk-off wins and one dominant shutout, why not?  Let's enjoy it and see how the Tampa set goes.

The MLB Preview

Whoops.  We're a couple days in already!  Lax on my part, but nonetheless, I'll list my opinions and predictions here, since a couple days of play really doesn't color anything that strongly or change/invalidate them.

The AL -
Division winners?  Detroit, Tampa, Texas.
Wild Cards?  New York and Toronto.

The NL -
Division Winners? Philadelphia, St. Louis, Arizona.
Wild Cards?  Washington and San Francisco.

Fielder will have a better season than Pujols -
I'm hearing a lot of Albert Pujols and Angels hype.  It seems to me that most people are forgetting that guys take time to adjust to a new league, especially for sluggers in the AL.  I expect both Pujols and Prince Fielder to take some time to get hot.  Remember that Cabrera had one of his worst seasons in 2008 when he first joined the Tigers.  However, I also expect Fielder to do better.

My reasoning is simple.  First of all, Pujols has a lot of hype to deal with.  He's the face of the Angels right now.  Besides that, Pujols is leaving his home of ten years to come to a new place.  It's gonna take time.  As for Fielder, he didn't leave home - he came back home.  Remember that he grew up a Tiger.  Unlike Pujols, the Tigers aren't asking as much of Fielder - he's not the face of the Tigers.  They just want him to come in and do his job.  Far less pressure on Fielder.  He's gonna have the better season.

Braun won't be NL MVP again -
I think Braun has plenty of tools, but he has two major issues to deal with.  First, he's it.  Fielder's gone, so a greater burden falls on his shoulders.  Second, he has a revoked PED suspension looming over him.  The guy has too much on his mind.  He won't repeat.

Verlander might in the AL, though -
This is highly unlikely, in truth, but when you listen to Verlander talk, he sounds like he had an "okay" season last year.  The guy continues to challenge himself and his Opening Day performance only proves that his drive to excel and succeed is quite admirable.  It's like winning those awards last season have only motivated him to do even better.  Scary.

The AL is the better division -
Mark my words, the best non-playoff team in the AL will have a record good enough to win the weakest NL division.

Kansas City will be better than anyone expects -
They won't win the AL Central, or really challenge for it, but they'll finish second.

Boston will be worse -
.500 at best.  I just don't buy this team.  It won't even be because of Bobby Valentine.  Just too much attrition in one offseason for them to be very effective in a loaded division.  This team isn't rebuilding, per se, but they are very much in transition.

Miguel Cabrera makes less than 15 errors at 3B -
This story just got way too much attention over the winter.  He'll be adequate there; he's not a Gold Glove, obviously.  But he's on a good team and he'll have good support.  It'll work out.  Miami, however, might be another situation altogether - anyone see that Opening Night game?

The Tigers win the World Series -
I'm really not sure who'll emerge from the NL.  Really tough to say.  If I had to pick, I'd say Arizona.  But the Tigers will win it.  They have the look and swagger of a team that looks ready to play a full season, win a lot of games, hit a lot of balls, and have a lot of fun doing it.  For all the hype, they seem as relaxed as any team I've seen.  I resisted the hype as best I could over the offseason, especially as a Tigers fan, but hype aside, it's the best Tigers team I've ever seen.  They were closer than people think last year and this year they're simply more dangerous and they clearly realize that their job this year is to win it all.  The infield won't be as bad as people think, the batting lineup will be the nastiest in the majors, and the pitching will be everything it needs to be, if not more.

Here's to the 2012 season.  It's good to have baseball back.