The Temple of Steinbrenner

Being an out-of-town fan, I don't get to see too many Tiger games in person any more. They are making one trip to New York this year, and to take advantage I sprung for a few seats on Sunday's game. It was my first visit to the "new" Yankee Stadium, or as I like to call it, The Temple of Steinbrenner.

I'd always liked Yankee Stadium, thinking it a great place to see a game, and it is certainly sad to see it go, but like Tiger Stadium and many others throughout the league, they have been sacrificed to the needs of the modern day. The new stadium is certainly a palace, with numerous shops and restaurants, and also with a great sense of history. For the first time, I was there early enough to visit Monument Park, where the greats of the team have been honored in bronze.

I went with my friend Bob, who is a Mets fan but also a baseball fan. We had seats in the upper deck, but between third and home, so had a great view of the field. I don't mind being high up, as long as I'm in foul territory.

The Tigers threw Max Scherzer, and Yankees C.C. Sabathia. Scherzer was never sharp; he ended up walking seven and throwing 119 pitches without getting out of the fifth inning (the first time that had been done since 2004).

But the game remained close. It was 2-1 after Prince Fielder lined a home run in the top of the fourth, and 3-2 after Miguel Cabrera doubled in Brennan Boesch. The Yankees were leaving men on base at a record-setting clip; at one point they left the bases loaded in consecutive innings.

This got my friend Bob in action. Bob is an endless reservoir of curiosity and trivia. Armed with a smartphone, he checked on the major league record for men left on base. Turns out is 20, set by the Yankees themselves in 1956. After the sixth inning, they had 14. Bob and I then were likely the only people in the ball park who were aware of that, and secretly rooted for the Yankees to tie or break the record.

They didn't. They would only leave 15 on base, winning the game 6 to 2. Andruw Jones, amazingly still in the league, added a home run. Curtis Granderson also homered, with Austin Jackson getting his glove on the ball but losing it when the glove hit a railing.

The Tigers, mired in a funk, are now 11-11, certainly not what they anticipated, although they are only a game out of the division lead. It's early, though, and if they can get it together, early in the season is not a bad time to have a slump.

I didn't wear any Tiger gear, so wasn't the victim of any taunting. A few brave souls did, but they received nothing more than good-natured ribbing. In the men's room after the game was over, Frank Sinatra's recording of "New York, New York" reverberated throughout the stadium, as it does after every game. I stood in a long row of men at urinals, all singing, a truly bizarre sight. I couldn't resist joining in.

Home Run Barrage

It's frustrating being an out-of-town fan. I get to see the Tigers play irregularly--usually only when they play the Yankees, or the occasional ESPN or Fox game. Fortunately, when a team is good, they will be on more often, and I had my first chance to see them yesterday against the Red Sox. It made what had been a shitty day a little more tolerable, as they routed the Bosox 10-0.

The slugging started early, with Miguel Cabrera, still sporting evidence of the ball he took off the cheekbone in spring training, smacking his first home run in the first inning. He would add an another, one that needed umpire review, as it somehow went over the fence, came back on the field, and then rolled under the bullpen gate. Cabrera would also make some sparkling plays on defense.

The new arrival, Prince Fielder, had two of his own. One was a long ball to left-center, the second a missile to right that took less than a second to land in the grandstands. The Fox crew came up with a great bit of trivia--the last time the number three and four hitters each had two home runs in one game was July 4, 1968 (Jim Northrup and Norm Cash). Alex Avila added a two-run shot for good measure.

The only discord in the game was when Doug Fister, the capable starter, had to leave in the fourth inning with a strained muscle in his side. He will go on the 15-day DL; let's hope that rest will do the trick. The relief core was more than up to the task, shutting out the Red Sox the whole way, with Duane Below picking up his first-ever Major League victory.

The Tigers are now 2-0, certainly too early to anoint them winners of anything, but if they can keep up the hitting machine attack like they did against Josh Beckett, it figures to be a fun season.

2012 Season Preview

Prince Fielder

Tomorrow the 2012 season kicks off for the Detroit Tigers, with defending A.L. MVP and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander taking on Boston's John Lester to start a six-game home stand. The opening will be tough, as those six games will be against the Red Sox and Rays, who figure to be in the hunt for the playoffs this year.

From all the reading I've done, the Tigers are prohibitive favorites to win the A.L. Central this year. That perennial doormat Kansas City is picked by many to finish second indicates that the normal competition, the Twins, White Sox, and Indians, are in flux or rebuilding.

Certainly the Tigers seem to have it all, especially as far as pitching and offense. The Tigers have as good a four-man staff in all of baseball, with Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister, and Rick Porcello. Porcello could be a key, as he has been up and down in his career. This spring, Porcello was 2-0 with a 1.59 E.R.A. As long as he keeps his pitches down, he's effective. Verlander was 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA, and Fister was 4-0 with a 1.86 ERA. Scherzer had the roughest spring, going 1-2 with a 5.76 ERA.

The bullpen is also stacked. Returning are Jose Valverde, who was perfect in save situations last year (at least in the regular season). Joaquin Benoit will be the eighth-inning man, and the Tigers have added Octavio Dotel to pitch the seventh. Once Dotel throws a pitch, it will be for a record 13th team. He's had a sub-2.00 ERA this spring. In long relief will be Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth.

The question will be with the fifth starter. Right now it will be rookie Drew Smyly, who will get a few starts with Toledo in Triple A before he will be needed later in April. Of course, the Tigers could find someone off the scrap heap, like they did with Brad Penny last year. If they can get a .500 record out of a fifth starter, it should be sufficient.

As far as the lineup goes, it's loaded, especially with the addition of Prince Fielder via free agency. The number 2 though 7 hitters are all dangerous: Brennan Boesch, Miguel Cabrera, Fielder, Delmon Young, Jhonny Peralta, and Alex Avila. The lead-off hitter is Austin Jackson, who is not a prototypical lead-off hitter, in that he strikes out way too much. The Tigers have worked on him this spring in taking more balls and shortening his swing, but if that doesn't work they really don't have any other option.

At least Jackson covers a lot of ground in centerfield. Defense figures to be the Tigers' weakness this year. With the arrival of Fielder, Cabrera has moved to third base. I asked my go-to guy on the Tigers, my dad, how he's been playing, and his answer was "adequate." Many think the experiment won't last, and Cabrera will end up DHing, but hopefully he can block enough balls and drive in enough runs to offset his errors. In the outfield, neither Young or Ryan Raburn are world beaters in left, or Boesch in right. Figure on a lot of high-scoring games this season.

The defense up the middle is better. Avila is a good signal caller, and this year he has a decent backup, as Gerald Laird returns to the team. Laird can't hit a lick, but he's great at throwing out base stealers, and will give Avila much needed days off. Peralta at short is fine, and Ramon Santiago at second (platooning with the multifaceted Raburn) is also reliable at second. As mentioned, Jackson patrols the vast centerfield well.

So, how far will the Tigers go this year? Anything but a division title will be a disappointment, and to exceed last year's effort will require a trip to the World Series. The New York Times picked them to face the Miami Marlins in the Series, which would be fun.

Here are my highly unresearched picks for this year:

AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Anaheim Angels
First Wild Card: Texas Rangers
Second Wild Card: Toronto Blue Jays

Play-in: Rangers over Blue Jays
Divisional Round: Tigers over Rangers, Yankees over Angels
Championship Round: Yankees over Tigers

NL East: Miami Marlins
NL Central: Cincinnati Reds
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks
First Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies
Second Wild Card: San Francisco Giants

Play-in: Phillies over Giants
Divisional Round: Marlins over Phillies, Diamondbacks over Reds
Championship Round: Diamondbacks over Marlins

World Series: Yankees* over Diamondbacks in five.

*Note: this prediction is made due to the uncanny fact that for the last six times Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship, going back to 1949, the Yankees have won the World Series. Also, by my picking the Yankees to win, they most certainly will not.