Yankees vs Tigers, 3/31/11: WTF?

Oh, Justin...

Huh?
Did anyone else besides us think that Opening Day was kind of...strange? Justin Verlander throws 115 pitches in 6 innings and gives up a 3-run homer to Mark Teixeira. Phil Coke gives up another two runs in relief. Jim Leyland thinks it's a good idea to play Alex Avila against CC (is it really a good idea to be playing Avila at all? He really needs to earn his stripes this year). The Beloved Curtis Granderson kicks our ass.

First of all, Justin Verlander is never 100% in April. Ever. And he still kept us in the game, so its not like he pitched terribly. And the two runs Coke gave up? We feel like that's bound to happen after pitching as a starter for the whole of Spring Training. Not that that's a good excuse, but still. If Avila can't hit a ball, though, this is going to be a rough season. We will need production from our catcher position if we want to do well this year!!!

As you're reading this, you might be thinking, 'Shut up! It's Opening Day! You need to relax.' And you'd be right. After all, it's the first game of the season. Against the Yankees, at Yankee Stadium. And as much as we hate the Yankees, they're not a bad team. There were some positive points in the game, such as:

-Miguel Cabrera. Two walks, a hit and a sacrifice fly RBI. Clearly he is ready to kick ass and take names. No one wants to mess with him! NO ONE.
-The Team Drives in Runs. Juh-honny! Inge! Last year we left way, way too many men on base. Cabrera was really the only one we could count on to consistently get an RBI with a guy on 3rd and no outs. Seeing production from the bottom of the lineup is refreshing.
-Ryan Raburn. He hits! He plays defense! He does it all!!!! We kid, but we are really, really excited to see what Raburn can do with consistent playing time. Hopefully his defense really has improved as he says it has. It looked great yesterday!


All that being said, our boys do need to get a good win tomorrow. We need to show the Yankees, ESPN, and the entire MLB world that the Detroit Tigers can hang with the best of them.

PS-One thing that is NOT forgivable about yesterday's game was the stupid ESPN announcers. Could they have their heads any further up the Yankee's asses? They were even making fun of Will Rhymes. Even though it's undoubtedly easy to do, only Rod and Mario are allowed to poke fun at Mighty Mouse. Screw you, ESPN!

PPS-Don't forget to check out Laura on "The Knee Jerks" at 7 pm on Monday! www.thekneejerks.com