Happy Opening Day!
A sign that warmer days are not far away. It's Opening Day everyone. Let's play some baseball!
For those Tigers fans, here's today's opening day roster:
- Matt Vierling, RF
- Javy Baez, SS
- Riley Greene, CF
- Eric Haase, C
- Spencer Torkelson, 1B
- Austin Meadows, LF
- Miguel Cabrera, DH
- Jonathan Schoop, 2B
- Ryan Kreidler, 3B
- Eduardo Rodriguez, P
First pitch is 3:10 at Tampa Bay. Shane McClanahan on the bump for the Rays, and he will be formidable.
My expectations are pretty low for the Tigers this year. I do think they'll be better than last year, and maybe they'll sniff around .500 ball. That would be a 15-win improvement over last year if they can do that.
Other than that, I'm looking at a few guys for growth:
- Riley Greene - he seems to have an "it" factor. Can he stay healthy and solidify himself?
- Spencer Torkelson - can he translate his very good contact into production on the field? Can he be serviceable at first?
- Spencer Turnbull - how does he look coming off Tommy John? Can he stay healthy and be a solid mid-rotation pitcher?
March 30th, 2023 at 12:48 PM ^
WOOOOOOOOO!! It's gonna be a long ass year for the Tigers tho
Yeah, that lineup looks...well...
Excellent response! I always post this on my FB when Opening Day comes around. This song captures the essence of Spring and Opening Day baseball.
Normally, I'm very excited for the season, but the Tigers are going to be a giant bag of ass this season. I'll still watch -- and listen on the porch with a beer -- anyway.
March 30th, 2023 at 12:55 PM ^
Opening Day will always have a soft spot in my heart. However, despite the national optimism, I think the Tigers will stink again this year*.
*This will not stop me from getting emotionally invested in April when we start 10-7
I'm sure when they return home for their openers, Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland will all have snow!
Love me some baseball!!
It snowed here in MN today, but I think the Twinkies open on the road.
If spring training is any indication I think the Tigers will look like the Wings have. Talent, potential, lack of consistency. Wings were in a playoff spot on Feb 23 and have only won 4 games since.
I think the Tigers will do some of the same... they'll sniff some success but the question will be can they maintain success.
March 30th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Make it 5!
March 30th, 2023 at 12:59 PM ^
I hate betting baseball but maybe I'll just take the Tigers moneyline every game of the season and see where I end up. Have to make it interesting somehow.
The tigers could win anywhere from 65-83 games that year. The team isn’t exactly horrible but at the same there just isn’t much firepower in that lineup.
The team isn’t exactly horrible
IDK - projecting 65 wins in 162 wins is pretty bad. 40% win rate? Yuck.
I mean…compared to Oakland anyways.
I’ll be at the Trop on Sunday, can’t wait.
Assuming you're from that area, why the hell is baseball in Tampa played in a dome?
Rains every day in the summer.
March 30th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Maybe they can do something like SoFi and make an open air covered stadium in the future.
Woof the only thing worse than the lineup is the pitching. I love the Tigers and will watch/listen to most games and hope for the best but I don't see how they don't lose 100 games this year.
Yeah, I dunno. The team certainly isn't a contender, but in my opinion last season saw just about everything go wrong that possibly could go wrong. Between injuries, weird circumstances (Meadows dealing with vertigo, Eduardo going AWOL), and top guys like Greene and Tork going through their initial adjustments to the major league level...I just don't see a similar level of fluky things coming together to somehow end up worse than last season.
Last year's pitching staff was held together with duct tape and bubble gum, so I think there's potential for improvement there this season. Greene, Tork, and Meadows this year should be better than last year's versions of themselves. Maybe Miggy gets some final-year magic?
I guess my argument is basically that I don't see how they could be worse than last year! Day 1 optimism!
Could never get into baseball even after going to multiple tigers games. Dont care for the NBA or NHL either. April 3 is the start of my sports offseason. Sigh
Wait scratch that. I will watch the frozen Four. Hope my last day of sports will be celebrating a national championship on April 8
Watching baseball on TV with a great announcer and the sun shining through the window onto the couch is a great nap experience. Do it all the time and just miss the middle third of the game.
Your interest in a sport is based on the fact that you can sleep through 1/3 of the game? i dont think that helps build fan excitement for anyone under the age of 50 years old
On the radio during yardwork, that is my baseball spot. I literally still have a tuning radio in the garage and listen on AM. Old school.
+1. Yep, portable old-school tuning radio for games and porch beers. I do listen on 97.1 FM though.
Nothing against Dickerson at all, but damn I miss Ernie Harwell. We were so lucky to have him. Simply the best.
ERNIE FOREVER.
But with the new pitch clock rules, your 3-inning nap will be mighty quick.
You may need to adjust it to 4 innings or more.
Sooo many Tommy Johns.
Uh it can't be opening day, I'm not drunk at Tigers stadium and doing nothing else all day. DAMN YOU, MATURITY!
Cuttting class and heading out to the upper deck bleachers at Tiger Stadium meant Spring had arrived. 440 feet away from action you didn't really need to see.
You Tigers fans have it good compared to us Reds fans!
Rockies fans say hi... we might lose 105+ this year..
You all have a nice view of the river at least.
I went to several spring training games and the rule changes, especially the pitch clock, have improved the game, IMHO. They all ran about 2 h 25m instead of 3+ hours.
I was thinking maybe trout season-somewhere.
That's outside the box.
Indeed, in Anaheim.
I'm in my office on campus between classes, but my heart is at Yankee Stadium with my boys.
Let's go, YANKEES! Make 2023 our year! The Empire Strikes Back!!
Been a Tiger fan since I was 6 years old and could wear my hat backwards like my hero Bill Freehan (may he rest in peace.) My hopes:
- That Miggy go out with the dignity befitting a future first-round Hall of Famer.
- That Javy Baez have such a successful year that he opts out of his contract and saves the Tigers all the money that Al Avila foolishly signed him for. (Ditto for Eduardo Rodriguez.)
- Bounceback years for Jonathan Schoop and Austin Meadows and Matthew Boyd (maybe enough that they could be trade bait at the deadline? I can dream.)
- That Spencer Torkelson show that he wasn't a waste of a first-round draft pick.
- That everybody coming off an injury year stay injury-free (in fact, let's just spread that wish to the entire roster.)
- Fewer than 90 loses.
- That we get to the end of the season with the feeling that the Tigers are now headed in the right direction, and are under leadership that actually knows what the hell it's doing.
Go Tigers!
I'm still hoping for a June Swoon.
I’ll be at the Dodgers game Sunday. I’ve never been to Dodger Stadium before, so if anybody has any tips for a newbie, let me have ‘em. Thanks in advance.
Tips?
Don't wear a Giants jersey?
Thanks for the reminder. I turned in just in time to see Eduardo serve up the long ball.
Dan Dickerson is the ultimate Joey Blue Skies. Every batter is a future HOFer. Every pitcher is Cy Young in his prime. Every manager is Connie Mack reincarnated. I love listening to him.
Jim Price (at home only this season) is a great leveler for Dan's hyperbole.
Jim price is to color what brandstatter was to play by play. Love the guy, great old player, but not, ah, gifted for the job.
I've gotten to where I can tolerate him as a color guy only, a job he's been relegated to for several years now.
Prior to that, Price did a painfully horrible job doing a few innings of play-by-play each game, so bad that I would turn the damn thing off most games until Dickerson took back over in the later innings.
March 31st, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
Tiger fans have certainly been spoiled with radio play-by-play announcers - to go from an all-time great like Ernie Harwell to Dan Dickerson is a bag of riches.
Now, if only the Tigers would improve the announcing team(s) on TV. I liked Matt Shephard when he was the radio voice for UM Hoops (and I think he would have been a solid PBP guy for UM football), but he's just not a baseball voice. And thank goodness they've moved on from Jack Morris and are limiting Gibby. Craig Monroe should be an upgrade, Dan Petry is very good, and it'll be interesting to hear how Cameron Maybin and Todd Jones do in the booth in their limited appearances.
LFGM
Welp, that's about what I expected.....ugh.