Opening Day

Opening Day has come and gone and that means it’s time to get this blog moving again (by which I mean “moving at all.”) A lot of Tiger fans have a bitter taste about Monday’s result, with Rodney’s tenth-inning meltdown a sour denoument to a sunny afternoon that appeared promising until 4:10 or so.

I’m a bit sour like the rest, but I also found a few things to like about the game. The Tigers, whose lack of patience has been well documented by almost everyone who writes about the team, pieced together several tough at-bats against Roy Halladay, one of the premier righthanders in the American League. Halladay threw 106 pitches in six innings, which isn’t a remarkably high number, but he certainly didn’t breeze through the Bengals’ lineup. Of particular note to me was the Brandon Inge, who drew a walk after falling behind 0-2 and eventually scored, and Curtis Granderson, who started the game with a solid, two-strike single and made solid contact on several occasions.

Magglio Ordonez and Sean Casey also coaxed free passes, which wouldn’t be noteworthy for most offenses but is a pretty good sign in this case.

Craig Monroe, on the other hand, looked terribly overmatched and reminded everyone who called for a left-field upgrade just how frustrating he can be.

On the mound, Jeremy Bonderman fought Opening Day jitters and some shaky defense in the first inning, but acquitted himself nicely afterward. I had feared Bonderman’s critics would use his early struggles to revive the goofy “Bonderman is immature” meme, but fortunately that seemed not to happen. Maybe those playoff starts really did cement him as an elite young pitcher in the minds of his skeptics.

 Yes, the day ended badly, but there was a lot to like about this year’s opener. Remember, last year the Tigers needed two Chris Shelton homers just to beat the hapless Royals on Opening Day. They played much better this time, although the result was not as pleasant. There’s plenty to take away from today — now it’s up to Nate Robertson to neutralize the Jays’ right-handed mashers and give the Tigers a chance to hit Burnett this afternoon.