Stoney's Opening Day Six Pack
After a brief vacation in Aruba I returned to work for the festivities of our annual regional holiday known as Tigers Opening Day. With that in mind here is a knee jerk opening day edition of the Stoney Six Pack.
1. Jose Valverde's first blown save since September of 2010 Tiger might actually be a blessing in disguise. Hear me out. I am not sure how he would have handled the pressure of a streak, so I believe it was better to get it out of the way early, especially since the Tigers ended up winning the game. In discussing what might give fans some concern was the guarantee that Papa Grande would not be perfect again. Well he won't be and will probably be as tough to watch as many Red Wing power plays, but overall he will be fine.
2. The 2012 version of Austin Jackson will be more like the 2010 version than the 2011 version. It is only one game, but he did seem more patient at the plate and the lack of leg kick will be a benefit. And oh yes, he is on pace for 0 strikeouts this season.
3. The two most polarizing figures in the Tiger organization continue to be Brandon Inge and Gene Lamont. Both received their share of boos from the Comerica Park faithful when introduced. Is there a third base coach who gets scrutinized more than Lamont? And to think he was almost named as the Red Sox manager before they selected Bobby Valentine. As for Inge, I received an e mail from a listener who suggested fans adopt the acronym GROIN...Get Rid Of Inge Now.
4. Jhonny Peralta just does his job with no fanfare at all. Whether you think he is a good player or not, you have to admire his workmanlike attitude. I can't remember reading many stories about Peralta at all this spring training. All he did on opening day was get on base in all four plate appearances with two singles a double and a walk.
5. As many assumed, we now know how the Tigers are going to help pay for three 20 million dollar players on their roster. My favorite food item, Hebrew National Hot Dogs went up 50 cents to $5.50. Let's figure the Tigers sell 10,000 hot dogs a game. So by my math that is an extra 5 grand per game just for hot dogs or 405 thousand dollars for the season. Now you add in all the increases in other concessions, one has to expect that the Tigers will probably make an extra 5-8 million this season on food. And you know what; I have no problem with it. When a team continuously adds to its payroll its ok for us as fans to pay more as well.
6. Justin Verlander is pretty good pitcher.
