2-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 3 R with two of those runs scored in the same inning!!

I'd say that line is pretty good for a first game back from the DL.

The 19 total runs scored by the Tigers tonight against the Rangers doesn't hurt either.

After a slow start, it looks like it could be a fun summer in Motown.

My beloved Detroit Tigers finally got off the mat tonight and logged their first win of the season against the Boston Red Sox.

My feeling has been that the 0-7 start was attributable to everyone on the team trying too hard to win each game with every single pitch and every single at-bat, rather than just playing the game, outcome be damned.

The weight of expectations can often be crushing. Let's hope that tonight's win allows the Tigers to loosen up a little and have some fun.

This afternoon my beloved Detroit Tigers and their new-look Murderer's Row took the field for their 1st Spring game.

The Tigers starters only played the 1st Inning against the Florida Southern College Moccasins but they still scored 4 runs in the opening frame with Homers by Placido Polonco and Miguel Cabrera, making his Tigers debut. Lynchburg, VA native Brandon Inge also hit a HR in his only at-bat in the 2nd inning.

Sure, it's just the first exhibition game and Florida Southern ain't the Red Sox or Yankees, but it sure is a great feeling just to be looking at box scores again!

Spring is right around the corner...

Pitchers and Catchers Report.

As any baseball fan knows, those four little words mean that the long winter thaw has begun and the National Pastime will soon return to ballparks across the land. Starting today, hope springs eternal for 32 MLB teams as we fans turn our attention to the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues. We'll spend the next few weeks over-analyzing every pitch, catch, and at-bat and hoping against hope that the dreaded injury bug stays away from our favorite team's spring home away from home.

This year my beloved Detroit Tigers look, on paper, to be one of the most formidable teams in all of baseball with a lineup of patient power hitters from 1-9 and a rotation that adeptly mixes young with old, right with left, and power with craftiness. Only time will tell if Detroit's cubs will finish the season as kings of the jungle or whether they'll fold like paper tigers. For now anyway, the Magic 8-Ball says: Outlook Good.

After all the off-field madness baseball has had to deal with recently, it will be nice to finally get back to the games. While there are certainly many questions out there that are still unanswered about the integrity of the game, the players, and the league's executives, I look forward to the day when we can return to focusing on what happens on the field without the black cloud of steriod allegations hovering over everything.

Today, I'll just enjoy the fact that the game I love is back for another exciting year.