Detroit Tigers: 5 Lessons Learned from Epic Opening Weekend

Andrew KulhaJun 6, 2018

At first glace, the Detroit Tigers look to be the most dangerous and exciting team Major League Baseball has to offer in 2012.

We all knew that the addition of Prince Fielder was going to make this lineup very good, but I don't think anybody expected this Tigers team to be so good offensively this early into the season.

There doesn't appear to be anything this lineup can't do. They are solid from one to nine.

Even when it looked like they would suffer their first loss of the season this Sunday against the Red Sox, Miguel Cabrera tied the game up in the ninth inning with a three-run shot, and then Alex Avila completed the comeback in the 11th with a two-run walk off homer to secure a 13-12 win and a series sweep.

While the pitching staff hasn't been as good, the Tigers still have the best pitcher in the AL in Justin Verlander, and one can only expect a good season from the rest of the staff and bullpen.

This team looks to be special.

Here are five lessons we learned opening weekend:

5. Justin Verlander Won't Slow Down

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My biggest fear coming into 2012 was that there was no way Justin Verlander could repeat an epic 2011 season that saw him win both the AL Cy Young award and the MVP.

While the jury is still far from out in 2012, at the very least, he started this season looking just as dominant.

He went out on Opening Day and surrendered just two hits and notched seven strikeouts in eight innings of work.

He didn't get the win because Jose Valverde blew the save, but nonetheless, the Tigers went on to win, and Verlander showed us that he doesn't have any intention of slowing down anytime soon.

4. Austin Jackson Is the Key to Success

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Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are the big names for this team, but Austin Jackson is going to be the key to any true success the Tigers have in 2012.

He needs to set the table for this offense and finally be the leadoff hitter we all think he is a capable of being, and at least for this first series, it looks like he's ready to take the next step.

Jackson is batting a stellar .571 so far with eight hits, five runs and two RBI—including the game winning hit on opening day.

The middle of this order can be as powerful as they want, but they will only be as effective as Jackson allows them to be.

If he can continue to swing a good bat and get on base, he makes the Tigers even more dangerous offensively.

3. You Can't Count This Team out

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I made the mistake of turning off the last game against Boston when it looked like the Red Sox had control of the game—up 10-7 in the ninth inning.

I guarantee you I won't make that mistake again.

Cabrera hit the three run shot to take them into extra innings, but then once again, the Red Sox pulled ahead with two in the top of the 11th.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like the Tigers had finally run out of opening weekend magic, but then Cabrera singled with one out in the bottom of the 11th, Fielder moved him over to second and then a wild pitch moved him over to third. After that, a Delmon Young sacrifice fly brought Miggy home, but the Tigers were still down one when Alex Avila came to the plate.

Somehow, Avila was able to knock a shot over the right field wall, and that was all she wrote for Boston.

Moral of the story: You shouldn't count this Tigers team out. They are far too dangerous offensively.