Verlander, Tigers Mowed Down On Opening Day By Halladay and the Jays

This isn't what we wanted to see.

That's what we got though. The team collectively folded and bumbled to a 12-5 defeat.

The Detroit Tigers started 2009 the same way 2008 began...and ended.

In the first inning of the first game of the season, everything that could go wrong for Detroit did.

Roy Halladay came out and had a one-two-three first inning. Then Verlander came on and struck out Scutaro and got Hill to ground out.

Then things got ugly. Rios doubled, then Verlander hit Wells with a pitch. Lind doubled and batted in Rios and Wells on Ordonez's throwing error. Overbay then doubled and two more runs scored (that's three doubles allowed in the first inning for those keeping count).

4-0 Toronto, before you could barely even blink.

Halladay would then come out and have two more one-two-three innings to take a no-hitter into the fourth. Then things got even uglier.

Verlander gave up a home run to Snider in the bottom of the fourth and allowed Scutaro to score on a sacrifice fly, ending his day. Toronto would take an 8-1 lead after Bonine promptly allowed Lind to belt a three-run homer.

Verlander's line: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 19.64 ERA.

It's going to take quite a few consecutive solid outings to reduce that ERA to something respectable.

The Tigers would attempt to mount a comeback in the seventh inning on Inge's two-run homer to close the gap to 9-5. That ended Halladay's night. Nate Robertson even pitched a fine inning with two strikeouts.

Then Juan Rincon in his Tigers debut somehow made it worse.

Rincon had trouble even finding the plate and loaded the bases. Then Toronto scored when Adam Everett, brought on almost solely for his defense, committed a fielding error.

The final score: Toronto 12, Detroit 5.

This was one game in a long season, but it was a game Detroit needed to win. Opening Day is special, like a post-season game. It can sometimes go a long way in forecasting how a season will go.

Let's hope this one was an anomaly. After all, Verlander wasn't the only rotation ace to get hammered today. CC Sabathia and the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, were also hit hard in short outings.

It still stings though. This team was supposed to be vastly improved defensively. Committing two fielding errors in the first game isn't the way to verify that.

Verlander's 2008 troubles were supposed to be behind him. Not by a long shot if today was any indication.

I'll offer this much advice: Turn it around. Fast.

Or, face the heat from over a million Tigers fans that are still angry about last season; that watched a sub-par spring and were ready to see a renewed sense of urgency to open 2009. And that don't have a whole lot of patience left.

Please don't let us down again. Detroit needs the Tigers to be good this season.