Series Preview: Minnesota

     It's two days before the Tigers open up their season in Minnesota. When they land in Minneapolis they will be greeted rudely by winter temperatures.  The high for Monday in Minneapolis is 34 degrees which neither teams hitters will appreciate very much.  The ball already doesn't travel very well at Target Field, and the cold heavy air won't help any either. After an off day on Tuesday the series will resume on Wednesday and conclude on Thursday under much better conditions with the temperatures projected to be in the 50's. 

Pitching Probables:

     Game 1: Justin Verlander-DET vs. Vance Worley-MIN
     Game 2: Anibal Sanchez-DET vs. Kevin Correa-MIN
     Game 3: Rick Porcello-DET vs. Mike Pelfrey-MIN

     The pitching match-ups in this series all heavily favor the Tigers. Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball, and its safe to assume he will do what he does. Vance Worley will start opening day for the Twins. He is the first of three Twin pitchers Detroit will face this week that have come from the National League during the off-season. As a result, the hitters don't know much about facing these guys which could play into the Twins' hands. Other than one time through the lineup, however, I can't see anything but a large advantage for the Tigers with the pitching this series. 

Lineups:

     There really is no contest here as far as strength of the lineups in this series. Minnesota is unanimously predicted to finish last in the AL Central for a reason. Minnesota will rely heavily on Joe Mauer, Justin Moreneau, and Josh Willingham for almost all of their offensive production as the rest of the lineup inspires little to no fear in opposing pitchers.  The Tigers, on the other hand, have the arguably the deepest and most intimidating lineup in the American League in a category that only the Anaheim Angels could possibly touch.  The Opening Day lineup will look like this:

1) Austin Jackson - 8
2) Torii Hunter - 9
3) Miguel Cabrera - 5
4) Prince Fielder - 3
5) Victor Martinez - DH
6) Andy Dirks - 7
7) Jhonny Peralta - 6
8) Alex Avila - 2
9) Omar Infante - 4

Justin Verlander - 1

     This lineup is a murderers row. The Tigers, on paper, have a large edge here as well. 

Bullpen:

     If I was pressed to guess, I would assume the member of the 'pen we're most likely to see this series in a save situation would be Phil Coke if there are multiple lefties due up in the ninth, or Al Alburquerque if its a right handed heavy part of the Twins order due up in the ninth. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the skipper uses his bullpen and closing committee throughout the year. Definitely something the watch closely as the season progresses.  

     On paper, this series is an easy sweep for the Tigers to start the season. In baseball, however, anything can happen and margins of error are typically small. That's why they play the games! Enjoy meaningful baseball this week folks! It's back!