You should have been in our newsroom last night when Miguel Cabrera hit that two-out, two-run game-winning homer in the 8th inning. I was in the sports office already thinking I have to re-cut my highlights because Magglio Ordonez just doubled in a run to tie the game at four. Once Cabrera swung, and the ball was heading into the dark Detroit sky, at least four people in our newsroom started screaming, "get outa here! get outa here!. Mind you, at 9:30 at night, most of those people probably should've been focussing more on building our newcast than this Tigers' game. I joined in the celebration with my newsroom bretheren. Producers were up walking around with their hands in the air. Reporters, who probably were still putting the finishing touches on their stories, were clapping and engaged in the frenzy. It's like everybody was doing their job but, at the same time, keeping an eye on this baseball game. Usually I'm the only one at the station screaming when the Tigers make a bad play or when they hit a home run. It was just refreshing and entertaining for me to see my colleagues celebrating and dancing around like kids on Christmas morning.
It was only a matter of time that this team start hitting. Back-to-back wins for the first time this season for the Tigers will hopefully be the start of something good. It's not just that they'e won two straight, it's how they've won two straight. A pair of 8th inning come-from-behind wins, and the rallies are starting when there's two outs.
Cabrera was the hero last night but Magglio Ordonez is still the straw that stirs the drink on this team. The reigning A.L. batting champ has struggled this season up until the last two nights against Minnesota. A year ago at this time, Maggs was hitting .234 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. After the past two nights, he's now hitting .291 with 2 HRs and 6 RBI, so now he's ahead of last year's pace.
The cold weather may have something to do with the Tigers season-opening slump as well. Take a look at Maggs' numbers in colder weather versus warmer weather. The Tigers have played five games this season where it was 47 degrees or colder at first pitch. Ordonez went 3-for-19 in those games.
At 48 degrees or better, Ordonez has been a .361 hitter, just about what he was when he won the American League batting title a year ago.
I'll bet Miguel Caberea will admit the cold weather has something to do with it too. He lives in Venezuela and has played his entire big league career in south Florida before this year. The guy's probably never experienced winter weather in his life, let alone playing baseball in it!
Well, the forecast for tonight's game in Cleveland is 58 degrees at first pitch. If that holds true, and the Tigers bats remain red hot, they could score 25 runs tonight! They need to keep this momentum going. The Tigers will face the Indians 18 times this season, and even though it's still only April, the outcomes of these head-to-head battles will matter come September.