Burnett rocked, Tigers beat Jays in chilly matinee
By The Heckler
Baseball Big Mouth baseball news
On a day when Comerica Park vendors invariably sold more coffee than Coors, the frosty 40-degree F temps couldn’t cool the bats of both the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. The teams combined for 19 runs in a wind-ravaged, wild contest in Detroit earlier this afternoon, won by the Tigers 10-9. More 
importanty? BaseballBigMouth.com staff were in the house for their season debut. Unofficially referred to as our Opening Day (both The Heckler and Punch N. Judy annually celebrate the first home game with a backyard barbecue, with the second game of the season usually our targetted first contest to actually attend) it was a strange feeling to attend the personal lid-lifter being a fan of the defending American League champions. Strange indeed. A good strange, but still odd . . . I mean, let’s face it: this new winning feeling is still taking some getting used to. Some other random musings as I dethaw this evening, safely inside my heated home, staring at my keyboard and Punch’s favorite bit of Tigers’ clip art, proudly making its first appearance of the season . . .
Tiger Stadium sure has taken another beating over the winter. The ol’girl looks worse than ever, really, and the time to put her out of her misery is now. Get something done, D-Town. You owe it to the fans to not allow this rusting, paint-chipped shell be the final memory they have of such a hallowed playing ground . . . Nemo’s Bar and Grill in downtown Detroit is still as fun as ever. Great food, friendly staff, cold beer and quick and convenient shuttles to-and-from the game. What more could a Tigers’ fan want? For a taste of the old neighborhood, hit Nemo’s just off the corner of 
Michigan and Trumbull before each and every Tigers game. And try the grilled chicken sandwich while you’re at it . . . The Heckler is holding out openly marking-out for newest Tiger Gary Sheffield. Let’s see him do something in the Ol’English D before donning a chef hat, shall we? Safe to say you’ll get a different answer from Punch N. Judy. I swear, that dude would do more than just carry Gary’s bags if meeting in real life, you dig? Punch - for cryin’ out loud - I know ya like the guy. But get a room already . . . Opposing fans in other teams’ ballparks should keep their mouth shut. There, I said it. And it wasn’t even The Heckler himself who was the object of a Blue Jays’ supporter’s ire. Sure, the guy behind us dropped a M*****F***** for all to hear. And yes, it was in reference to a Blue Jays’ player. But Blue Jay fans in front of us had no right to tell him to watch his mouth, especially given that it was the first such offense, done in a completely jovial manner, and especially not in our house. Come in, make yourself at home, even put your feet up and sit a spell - 
but don’t tell Tigers’ fans how to behave. If you don’t like it - leave. Sorry. A little heckling (even when peppered with the occassional blue tinge) is what makes live baseball a little more fun. Please note that The Heckler has never dropped any curse word on any player - ever. The bigger point is that I would never dream of telling a Yankees fan in New York to keep it clean - I have more sense than that. And we as fans of the defending American League champs have earned that as well. You know? I’m gettin’ more used to that fact each and every minute . . . Gregg Zaun’s hair doesn’t look nearly as obnoxious in person as it does when he fills in on Rogers Sportsnet baseball coverage . . . Alex Rios should learn that shortsleeves in winter weather doesn’t work too well. Dude spent more time rubbing his arms in right than any man should be allowed to rub anything in public, you know what I mean? It was embarrassing . . . Pitch counts are for the birds. Pulling Nate Roberston today simply because he gave up a two-spot in the sixth was no doubt secondary to the fact that he - gasp! - passed the 100 pitch barrier. Today’s hurlers are wusses. Somewhere, Cy Young rolls in his grave at this coddling . . . A.J. Burnett won’t win one game for every million he is getting paid by the Jays. Book it. Punch relayed this predication to me from an unnamed Florida Marlins’ exec, made following the Jays outlandish signing of a man who has had exactly one DL-free year this decade. The Heckler cannot agree more. He looked horrible today against Detroit - not even making it out of the third inning - and rumor has it he nearly had to undergo back surgery after tying his shoes prior to the contest. What a tin man . . . Comerica Park has great coffee, even black. Never had it before, but would recommend it to all, especially on days like 
Wednesday. Two-bucks a pop is a fair price to boot . . . Sean Casey made not one, not two, but three fantastic snags at first today, all of them on wicked short-hops that most-often get by lesser-fielding first-sackers. Defense at the corners cannot be undervalued. I liked the signing then, and I still like the signing now. Casey can help the Tigers in many ways, not just by hitting 35 homeruns (or not, as many will point out). Too often, fans fall in love with numbers way too easily. Casey is a fine first baseman for Detroit. He’s a tough out each and every at-bat. And he can flat-out pick it at first. Lay off’im. So sayeth The Heckler . . .the Blue Jays lineup is downright scary. If they get pitching beyond All-World Roy Halladay (including bolstering a suspect pen) they could easily challenge both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. This team can put some numbers up in a hurry. They should definitely be heard from this year in the AL East. They’re no sleeper. They’re wide-awake and aiming for a divisional championship . . . Never leave a game when your team is up by seven and think things are over, even if it’s the seventh. Yeesh. Talk about a scare. All’s well that ends well though, right boys? Kinda like this column. See ya next time on BaseballBigMouth.com.
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