The party and atmosphere were fantastic, like always — a typical Opening Day in the D.
The streets around Comerica Park were jammed with smiling faces on Thursday morning. The stadium was sold out with 44,650 fans, and a helicopter buzzed overhead.
The weather? Pretty dang good, which means there was no snow flurries or frozen rain like some years.
The celebration?
So freakin’ cool, watching Miguel Cabrera join three other Motor City Hall of Famers — Nicklas Lidström, Calvin Johnson and Ben Wallace — as all four of them simultaneously threw out ceremonial first pitches together.
“Obviously, taking the field is special,” said Eric Haase, the hometown boy. “But seeing those guys, it’s a big part of my childhood. Seeing all those guys back here in one place is pretty cool.”
The actual game?
Ugh. Completely forgettable.
All the flaws of this flawed team became apparent. The Detroit Tigers couldn’t hold an early lead and wasted opportunities, leaving seven runners in scoring position, as the Boston Red Sox beat the Tigers, 6-3.
“I don’t think there’s a game I’ve ever managed if you leave runners on that it makes you feel OK,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We obviously we had our opportunities.”
But still.
The game is always only half the story on Opening Day. The celebration is the other.
“I appreciate the fans coming out,” Hinch said. “We love the environment. The excitement when we take the lead, the hat tip to Miggy, the Hall of Famers throwing out the first pitch. There’s only one first day every year, and Detroit does it right.”
An organization under construction
But this Opening Day felt different.
There is a feeling of change and transition around Comerica Park — both to the building itself as well as the Tigers’ organization. The outfield wall has been lowered and moved in, and the Tigers clubhouse has been renovated. The front office has flipped over, the coaching staff has changed, new philosophies put in place (throw strikes, hit strikes) and there are several new faces on the roster.
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“Mason Englert hadn’t been in the building before,” Hinch said, of a rookie pitcher who didn’t give up a run in 1⅓ innings of work. “I mean, we have some coaches that hadn’t been in the building before.”
So, it’s a franchise in transition, from the changes being implemented by new team president of baseball operations Scott Harris to the arrival of several young players.
Meanwhile, they are doing a delicate dance, honoring Cabrera in his final season, while waiting to get his massive contract off the books.
In some ways, it’s a team trying to win while under construction, as if they have handed out orange vests and construction hats all around.
Seven games into this season, one thing is clear: The Tigers can win when everything is clicking. When they get good pitching, play strong defense, get timely hits and get solid relief pitching, they can play with anybody. Shoot, they went into Houston and won two of three against the reigning World Series champions.
But when anything is missing? Ugh. It gets ugly fast.
The Tigers are not good enough when they are missing any of those factors.
This team is capable of being blown out if it doesn’t get starting pitching.
It can fold like a cheap aluminum chair if it doesn’t get a near-perfect performance from its bullpen.
And it looks lifeless when it doesn’t string together hits.
Hinch is trying to cover up the flaws with creativity and versatility, just trying to put the best offense on the field every game.
Haase, primarily a catcher, started in left field — something he did four times last year.
Nick Maton came in to bat for Jonathan Schoop, who started at third base but has struggled offensively. Ryan Kreidler, a rookie, started at second base because he is such a fantastic defender.
But in the bottom of the seventh, in need of some instant offense, Austin Meadows hit for Kreidler. That forced Hinch to juggle his defense tremendously, moving Matt Vierling from right to third, Maton from third to second and Meadows went to right.
They are trying to squeeze every last drop of offense out of this team.
And in the eighth inning, Kerry Carpenter hit for Haase.
It’s like a game of crazy musical chairs.
“You gotta be ready at all times for anything,” Carpenter said. “They come up to you in the dugout and say, ‘you might go here, or you might go here, or there, just be ready.’”
Coming and going
For some, this was a day of firsts.
Riley Greene looked energized after his first Openning Day in Detroit.
“The city of Detroit and the fans, they’re always all in,” Greene said. “It’s awesome as a player. It gives us a lot of adrenaline, a lot of energy and we feed off that.”
And then, there was Cabrera, a man playing his final Opening Day on the way to the Hall of Fame.
After the game, as Cabrera walked through the renovated clubhouse, Haase stopped him and asked for an autograph for his son.
Cabrera happily obliged.
A living legend on a team in transition.
Some are coming, some going.
And the transitions continue.
But this day will be remembered far more for its pomp than circumstance.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.