Twins Vs Tigers Round 1

The Detroit Tigers will host the inter division rival the Minnesota Twins in a 3 game series, the 1st match-up between the two teams in 2010.

• The Twins come in with a 13-6 record and sit atop 1st place of the AL Central.

• The Tigers are 11-9 and are 2 and 1/2 games behind the Twins

On top of all that tonight's starting pitchers are Justin Verlander Vs. Francisco Liriano. This is the biggest game of the 2010 season as of yet for both teams. (Well Opening Day always holds a special spot in my heart)

"It's the 1st but wont be the last time the Tigers will face the Twins this year. It's always nice to get off to a good start when facing a team you know we'll be fighting with you at the end. I have a feeling that this year the Tigers will fare a little better against the Twinkies, not to mention the Tigers will never have to set foot in the Metro dome again. Also look for the Twins to really miss Joe Nathan, he was always at the end to close it out and really shortened the game and I feel they will miss his even more while playing the Tigers."

The Game Time tonight will be 7:05 pm and will be on Fox Sports Plus not just the normal Fox Sports Detroit due to the Red Wings Game. Go Wings and all but this means no Tigers in HD :(

Tigers Win but Lose Guillen

The Tigers held on last night for a 5-4 win over the Angel's. The Tigers scored all their runs early and never looked back. Once again Detroit's bullpen looked as strong as ever and got the job done once again. Zumaya looked good and Ryan Perry's slider looked to have a lot of bite as well. Big Potato aka Jose Valverde came in to close the game out.

Even with all the positives last night the Tigers took a hard hit in the form of a Carlos Guillen strained left hamstring. Carlos have had problems in the past with injuries bug and this year it got him again. He dropped to the ground in pain while rounding the bases and it didn't look good at all. Guillen does believes he will be fine after the 15 days on the DL are up.

Yet my 1st questions to all you Tigers fans out there is, should Detroit now make a move for another bat?

Miguel Cabrera needs some protection from the 5th spot in the order, a 5th spot that Carlos filled in quite nice this season.


With big names out there like Jermaine Dye could it be possible that the Tigers will make some sort of move? We'll have to see. Check back to Copa Times again and we'll keep you posted.

It's April in the D

Well if you haven't heard the new Fox Sports Detroit April in the D song you might have been hiding under a rock. Once again Fox Sports Detroit is back looking for new song for April. This year the winners were The Victorious Secrets. I will had to admit that this song isn't half bad at all. Last year the winners song got every annoying and really started to hate it by the end of April. Check out this years winners video below.

Copa Times April 2010 Giveaway!

Did you say Free giveaway?

Yes, that's right each month you will have a chance of winning FREE prizes just by commenting on posts. Let everyone know what you think about the recent Tigers news and happenings. To enter you just need to comment on any blog post this April. No were not going to kick of April with some April in the D song or anything like that but instead we will hook Tiger fans up with free swag. There will be many more giveaways in the future so if you don't win this month, there's always next month.

This months prize will be....

35 Detroit Tigers Baseball Cards
  - I have 35 Detroit Tigers Baseball cards to giveaway. Just post a comment here at Copa Times and your entered . 1 Winner will be picked by the end of the month (April).

Tigers Win Home Opener

The Tigers took care of business in the home opener with the win over the Indians 5-2. Porcello was solid, the bullpen was good and it was great to get Valverde another save chance after blowing one yesterday. Magg's has been knocking the cover off the ball. If Magglio and Caberea can continue to hit like this in the middle of the Tigers lineup it will be a long season for opposing pitchers.

W:

Porcello (1-0, 3.60);

L:

Huff, D (0-1, 1.50);

SV:

Valverde (1) 

HR:

CLE:

Hafner (1).

"Once A Tiger, Always A Tiger"

Former Tiger Curtis Granderson Played his 1st Game in new York Yankee pinstripes on Sunday night.

Curtis Granderson played his 1st game in a New York Yankees uniform. It was theYankees taking on their arch rivals the Boston Red Sox in none other than the legendary Fenway Park. Granderson was batted 7th in the very dangerous Yankees lineup. During his 1st at bat vs Boston ace Josh Beckett, Curtis worked the count and with two strikes Curtis took the pitch deep into Right Centerfield for a Home Run, also the deepest part of Fenway Park.

In my entire life I don't think I have ever rooted much for the Yankees or even anyone in a Yankees uniform, yet with Granderson in Pinstripes it was entire different story. Knowing that the media in New York is like a pack of wild wolves I really hoped Curtis would have a good showing and get out to a good start in New York and that he did. However he did make the last out with a broken bat grounder to Boston's newly aquiried 3rd basemen Adrian Beltre.

I know this really isn't Tigers news yet since Curtis was so beloved in Detroit I feel like there were many Tigers fans rooting him on last night and will contiunue to do so as the season progresses. Even if Tiger fans are bitter about the trade still, I believe the Tigers made a good baseball move by moving Granderson. Yet no matter where you look you will not find a better Human Being than Curtis and for that I wish his the best of luck with his carrer in the Big Apple. “Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger”

AL Central 3rd Place Prediction

Welcome back for the 3^rd installment of my predictions for the AL Central. Today's topic will be the 3^rd place spot. We all know the AL Central should be a very close race this year. I might be get some emails from some fans that don't agree but the team I have finishing 3^rd is the Minnesota Twins. Many publications have the Twins projected to finish as high as 1^st place for 2010. After I take at a look at the Twins on paper I just feel they won't be able to put it all together like the have in the past, for a few different reasons.

At 1^st look the Minnesota Twins offense should be set to have a huge year. Making the most news is the Twins contract extention with Joe Mauer. They paid the man and now he will be in Minnesota for quite sometime. It was almost a must for the Twins to offer Mauer the deal, as they move into a new stadium we can finally close the page on the Metrodome!

The Twins improved the defence up the middle by trading for shortstop J.J. Hardy by sending off Carlos “Go-Go” Gomez. They also signed infielder Orlando Hudson in free agency, “O Dog” will solidify the 2^nd base position for the Twins in 2010. (A player I feel the Tigers could have considered for the departure of Pally Polonco, but the Tigers feel confident in Scott Sizemore)

Here's an Idea of what the Twins 2010 lineup will be projected to look liked.

1. 
   
   CF Denard Span
2. 
   
   2B Orlando Hudson
3. 
   
   C Joe Mauer
4. 
   
   1B Justin Morneau
5. 
   
   RF Michael Cuddyer
6. 
   
   DH Jason Kubel
7. 
   
   LF Delmon Young
8. 
   
   SS J.J. Hardy
9. 
   
   3B Brendan Harris

On paper this seems like it could be one of the most potent lineups in the AL Central. Span can score runs, theres not much more you can say about Mauer, and Morneau will be solid if healthly. Cuddyer and Kubel are top notch major league hitters that sometimes don't get the recoginiton they deserve. If Delmon Young can show some talent and produce at the plate the Twins could be very very danergous for opposing pitching staffs.

Now lets take a look at the Twins pitching. Here is how the rotation will look like for the 2010 season.

Scott Baker

Carl Pavano

Nick Blackburn

Kevin Slowey

Francisco Liriano

Overall the Twins arms usually get the job done. They might not be the biggest group of names but they usually produce. Yet nothing in the Majors is certain. Scott Baker will be a soild starter and if Liriano can get back to some sort of his earlier form the Twins will have enough arms to have a solid year. However with that said I'm not totally sold on the entire staff. There are some questions with some of the starters and they don't have long sucessful track records either.

The biggest blow yet to the Twins is the loss of closing pitcher Joe Nathan for the entire season. Nathan was the anchor the the Twins bullpen and is one of the most important pieces of the Twins team giving them stablility in the late innings.

Overall the Twins should find themselves in a fight for the AL Central. The Twins could easily win the division but I feel they will come up short this season.

On a final note, Thank God that the metrodome is no longer being used. For years it has giving the Twins a definite homefield advantage. They even have built there lineup around the turf in the past. (example, Nike Punto) Also many outfielders will also be thankful when tracking fly balls. I really feel this loss of the metrodome advantage will favor the visiting clubs coming into Minnesota.

Thanks for checking out my AL Central predictions and check back later on today for another installment of my American League Central predictions.