I love being back in Michigan for Opening Day. 2008 was the first time that I've missed opening day since the time my family was in Hawaii in 7th grade for Spring Break, so I was very glad to be back with the family, heading out to the game. Unfortunately, my wife was not among us this time, which kept it from being a perfect day, but it was still a ton of fun nonetheless.
No pictures, but a few notes:
The fountain formerly known as the General Motors fountain looks excellent. Kudos to Mike Illitch for doing the classy thing there. (yes this is a picture, but it is from the Tigers' official site)
Miguel Cabrera is a beast. Nobody can say that trading for him was a mistake, anyone who says so is a fool. The mistake was signing Willis to an unnecessary contract extension, but the trade was pure Gold.
Downtown Detroit is so close, but all of the projects that made Woodward look like it was just a step away have stalled. If you're in Detroit, go downtown for a game, or to Greektown, or the Detroit Breakfast House or Slow's (my favorite) for lunch or Dinner, the architecture and layout of the city is great, as long as you can get by without the frills.
The semi-demolished Tiger Stadium is AWESOME. This is the first time that I've seen it in person and I'm a big fan. Here's hoping that the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy can see this plan through because it would be a great attraction for the city.
The view from the Upper Deck at Comerica Park is really nice. I rarely sit there, although that's where I was for some of the ALDS and ALCS games in 2006, and the All Star game in 2005, but the Upper Deck seats between 1st and 3rd are really quite good. You get a birds-eye view of the action and an excellent view of the whole skyline.
The wind was wicked today. Not only did it chill me down, but it helped the ball carry. Granderson's double was a routine fly that I clapped for, thinking that it was a perfect Sac Fly. It carried another 40 ft. to the base of the wall and ended up a double. Awesome.
Armando Galarraga is the real deal. Maybe not an "ace" per se, but he is not the fraud that so many people have made him out to be.
So, that's it for now. Two Opening Days in a week and lots of fun was had by all. I'm thinking I may head to the Michigan Football Spring Game tomorrow, and perhaps over to an area hobby shop.
Speaking of which...even though I was born and raised here, I don't know of any hobby shops in the area. So, a question to the readers, if I want to swing by a place where I can pick up some Granderson or Tigers singles, where should I go? Is there anything close to Ann Arbor? In my day, I just bought cards at kmart, and then I was out of collecting, and then I got them of the internet and such.
