No need for a long recap tonight, is there?  This one was all about the long ball.  The Tigers' bats finally look like they're shaking off that early spring chill.  Initially, the only problem was that the home runs came with no one on base.  Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen each hit solo shots to put Detroit on the scoreboard.  But Justin Morneau struck a big blow in the sixth with a two-run blast off Nate Robertson.  That seemed like it might be the decisive moment of the game, until the fans at Comerica Park finally got an idea of why Miguel Cabrera is expected to be Detroit's Next Top Baseball Superstar.

As you probably know (unless you tried to shield yourself from the ugly truth), Cabrera came into the game batting .205/.300/.318 with one home run and three RBIs.  But with three hits in his previous two games, maybe it was finally starting to heat up.  Tonight, it all came together when both Cabrera and his team probably needed it most.  With Ordonez on second base, Cabrera sent a 1-2 pitch from Jesse Crain into the Tigers bullpen.  And for the second straight night, Detroit called it a comeback. 

If there's a pun, I suppose it's intended, but isn't it a relief to see the other team's bullpen cough up two games in a row?  (Let's not talk about Todd Jones giving up that deep fly to Delmon Young which Ryan Raburn kept in the park, but couldn't quite keep in his glove...)

Two-game series or not, a sweep is a sweep.  And winning their first series of the season comes at a great time, with the Tigers heading to Cleveland for the next two games.  How might that AL Central race look by Friday?

Scott Baker (2-0, 4.63) vs. Nate Robertson (0-1, 7.84)

The Minnesota Twins could be exactly the team Nate Robertson needs to see right now.  He hasn't been very good in his first two starts this season, but against the Twins, he's been fantastic recently.  In his last three games vs. Minnesota, Robertson only allowed three runs over 21 innings. 

Scott Baker hasn't been quite as successful against the Tigers, failing to get the win in each of his three starts.  However, the last time he pitched at Comerica Park, Baker was outstanding, allowing just one run and three hits over eight innings.  Fortunately for Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman was just a little better that night, keeping the Twins off the scoreboard.

Tonight, to commemorate the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut, several Twins and Tigers players will be wearing Robinson's #42.  You can see which Minnesota players will wear #42 here, but one of them will be former (and admittedly bitter) Tiger Craig Monroe, who will start tonight at designated hitter.  The six Tigers wearing #42 tonight will be Dontrelle Willis, Jacque Jones, Curtis Granderson, Gary Sheffield, Marcus Thames, and Ivan Rodriguez.

Short Hops:

• Twinkie Town is worried about Pat Neshek.
• Baseball Digest Daily's Bill Baer believes trading Sheffield could solve some problems for the Tigers.
• Speaking of Sheffield, Detroit Tigers Thoughts points to an interesting (though troubling) article about his aching shoulder.
  
• Granderson (whose batting practice went well today, hopefully) wants some appreciation for Clete Thomas and Brandon Inge. 
  

Today will show us a fine example of what distinguishes baseball from the other major sports in this country.  Baseball has such a great sense of its history, allowing it to influence and define the game to this day.  That appreciation often yields some special moments, one of which we'll see today.  More than 150 players throughout the sport will take the field wearing Jackie Robinson's number 42 (which had been retired by Major League Baseball ten years ago), in tribute to the 60th anniversary of him breaking the sport's racial barriers when he entered the game at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  

Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. first proposed the idea to Commissioner Bud Selig, who liked the concept so much that he thought any player and every team should be allowed to do the same thing, if they so choosed.  Many others soon decided to join the salute.

For the Detroit Tigers, Gary Sheffield, Craig Monroe, Marcus Thames, Pudge Rodriguez, Lloyd McClendon, and Curtis Granderson will wear Robinson's uniform number today.  Six teams - the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, and of course, the Los Angeles Dodgers - will have everyone in uniform sport the number 42.  (Each player will receive two jerseys, one of which they can keep.  The others will be auctioned off to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation.)

Seventeen years ago, I had the opportunity to write a term paper on the Negro Leagues for my high school history class. At the time, I just thought it was a cool way to get through such an assignment and was thrilled when my teacher approved my topic of choice.  (Thank you, Mr. Whitted.)  While my friends and classmates were slogging through research on JFK's assassination, the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, the Vietnam War, or Roe vs. Wade (all worthy topics, of course), I got to write about baseball.  

For a 17-year-old kid, it was astounding to read about the abuse he endured from spectators, other players, and even his own teammates.  And the idea that black athletes weren't allowed to play baseball was a completely foreign concept to me.  I couldn't imagine a sport that wouldn't have included so many players I admired, such as Lou Whitaker, Kirby Puckett, Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, and Dwight Gooden.  But a key part of the assignment was to focus upon a pivotal event for your chosen subject.  And in my paper, that meant writing about Jackie Robinson being the first black man to play in the major leagues.  

Even now, soon to be 34, I still have difficulty comprehending Robinson's struggle to merely play a game that seems so easily accessible to anyone nowadays.  How many times did he ask himself whether or not it was worth taking all those insults and attacks?  How hard must it have been not to retaliate against his oppressors, as Branch Rickey demanded of him?

In anticipation of today's celebration, there's been quite a bit of chatter regarding a couple of different topics: 1) whether or not those wearing the number appreciate what the gesture really means, and 2) the decreasing number of African-American players in Major League Baseball.

The first point seems a little bit snobby to me.  Maybe I'm being naive, but I find it hard to believe that some players are only wearing #42 to "be cool."  But even if that's why they're doing it, on some level, those guys have to know why it would be cool, right?  The second point is a big concern, and I'm glad to hear players like Sheffield, Dontrelle Willis, Torii Hunter, C.C. Sabathia, and Jimmy Rollins speak out on the matter.  I can only hope they're sincere about wanting to do something about it, but I also wonder just how much they can truly do.  That's a discussion I'd really like to have here, but such a complex subject probably deserves its own blog entry.

Today is meant for acknowledging one of baseball's pioneers.  It's gratifying to see so many players show their appreciation for Jackie Robinson and what he's meant to the sport.  And if even one person turns to someone next to them, whether it's at the ballpark or while watching on TV, and asks why so many guys are wearing #42, then it's most certainly a worthy gesture.

There's so much reading material available on Jackie Robinson and the 60th anniversary of his pioneering debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Here's but a sampling:

●  See what Robinson means to Our Tiger, Curtis Granderson.

●  MLB.com's Jackie Robinson page has a ton of stuff worth checking out.

●  How did Robinson end up with the number 42, anyway?

●  Here's the Associated Press story that covered Robinson's debut in 1947.

●  Bruins Nation has a couple of posts on Robinson, who played virtually every sport known to man at UCLA.

●  Not only does today's rainout at Shea Stadium mean Dmitri Young won't get to wear #42 as planned, but the major league ballpark closest to where Robinson first played won't get to celebrate his accomplishment.

●  Who else is wearing #42 today?

●  Bill Plaschke of the LA Times discusses Robinson's legacy outside of baseball.

●  Would Robinson be saddened at how much baseball has lost touch with the black community?

●  Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks wanted to put Robinson's last name on his jersey, but the NBA nixed the idea.  Considering he already wears #42, I'm not sure what the harm would be. It'd only be for one game.

●  SB Nation broham Talking Chop has some video retrospectives to watch.

●  Salon.com's King Kaufman wants us to remember how much of an activist Robinson was, and thinks MLB should pay tribute to other pioneers, such as Frank Robinson.

●  Speaking of which, don't forget that Larry Doby was the American League's first African-American player.

●  This year also represents the 50th anniversary of Robinson's retirement.  The man quit, rather than play for the hated rival he was traded to.  (Think about that, Johnny Damon and Jason Schmidt.)