It appears that the Tigers aren't looking at Doug Mirabelli as the solution to their back-up catcher opening, which should relieve most fans, based on what I've been reading around the Tigersphere.  

Yet it's still not clear which in-house candidate might best fill that role for Detroit.  Jim Leyland officially scratched Vance Wilson for Opening Day.  We already know Brandon Inge's feelings on the matter.  And Dane Sardinha's hitting .154 this spring.

Ryan Raburn made his debut behind the plate yesterday, preparing for his role as emergency catcher.  He only worked one inning after switching positions with Inge, who caught the first four innings, and then moved out to left field.  After the fifth inning, Raburn moved back to left, and Sardinha took over the catching duties.

UPDATE:  Red Sox GM Theo Epstein candidly admitted to the New York Times' Jack Curry that he regretted making the deal to re-acquire Mirabelli in 2006.  Josh Bard and Cla Meredith was too steep a price to pay, but Epstein was persuaded by his players to do the trade.