MERRY CHRISTMA...err, Opening Day! Al Kaline is throwing out the first pitch, Asdrubal Cabrera signed a contract extension, and the Miami Marlins forgot to put mirrors in their park. These stories and more in today's Morning Prowl.
Introduce Yourself 2012 - Bless You Boys
Make sure to introduce yourself if you haven't already!
Hall of Famer Al Kaline to throw out first pitch at Tigers' opener - The Detroit News, Tony Paul
I still think that Mr. Kaline is in good enough shape to provide more offense than Brandon Inge will this season.
Tigers Prince Fielder, Justin Verlander star in new Chevy ads on ESPN - Detroit Free Press, Nathan Borney
It's no Chrysler Super Bowl commercial, but I like the simplicity of Prince's ad.
And the World Series winner will be... - ESPN, Jayson Stark
Stark believes, and you should too.
Detroit Tigers 2012 Season Preview Presented By Eric Cartman - SB Nation Detroit, Brian Packey
"Eric Cartman is in the best shape of his life and bringing you the 2012 Detroit Tigers season preview." Grab some cheezy poofs and enjoy.
2012 Detroit Tigers Season Preview, Presented By Random M-Live Commenters - Detroit4lyfe, Rob Rogacki
Yes, I just linked myself. Deal with it. As the title suggests, it's not really my writing anyway. You might lose a few brain cells reading this (which can be said for most of my work), but it's worth it.
Season Previews: Detroit Tigers - Babes Love Baseball
It's difficult enough to write a season preview, but doing it entirely in haiku form takes some serious skills.
Fifty ESPN baseball experts select Detroit Tigers to win Central Division - MLive, Chris Iott
You want a consensus? Well, you've got it. All 50 (!!) of ESPN's baseball experts (make your own connotation of that term) picked the Tigers to win the AL Central.
Your inaugural Power Rankings - HardballTalk, Craig Calcaterra
You can debate these until you're blue in the face, but I don't see anything wrong with slotting the Tigers 4th at this point. Especially when the first National League team doesn't show up until #7.
Elsewhere in Baseball:
Indians Extend Asdrubal Cabrera - MLBTradeRumors, Zach Links
"The deal is worth $16.5MM and will delay Cabrera's free agency by one year." Eh, whatever Cleveland. Thanks again for Jhonny Peralta.
The Competition: Boston Red Sox - Motor City Bengals, Chris Hannum
Especially relevant for today's game. However, calling Kevin Youkilis an "advantage" over Miguel Cabrera is reason enough for public flogging.
This is... interesting.
Stadium tidbit: Public women's bathroom at #MarlinsPark have no mirrors. The reason: They don't want female fans taking time to primp.
— The Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) April 4, 2012
Sue Falsone on being first female head trainer - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia
If you haven't been following this story closely, Falsone was named the head athletic trainer of the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason.