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AL champion Tigers open season vs. Blue Jays

Apr 2, 2007 - 1:47 PM Toronto (0-0) at Detroit (0-0) 1:05 pm EDT

DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers made their first World Series appearance in 22 years last season. With their stable of young pitchers and a fiery manager, a return seems very possible.

Jeremy Bonderman and the Tigers will start their quest to get back to the Fall Classic when they take on Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays Monday in the season opener for both teams.

Detroit stumbled down the stretch of the campaign in 2006 but still posted a 95-67 record to claim the American League wild card after spending much of the season in first place in the Central Division.

Not many gave the Tigers a chance in their first-round series against the mighty New York Yankees. But Detroit proved everyone wrong, dispatching the Yankees in four games and moving on to the AL Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics.

Detroit's subsequent win over the Athletics clinched its first berth in the World Series since 1984. The Tigers went on to lose to the St. Louis Cardinals in five games.

Much of the credit for the turnaround went to manager Jim Leyland, who did not allow his players to accept losing. But much of the acclaim should be placed on the shoulders of the Tigers' young pitching staff, including fireballers Justin Verlander, Bonderman, Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya.

Bonderman will be the club's Opening Day starter after posting a 14-8 record with a 4.08 ERA in 34 starts last season. The righthander did a lot of his damage in the postseason, becoming a workhorse for the Tigers.

But it will not be easy for Detroit in arguably the toughest division in baseball, featuring the Chicago White Sox, pesky Minnesota Twins and up-and-coming Cleveland Indians.

On Monday, however, the Tigers will face the Blue Jays, who are another improving club. Halladay has battled numerous injuries in recent years but is considered one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy.

Featuring a disabling arsenal of pitches, the tall righthander went 16-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 32 starts last season - finishing third in the Cy Young voting. But Toronto will need to rely on Halladay this season, especially in another of baseball's tough divisions.

The Blue Jays will battle the Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East. Toronto finished second in the division last season - one game ahead of the Red Sox and 10 behind New York - its highest finish since 1993.