Many of the top of the lineup guys are having a great Opening Week. While others, such as Victor Martinez, could not have imagined a worse start to the season.

But that is baseball. Everything in the Opening Week is magnified greatly. History says Torii Hunter‘s hitting will slow down slightly and Martinez will (hopefully) regain form after returning from his mysterious bat rack hand injury.

So how are some former beloved Tigers doing in their new homes? Okay, so pretty much none of these guys were beloved in Detroit, but its always interesting to check in with them from time to time.

Ryan Raburn

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When we last checked in with Ryan Raburn, he was destroying the ball in Arizona for his new club, the Cleveland Indians.  He played in 23 games in February and March, posting a .341 average with five homers and 12 RBIs, earning a spot on the Opening Day roster after originally signing a minor league deal.

Through the eight games Cleveland has played as of Wednesday morning, Raburn had played in half of those games, posting a .182 average. He has two hits (a single and double) in 11 at-bats with two walks and two strikeouts.

So, in other words, Ryan is in mid-season form and his bloated spring numbers are all but a memory.

Gerald Laird

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The fact that Gerald Laird is not backing up Alex Avila on the Tigers today is still a head-scratcher to me. I understand the economics (supposedly Laird wanted a multi-year deal and the Tigers were only willing to offer a one-year deal), yet his second stint in Detroit was much more successful than his first and I’d rather have him than Brayan Pena–but that’s a post for another day.

Coming out of camp, Laird was penciled in as the everyday starter for the Atlanta Braves while regular All-Star catcher Brian McCann recovered from shoulder surgery. Currently, it seems as though rookie Evan Gattis has been getting the nod behind the plate more often than Laird because of the young player’s slugging potential.

Nevertheless, Laird has been making the most of his limited appearances, hitting .400 ( 4-for-11) with a pair of doubles.

Brennan Boesch

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Perhaps the ex-player Tiger fans are most aware of is Brennan Boesch as he just faced the team over the weekend with mixed results. Defensively speaking, he made a great grab of a Prince Fielder shot during the Home Opener that stunned 45,000 fans. The next day, he made a typical bonehead play.

Boesch joined the hitting assault against the Indians last night, slamming his first homer in a 14-1 Yankees rout. Thus far Brennan has been okay for New York, hitting .250 in six games.

Delmon Young

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The ALCS MVP, Delmon Young, has yet to take the field for his new team, the Philadelphia Phillies. He is still recovering from right ankle surgery, and is taking regular at-bats in extended Spring Training in Clearwater. A minor league rehab could be coming within a week for Young.

Brandon Inge

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No look at former Tigers would be complete without looking at the polarizing Charles Brandon Inge. Like the other love-em or hate-em former Tiger, Raburn, Inge also signed a minor league deal with his new team. However, unlike Ryan, Brandon failed to make the Opening Day roster and is currently toiling in Indianapolis, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ AAA club.

Sadly (unless you’re an Inge hater) Brandon’s early season stats do not bode well for a call-up anytime soon. In six games, he has two hits with a home run in 18 at-bats, good for a .111 average.

Oct 9, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics infielder Brandon Inge (7) before game three of the 2012 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Inge of course was traded from the Tigers to the Oakland A’s last season, and despite doing some positive things for Oakland, he has so far found the free agency market for his services lukewarm to say the least. The interest in him is slightly ahead of ex-Tigers closer Jose Valverde at this point.

It seemed likely that the Oakland A’s would want to bring Inge back. He did after all flash a little bit of power for Oakland and play a really good third base for the A’s. But even they are biting at this point, despite reportedly being well liked in the clubhouse. Unfortunately for Inge, his season was cut short by injury, a dislocated shoulder that he popped in and played with for a hot second.

Kudos for some toughness there. Gotta respect that.

Anyway, I do believe that Inge is likely to find a home. Probably will find a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Would it be beyond the Tigers to be interested in bringing Brandon Inge back? I don’t know if I could go through that again. The Tigers don’t need a 3rd baseman or a 2nd baseman. But let me stir the pot a bit here. Inge has played LF before, and actually looked like he could play it rather well. Inge also does show some ability as a right handed bat against left handed pitching as well. He has an .801 OPS against lefties in his career. That is none too shabby.

Dreadfully, I must admit that Inge as a platoon LF wouldn’t be the worst option in the world.

Ugh…discuss.

So for today’s “It could be worse” I tried finding the exact opposite of last night’s Tigers. It’s not hard to find that in the 2003 Tigers, who on this day nine years ago lost to the Minnesota Twins 6-2.

Games behind in the division: 46.5 (I literally laughed out loud when I saw this.)

Starting lineup:

1. Ben Petrick, CF (PH Alex Sanchez)
2. Shane Halter, 3B
3. Bobby Higginson, RF
4. Dimitri Young, DH
5. Craig Monroe, LF
6. Carlos Pena, 1B
7. Brandon Inge, C
8. Warren Morris, 2B
9. Ramon Santiago, SS (PH Danny Klassen, Kevin Witt)
P Jeremy Bonderman

Not a single hitter in this lineup was hitting over .300. Three…THREE…of them were hitting below .220 while one more player was hitting .221. I would never claim to be able to pitch against a Major League lineup, but if there was a group of nine players I wouldn’t be scared to face off against, it would be this group.

Not surprisingly the Tigers were never in this game, falling behind 5-0 by the fourth inning. This would be the Tigers’ seventh straight loss. My favorite moment from the game is the following play-by-play:

Juan Rincon replaces Jesse Orosco pitching
Danny Klassen pinch hits for Ramon Santiago (SS) batting 9th
Kevin Witt pinch hits for Danny Klassen batting 9th

I’m sure if you looked hard enough, you could find a sadder series of events, but I don’t believe it’s possible. I

I imagine the moment went like this:
Trammel: “Danny, you’re up!”
Trammel: *thinks to self* No, wait. I have someone better. *Looks at bench *
Trammel: “Kevin, get you’re helmet. You’re up instead. Show us what you can do!”
*Witt strikes out on three pitches *

Finally, these were the pitchers Trammel used out of the bullpen: Jamie Walker, Chris Spurling, Matt Anderson, Franklyn German and Fernando Rodney. If there is a hell, it’s seeing that parade of relievers every night for eternity.

So tonight, while you watch Verlander make batters swing and miss while his teammates make the opposing pitcher look like Verlander, just remember. It could be worse.