Alex Avila Amazes In Debut

To say the Tigers' decision to bring catcher Alex Avila to the majors this week was universally panned by close followers of the team might be an understatement. It was nothing against Avila. It's hard not to look at a hard-hitting, left-handed catcher and smile with anticipation of what he can do for the team for years to come. The Tigers knew what they were doing when they selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 draft. He was going to make them look pretty smart for it, too. In 2011. At least, that was when you would anticipate the arrival of a guy drafted 14 months ago who did not even put on the catcher's mask until he was an upperclassman at Alabama. He's got to continue working on his defensive skill set, we all said. To do that, he needs more regular playing time, we all said. What's the point in calling up a catching prospect early and possibly stunting his growth when you don't even let your backup catcher play, we all wondered. Avila is going to...