Alex Avila (knee) is confident he'll be ready to return to the lineup Thursday after a couple days off. "It's just pain tolerance," Avila said about his sore left patella tendon. "It's not gonna require surgery or anything like that." His comments are encouraging, but we can't forget about how badly he struggled in the playoffs last year while dealing with the same ailment. The Tigers will go with Gerald Laird behind the plate for now.