OAKLAND, Calif. -- Justin Verlander officially has made it big.

His name is on the marquee at Grandpa Eddie's Alabama Ribs & BBQ in Goochland County, Va.

The letters spell out: "GO VERLANDER GO." Stars have been fixed onto either end of the message. The proclamation has been there since Sunday, perhaps the surest sign yet that the Tigers' rookie right-hander has truly arrived. Richard Verlander, Justin's father, explained that Grandpa Eddie's is located downtown -- a relative term in Verlander's rural hometown. "Kind of an oxymoron," Richard Verlander said.

The lights, however small, will surely make the message burn brighter than ever as Verlander takes the mound tonight at McAfee Coliseum in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. And Verlander is grateful.

He talked Tuesday about how much he appreciated his "great following" back home.

"Everybody here is so proud," said Carey Friedman, the restaurant's owner, by telephone Tuesday. "You know, local boy makes good."

We've noticed. Verlander, 23, a native of Manakin-Sabot, Va., also figures to be a Detroit fixture for many summers to come. He won 17 games during the regular season to almost certainly stamp his name on the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Then he looked very much in his element last Thursday at Yankee Stadium -- "I felt pretty calm and collected out there," Verlander recalled Tuesday -- and was on the mound as the Tigers hung the first of 20 goose eggs on baseball's most fearsome lineup in Game 2 of the AL Division Series.

Six nights later, the TV sets at Grandpa Eddie's -- and inside his parents' nearby home -- will display the second playoff start of Verlander's promising career.

He'll face an Oakland A's lineup that he faced three times during the season, with encouraging results (1-1, 2.25 ERA).

Verlander has started a succession of crucial games for the Tigers. This time, he'll pitch with last Thursday's experience fresh in his mind.

"I thought I'd be a little too pumped up, a little too excited," he said Tuesday, when asked about his playoff debut against the Yankees. "But I felt all right."

That's not surprising. Inexperience has never interrupted Verlander's perpetual current of confidence. His poise has been remarkable, when considering that, at this time last year, his primary focus was settling into his Florida condo, having pitched exactly two games above Double-A.

Then again, his manager has a different definition of poise.

"My reaction has always been the same," Jim Leyland said.

"When you throw at 97, with a curveball off the table, and a good changeup, it's pretty easy to be poised. It's that simple."

Verlander's family traveled to Yankee Stadium for his Game 2 start last week -- "Taking in the atmosphere, it was a pinch-yourself moment," his father said -- and planned to watch tonight's game from Virginia. That's OK with them. Verlander's younger brother, Benjamin, is still in school. Besides, it's easier for Richard to give the umpires a hard time when he watches from the centerfield view.

This weekend, though, the family hopes to be in Detroit, to experience firsthand Comerica Park's supercharged postseason atmosphere. And, yes, they're already aware of the forecast, which calls for snow, rain and temperatures -- yes, the highs -- south of 50.

"We're coming -- rain, wind or hail," Richard Verlander vowed. "We're going to plan for it. We'll be ready."

Before they worry about the weather, though, the Verlanders, and the Grandpa Eddie's patrons, will tune in tonight. And as long as the Tigers keep winning, that marquee might stay the same.

Perhaps the menu will be next. Verlanderburger has a certain ring to it, doesn't it?