Of course the Tigers lost…they were televised in Charleston!
It seems anytime I’m able to watch the Tigers here in Charleston (and no, MLB Extra Inings doesn’t count) they lose. Saturday night was no exception.
So far, it appears my worst fears about this year’s Tiger team are true. A nine game stretch against Cleveland and KC did little to show us what this team is made of. Seriously, how often have we been able to describe any Tigers team by saying “their hitting is soft, but their rotation is rock-solid”?
We all knew this West Coast road trip was going to be tough. If these first two games are any indication, it’s going to be down right brutal.
Congratulations to Ubaldo Jiminez and the Colorado Rockies on their first no hitter in franchise history. My God, is this really their 18th season? With tonight’s no-no and several near-no hitters already this season, is it too early to speculate that the post-steroid era will be one of pitching dominance?
Saturday was my birthday, and I spent much of the day at the South Carolina / Ole Miss game in Columbia – my first college game. Hopefuly, I’ll be recapping that tomorrow, along with whatever pics I can get from my Blackberry.
Comeback kitties?
Following a loss like today’s Tigers/Royals game, I’m reminded by a quote from Sparky Anderson (which he, admittedly probably stole from Connie Mack, John McGraw or Casey Stengel) in baseball, you can expect to win 50 games and lose 50 games. It’s what you do with those other 50 (now 62) game that determines the season.
While I’m happy that the Tigers have already had 6 come-from behind wins this season, am I the only person concerned that the wins have come against Cleveland and Kansas City? No offense to either team, but they’re not exactly American League juggernauts. So far, I haven’t watched a game this season thinking that the Tigers were expected or expecting to win. Nonetheless, I am happy to see they are playing all nine innings and taking advantage of the soft bullpens of both teams this far.
This weekend in Seattle may be their first real test. The M’s went into this season with many people thinking the AL West race would be wide open and that they have a chance to win. So far, the M’s haven’t exactly lived up to their hype. Right now I’m juat glad that Saturday night’s game will be on the MLB Network.
Thursday is, of course, Jackie Robinson Day. By now, its hard to describe the impact of that day in Brooklyn, April 15, 1947, without sounding like a broken record. The thing that always strikes me is that Robinson and Branch Rickey de-segregated baseball eight years before Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat and seventeen years before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. I can’t even imagine what baseball, and America in general, would be like had Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey not dragged America, kicking and screaming, into the Civil Rights Movement.
Reflections on Opening Day 2010
The good, the bad and the ugly…
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“Be Scared of Laird”
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“The Notorious I-N-G-E”
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Rrrrramon Santiago!
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Hearing Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” just before the first pitch.
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Game time temperature: 38 degrees.
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GM must’ve ponied up some $ to get the Ford and Chrysler logos off of the “General Motors Fountain”
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The thousands of loud, obnoxious drunk who have no real interest in the game – they are just there to skip work and get drunk. At least now they’ll go away for another year.
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Said obnoxious drunks griping about the long lines at the restrooms
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Not ONCE did I hear: I haven’t been to a Tiger game since Cecil Fielder hit all those Home Runs in…[1990]
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Local sports talk radio STILL griping about Comerica Park’s seating and waxing nostalgic about Tiger Stadium. Now I probably love old Tiger Stadium more than the average fan, but it’s been 10 years now. Can we try and focus on some of the positive of Comerica Park…please?
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The guy from American Idol was pretty good singing “the Star Spangled Banner”
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So far, the pitching’s looking solid. The offense leaves me a little worried; but I am encouraged by the way our batters hit for all nine innings. These guys have done a good job so far of putting some runs together in the late innings when they need them.
Big Mac’s special sauce
“two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion on a sesame seed bun…” goes the ol McDonald’s Big Mac jingle. Today we know now that Big Mac, at least, Mark McGwire’s…special sauce was steroids. Again unless you’ve been living under a rock for ther last 24 hours you probably heard that Mark McGwire announced to the world that he used steroids off and on through much of his career.
I think this hardly comes as a shock to anyone reading this, let alone the casual baseball viewer who may have gotten swept up by the 1998 Home Run Race.While not not surprising, this announcement reopens the same questions fans have beenplagied with for the last decade or so: What happens to the records? Should he be eligible for the Hall of Fame? Should anybody from this era?
I think that the use of PEDs is the biggest sin in this sport; far worse than gambling or even throwing a game. But if we question the Hall of Fame worthiness of known steroid users – as several baseball writers have done by invoking the character clause seen on the HOF ballot. Don’t we have to second-guess the HOF worthiness of Ty Cobb, Gaylord Perry, Mickey Mantle – a racist, a ball doctorer and a drunk respectively? What about the countless number of players who have used “greenies” over the years for that little extra edge? What about the players who got swept up in the cocaine epidemic of the 80s? Or the wife beaters? Where does it end?
I’m not saying the “Steroid Era” was a good thing, but like it or not, it is/was a part of the game. The numbers are the numbers are we have to accept them, however inflated they may be. One can argue that any statistics kept after the dead ball era are inflated (which they are)
A heartbreaker…
As of approximately 45 minutes ago, the Twins are the 2009 AL Central Division Champions, in what was easily the best basebal game I’ve seen since game 7 of the 1997 World Series.
“I thought the ‘al-co-hol-lic’ chant at Cabrera was about as classy as his Saturday night escapades. At least he shut them up with that 2 run homer in the 3rd inning.
Equally tacky was Denard Span’s quote about the Tigers “choking” , as mentioned here in Beck’s Blog .
Speaking of which, before too many people get on this “historic collapse” bit about the Tigers, we need to remember that they were also on the verge of achieving a rare “worst-to-first” finish following the disastrous 2008 season.
I am heartbroken tonight, but as a fan I want to thank the Tigers for an entertaining, if not great, 2009 season. A winning record, 4th highest attendance in MLB. Not bad for a team expected to finish last in their division and a town with the worst economy in the nation. There truly “ain’t no party like a Detroit party”.
A season assessment/review is forthcoming.
More as it develops…
Mystery solved
Tony Montana he ain’t – thankfully. Info about the scratch on Miguel Cabrera’s face.
Now let it go people…
Got twinkies?
They say hindsight is 20-20 and I don’t wanna say “I told you so” but so far, all my Tigers predicitons for this last week have come true.
I figured the Tigers and Twins would split the series in Detroit. CHECK. I also figured they would be tied at the end of the season. CHECK. However, I wanna be dead-wrong in my prediciton for Tuesday.
The Twins are hot right now. Hot teams can go deep into the post-season. The Tigers really showed some life Sunday, but I fear it’s too little, too late. Tuesday’s game is in the Metrodome – home of perhaps the greates home-field advantage in professional sports. That place will be loud, the fans will be out for blood. The Tigers may need to steal a page out of the Twins playbook, who stole one from the Cobra Kai dojo: “Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, sir!” It’s not as if the Tigers have never won in the dome; but STILL…
My Take on Cabrera’s face: I could care less bout this topic; except I was taken aback at how quick Jim Leyland was to shoot down any questions about. My guess is that he got in a lockerroom scuffle. Ball players treat the locker room like Las Vegas: What happens there, stays there”.
More as it develops….I need to get me some Twinkies.
A dvision title deferred…part 3
Going into the Tigers-White Sox series last night, I was excited and confident that the Tigers were still going to win the AL Central. Tonight, I’m cocnerned.
During a lull at work last night, I mapped out the 16 possible scenatios for the Twins & Tigers’ final 3 games and all the “if-then” scenarios there in.
Going into Friday night’s game, 13 of those 16 scenarios had the Tigers winning the AL Central outright. 2 others had the Tigers and twins in a tie. Only one had the twins taking the division.
Following the Tigers loss and the twins win on Friday, 7 of those scenarios were ruled out- all of which ahd the Tigers winning the division.
Following the Tigers loss and the Twins win tonight, 5 more scenarios, all of which ad the Tigers winning the division, were ruled out.
To say that the Tigers are diggin their own grave is an understatement. The paradigm has now shifted. The Tigers must win Sunday. Should they decide to leave their bats t home again, the better pray that the Twins lose too.
Hindsgight is always 20/20, but I had a feeling the Tigers were going to split the Twins series earlier this week. As for tomorrow, i think the Tigers will win, as will the Twins. Sadly, I think if they goto a 1 game play-off, I think the Twins will take it, especially in the Dome.
I hope I’m wrong.
Showdown in Motown ’09
I was a little bummed that last night’s game waspostponed – mostly because the rain put a damper on the 25th anniversary celebration for the 84 Tiger team. I think the organization really blew a great opportunity to pay a proper tribute to Sparky Anderson (HINT: Retire his number and put up a statue!)
On a brighter side, BOTH of today’s games are being televised on the MLB Network. As has been said elsewhere, this seris will most likely determine first place in the AL Central. If the Tigers take 3 in the series, they will clinch the division. With Porcello and Verlander taking the mound today, I like the Tigers chances.
This brings me to another thought: double headers. I love ‘em. I wish there were 3 or 4 on each team’s schedule like there used to be. Of course, that’s a throwback to a time when there were no ads on the outfield fences and stadiums were named after people; but I digress. Thr biggest problem – the only problem? – with double headers is that I don’t think any team can realistically go into a twin bill expecting to win both games. Of course today’s DH comes at the climax of the AL Central penant race nd both teams are looking to sweep. However under normal circumstances, one probably wouldn’t see a player taking the field for all 18 innings – unless his name is Cal Ripken. Unfortunately for both the Tigers and Twins, time and Mother Nature are taking priority over convienence.
Still, I think if every team ahd 2-4 double headers on their schecule each season, we wouldn’t have to deal with outdoor baseball in November. that’ll be interesting…
“ROD-NEY, ROD-NEY”
I gotta give to “F-Rod”. I’ve never really given the guy his due. But he’s having a great season. It’s not always pretty, like Todd Jones, but he gets the job done. When he’s got his good stuff, he’s as light-out as any closer in the league.
After seeing the Tigers on TBS and ESPN in the last few weeks, people are finally taking notice of the fact that the AL Central is a fairly tight race. While the 09 Tigers aren’t as deep as the 06, or maybe 07, teams – the fact is they have been in first place since May. With them, the pale hose and the Twinkies all making some late acquisitions, this should be a good race right down the wire. Of course, I’d be more than happy to see the Tigers run up a 10 game winning streak – or two – down the stretch.
Last night/this morning Steven Strasburg singed with the Nationals for “only” $15 million. I almost admire the guile of Scott Boras – if I didn’t despise his profession so much. The fact that the could say that Strasburg deserved $50 million – with a straight face – astounds me. Seriously, this guy should be in politics. He could offer his own serices to the US Government for 3% of the GNP and still argue that he isn’t getting his fair makret value.
But i digress. The Strasburg signing reminds us that, aside from the MLB Draft needing a dramatic overhaul, that athletes give far too much power to their agents. I understand, the agent works to get a athlete every penny he can; but who really make the decisions in these business relationships?
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