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- Thread starter The Man
- Start date
If pointing out the stupidity of "we never lost more than 4 games in a row all year, no reason to think we will now" is talking smack, then yes I was.The Man said:
But since it's not.....
I don't know how I can talk smack when I don't even expect the WS to make the playoffs.
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And all I'm doing is pointing out the stupidity of "the Tigers won't just collapse." Why not? They're immune to it?
I guess they could be......they've been around sucking long enough to build up an immunity to it. (there's your smack talk)
I guess they could be......they've been around sucking long enough to build up an immunity to it. (there's your smack talk)
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
8/5/06
8/5/06
Look who’s cheering now
Tigers have transformed Detroit from laughingstock to leader
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Scott Priestle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>PAUL SANCYA ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>A Tigers fan taunts the World Series champion Chicago White Sox, who trail Detroit in the AL Central. The midweek series in Comerica Park drew 119,821, including 41,075 for a Thursday matinee. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DETROIT — St. John’s Episcopal Church, located on the edge of downtown, is flanked on one side by poverty and decay, on the other side by Comerica Park, home of the Tigers. Which is to say, for most of the previous six years, St. John’s was flanked by poverty and decay.
The Tigers have not had a winning season since 1993. In their first six seasons in Comerica Park, they went a combined 386-585, including a low point of 43-119 in 2003. They set an American League record for losses that season and became a punch line throughout the game and the Tigers’ organization.
"The running joke was that each level (of the farm system) should get a shot up here for a month. We can’t be any worse," said Curtis Granderson, who was the center fielder for the Lakeland Tigers of the high-Class A Florida State League in 2003.
Three years later, Granderson is one of a handful of talented young players who have graduated to the big leagues, where they have been joined by a group of high-profile veteran acquisitions and a rejuvenated Jim Leyland as manager.
Together, they have led the Tigers to the best record in baseball — 72-36 at the start of play yesterday, eight games ahead of the defending World Series champion Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.
A sellout crowd of 41,502 packed Comerica Park last night for the start of a threegame series against the Cleveland Indians. A recent midweek series against the White Sox drew 119,821, including 41,075 for a Thursday matinee. Suddenly, the ballpark is a worthy neighbor to St. John’s, a secular source of hope in this struggling city, a lively house of worship for a reborn baseball town.
"They’re for real," said Mike Fields of Detroit, who was at Comerica Park on Thursday to pick up tickets for a group outing to an upcoming game. "I’m going to catch the playoffs this year. No doubt."
Tigers are relevant again
Fields was among a steady stream of fans who waited in the rain Thursday to purchase tickets.
"I used to be able to come here the day of the game and get tickets," said Dave Reed of Detroit. "Now I call ahead and they’re sold out."
A short line drive from the ticket window, Cheli’s Chili Bar, which opened in February, is already adding a bar and restrooms to the roof to accommodate the surging crowds.
When the Tigers are off or out of town, as they were Thursday, Cheli’s is a quiet, upscale bar and restaurant. On game nights, such as last night, Cheli’s — owned by NHL star Chris Chelios — is three floors’ worth of people packed shoulder to shoulder celebrating a renewed interest in baseball.
"We couldn’t have opened up at a better time," Cheli’s manager, Adam Reed, said. "It has been unbelievable. This is a big baseball city. It always has been. We finally have something to cheer for."
Dave Reed insisted that he never stopped cheering for the Tigers; he simply stopped spending money on them. He said he had season tickets in 1999 and 2000, for the final season in Tiger Stadium and first season in Comerica Park, but gave them up when he saw no hope for a pennant.
He was not alone. The Tigers averaged fewer than 20,000 fans in 2002 and 2003, in only the third and fourth seasons of Comerica Park’s existence.
In recent years, the only connection to winning baseball was the coaching staff — former manager Alan Trammel, bench coach Kirk Gibson and bullpen coach Lance Parrish, all members of the World Series-winning 1984 club.
"They would tell us, ‘You guys have no idea what kind of city this can be,’ " third baseman Brandon Inge said. "They saw it in ’84. We’re finally starting to have that now. Everywhere you go in this city, people are rooting for you, they’re telling you how much they love what we’re doing."
Inge paused and smiled, then added, "This has been a very refreshing season."
From darkness to light
Inge is one of 11 players who remain from 2003, when the Tigers challenged the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in majorleague history.
It is an embarrassing way to be recognized, but it did not drown them.
Inge, who hit .203 with eight home runs in 2003, entered the weekend with 20 homers.
Mike Maroth and Jeremy Bonderman, who went a combined 15-40 in 2003, are 16-7 this season. Fernando Rodney and Jamie Walker have settled into the back end of the bullpen.
Meanwhile, general manager Dave Dombrowski, with the support of deep-pocketed owner Mike Ilitch, began aggressively pursuing elite free agents.
Catcher Ivan Rodriguez signed with the Tigers after the 2003 season. Outfielder Magglio Ordonez and closer Troy Percival signed on after the 2004 season. Second baseman Placido Polanco was acquired in a trade last season, then signed a lucrative extension. Pitchers Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones signed last winter.
Add young players such as Granderson and pitchers Justin Verlander and Joel Zumaya, and the Tigers have more talent than in any of the previous 12 seasons.
"They have a chance to accomplish something special," Leyland said recently. "Will we? I don’t know. But they’ve got a chance to make this a memorable season."
Leyland has played an important role, prodding and cajoling the Tigers out of the malaise that seemed to envelope the clubhouse in recent years.
He won three division titles in Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1992 and won the World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997 but left the dugout after one disappointing season with the Colorado Rockies in 1999.
If he suffered from burnout then, the years away refreshed him.
Granderson met Leyland face to face for the first time at TigerFest in January and was immediately inspired.
"He was serious from Day One," Granderson said. "He talked to the fans just like he was speaking to us. He made it clear he was not going to be any different, no matter who you are."
After an early-season loss to the Indians, which preceded the team’s first West Coast trip, Leyland ripped his players for what he deemed a lack of professionalism. They went 6-3 on the road.
After a recent loss to the White Sox, the Tigers’ sixth loss in seven games to Chicago, Leyland praised the defending champs but made a point to pat his players on the back. They won the next two games and have since padded their division lead.
"That was a tester for us," Inge said. "We came out a little tight that first game, but to win the next two gave us confidence that we can play along with the better teams. We’ve answered all the stereotypes."
Folks across town have noticed. The proof was in front of Comerica Park on Thursday, water-logged but smiling.
"We go to games every year, but in years past we’d just come down for the ambiance," said Diana Moffat of suburban Franklin, Mich., who waited for tickets with her 13-yearold son, Mike. "We didn’t watch them on TV. Now they’re on two TVs every night. It’s just amazing. We’re so excited."
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You should just be glad the Red Sox traded Carmona to the Tigers for a few games. Now I see he's been traded to the Angels but won't get there till tomorrow.
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You should just be glad the Red Sox traded Carmona to the Tigers for a few games. Now I see he's been traded to the Angels but won't get there till tomorrow.
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Don't take up a job in reading baby expressions... it was merely an infant sharing some tears with you about carmona.
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The Man
The truth
Miner outduels Liriano tonight as Liriano didn't look like the same guy as he did a couple of weeks ago. Damn dead arm. Interesting that Liriano is 0-1 w/ an ERA of 7.47 against the Tigers and is 12-2 w/ a 1.39 ERA against the rest of MLB. As for the White Sox Buerhle pitched tonight so we gained another game on them, up to 10 now. Beat Radke tomorrow and see what we can do with Santana on Wed...........edit any other Tigers fans see that they signed their 1st rounder the SP from North Carolina, Andrew Miller. He got 5.5 million and a contract clause guaranteeing a Sept. call-up this year. Will be cool to see what he can do in a RP role.
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