Don't Stop Believin'???

I am feeling very conflicted about a new tradition at Comerica Park. This season, in the eighth inning, the Tigers have taken to playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Now, I have always liked Steve Perry's voice. I like the song. It transports me back to my teenage years in the 80s. Yes, I'm old. Shut up. The reason I hesitate to embrace this new-found ritual is that in 2005, "Don't Stop Believin'" was the theme song of none other than the World Series champion Chicago White Sox. Steve Perry himself even sang the song at their victory parade. After watching that, I ask you, should we be adopting a song that has been already been used by our arch enemy? Can't we be more original than that? I realize the song mentions being "born and raised in South Detroit," but noone refers to South Detroit here anyway. I like the idea of our own song for the 8th, but let's all come up with some less stale ideas.

So, Jamie Samuelson has put it out there that he feels Magglio is not deserving of a spot in the lineup. I cannot let this pass without comment. Although Magglio may not yet be 100%, and he may not be ready to pursue a batting title, I have to say that he will be an upgrade in this lineup to several current placeholders. I just don't get how people, and even mainstream media members are so quickly ready to discard a career .310 hitter. So many have stopped believin'. I will love nothing more than when Mi Magglio begins scorching the ball and muzzles these buffoons. I will demand apologies on his behalf. As a matter of fact, start lining up now. He will not disappoint.

Rod and Mario continued to be stymied by Max Scherzer's heterochromia. Mario finally read it on the air last night, but only once, and would not repeat it when Rod asked him to. Rod continues to refer to it as a "condition." It's not a medical problem with a host of symptoms and side effects. It's a trait, not a disease. Just about everyone else thinks it makes Scherzer look bad. Only you two make him out to be a freak. Sigh.

I would like to end this evening in a first place tie with Cleveland. Make it happen fellas. Thanks.

The CoPa Still Beckons

The Tigers are not mathematically eliminated from the 2010 playoffs. Ha. We all know it's over.

You know what, though? I still love going to ballgames. I can't help it. Is there a better sensory experience than walking in to the park, seeing the green expanse of grass and players warming up, smelling roasted peanuts and spun cotton candy, and hearing the public address announcer telling you that Comerica Park is a family environment and profanity is strictly forbidden? I don't think so.

So, I had to heed the call yesterday. Luckily, a friend of mine is very like-minded. When I texted her about going to the game, her simple reply was "of course." Like, there is no question of being tired or having obligations. Of course she wanted to spend 2 hours and four minutes with our boys of summer. Of course she wanted to take a sharpened pencil to her scorecard.

My friend wore her Jeremy Bonderman jersey last night. Thank her for that outstanding performance. Eight strong, three hits, one run, one walk? Just wow.

John Danks was the unhappy victim of a pair of errors by Mark Teahen. He was left out there to dry by Ozzie Guillen for six full innings, who apparently had no desire to burn through his pen. Only two of the five runs Danks was charged with were earned. Smart move by Guillen. Pena went the final two, and operation bullpen preservation succeeded.

Our murderer's row lineup really impressed. Wells had an RBI, and Inge and Avila each collected a pair. Everyone but Rhymes and Boesch had a hit.

Phil Coke. I haven't heard any updates lately on his dead arm/tired arm, but Leyland keeps running him out there, quite literally. It always makes me smile when Coke sprints to the mound. I don't like to see Coke struggle, because the guy is a smidge hard on himself, you know? Like when he blamed Joel Zumaya's broken elbow on his own ineffectiveness that game. So, it made me happy to see him allow no runs on one hit last night.

Anyway, do not ignore the call from your ballpark. She wants to entertain you. She does not disappoint. She will soon be shuttered. Go. While you still can.

Looking in from the Outside

Today I had to drive in to Detroit to purchase some Lions and Red Wings tickets. Why didn't I just buy them on-line you say? Well, I saved myself over $50 in fees by driving into the city and going to the box office.

Since Ford Field is right next to Comerica Park, I got a chance to see the old girl. In fact, I lingered, and looked longingly in at the field with blue tarps over the mound and home plate, the turnstiles covered in plastic, the bronzes of Gehringer, Cobb, Kaline, Horton, and Newhauser, the lonely Big Boy statue. A somber scene to be sure. I felt it all the more since the off-season has really only just begun, and it will be a long time before I enter the gates of the park again.

Just wanted to let you know the old girl is all right, latently waiting for the boys of summer to return to Detroit.

Pulse Check

Soooooooooooooooo, mournful Tiger fans, how are you feeling three days removed from crushing disappointment? To be honest, I’m a little slow to shake this one off. Rogo of DesigNate Robertson was laughing at my pain yesterday. One good turn deserves another, so here are some funnies about his beloved Fighting Irish.

Sunday is the day I should have been attending a playoff game at Comerica Park. Hmmm. THAT’s gonna be a good day--more depression, another round of anger management classes, numerous tears to be shed. Sigh.

Arizona Fall League, I hope you’re full of interesting story lines this year. We’re going to need a distraction.

Saving Tiger Stadium

I have such a sentimental fondness for Tiger Stadium, a feeling that is, no doubt, shared by countless others--the memories made there are indelible.  I also have a genuine love of the old girl herself.  That is, her seating was so intimate to the action.  If you sat in the upper deck box seats on the first or third base line, you were quite literally on top of the action--an unmatched game experience.

Now, I'm not bagging on Comerica.  It's a fine ballpark.  Rather cookie-cutter, but nicely done in most respects.  However, the seating is decidedly not fan-friendly.  It ranges too far back off the action.  I do like the right field grandstand and bleachers.  I like being in fair territory, and if you're in the rows near the front, it's quite nice, for a decent price.

I'm proud of the efforts the conservancy is making to save a portion of the ballpark.  It would be great if programs like Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities (RBI) could make use of the historic field.  However, I don't blame people if they donate money to more urgent humanitarian causes right now.  Especially with Michigan's current economic situation, there are many in dire situations, and they need help.  Real human crises should trump baseball history.

So, if she does vanish, I'll be sad, but not broken-hearted.  Perhaps she'll go down, but others may have a better shot, just like Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince.