Finding Joy: A Saga

Let's go for a ride.

I've been traveling a lot for work lately--something that has taken me to all corners of the country, typically on a series of very fast 1-day trips that are cobbled together on very short notice.  Deadlines being what they are, I often need to book flights at the last minute to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

Sometimes, there are casualties.

Each of the Tigers vs. Yankees games in the ALDS started at 8:37.  Every one of them.  Even when they were "TBA" you just knew that they were going to be prime time.  I mean, Yankees, right?  Prime Time.  So, when I had to book a flight for yesterday and saw that my only option would leave me in the torturous isolation of the skies from 7:55 to 9:45 I was less than pleased.  But hey, 8:37, plus a few minutes for opening pomp and circumstance, means that I'll miss an hour of the game.  But that's like, a couple innings.  I'll survive, I guess.

But then that "TBA" became 8:00pm.  Shit.  By 9:45 this game could be almost over, and I would be stuck on a freaking plane, waiting for a line of the world's slowest people to pull their bags out of the overhead compartment, while a subset of them transform into the world's most polite people, letting everyone in the world cut in front of them as they patiently wait to get off the plane.  Meanwhile, I'll contemplate pushing the guy in front of me to the ground, starting a domino effect that will allow me to run on the backs of my fellow passengers to the front of the line.  I was certain this would happen.

Just as I was certain that once I got off the plane, the airport would effectively be closed, sports bars and all, and I would get to the rental car counter and some family of four that has never rented a car in history would be poring over the minutiae of adding supplemental insurance or debating the merits of pre-paying their gas tank, while I quietly die inside as the game winds down.


There was no way that I was going to see this game.  I was sure of it.

You might have picked up on my mounting tension if you were following me on Twitter:

I would pay a thousand dollars for Inflight internet on this next flight, but ,alas. Commence nervous wreckage. Go Tigers

17 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Go little airplane, fly as fast as you can!

17 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Let's go. Get on the fucking plane and close the cabin door. Baseball waits for no man or airplane. Come on!!

16 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Yeah.  My tiny plane was full of a bunch of lolligaggers.  My greatest fears were being realized.  The game was going to start and I wasn't even off the ground yet.  2 hours of radio silence followed.

As soon as I landed it the phone jumped out of my pocket.  Note to future self: Twitter is not a good tool for catching up on what has happened over a 2 hour span.

Just landed chaos trying to figure out the game while simultaneously looking for the nearest sports bar to park myself the rest of the night

15 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Guy in the row in front of me said that it was 2-0.  Bless your soul good sir.  As ESPN's mobile site loaded I saw this:

Jorge Posada singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin Jackson. Alex Rodriguez to 3rd. Nick Swisher to 2nd.

• Pitcher D. Fister

• BatterJ. Posada

	Speed	Pitch	Result
1	83	Changeup	Called Strike
2	92	Fastball (Two-seam)	Foul
3	90	Fastball (Four-seam)	Foul
4	78	Curveball	Ball In Dirt
5	87	Slider	Foul
6	91	Fastball (Four-seam)	In play, no out

Sweet Jesus.  Bases loaded and one out.  This is not the type of situation to follow on a freaking phone.

But follow it I did.  Fister prevailed, the aisles started to clear and it was time for a mad dash to the rental car.  Curveball--the rental car required a shuttle.

Following the game on your phone on a rental car shuttle is the worst thing I have ever experienced. Just want to scream WHAT'S HAPPENING

14 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Shuttle starts to slow, and I grab my bags and take off for the counter.  No need!  This airport lets me go straight to my car (National FTW!).  While on the shuttle I googled the local ESPN radio station.  I threw my bags in the back seat and almost broke the radio dial:

IN THE RENTAL CAR AAHHHHHHHH RADIO GO TIGERS

14 hours ago via Twitter for Android

 That "AAHHHHH..." is of the sweet release variety.  I just sat there for a minute and listened to VMart's RBI single.  I started driving before Cano hit his home run.  At some point, while navigating my way away from the airport I just screamed WOOOOOOOO!!!!! at the top of my lungs. 

And so, it would seem, the saga was over.  I had radio, it was like the 6th inning or thereabouts and I knew that I could listen to the rest of the game.  The thing is, I really wanted to see the game.  Also, I hadn't had any food for hours.  Commence the internal debate.  Hotel?  Sports Bar?  What happens now?

I had decided.  I'm just going to grab some horrible fast food and eat it in my hotel room I DON'T EVEN CARE.


But there was no fast food near the hotel, and just as I pulled into the parking lot I made a U-Turn and went back to a Chili's I saw along the way.  The hotel can wait.  I'm spending the rest of the night at the sports bar:

Finally in front of a tv (chilis!) Just in time to see that NASTY pitch.

14 hours ago via Twitter for Android

That was Scherzer being awesome, by the way.

As I ate some discount nachos and beer I noticed between innings that the place was starting to clear out.  At 10:55 I was the last person there, and the bartender asked if I wanted another beer.  Do you guys close at 11?  was my response. 

"Yeah."

"Sure, I'll take another."  It's a dick move.  I know.  Ordering another beer with 5 minutes to close when I'm the last person in the joint is not a cool thing to do.  But if it could give me another half hour it would be worth it.  Again, I DON'T EVEN CARE.  There are more important things than etiquette.  You can mop around me.  I'll leave a good tip.

Well, it bought me some time, but not quite enough.

Chilis has closed. I'm about to get kicked out. NOT NOW

13 hours ago via Twitter for Android

That was in the top of the 8th ~11:18pm

I could hold out for this half inning, and as soon as Inge grounded out I downed what was left of my beer, flew out the bar, jumped in the car and drove at a ridiculous high speed the 1000 ft. (seriously, it was two buildings away) back to the hotel.

Somehow, in that 25 seconds I was forced to make a decision: Listen to the rest of the game in the hotel parking lot, or check in and get to the room but risk missing something.  Executive decision said Hotel.  Go.

Literally just sprinted to room. Asked what channel tbs was at the front desk. #madeit

13 hours ago via Twitter for Android

Bottom of the 8th, 1 out.

And the rest, they say, is history.  Pure Joy.  Yelling and screaming at the TV.  Hotel neighbors who probably thought about calling the front desk a few times, and maybe the police a few others.

What a game.  What a series.  What a team.  And then this:

JUST BOOKED MY FLIGHTS TO DETROIT SEE YOU WEDNESDAY WOOOOOOOO!!!!!

12 hours ago via web

 Indeed.

Go Tigers.

Clinched.

Well you all know what laughter sounds like

To say that I saw this coming would be a lie. Ok, sure, I've seen this coming for the last month or so, when the Tigers went from a middling division contender to a unstoppable powerhouse, but when a team wins 12 in a row, it's kind of tough to be surprised when the clinch a playoff berth. But the fact that we even got to this point is surprising to me. This is a season in which the Tigers started a horribly performing Brandon Inge long enough for him to earn 10/5 rights, then Designated Him for Assignment, then brought him back as a reasonably valuable platoon player. This is a season in which the Tigers looked sloppy. Poor defense haunted the team, inconsistent pitching created setback after setback. A weak bullpen just couldn't hold it together.

Yet somehow, hold it together they did. In place of a 2nd half collapse there was a second half surge. In early August, Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland were both given contract extensions. The Tigers had a tenuous grasp on 1st place and weren't playing the best baseball. Dombrowski had been doing everything he could shuffle the roster to keep the team in contention. Leyland was being Leyland. Many fans were confused; others, upset. Why would you give them an extension with two months to go. Subtext: Why would you stick us with these two with another collapse imminent. I held a more moderate view at the time. Sure, the timing is a little strange, but here you have a team that is in first place in August. Why wouldn't you give an extension? This isn't a great team, yet they've performed well. There is still plenty of season to go, potential lame duck leadership could sink the ship. Sure, extend away.

Since August 8th the Tigers are 27-10.

-----

Take a look back at the start of the season. Did anyone expect this? I'm not saying nobody thought it was possible, but was there anyone who seriously expected the Tiger to blow away the division? There were way too many unknowns about this team. About the rotation, about 2nd base, about sophomore slumps. Nobody knew. And the funny thing is, all of that uncertainty didn't really work its way out. Instead, the anxious trigger finger of Dave Dombrowski made things happen.
I've never been an argent DD supporter. He made a bunch of boneheaded contract extensions after the Tigers last playoff run that handcuffed the team for years. But man, did he ever earn his money this year.

Doug Fister
Delmon Young
Wilson Betemit

Three pickups in a very thin trade market have made all the difference in the world. Sure, it helps that Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in the majors right now, or that Miguel Cabrera is playing as his consistently great self, yet is flying under the radar some how. In fact, as astutely pointed out by Jonah Keri, Alex Avila and Jhonny Perlata are having best-in-class seasons themselves.

When we look back at early season lineups and see INGE, RABURN, SIZEMORE, KELLY etc. slotted into the lineup every day it was depressing. It didn't work. Dombrowski saw it too. Now, the weak points of the lineup have become the Tigers' strengths, as platoon players or defensive replacements or pinch hitters. The Tigers are a much better, and much different, team than they were as recently as the start of July.

Four more names:
Jayson Werth
Adam Dunn
Carl Crawford
Victor Martinez

Let's play match game.

4 Years/$50 Million
4 Years/$56 Million
7 Years/$142 Million
7 Years/$126 Million

--match with--

232/332/392, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 147 SO
161/291/282, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 161 SO
252/289/398, 11 HR, 53 RBI, 98 SO
325/375/461, 11 HR, 94 RBI, 50 SO

In case you weren't sure, Victor(y) Martinez has the cheapest, shortest contract and production that FAR exceeds that of all of the three. Lest we forget, these four people were the free agent market last year. That was it. The Tigers knew that they needed to add a bat and they just happened to choose the only one of the four that has had a good season. VMarts season has been excellent, everyone else's has been short of serviceable. Point, Dombrowski.

-----
There are two weeks left in the season and we can finally relax. There will be no Game 163 this year. No last minute collapse to the Wild Card. Jim Leyland can twist and contort his facial muscles into something that resembles a painful smile, before channeling his inner Rex Banner and snapping back to its default position.

The Tigers are in the playoffs. They won their division for the first time since 1987. This is a real thing. The Tigers have become a good baseball team, one that can reasonably contend for home field advantage over these last few weeks. One that is going to see its share of post-season awards. One that has a shot, as good a shot as anyone, at taking home the ultimate prize.

Baseball is a sport of two seasons: the Regular Season and the playoffs. The first objective is to craft a team that can get you to the playoffs, then have a strong enough rotation to dominate the playoffs. Place a check by the first one. As for the second, I think that Justin Verlander, Doug Fister and company may have a case to make come October.

Go Tigers.

Images are back

Huzzah! No more black circles with lines through them. That was a big step one on the way to rebloggery. Of course, there's also that who "time" issue, but this was a hurdle that I wasn't excited to overcome. Turns out it was easier than I thought.

Anyway, Images. Woo!

Also woo:

-The Tigers are in first place
-Michigan football starts tomorrow

Someday, like some hypothetical magic future date on which I am all of a sudden confident in initiating a jinx-free discussion of the Tigers playoff chances, blogging will continue. Topics to discuss: the Tigers playoff chances; the Tigers in the playoffs, hypothetically; Fister; The Tigers post-2011 outlook.

Also, 2011 baseball cards, a summary.

Sounds good, I can't wait.

Look Out Below!

File this one under "local boy makes good." Britton, MI native Duane Below will be making his Major League debut tonight, taking the place of the now-bullpen bound Charlie Furbush. Britton, MI is here, BTW, south of Ann Arbor between Tecumseh and Dundee, (Northeast of Adrian and northwest of Temprance for all of you former SEC high school athletes!)

I recommend the Detroit News' version of Below's life story, which is a nice human interest piece with small town charm and a mom named Phyllis that works at a senior center. Good stuff.

As for Below, he becomes the next in a line of potential rotation fillers, notable because 1) he is not Charlie Furbush, who was his predecessor in that role and 2) He is not über-prospect Justin Turner who should pleasepleaseplease stay in the minors. Below (which I have taken to pronouncing "Bell-O" and now "BE-low", but I guess I'll wait to hear Dan Dickerson or Mario and Rod to get my pronunciation right), has been pretty good at Toledo this year, sporting a 3.13 ERA with 83k and 37BB in 115 IP. His full minor league stats suggest that he's not quite that good, but hey, give me six innings and a couple runs and you're ok in my book this season.

Good luck Duane, we're pulling for you!

Some Early Ginter Returns

There are six cards in the Tigers team set. Guess how many relics there are? Yeah*














*Ok, so maybe there are only 5. You see, there are two Austin Jackson cards--one with a jersey and one with a bat--but they are actually the same card. Same card number, same picture, same everything except for the little swatch. To me this is only one card, with your choice of how you want your one square inch of memorabilia, but I could see how some people would want both.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Sorry folks, the blog is going under construction for a while. Some things, images and galleries in particular, might appear or disappear or be broken etc. For this I am very sorry. The hope is that the end result is a much better site for everyone.

Now the bad news. It is no secret that my blogging here has been a little, um, sluggish for the last few months. This is a function of my life going from a normal, acceptable pace, to a crazy, full-time job + grad school + damn, this recession must actually be long gone because work is chaos + and I'm exhausted in my free time pace.

I am not shutting down the site. I am not stopping with the blogging. Things are just UNDER CONSTRUCTION for a while. Pardon the mess, especially because I'm a notoriously slow worker.

Shipped!

My favorite word in the english language. Well, at least when this is involved: