Roar with me
In my last post, I posed a question: whether Sean Casey's arrival would at all disrupt the team chemistry that had been established -- with Chris Shelton, despite his mediocrity -- during the major chunk of the season.
Monday, Big Case answered it for me. He had three hits, three RBI and several great plays down at first base to help the Tigs to a big 7-1 win over the ChiSox. He hasn't disrupted team chemistry; he's enhanced it. He's a tremendous clubhouse guy. Some joke that he might be even too friendly. But he's the last integral piece to this increasingly-hard-to-believe jigsaw puzzle called the 2006 Detroit Tigers. (I'm not counting out Neifi Perez, whom Dave Dombrowski acquired Sunday, I'm just saying Casey will be more influential as we go.)
Who would have predicted this? A first place team in mid-August? The remarkable thing about it is, really, how far they've come since 2003, when they had one of the most putrid records of all-time. In this story by Detroit News beat writer Lynn Henning (see here), he points to statistical and historical evidence that the Tigers' turnaround is virtually unprecedented in the last CENTURY of baseball.
Folks, this is remarkable. It's gotten to the point where I have trouble remembering all the bad years. (Well, it's not that hard. All I have to do is remember names like Brian Moehler, Kimera Bartee and Rob Deer. Uggghh. OK, let's move on.)
But if you do remember those years, then you thrust yourself into the fun and excitement and success of this year's team ... is that enough? Just to be excited about baseball at this time of the year?
Well, it doesn't quite work that way. Once you've had the sip, you want the whole beer. It's time to start paying attention, every day, to what's going on at Comerica Park, or wherever else the Tigs may be. Because they're headed for the Playoffs, and anything less would be a disappointment, no matter how fun this summer has already been.
Now I know they've been slumping of late. Thing is, they haven't had a lull like this yet, and 162 games is, well, a lot of games. And while Monday's win is no sure indication that they're going to end for good this rather lackluster August baseball, it sure was a start. They looked sharp, and they looked more motivated than they had been in the past two weeks. It's a good sign, and I see them winning at least three games this series and calming everyone's worries.
Yes, they seem poised for October. How far will they go? Well, let's worry about that when autumn rolls around.
Monday, Big Case answered it for me. He had three hits, three RBI and several great plays down at first base to help the Tigs to a big 7-1 win over the ChiSox. He hasn't disrupted team chemistry; he's enhanced it. He's a tremendous clubhouse guy. Some joke that he might be even too friendly. But he's the last integral piece to this increasingly-hard-to-believe jigsaw puzzle called the 2006 Detroit Tigers. (I'm not counting out Neifi Perez, whom Dave Dombrowski acquired Sunday, I'm just saying Casey will be more influential as we go.)
Who would have predicted this? A first place team in mid-August? The remarkable thing about it is, really, how far they've come since 2003, when they had one of the most putrid records of all-time. In this story by Detroit News beat writer Lynn Henning (see here), he points to statistical and historical evidence that the Tigers' turnaround is virtually unprecedented in the last CENTURY of baseball.
Folks, this is remarkable. It's gotten to the point where I have trouble remembering all the bad years. (Well, it's not that hard. All I have to do is remember names like Brian Moehler, Kimera Bartee and Rob Deer. Uggghh. OK, let's move on.)
But if you do remember those years, then you thrust yourself into the fun and excitement and success of this year's team ... is that enough? Just to be excited about baseball at this time of the year?
Well, it doesn't quite work that way. Once you've had the sip, you want the whole beer. It's time to start paying attention, every day, to what's going on at Comerica Park, or wherever else the Tigs may be. Because they're headed for the Playoffs, and anything less would be a disappointment, no matter how fun this summer has already been.
Now I know they've been slumping of late. Thing is, they haven't had a lull like this yet, and 162 games is, well, a lot of games. And while Monday's win is no sure indication that they're going to end for good this rather lackluster August baseball, it sure was a start. They looked sharp, and they looked more motivated than they had been in the past two weeks. It's a good sign, and I see them winning at least three games this series and calming everyone's worries.
Yes, they seem poised for October. How far will they go? Well, let's worry about that when autumn rolls around.
posted by RGarfield @ 10:28 PM
1 Comments
