As a life-long Detroit Tigers fan, I know that these World Series opportunities don't come around often enough to waste.
And this was a monstrously wasted opportunity.
A wasted opportunity that didn't have to be.
A wasted opportunity I saw building just before the All-Star break, even when the Tigers were still winning.
There were two Detroit Tigers this season.
The over-achieving, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time youngsters that for two-thirds of the season and seven-straight games in the playoffs were the best team in baseball.
And the error-plagued under-achievers who were too young to focus and seize the day that could have been theirs.
It was not by accident that their two best players in the Series were their most experienced, Kenny Rogers and Sean Casey (yes, sign him for next year, but NOT for the $8M he got this year; maybe half).
It was not by accident that NOW 30-year-old Jeff Weaver was the better pitcher down the stretch than 23-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention a nearly overwhelmed Justin Verlander, especially in those frightening first couple of innings.
The Tiger pitchers, by the way, didn't pitch poorly. Just not quite good enough (and Rogers will never get to pitch that sixth game now).
And as ESPN is replaying over and over and over and over and over again (my worst fear; I will NEVER watch the WS highlight DVD!), oh those errors: Every one of the EIGHT made a difference.
Will the Tigers be better next year?
Probably. But so were the White Sox this year following last year's world championship.
And the AL Central is a great division (not to mention the AL East, which has the Yankees and Boston and an up-and-coming Toronto). And look at the A's and Angels in the West.
Like I said, these opportunities don't come around very often.
When they do, you have to seize them when you can.
The Tigers didn't this past week (and we're just talking about one week in October), and despite the many, many successes of the season, I will remember this season as one of wasted opportunity.
The window of opportunity, given free agency, is very small. Mike Ilitch is never going to approach a $200M payroll (maybe $100M) like the Yankees or the high-payroll Red Sox. The farm system will have to continue to produce (like the A's) because as the Tigers get older and more experienced, they will lose players to free agency. We aren't going to grow old with this team; these players will be Yankees someday.
So, you have to grab the ring when you can.
I saw this self-destruction (which it was, ultimately, embarrassingly in the glare of the WS stage) coming as early as June 21 (really), a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee in which the Tigers blew a 3-1 when Joel Zumaya gave up a winning home run for his first loss.
The game that really bugged me was a 3-2 loss to Seattle July 9, the day before the All-Star break; the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead and Nate Robertson gave up a 2-run homer to a nobody when manager Jim Leyland didn't pull Robertson as he weakened late in the game.
The next sign came the very next Sunday in their first loss to KC, 9-6, as they made 3 errors (more of that to come, of course, at the end of September).
The Tigers blew a 5-run lead against Oakland (that was last we saw of Zach Miner) on July 22 in a 9-6 loss.
And then there was the game Bonderman blew up, the awful eighth-inning, 4-error, 6-4 loss to Minnesota July 30.
Everyone knows how the Tigers struggled in August and September, finishing 19-31 after starting 76-36. But I point to those four games as to where the wheels started to come off and Leyland didn't or wasn't able to fix it as he did following the now famous 10-2 loss to Cleveland on April 17. Maybe one more tongue-lashing was needed, and the Tigers gave Leyland plenty of chances in August.
So, it was a strange season. Monstrously satisfying when it was good, ultimately disappointing when it counted. Kind of like the Wings (last year), eh, 4-3 winners AT Dallas last night as I segway into hockey.
I wish I could say thanks for the memories, Tigers, but if you watch SportsCenter today -- and I'm not watching it the rest of the day -- those will be the memories we're left with, I'm afraid.
It didn't have to be.
It could have been better.
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Saturday, October 28, 2006
Indulge This Detroit Tigers Fan For a Moment
As a life-long Detroit Tigers fan, I know that these World Series opportunities don't come around often enough to waste.
And this was a monstrously wasted opportunity.
A wasted opportunity that didn't have to be.
A wasted opportunity I saw building just before the All-Star break, even when the Tigers were still winning.
There were two Detroit Tigers this season.
The over-achieving, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time youngsters that for two-thirds of the season and seven-straight games in the playoffs were the best team in baseball.
And the error-plagued under-achievers who were too young to focus and seize the day that could have been theirs.
It was not by accident that their two best players in the Series were their most experienced, Kenny Rogers and Sean Casey (yes, sign him for next year, but NOT for the $8M he got this year; maybe half).
It was not by accident that NOW 30-year-old Jeff Weaver was the better pitcher down the stretch than 23-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention a nearly overwhelmed Justin Verlander, especially in those frightening first couple of innings.
The Tiger pitchers, by the way, didn't pitch poorly. Just not quite good enough (and Rogers will never get to pitch that sixth game now).
And as ESPN is replaying over and over and over and over and over again (my worst fear; I will NEVER watch the WS highlight DVD!), oh those errors: Every one of the EIGHT made a difference.
Will the Tigers be better next year?
Probably. But so were the White Sox this year following last year's world championship.
And the AL Central is a great division (not to mention the AL East, which has the Yankees and Boston and an up-and-coming Toronto). And look at the A's and Angels in the West.
Like I said, these opportunities don't come around very often.
When they do, you have to seize them when you can.
The Tigers didn't this past week (and we're just talking about one week in October), and despite the many, many successes of the season, I will remember this season as one of wasted opportunity.
The window of opportunity, given free agency, is very small. Mike Ilitch is never going to approach a $200M payroll (maybe $100M) like the Yankees or the high-payroll Red Sox. The farm system will have to continue to produce (like the A's) because as the Tigers get older and more experienced, they will lose players to free agency. We aren't going to grow old with this team; these players will be Yankees someday.
So, you have to grab the ring when you can.
I saw this self-destruction (which it was, ultimately, embarrassingly in the glare of the WS stage) coming as early as June 21 (really), a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee in which the Tigers blew a 3-1 when Joel Zumaya gave up a winning home run for his first loss.
The game that really bugged me was a 3-2 loss to Seattle July 9, the day before the All-Star break; the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead and Nate Robertson gave up a 2-run homer to a nobody when manager Jim Leyland didn't pull Robertson as he weakened late in the game.
The next sign came the very next Sunday in their first loss to KC, 9-6, as they made 3 errors (more of that to come, of course, at the end of September).
The Tigers blew a 5-run lead against Oakland (that was last we saw of Zach Miner) on July 22 in a 9-6 loss.
And then there was the game Bonderman blew up, the awful eighth-inning, 4-error, 6-4 loss to Minnesota July 30.
Everyone knows how the Tigers struggled in August and September, finishing 19-31 after starting 76-36. But I point to those four games as to where the wheels started to come off and Leyland didn't or wasn't able to fix it as he did following the now famous 10-2 loss to Cleveland on April 17. Maybe one more tongue-lashing was needed, and the Tigers gave Leyland plenty of chances in August.
So, it was a strange season. Monstrously satisfying when it was good, ultimately disappointing when it counted. Kind of like the Wings (last year), eh, 4-3 winners AT Dallas last night as I segway into hockey.
I wish I could say thanks for the memories, Tigers, but if you watch SportsCenter today -- and I'm not watching it the rest of the day -- those will be the memories we're left with, I'm afraid.
It didn't have to be.
It could have been better.
And this was a monstrously wasted opportunity.
A wasted opportunity that didn't have to be.
A wasted opportunity I saw building just before the All-Star break, even when the Tigers were still winning.
There were two Detroit Tigers this season.
The over-achieving, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time youngsters that for two-thirds of the season and seven-straight games in the playoffs were the best team in baseball.
And the error-plagued under-achievers who were too young to focus and seize the day that could have been theirs.
It was not by accident that their two best players in the Series were their most experienced, Kenny Rogers and Sean Casey (yes, sign him for next year, but NOT for the $8M he got this year; maybe half).
It was not by accident that NOW 30-year-old Jeff Weaver was the better pitcher down the stretch than 23-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention a nearly overwhelmed Justin Verlander, especially in those frightening first couple of innings.
The Tiger pitchers, by the way, didn't pitch poorly. Just not quite good enough (and Rogers will never get to pitch that sixth game now).
And as ESPN is replaying over and over and over and over and over again (my worst fear; I will NEVER watch the WS highlight DVD!), oh those errors: Every one of the EIGHT made a difference.
Will the Tigers be better next year?
Probably. But so were the White Sox this year following last year's world championship.
And the AL Central is a great division (not to mention the AL East, which has the Yankees and Boston and an up-and-coming Toronto). And look at the A's and Angels in the West.
Like I said, these opportunities don't come around very often.
When they do, you have to seize them when you can.
The Tigers didn't this past week (and we're just talking about one week in October), and despite the many, many successes of the season, I will remember this season as one of wasted opportunity.
The window of opportunity, given free agency, is very small. Mike Ilitch is never going to approach a $200M payroll (maybe $100M) like the Yankees or the high-payroll Red Sox. The farm system will have to continue to produce (like the A's) because as the Tigers get older and more experienced, they will lose players to free agency. We aren't going to grow old with this team; these players will be Yankees someday.
So, you have to grab the ring when you can.
I saw this self-destruction (which it was, ultimately, embarrassingly in the glare of the WS stage) coming as early as June 21 (really), a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee in which the Tigers blew a 3-1 when Joel Zumaya gave up a winning home run for his first loss.
The game that really bugged me was a 3-2 loss to Seattle July 9, the day before the All-Star break; the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead and Nate Robertson gave up a 2-run homer to a nobody when manager Jim Leyland didn't pull Robertson as he weakened late in the game.
The next sign came the very next Sunday in their first loss to KC, 9-6, as they made 3 errors (more of that to come, of course, at the end of September).
The Tigers blew a 5-run lead against Oakland (that was last we saw of Zach Miner) on July 22 in a 9-6 loss.
And then there was the game Bonderman blew up, the awful eighth-inning, 4-error, 6-4 loss to Minnesota July 30.
Everyone knows how the Tigers struggled in August and September, finishing 19-31 after starting 76-36. But I point to those four games as to where the wheels started to come off and Leyland didn't or wasn't able to fix it as he did following the now famous 10-2 loss to Cleveland on April 17. Maybe one more tongue-lashing was needed, and the Tigers gave Leyland plenty of chances in August.
So, it was a strange season. Monstrously satisfying when it was good, ultimately disappointing when it counted. Kind of like the Wings (last year), eh, 4-3 winners AT Dallas last night as I segway into hockey.
I wish I could say thanks for the memories, Tigers, but if you watch SportsCenter today -- and I'm not watching it the rest of the day -- those will be the memories we're left with, I'm afraid.
It didn't have to be.
It could have been better.
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