Start with the Tigers

Most of you reading this know that I'm not a fan of the Detroit Tigers. Some of you know why. Some of you don't. Some knew at one point and have forgotten (either intentionally or unintentionally). So here's a quick refresher.

The Tigers didn't bother me a bit until 1984. Up until that point in my life, I'd always visualized them as a third or fourth place team. They were like Switzerland. They didn't really bother anyone. I didn't mind that.

Then in '84, those little punks decided that they should be allowed to win. And win they did. They started off the season going 35-5 in their first 40 games. This bothered me for a number of reasons. First, NOBODY (except my beloved Yankees) had any business going 35-5. Second, the Tigers at the time were in the AL East, the same division as my Yankees. Third, the freaking Detroit media would not shut up about it. That probably started to bother me as much as anything. Finally, this was the Tigers. They were supposed to stay out of the way and let the good teams (Yankees, Orioles, Red Sux) battle it out.

So Detroit starts out 35-5, Al Ackerman (the sports guy on WDIV, channel 4 in Detroit) won’t shut up, my Yankees are languishing in 6th place, already 17-1/2 games out on May 24th, and I’m surrounded by a bunch of bandwagon jumping Tiger fans who suddenly know everything about the Tigers. I had to endure the entire year like this, powerless as a 7th & 8th grader to do anything about it. And to cap the year off, Detroit beats San Diego to win the World Series thanks to a Kirk Gibson home run off of Goose Gossage. Two of my favorite players, Gossage and Graig Nettles were on that team, their first away from the Yankees. My favorite players were denied a World Series win by the baseball equivalent of the Swiss.

This is why I couldn’t stand the Tigers.

For the next 20 years, I’ve wished the Detroit Tiger franchise (and most things from Detroit, come to think of it) every evil, peril, curse, and plague that could be created or imagined. But then two things happened: The Tigers nearly chased down the ’62 Mets in 2003, and THE CURSE came to an end in 2004.

Yep, those blasted Red Sux (and I will continue to spell Boston’s name that way) beat my Yankees after being down 3-0 in the ALCS, and went on to win the Series. I didn’t mind the Patriots winning Super Bowls. Still don’t. But the Red Sux shouldn’t have even been in that Series, let alone won.

So that fact, when combined with the Tigers effectively more than balancing out that ’84 season by going 43-119 in 2003, allowed me to remove Detroit from the top of my personal shit list. They have been replaced by Boston. Think this is nothing to worry about, Boston fans? That’s what Tiger fans thought, too. After all, the Tigers still managed to come back and win the AL East in ’87 when Toronto should have locked it up (leading by 3-1/2 games going into the final week, they lost their last 7, including a 3 game sweep in Detroit). But they would soon be humbled by the Twins in the ALCS. Five years later, they would have the last winning season the organization has seen. Yep, for the last 12 years, I’ve prevented, though sheer force of will (with a little help from bad management and Randy Smith), winning seasons from being seen in Tiger Stadium/Comerica Park.

Watch out Boston. You’re next. You’ve lost Theo. Big Poopi might want to watch his step.

You may be asking yourself, “So where does this leave the Tigers?” You could say back in Switzerland. At this point, I’m kind of hoping they get better. I know most Tiger fans were disappointed with the 71-91 record of last year. My buddy Rob (who also has a blog: RAGRYPH RANTS) was expecting no less than a .500 mark last season. I kept telling him he was too optimistic. I expected around 75-78 wins, figuring it would be closer to 78. Anywhere between 78-84 wins for the Tigers is just fine by me. Beat the bad teams, but lose to the good ones. Plus, they’re in the AL Central now, so if they want to win the division from time to time, that’s just fine by me.