No October

As I type this, it’s Sunday, Sept. 30 and, unlike last year, I am facing an October without my beloved Detroit Tigers. As I watched Jason Grilli (of all people) strike out Chicago’s Toby Hall to end today’s game (and season), I cried. It’s been a long time since baseball meant anything to anyone around here – an entire generation of kids had no clue what Tigers’ baseball was – so to see another good season end was sad for me.

Now, I could be a pissed off Tigers’ fan because they failed to accomplish what they should have accomplished but I’ve thought a lot about it over the last month and I’m not going to be. If the 2007 season would have happened last year, the entire state would have been going bananas. For a team that was terrible for years to be playing meaningful baseball into mid-September would have been amazing. But, we all were surprised by the march to the World Series in 2006 so, naturally, 2007 was a letdown. Although injuries played a part, there are many other reasons the 2007 team isn’t in the playoffs. They couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it, they got outscored in late innings, they couldn’t get good hitting and good starting pitching at the same time and, when they did, the bullpen came in and lit the entire infield on fire. I could go on and on but I want to focus on the good because, for so many years, there simply wasn’t ANYTHING good to focus on.

Congrats to Magglio Ordonez for winning the AL batting title; to Carlos Guillen for his 102 RBI season; and to Curtis Granderson for his .302 average and his amazing accomplishment of being the first player since Willie Mays to hit 20 home runs, doubles and triples and steal 20 bases. Congrats to Placido Polanco for smacking 200 hits (with a third-place .341 average) and for finishing the entire season without an error at second base.

There are other accomplishments and so many wonderful memories from this season and I don’t think it will sink in that it’s all over until I come home from work tomorrow. Almost every night (and day) since April, I’ve had Rod Allen and Mario Impemba on the tube or Dan Dickerson and Jim Price on the airwaves bringing me Tigers’ baseball. It will be weird not to have that this week and for the next five months.

Thanks so much for a great season, Detroit Tigers! You brought baseball back to the Motor City and I, for one, cannot wait until 2008. Only 152 days to go – Spring Training starts Feb. 27.

To close, I love this quote from Rogers Hornsby:

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”