By the Heckler

The drums of demise are beating ever-louder for the beloved yet-fading Detroit icon known as Tiger Stadium – with the Heckler leading the band.

Long ignored, left to rust away into history, it breaks my heart each and every time I pass by the ol’girl, still a requisite pass-by every time through downtown Detroit. Akin to visiting a dying grandparent in the hospital, each viewing becomes a bittersweet moment tinged with the overriding impression that it may be the last time I ever see it standing.

For my sake, the sake of the City of Detroit, and for baseball as a whole in the Motor City and surrounding area – let it be sooner than later.

What once stood proudly as a Midwest icon for baseball dating back to the late 1800s, now warbles frightfully as a graying symbol of an area either stuck in a time warp – or worse – as a muse for well-intended yet off-base romantics who still have yet to come to grips with the fact that Tiger Stadium’s day has passed.

I know, I was there, many, many times – including the final day, September 27, 1999. Truly the passing of an era, the memories of that day will stay with me forever (or at least until the Alzheimer’s kicks in). So many things passed through my mind as I took in game before me: happy memories attending games with my father; drunken binges with college buddies in the bleachers; seeing Cecil Fielder hit one off the left-field roof; losing-season after losing-season as the century came to a close; even the sadness of knowing I would never be able to take my son to a game there (God willing if I am ever blessed with children); Tiger Stadium may have honestly been my favorite place on Earth to spend a day.

That day, however, is now over.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like the Heckler ain’t one for nostalgia. We still make it a point to have our pre-game tailgate party in Corktown, just steps away from the former Navin Field. The Heckler and Irish Mike now call Nemo’s our home base, who offer free shuttles to the Tigers’ new home of Comerica Park.

But so much has already changed about the area - permanent changes, changes that aren’t going to be undone – that even sipping suds at Nemo’s is becoming more of séance to us, trying in vain to conjure up ghosts from the past and, no doubt, our faded youth.

Reedy’s Saloon used to a staple of our pre (if not post) game ritual, not to mention the Express bar, the Designated Hatter and Sportsland, U.S.A. – among other haunts.

But Reedy’s is now run by different owners, the Hall of Fame caliber collection of photos depicting past owner Bill Reedy, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin and others long-since vanquished; The Hatter is now known as the Detroit Athletic Company and is half the size; the Express is open only a few times a year (like St. Patty’s Day) and Sportsland closed its doors only last year. And let’s not even bring up the late, great Lindell A.C.

This goes without saying all of the other business that have naturally dried-up in the vicinity thanks to losing its main source of customers.

Taking nothing away from the recently-released Gary Glaser/Richard Bak documentary “Stranded at the Corner” who trumpted the idea that a minor-league team could call the park home – along with other recent scenarios that paint a rosy picture of still-possible schemes such as scaling back the existing structure to 15,000 seats for other events such as conventions – the time to move on has come.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, for once, seems to be on the right track with his recent comments: “You have a lot of interesting things and perspectives that have been given about Tiger Stadium, but the only people with money who have approached us want that stadium gone. We’re focused on making sure that we do something with that site. It’s a prime opportunity.”

You could start with a wrecking ball and let it rest in peace. Thanks for the memories, Tiger Stadium. You will hardly be forgotten. 

sources:
www.freep.com
www.macon.com 

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By the Heckler

Must be something in the air, but the Heckler still has a few more heckles to throw around before the week is through . . .

- The steroids monster just continues to grow into more and more of a nightmare for Major League Baseball. Already no doubt giving more than one baseball exec sleepless nights, a recent poll has found 53 per-cent of fans feel that the game is not doing enough to rid their sport of performance-enhancing drugs. Baseball can only blame themselves for this ever-growing problem, as they simply chose to cover their eyes (like children attempting to shoo away the boogeyman) to the obvious problem as it emerged in the 1980s. This public relations disaster is only going to get worse. Thank God Barr-oid Bonds looks like mere shadow of his former self, and won’t be challenging Hank Aaron’s record anytime soon. In fact, the way things are going (Bonds having hit a mere two home runs thus far) he may not even pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time home run list. Now that would be justice.

- Don’t look now, but the Detroit Tigers have two of the most jaw-dropping young pitchers in all of baseball, earning rave reviews everywhere they have thus far been. Starter Justin Verlander and reliever Joel Zumaya have already left many a batter completely amazed at their velocity (both can get it up there more than 100 mph) not to mention their knee-bending off-speed selection. “They ended the game with two closers there,” Seattle’s Richie Sexson said recently of Zumaya and Todd Jones. “That guy (Zumaya) could easily be a closer on any other team.” This was after Sexson took a nearly 100-mph heater down the heart of the plate for strike three following one of the forementioned curves by Zumaya. Meanwhile, Oakland’s Nick Swisher had to this to say about Verlander: “You blink and it’s in the mitt. He struck me out with a 101-m.p.h. fastball. I didn’t really see it. I kind of heard it whiz right past me. Very select few people can throw the ball that hard. He’s going to be a tough one. You’re going to have to bring your ‘A’ game every time you see him.”

The only heckles here are for those who are still leery that the Tigers can actually produce a top flight prospect after years of futility. In the words of former Detroiter & Dodger Jose Lima, Tiger fans – believe it!

- It is any wonder that that more and more fans are viewing baseball as a sport consisting (like no other) of the haves and have-nots? With Forbes magazine recently valuing the New York Yankees worth at more than $1 billion, and the Boston Red Sox clocking it around $600 million, can you really blame fans of smaller-market teams for sometimes feeling that their franchises are playing in a different league altogether? Granted, the Yankees kicked in an estimated $77 million to MLB’s revenue-sharing kitty, but – c’mon – surely baseball needs to do even more (this side of a salary cap) to ensure the discrepancy does not continue to expand. How much longer do you think fans will continue to support teams that continue to not win the World Series year after year after year? Then again, scratch that - see Cub fan for the logic behind that one. It has to end sometime, though. All is sunshine and lollipops now for baseball, and attendance is soaring - but even the greatest of parties eventually have to end sometime.

sources:
scoreboards.aol.com
Detroit Free Press
Sportsillustrated.cnn.com
kplctv.com

By the Heckler

Just to prove to you how well my recent gift of a Detroit Tigers’ Ivan Rodriguez jersey went over with Shea, the son of the Heckler’s good friend Irish Mike, I submit to you, my readers - Exhibit A

Now, as pointed out – he honestly did, so I was later told anyway, refuse to take the shirt off for two days (once he stopped crying and actually tried it on). And yes, he really is a Tigers’ fan, having recently taken-in his first game (click here for that story) . Sure enough, he’ll no doubt go on to laugh about this picture one day, as he looks back and sees what a reaction he gave it upon first glance.

But boy, did it make the Heckler feel like a real heel for the duration of this shot. You’d have thought it was a Magglio Ordonez jersey, fer cryin’ out loud! Oops, sorry - this post (again) is not about Magglio Ordonez.

Anyway, not exactly the reaction I was looking for, but so funny, and so exaggerated, I couldn’t help but start to laugh at him telling everyone just what he thought of not getting another toy from his Uncle Heckler. He actually (as his eyes reveal) was even more interested in another gift – off just to the right of the camera – meant for his younger brother, Sam, who was baptized earlier in the day. Not that it was a toy, either, but he didn’t know that at the time.

This story would not be complete without relaying a comment from Irish Mike’s brother Beef, who was also on hand to see this historic exchange first-hand. Not the biggest of Pudge fans’ these days (a lot of Tigers’ fans – the Heckler included – lost a lot of respect for Rodriquez last year amid the whole dramatic-weight-loss/leaving-the-team-while-suspended/seven-walks-all-year/Alan Trammell fiasco) Beef couldn’t help but throw out a jab aimed squarely at the future Hall-of-Famer: “See! He doesn’t like Rodriguez, either!!”

Ouch.

He also didn’t buy the Heckler’s quick thinking that it was actually an Aurelio Rodriguez jersey, former Tigers’ third-baseman from the 1970s. 

No matter, it still made for a sure-fire case of a picture telling the proverbial thousand words. Next time, the Heckler will stick to toys, Shea – I promise. Then again, think of the photographic possibilities . . .

You know, the Heckler sure enjoys writing this blog for everyone, and I’d like to thank each and every person who has taken the time to post comments. They are very much appreciated. As for anyone that has stopped by, what are you waiting for, an invitation to join in the fun? Well consider this exactly that! Comments can easily be left by simply hitting the COMMENTS link at the bottom of each post. From there, you will be taken to another screen where (after filling out some easy information fields - just for ID purposes) you can post anything you want! Trust me, the Heckler is not easily offended. I am a big boy and can take criticism, if ya got any. And any words of praise? Well, gee . . . I’d be more than happy to hear them, too! Again – thanks for stopping by, and feel free to share this link with your friends. Let’s make this board a community! God bless us everyone!