All aboard! Tiger bandwagon ready to ride
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
Back where I was born and raised the month of October meant harvest time. Local farmers in their haste to bring in the crops would risk a hefty fine by attaching up to three wagons overflowing with their bounty. It reminds me a lot of the situation evolving in the Motor City as multiple band wagons are now needed to cart an enthusiastic fan base, some of whom are rediscovering the greatest game of them all. On Saturday night, 8:19 ET, the hayride officially begins.
Much like the two week grind leading up to the Super Bowl, this week off the Tigers are enjoying could be either friend or foe. Yeah it has allowed for the healing of first baseman Sean Casey and fireballer Joel Zumaya, but on the flip side, the of risk coming out flat and rusty is very real. Fortunately for the Detroiters the competition is a can of WD 40 ready to happen. Now I know as much as anyone that the game of baseball is more fickle than a woman. I remember the 90’ Reds, the 88’ Dodgers and as a life long Tiger fan how could I forget the shallow as-a-mud-puddle Minnesota Twins of 87’?
The one thing however that all those teams had in common was pitching. Cincinnati had Jose Rijo and the “Nasty Boys,” the Dodgers had an unconscious Orel Hershiser and the Twins were led by the nasty tandem of Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven. And let’s not forget Les Straker. OK, let’s forget Les Straker. My point here is simple: Neither the Cards or Mets bring anything to the table that leads me to believe they can topple a Tiger team that is on a juggernaught like roll. Bring it on, either one of you, we promise to make your Series appearance short but sweet.
Punch Lines
The Commish, Bud Selig has sounded off as he is wont to do in times where his benefactors - the large market teams - have faltered. This time his Majesty spoke on the condition of the playoff format, specifically how wildcard teams should in the future be punished by surrendering a home game or two to their divisional champion foes. Profound. Let’s face it, as long as any league is divided into divisions that play an unbalanced schedule there are going to be teams that make the post-season who sometimes don’t belong. If by some chance said team goes on a roll and wins it all it has to be accepted as part of that leagues money-machine bargain. What if the wildcard wins 96 games while a division winner squeaks in with 87? At the very least the second round should be re-seeded in the order of each team’s record . . . The Steve Lyons situation still strikes me as a little bazaar. Just now Lou Piniella has gone to bat for Lyons, saying that Psycho “doesn’t have a racist bone in his body.” Where was Sweet Lou when those comments might have saved a man his job? Oh yeah, he was still politicking to get back in uniform and probably didn’t want jeopardize his own job as a talking Mr. Potato Head . . . OK its official: I’m rooting for the Cards to advance based on a) Tony LaRussa and his 1-12 World Series record – that sweep in 89’ isn’t recognized by BBM due to the earthquake that year. And b) Juan Encarnation is batting cleanup in game seven.