By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news

“We’ll get em’ next year.”

That’s what I regrettably was forced to tell my son Shea  the other night as the Tigers dropped a 7-4 decision to the Tribe, all but assuring that this years addition of the club would be watching the playoffs from a seat in their living room like the rest of us schumcks.

Like most Tiger fans I was hoping against hope that after an improbable three game sweep at the Metrodome, the Tigers would be primed and ready to take Cleveland and their choker – loving fan base to the deep end of Lake Erie. Alas, it wasn’t to be as Casey Blake and Co continued to show the Tigers and the rest of the American League really, why their club finds itself on the cusp of locking down a seventh division crown.

If you caught The Heckler’s take the other day regarding what the club might look like for 08’ you may have gained a sense of the word reality. While the Tigers do boast a wealth of prospects at every minor league level, not to mention a pretty good core of signed veterans with the big club, there are no money back guarantees that next year is the year.

Or the year after for that matter.

With sub par production at both corners of the infield, a bullpen without a closer and a looming question mark in left field, the Tigers will need a first place finish in the Hot Stove circuit if they expect to reach next years post-season. In touching on several what-ifs going into the spring, I hate to say The Heckler may have just hit the tip of the iceberg.

Is it realistic to expect an even partial encore to the storybook season Magglio Ordonez is about to complete? Can we expect virtual perfection out of Placido Polanco once again? Will Gary Sheffield even be physically able to get out of the starting gate? Just what type of career is Jeremy Bonderman headed for? Top of the rotation or top of the chopping block? Throw in the other items in the Heckler’s to-do list and you get an idea of what awaits Dave Dombrowski in the months following the World Series.

Clown of the Week – Bud Selig. A virtual regular in this space, Selig may keep the costume and its accessories for it will be only a matter of time before he squirts another victim with his lapel flower. Although I’m sure Bud Light only rubber stamps the final draft, how he could sign off on next years schedule is beyond me. With MLB more than a little gun shy in celebrating the noteworthy achievements of its suspected cheating employees, next years closing weekend should have been a celebration in the House That Ruth Built. Instead, the Yanks will lock the doors of the greatest sporting venue ever, and head off to Boston to close out 08.’

Quote of the Week – “I’ve always maintained the best cure for a batting slump is two balls of cotton – one for each ear.” – Bill Veeck

Editor’s note - Baseball and Eggs will appear every Thursday, and serves as a form of self–therapy for this clinically insane baseball fan. The baseball part is self–explanatory. The eggs however, could pertain to just about anything on Punch’s mind from Thursday to Thursday.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 8:36 am and is filed under Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.