Tigers keep grinding as magic number shrinks
By Punch N. Judy
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
I often muse in my almost daily baseball discussions with the Heckler that the Detroit media by and large are as toothless as the 2003 Tigers. With the same beat writers covering the local nine ever since Punch was cutting school and sorting through pocket lint for two dimes to buy a Free Press, the last time I remember any real friction between a writer and a Tiger employee was when Willie Hernandez famously dumped a bucket water of on munchkin look-alike Mitch Albom.
Even if our dormant fan base couldn’t stand to watch the team the last decade, much less read about them, you’d think that somewhere along the way a nose or two would be out of joint over the printed word. Well, ask and you shall receive. Rob Parker, a self-professed baseball expert is in the midst of a mild feud with Tiger GM Dave Dombrowski . As the front page sports columnist for the Detroit News, Parker seems to think it’s his job to stir up trouble and ruffle a few feathers within an organization that is finally getting its legs beneath them. Rarely does Parker quote a source or report on anything that isn’t rumor, innuendo or pure speculation. With a stable of two or three rats eating cheese out of the Pied Pipers hand, I just wish this guy would put the fife down for the next month and enjoy the magic spell the Tigs have cast over this once-sleeping baseball city.
Gappers
It’s too bad that Pete Rose continues his quest to erase the image fans like me have of him diving head-first into second, helmet off, and hair flying haphazardly in the breeze. That image is to baseball what Fabio’s is to romance novels. The recent scheme where Rose is selling baseball’s for $299 dollars with the caption “I’m sorry I bet on baseball,” is just reason 1,007 for me to hope this mutt never gets back in the game . . . The fans who protested against Oriole owner Peter Angelos at yesterdays game reminded me a lot of the time the Yankee faithful chanted George Must Go! at one of the teams early 80’s season finales. In that game Yankee ace and current pitching coach Ron Guidry could be seen masking his laughter with his mitt much like hurlers do now for fear of TV lip reading. Fortunately for Tiger owner Mike Illitch his Red Wings provided a soothing enough balm to quell any uprising among the Tiger faithful . . . With Placido Polanco due to come off the DL Saturday, all appears well in the Motor City. At the time of this post Detroit’s magic number is on the verge of dwindling to two. Quick Stat: Big Papi leads both leagues in homers off left-handed pitching with 17 . . . Don’t be shy to keep former Tiger manager Buddy Bell in your prayers. The current KC skipper will undergo surgery to remove a growth recently discovered on one of his tonsils. If 96’ wasn’t enough for one man to endure . . .
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