Baseball is right around the corner. This morning, spring training begins for Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers. In all my life, I’ve never looked forward to a season with such anticipation. After a couple spectacular offseason maneuvers, the Tigers sport an absolutely fearsome lineup and a starting rotation that will be the envy of most of Major League Baseball.

Don’t believe me? How about ESPN’s Jayson Stark?

Beware of Tigers: How many runs will the 2008 Tigers score, anyway? A thousand? Two thousand? More than the rest of their division combined? That will be one question we’ll explore this spring, now that Miguel Cabrera and Edgar Renteria have pulled into Motown. But there’s just enough uncertainty about issues like (A) Joel Zumaya’s future and (B) the dependability of the rotation that it isn’t safe to pencil in this team for 110 wins. Yet.

The 2008 season can’t start soon enough. Now if I can keep from driving the lovely Mrs. Virtus nuts with my sure-to-come summer of baseball obsession, it should be a great year!

For what it’s worth, here’s the official prediction of Mount Virtus concerning tomorrow’s big game:

Super Bowl XLII (Feb 3, 2008 – Glendale, AZ):
New England Patriots (19-0) 31
New York Giants (13-7) 17

MVP: Tom Brady

But what do I know?

A lot of space has been taken up in the Michigan (land of my upbringing) media detailing the University of Michigan’s search for a head football coach after Lloyd Carr retired. Today we learn that all the rumors come to an end as West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez has agreed to take the helm in Ann Arbor.

One might be forgiven if he came to the conclusion that the Mountaineers’ program was the Wolverines’ coaching farm system. After all, Michigan hired John Beilein directly from West Virginia this past April to coach their men’s basketball program. Now the football team. A direct line from Morgantown to Ann Arbor? Perhaps.

Regardless, let me assure you that fans of the illustrious University of Michigan football program – which has gone nearly four decades without a serious search for a head coach – are resting easy tonight. Rodriguez may not have been the first choice of many, but I don’t think the Wolverines could have done much better.

This is off topic from what I usually write about here. But after tonight’s 1-2 knockout of Missouri & West Virginia, I think college football fans of all political stripes can agree that the time for a playoff system is now! No matter who ends up being selected for the BCS Championship Game at the end of this wackiest of all seasons, unending controversy will ensue. If it leads us to a playoff system next year, it will be well worth the result.

Ouch. That hurt. Last night’s 2-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series was painful, but not fatal. (Regrettably, I missed most of the game, fulfilling a commitment at a Republican event that featured keynote speaker Bob Schaffer.)

Nevertheless, I’m here to tell Rockies fans not to panic. The naivete many had coming into the Series is gone, but the most loyal fans know it’s a one-game-at-a-time approach now. Let’s be realistic: even getting the series back to Boston is an uphill goal at this point, but here’s hoping that Baseball with Altitude is a lot friendlier to the home team than to the visitors.

And how about a little bulletin board material (albeit from cynical sportswriters) to get the Rox fired up? See you all at Game 3!

A classic proof of “correlation does not equal causation”: our Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter injects partisan politics into America’s game with an off-the-wall comment about how seven of the eight 2007 Major League Baseball playoff teams hail from states with Democrat governors. Did Ritter stumble while trying to make a point with this assessment, or was it just an attempt at a joke that has fallen flat?

Who obsesses over partisan politics so much that they not only have to figure out which party is in power in states where professional baseball playoff teams hail from, but also have to proclaim it to the media? To the governor and his staffers: just sit back and enjoy the games. Not everything is about partisan politics.

Meanwhile, shining a light on the absurdity of Ritter’s remarks, a shrewd Cubs fan went ahead and applied the partisan template to the past year’s championships in major pro and college sports, and found our governor struck out swinging in his off-the-wall observation.

Please, Mr. Governor, let baseball be baseball. Don’t pour water on our state’s shared Rocktober celebration.

The Colorado Rockies secured the National League pennant tonight … when did you ever think you’d hear these words? And after winning 21 of 22 games? Uncharted territory in Major League Baseball. W… O… W! Matt Holliday is chosen Series MVP, but it could just as well have been one of many others wearing the purple uniform. And how could you be anything but genuinely happy for Todd Helton?
Simply un-be-lie-va-ble. I’m in baseball heaven now.

October 14, 2006: My Detroit Tigers won 7 straight to claim the American League pennant, the franchise’s first in 22 years.

October 15, 2007: My Colorado Rockies won 7 straight to claim the National League pennant, the franchise’s first in its 15-season history.

Like last year’s Tigers, this year’s Rox face a long layoff headed into the World Series. Whether the opponent ends up being the Tribe or the BoSox, here’s hoping that the same hangover effect doesn’t apply.

ESPN and the like have had a hard time figuring out who these Colorado Rockies are, this true TEAM of champions. Well, pretty soon, they’ll all find out.

GO ROCKIES!!! (Also check out Michael’s live-blogging 9th inning celebration.)

One of the best baseball games I have ever seen. What a contest from start to finish. Controversy, comebacks, power, pitching, good defense, clutch hitting, and after an improbable ending, the Colorado Rockies are in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Un- be- lie- va- ble.

And somewhere in it all, Matt Holliday secured a NL batting title (and maybe an MVP), Troy Tulowitzki all but locked up NL Rookie of the Year, and the Rockies broke a Major League team season record for fielding percentage. Closest to most fan’s hearts, though, is the fact Todd Helton – the long-time face of the franchise – finally gets to punch a playoff ticket, a fitting tribute to his career.

Seeing this city go baseball crazy in October does my heart good. For at least another week, fans will say: Broncos who?

The Colorado-Philadelphia series figures to be a high-scoring thrill ride of its own, a matchup of two unlikely playoff contenders with amazing September stories. There’s only one thing I can say to that: Go Rockies!

Colorado baseball fans have stood up and taken notice at the amazing, unexpected run made by our Rockies down the regular season homestretch. Ten straight wins in September? Coming back from the brink to the thick of playoff contention? One game back in the wildcard with a chance to win the NL West Division? It’s a feel-good story for a young ball club that is gelling a season sooner than this amateur pundit expected. Clutch hitting, quality starts and fine work from the bullpen have anchored this underdog team.

Michael, a fan with a longer history of Rockies loyalty than myself (Colorado is my favorite National League squad, but all bets are off when they face my Detroit Tigers), has blogged his enthusiasm. Now I’m just waiting for Jared to chime in, but maybe he’s trying to avoid some sort of jinx (in which case, it’s all right if you wait ’till say, Sunday).

Will Coors Field be sold out for this weekend’s huge series against the Diamondbacks? I sure hope so. Go Rockies!

(For now, we won’t worry about the mind-boggling possibilities for endless playoff tiebreakers that could await the National League contenders next week.)

It appears my last post has stirred up a little East Coast angst in my friend David Harsanyi, the genial libertarian and Denver Post columnist who for the most part is a very sensible, stand-up sort of guy. (Nobody’s perfect.) Well, I may have dashed my chances at getting a free galley copy of his new book Nanny State to review – though there is no denying Harsanyi’s ability to use clever and shameless self-promotion.

I didn’t realize that Harsanyi and I both shared a past as sportswriters – albeit he got to cover the World Series, and I was busy writing about high school track meets and Division II college football.

The best part of this exchange is the sweet, sweet memories of last October and the Yanks’ demise at the hands of the upstart Tigers in the AL divisional playoffs. I can understand why David might still be a little sensitive about it, but at least he has the present and the home-and-home series the two teams share in August. We’ll see who comes out on top after these eight games.

Though many on the team have been feeling under the weather, the Detroit Tigers came out on top of the New York Yankees last night, 8-5. Nothing like heading into the heart of the Evil Empire to win the first of a critical four-game set (unless it turns into a four-game sweep of the Bronx Bombers in their own backyard). And as the struggling bullpen is healing up and returning to normalcy (you can’t come back soon enough, Zoom), let’s go back out there, keep up the momentum, and beat the Yanks!

Baseball seasons are long for a reason, but these are the times that try Detroit Tigers‘ fans souls. For a group of fans used to years of futility, the sudden rise to dominance can bring us to a state of insecurity in the wake of their recent 3-8 road trip. Injuries have taken their toll on an overworked, underprepared bullpen, while nearly all of the normally potent lineup has gone cold at once. Somehow, though, they cling to the narrowest of leads in the American League Central division.

After a day off, they have their opportunity to turn things around by coming home to play their next 3 series at Comerica Park. It’s easy to get impatient when things aren’t going your team’s way during the long baseball season. But perspective dictates that I be grateful. Three years ago I would have been ecstatic just to see my team atop the standings at all at the beginning of August. I said before the season that the Tigers’ biggest challenge in 2007 would be fighting the newly high expectations. Even when they’re not dominant, the Tigs are demonstrating real character. Should they stick it out and make the playoffs, I think this will work to their advantage.

Anyone like me, trapped in the dark ages of having a television set not equipped to receive digital signals, ought to read this (though with more than 18 months to go, it seems hardly the time to panic):

On Feb. 18, 2009, tens of millions of televisions that are not equipped to receive digital signals will become useless pieces of furniture. The government is spending $5 million to let owners know so they can do something about it — not enough, critics say.

While the government has committed $1.5 billion for viewers to spend on converter boxes that will translate digital signals for older televisions, it is largely relying on the broadcast industry to spread the word about the changeover.

The critics are wrong: It shouldn’t be the government’s job. It is indeed in the interest of broadcast corporations to notify consumers. And some might even add the occasional mention by random bloggers, too. Just thought you ought to know.

A fitting night for the Detroit Tigers to beat the Bo Sox in dramatic fashion – 3-2 in 13 innings. On 7/7/07, the game-winning hit came courtesy of #7, Pudge Rodriguez, off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon.

Comerica Park sold 44,193 tickets to the game – standing room only and a near record for the 7-year-old stadium. Sellouts have become the norm in the Motor City, where just four seasons ago the Tigers flirted with record futility.

Now reigning American League champs, the team closes in on the All Star break in a first-place tie with Cleveland, despite having a decimated bullpen. Detroit’s manager captured the city’s love affair with the game, echoing statements I used to make regularly back when the team wandered in the wilderness of bad management and mediocre to sub-par talent (do you believe me now?):

“I know that this is one of the best baseball cities in the nation, there’s no doubt about that,” [Jim] Leyland said.

The crowds are great for Leyland; he admitted he gets goosebumps anytime a capacity crowd gives the team a standing ovation in the ninth inning, but he is most proud of the fact that the Tigers have appeared to lay a foundation that will make them a successful franchise for the long term.

Following last night’s 9-2 thumping of Boston, Detroit News sports columnists Bob Wojnowski and Lynn Henning penned words that are beautiful to read for this displaced Michigander:

Baseball dominates in Detroit, and you should take a moment to ponder that, before you resume fretting about the bullpen. The Red Wings and Pistons struggled to sell out playoff games. The Lions struggle to recall what a playoff game is. The Tigers sell out regular-season games with regularity.

People are attracted to a winner, naturally. But this goes a little deeper. The Tigers are winning with a healthy combination of stars and youth and even some style. They’re still somewhat new, but this is what separates them from their Detroit sports brethren: The Tigers have the potential to be dominant in every area.

OK, we’ll temper the superlatives. But if you watched lean, lanky lefty [22-year-old phenom Andrew] Miller stymie the Bosox on three hits, and you watched Boston starter Julian Tavarez get so flustered, he was warned after hitting Gary Sheffield with a pitch, you know the Tigers can rattle anyone. [emphasis mine]

What’s more, five Detroit players headed to the All-Star Game to represent the American League? My friends, I was 8 years old the last time that happened. And I’m a little ways past “spring chicken”hood now.

It’s so much fun to be a Detroit Tigers fan again. A dozen (or more) long years of faithful anticipation are now being rewarded. May it be a dozen (or more) seasons of competitive success (a World Series title or two along the way would be sweet) for the Olde English D.

Sure, there are more important things in life than baseball. But not as many as you may think.

What a night for Detroit Tigers fans! The reigning American League Rookie of the Year put to rest any lingering rumors of a possible sophomore slump in dominant fashion, with a stellar Comerica Park performance. Justin Verlander, the 24-year-old pride of Goochland, Va., denied the Milwaukee Brewers a single basehit in an impressive 4-0 victory tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit. Here’s the bottom line: a 99 MPH heater, a wicked Uncle Charley, 112 pitches, 12 strikeouts, 4 walks, only 3 balls hit outside the infield, and one spectacular double play in the 8th inning.

Drafted by the Tigers in 2004, Verlander (7-2, 2.79 ERA) recorded only the sixth no-hitter in Tigers’ franchise history, the last time coming on April 7, 1984, when Jack Morris mowed down the Chicago White Sox at Old Comiskey. Verlander was barely a year old then. The last Tiger to throw a no-hitter in Detroit was Virgil Trucks, who amazingly performed the feat twice in the same 1952 season.

After a recent slump, Detroit has pulled back into a first-place tie in the American League Central with the Cleveland Indians. Loyal Tiger fans everywhere look forward to many more seasons with Justin Verlander in the rotation. Can’t you hear the ROAR?