It's been a couple weeks since my last update on the baseball season for Civil Sense. A great piece in yesterday's Detroit News recounts the amazing feat of the 1984 Tigers' 35-5 start. A quarter century later, this year's Detroit squad is nowhere near the caliber of dominance of the franchise's last world champions. But the Tigers -- winners of six straight -- are like their 1984 predecessors in that they are in first place at the 40-game mark of the season. In this case, 8.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. Happy Friday! … [Read more...]
Wow! Curtis Granderson and Tigers A Leap Ahead of Last Place Indians
I have a friendly rivalry going this season with blogger Civil Sense from The Colorado Index. Today seemed like a good a time as any to point it out. Baseball is a long season, but his Cleveland Indians have slipped to the worst record in the Major Leagues after back-to-back home shutout losses to my Detroit Tigers. Tonight's 4-0 victory was great, but the finish couldn't match the 1-0 thriller on Friday -- when Tigers ace Justin Verlander carried his two-hit shutout into the ninth inning. Grady Sizemore came to the plate with one on and one out when ... well, watch for yourself: Yep, that's my boy: Curtis Granderson. And my Detroit Tigers a game out of first place and six games ahead of Cleveland. Ouch, Civil Sense. Ouch. (It … [Read more...]
A Season-Long Baseball Grudge Match with Hugh Hewitt?
The Detroit Free Press has the scoop in today's sports section: "Tribe, Tigers rivalry already intense." Sure, Hugh will do a lot of blustering between now and September that his Cleveland Indians will repeat their American League Central crown. But faced with the harsh specter of reality, he may well find himself hoping and praying for his team to stay competitive with the offensive juggernaut coming out of Motown. Jim Leyland's Detroit Tigers are hungry for payback, with a bolstered lineup that can deliver ... and then some. … [Read more...]