So, the Tigers are losers. This is an old story. This is my team ... the one that almost matched the Mets' record for most losses in a season. It was a small consolation to be the second most losing team in MLB history instead of being tied for first. It's also a small consolation that the team that lost those 119 games three years ago actually made it to the World Series this year. In April, I never could have predicted it. They really surprised me through the first half of the season ... they were 30 games (maybe 40?) over .500 at one point. Then the losing started. I started to recognize the Tigers again ... they lost their way to the end of the season, losing the Division Title, even ... but they hung on for the Wild Card, and made it all the way to the pinnacle of baseball.
Well, they fell off ... with one measley win, but it's more respectable than the Cardinals being routed in 4-games by the Red Sox two years ago. Who knows, in two years, when it's been 24 since the Tygs' last World Series win, they could be at it again and win it all. I'd like to see that.
In a way, I'm glad they lost ... it's weird to say, I know, but something like this somehow validates my love of the team a lot more than if they'd won it all. See, they lost. They didn't even show up, you could say, to the big dance ... but this season really brought me back as a baseball fan. Instead of merely following my team in the box score like I'm prone to doing, I was tuning in to read up on a lot of their accomplishments this season, I watched almost every post-season game. It was a treat.
So, I am bummed they lost ... but this team is great. It's nice to have Leyland running them, too. I think they'll be back, and that will be their moment. This season was merely a wake-up call that the formerly most moribund major league franchise actually has some life in it. The rebuilding is over, and there's always next year.
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