This summer, more than any other I can remember, has reminded me just how extreme the Tigers have tended to be throughout their history, at least the part I can recall.
In most major league cities, they are used to their club being on the fringe of contention going down the stretch of the season, particularly during the wild card era.
But for most of the wild card era, the Tigers have been dreadful. In the National League, for example, there are five teams within 5 1-2 games of the wild card spot. Several of those teams are also involved in divisional races, which is also the case for this version of the Tigers in the American League.
I must admit, it presents an interesting dynamic. I got done taping my TV segments at FOX 2 Sunday night and was just standing there watching Derek Jeter hitting when he delivered that big home run. I went nuts, screaming, "Now that’s a ballplayer" and, "What a moment," when I noticed a couple Tiger fans that were watching with me were none too pleased at my reaction. It was the baseball purist in me. Nothing against the Tigers. I hadn’t even thought about them. I appreciated the great baseball moment - Jeter doing that to the Red Sox in Fenway Park again. But it was hurtful to Tiger fans. Because the Tigers have all of a sudden started winning, they and their fans are dreaming of overtaking the Yankees. Maybe even the Indians. A good week by the Tigers and this will get really interesting for the final week of the season.
But it hasn’t really been like this. The Tigers either jump way out in front of everybody, like in ‘68, ‘84 or last season, or are involved in a real tight race, like in ‘72, 87 and ‘88, or are done by September. They were on the fringes of contention in 2000, but that was mostly because the other teams were not stellar. The Tigers finished below .500 that year.
I must admit, it has made this month awfully enjoyable. Call me a little weird, but I have always liked September baseball, even when observing a couple teams out of the race. But I do like this better. Make that a lot better.

Random Thoughts

- Good thing for the Lions they won Sunday. They need to start winning some games because interest in the team is obviously down. They weren’t even sold out until the final stage of the process last week. And the club level seats, which for some odd reason don’t count on the attendance, were far less than half full. If it remains that way for the season, it will cost the Lions several million dollars in revenue. If the Lions win, though, they will become a hot ticket again - and quickly.

- Watching the Twins this weekend, it was evident why general manager Terry Ryan recently resigned. They just might be the worst hitting team in baseball right now. Maybe this is it, you know, the time when being a small market wonder had ended. It seems to have, instead, finally caught up with the Twins.

- If Placido Polanco doesn’t win a Gold Glove this season, then the process is a joke. Manager and coaches vote for the award. Polanco is easily the best-fielding second baseman in the American League.