Fans at Comerica Park gave Jim Thome a thunderous ovation last night when he hit his 600th career home run against the Tigers.
On the surface, that's the way it should be, considering the magnitude of the moment. I mean only eight players in major league history have hit 600 or more career home runs.
But it was a 3-run shot and turned a close 6-5 game into a bit of a rout. It one of two home runs Thome hit Tuesday. The other was a 2-run blast that broke a 3-3 tie.
The Tigers are in a pennant race. Those home runs were extremely damaging to their cause.
Should fans really have been cheering Thome so lustily under the circumstances?
Personally, I had no issue with it. To me, baseball lore trumps all.
Not all Tiger fans, who called my radio show after the game, saw it that way. Nor did my co-host Dennis Fithian.
Some were really upset and felt their fellow fans were dupes.
I'll concede they have a point - especially in regard to Thome, who has just destroyed the Tigers down through the years, and with their division rivals Cleveland, the White Sox and Minnesota. Thome has hit 65 home runs against the Tigers - more than any other club.
"But he is such a nice guy...." And it is true. Everybody likes Jim Thome. Yet, as far at the Tigers are concerned, he's been, figuratively anyway, a smiling assassin.


- Thomas Rawls has been performing very well in fall drills for Michigan, outplaying his three-star status coming out of Flint Northern. The Wolverines will likely get help in their running game from true freshman this season, and perhaps sooner than later, from Rawls and Justice Hayes, a four-star player from Grand Blanc.

- There are a lot of things to like about Michigan State, but nothing more than Kirk Cousins. There is a quality of leadership there that is rare. And he's been through virtually every situation to this point. State may have some issues on the offensive line and a tough schedule, but I still see the Spartans getting to nine wins primarily because of Cousins.