For Reals

My wife and I both grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  There's a whole lotta wilderness up there.  There are plenty of small towns and from the outside looking in can be very charming.  There is something very nostalgic, for lack of better phrasing, when you think about these small towns.  Especially when it comes to the holiday season.  You think of a fire roaring heating the house, the silence outside because there is no big city traffic, and a fresh cut Christmas tree in the corner.  Very Rockwellian. 

When we were done with college and moved on to our adult lives, we lived in apartments.  From 2005 to 2016 we rented either apartments or townhouses.  All those years we had an artificial tree that we put up and took down every year.  It wasn't terrible it was just there.  The thing that was missing was the 'realness' of the tree.  No sap (a bonus), no needles, no real tree smell.  We had a plan last year to get a real tree as it was the first Christmas in our house.  However, we had just moved into the house in the middle of October.  Sure we could have went out and gotten one, but we were a little stressed from moving in and we still had boxes stacked in places so we went with one last year of having the fake tree up. 

So we finally, after all these years, we went out and got a real tree.  And it is wonderful.  

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Dec 11, 2017 at 2:45pm PST

So it is very exciting for us to go out and get a real tree this year.  We wanted to go out and cut one down, but the tree farm we found only has a select number they mark as ones that can be cut down.  By the time we had time to go out and cut one down, they had put a stop to the cut your own tree.  They do an excellent job of conservation of their farm.  They have to keep the farm going year after year and they have to keep their inventory for the future.  So we ended up going and finding a tree farm that had pre-cut trees.  Not the end of the world, but it would have been cool to cut our own down.  Maybe next year. 

We wanted something that we have to water and anchor to the window frame.  Something that we have to kind of worry about falling over in the middle of the night.  Most importantly, it brings back memories of our childhood and having the real deal back in our house. 

New Hotness

You know how when you buy a house there is always that sense that something is going to go wrong?  In that first five or six months, in the back of your mind there's just that little bit of an inkling that something is going to break.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that you just dropped your life's savings into this new house and you wonder what would happen if something went wrong.  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Despite the feeling of grandeur in being a new homeowner, there should be that feeling.  That way you can prepare for it when it does eventually happen. 

When we did the home inspection, we did know that the appliances were a little on the old side.  They were all in the ten to fifteen year old range.  Things like the furnace, the air conditioner, the water heater.  All the big fun stuff that makes living in house comfortable.  The home inspector did say that some, if not all, would need to be replaced within five years.  Here's the thing though, when you hear that you might automatically think that you have that five years.  Not always the case.  Also, don't do that.  Be proactive about saving money for a bad situation.  

While we did not have anything go wrong in the first year of home ownership, we did have our first major issue last week.  We woke up to a pretty cold house.  This only happened one other time and it was right after we bought the house.  That was our 'what the hell are we going to do' moment.  Luckily, there was just a disruption of the gas supply to the house, and we were able to relight the furnace and hot water heater.  This time, we were not so lucky.  We called a local heating and air company and found out our furnace was shot.  While they were working on it, they made note that the air conditioner was about as old as the furnace was.  While this is definitely their job to try and make money for their business, it also can and will help us out.  In one fell swoop we had a new furnace and air conditioner.  

On the plus side, this is something that we should only have to do once.  Maybe twice if we live in the house for thirty or forty years.  And it adds to the value of the house.  All you have to do is try to find the positive to a situation that is kinda shitty and it can almost make you feel better about dropping a boat load of money you weren't prepared to drop.  If you look at it as a long term investment, you can almost feel better about the situation.  It's always difficult to think about it, but now that we know that at any moment something can break to the point where they cannot be fixed, we can start really look into setting aside money for that kind of situation.  Even if it is something like fifty dollars every pay period, that will build up over time.

Saturation

The one sport that most of the country seems to get behind is football.  From high school (or younger) to college to professional, there is a cult of football fandom.  I enjoy watching a game or two over the weekend when a team I follow is on television.  I do not find myself clearing my entire weekend schedule to sit and watch games from noon to ten at night.  I am guilty of throwing on a game just because there is nothing else on, if for no other reason than to have background noise and to kinda zone out for a while.  However, there is just too much football.  Even high school football is televised from time to time.  Why?  Why is this happening? 

Looking at this week, there have been games on television from Sunday to today (Wednesday).  Tomorrow as well.  And Friday.  Then again on Saturday.  And we find ourselves back to next Sunday.  Seven days of football.  Granted all these games are not big name professional teams or big conference games but there are still games on television.  And I'm not talking about some local channel that you can get only in the college towns, these are games that are on national television.  Did I watch a little bit of football this week?  Yes I did.  It wasn't more than maybe an hour.  

There are plenty of people that point to things like player protests as to television viewership in the NFL being down this year, but that isn't it.  Those who hate the players for using their platform to protest injustice are more than happy to tell you that they stopped watching and that is the reason viewership is down.  But that isn't the reason.  The reason is that there is too much of it.  It isn't special anymore.  When you saturate the market with your product it no longer has the draw it once had.  One of the main things that people point to as to why they don't watch baseball is that there are so many games.  One hundred and sixty two games is a lot of games to watch.  As an avid baseball fan, I even have trouble keeping my interest up in the middle of July.  Football only has sixteen games so there is less product to consume for your favorite team so when your team is on, you want to tune in.   

Even football players think there are too many games.  There is more and more complaints about the Thursday night games that have become prominent.  It use to be Thanksgiving was really the only Thursday games.  The issue that players are starting to point to is the short week between games.  Instead of Sunday (or Monday) to Sunday, there are times when you go from Sunday to Thursday.  With the physical toll that each game takes on these players they need the rest and recovery.  Especially with the concussion concerns for all the players, why wouldn't those in football want to protect their product?  Remember a few years ago that there was a big push to move the regular season to eighteen games?  Everyone was all for it.  I'm sure if you asked the players, they wouldn't have had the same feelings as the guy sitting on his couch in Pennsylvania eating a bag of chips and getting wasted. 

Manufactured Time Flying

Everyone knows the cliche 'where does the time go?'.  Whether you are talking about the work day, a vacation, or just the calendar months, we have all heard it and used it.  It seems like it is mostly used as either a conversation starter or as a bridge to another conversation, but can we take a moment to discuss time flying being manufactured?  It all is because of retail.

In recent years Christmas merchandise, Christmas commercials, and Christmas in general has shown up quite early.  In my store, we got our first shipment of holiday food the last week of August.  AUGUST!  And slowly, week by week, winter took over the store.  At one time we had Halloween in the front of the store, Christmas in the back half of the store, and I had someone ask where the Thanksgiving/Fall stuff was at.  We didn't have much at the time.  It was kind of funny, but at the same time was a little sad.  I know that Thanksgiving is not a big holiday for retail other than the day after, but people come in looking for that type of stuff.

In years past, we all started to see holiday commercials on television maybe in the middle of November, but this year I started to see commercials just a few days after Halloween.  It has increased over the past two weeks.  More and more commercials about finding that perfect gift or that Jaguar or Mercedes Benz that we all know none of us are getting sitting in the driveway.  Once you see a commercial here and there for Christmas, your brain starts to think about it, right?  I don't know how many times in years past when it wasn't until after Thanksgiving where I started to think about getting presents.  Now, I am keeping an eye out for anything that might work.  I have already asked my wife a few times for gift ideas.  It's starting to become a joke.

Part of the reason that time seems to fly by, especially this time of year, is because companies are disappearing the time between holidays.  I'm not talking about going from Halloween to Thanksgiving.  Plenty of places are skipping right over Thanksgiving and going straight into Christmas.  Basically disappearing the month of November.  So when next week you are rushing around the grocery store gathering all your Thanksgiving Day food stuffs, just remember that it is always the last Thursday of November.  It hasn't ever changed.  When you think to yourself 'where did the time go?' know that we are all subject to suggestion.  When we start seeing commercials in October with snow, and Christmas lights, and presents under the tree we need to keep in mind that we still have two months before the actual holiday.  Time doesn't fly by if you don't want it to.  Keep focused and Thanksgiving, the current forgotten holiday, won't sneak up on you.  

What a Year

Tomorrow is a wonderful anniversary for me and my wife.  Tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of being home owners.  Every once in a while when I drive past the house coming home from running errands or coming back from work, I can't help but glance over and smile.  It's our little piece of the American Dream. 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Oct 12, 2017 at 1:11pm PDT

When we first looked at the house we knew that there were going to be some projects, but nothing that was a deal breaker.  Obviously.  We bought the house.  There aren't major ones that needed to be addressed right away, but the kitchen and bathroom both need work.  They're functional and 
Here's a few things that we've learned over the year.  We've agreed that the kitchen will be addressed in about five years.

Here's a few things that I think others might find helpful.

Buy a house at the end of a season.  We bought our house in October and didn't have to cut the lawn until the following Spring.  That also meant that we didn't have to invest in things like a lawn mower and weed whacker for a few years.  Sure, we had to buy a rake for leaves and a shovel for the snow, but those aren't nearly as expensive as a lawn mower is.

Tackle small projects early on.  It felt like the day after we moved in, my wife was already making a list of things she wanted to change.  I was like, damn woman give it a minute!  She is a very visual person, so the first things she wanted done was painting.  We got the living room and dining room painted pretty early on in our home ownership.  It makes it feel like it's yours just a little bit more.  

Don't feel like you need to keep up with the Joneses.  Our neighborhood has plenty of small houses and small families.  There aren't extravagant houses or any new houses so there isn't a need to make everything look perfect.  Yes, you need to keep the grass cut and making sure your yard doesn't look like a yard sale, but as long as your yard looks better than the next guy people won't notice.  Right?

Raking leaves is stupid.  We have two large trees in our front yard.  They made it feel like a never ending task.  Especially since one tree lost all it's leaves and the other one waited a couple of weeks after to shed them.  Last fall, this was the limit to our yard work.  We didn't have a lawn mower, plus the grass was pretty short when we moved in.  Raking leaves felt like an on going joke.  Every time you looked out in the yard, even an hour after we finished up, there were leaves on the ground.  It was dumb.  This year we have a lawn mower.  I'm all for mulching the leaves this year. 

Pumpkin Spice Conspiracy

It was about a year ago that I came out against all things pumpkin spice. It has become a fun back and forth with my sister and others that are absolutely in love with the fall flavor.  I stand by the fact that I enjoy things like pumpkin bread/muffins.  I even enjoy the smell of pumpkin candles, but when you start to see cereal, coffee, coffee creamer, pizza, tobacco maybe it has gone a little too far.  So as a joke in reaction to my sister posting some pumpkin spice thing to me on social media, I said that pumpkin spice things caused climate change.  Now it's time to build a humorous case against pumpkin spice in the defense of the earth.  This is all written tongue in cheek.  Nothing I write is scientifically true, but if for some reason I 'disappear' you all know I am on to something and the Pumpkin Spice Industrial Complex must be stopped!

In order to get the appropriate amount of pumpkin flavoring, the number of pumpkin patches and farms has skyrocketed over the past five years.  What is not known is that when the pumpkins are harvested and processed methane gas and carbon dioxide are released into the air.  The machines that are used to process the pumpkins and mix the pumpkin with all the spices to get your favorite fall flavor are powered by coal.  This causes the temperatures to rise not just intermittently but it has a long lasting impact on the climate.  The gases stay trapped in the atmosphere raising the temperatures around the world throughout the year.    

It all comes full circle because with the climate changing and pumpkin crops not being as fruitful as they have been in previous years, farmers are having to plant more in the hopes of getting a harvest that rivals previous years.  As the pumpkin patches expand, trees are cut down, other fruits and vegetables are no longer planted to make way for the pumpkins.  This in turn causes more of the gas to be released into the air.  WAKE UP SHEEPLE!

Not only do we have the gases in the sky from all the processing, but with the pumpkin patches and farms getting larger, the farmers are cutting back on other fruits and vegetables to keep up with the pumpkin demand.  We will have less green beans, less corn, less carrots, potatoes, etc.  Not only will we have a shortage in all these fine foods, but the cost will skyrocket.  Now we're getting into the economic change all caused because you wanted pumpkin spiced Cheerios. 

Pretty soon, it's gonna look like Mad Max times all across the world.  You are all doing this to yourselves.  Stop the climate change!  Save the earth!  Stop buying pumpkin spice things!








Okay, that was fun to write....

We Need A Villain

While the Tigers season was practically done by the middle of July, the season did continue on.  I watched them get humiliated by the Twins in a four game sweep.  Which, good for the Twins, they have been bad for a long time and this year are in the hunt for a wild card race.  That is the nice about baseball.  There always seems to be a historically bad team that has a good year and most people rally around them hoping that they'll make a deep run in the playoffs.  The Chicago Cubs are the obvious example with their World Series win last year, but the Cleveland Indians (sad to say) also are starting to play very well.

When we lived in Wichita, I watched a lot of Royals games.  They weren't the back to back American League Champion Royals, they were the lose ninety games Royals.  When they did win, with the exception of when they played Detroit, you felt good for them.  If they had a seventy five win season, that was a great year and something to build upon.  I think that no matter what team you root for if a bad team plays well doesn't a little bit of you feel good for them?  Except the White Sox.  Fuck that team.

But if everyone is happy for everyone else isn't there something missing?  It's almost like baseball, every sport for that matter, needs that one team every fan rallies against.  In football you have the New England Patriots.  Basketball has the Los Angeles Lakers or the Golden State Warriors.  Hockey has the Chicago Blackhawks and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Teams that are either historically good or currently winning a title every time you turn around.  And who does baseball have?  The New York Yankees of course.  And to a lesser degree the Boston Red Sox.  They won a few titles and aren't considered an underdog much anymore. 

Every sport needs that team to root against.  That team that always has the great players, that seems to get the call in their favor, that will sign your favorite player in the offseason.  For the past few years, the Yankees haven't been the same old Yankees everyone hates.  Sure, we hate them because of they're the Yankees, but they haven't been very relevant when it came to the playoffs the past few years.  Well they're back.  They are going to make the playoffs this season and seem to be peaking at the right time.  We all know that if you're team is hot going into the post season there is no telling what can happen. 

This is a good thing for baseball.  We might not like seeing the Yankees in the post season, but it gives us a villain.  It gives us a reason to watch if our team doesn't make it because we want to see the Yankees lose.  Am I right?  Depending on who they end up playing, I would rather see the Yankees lose than the other team win.  I want to see the dejected faces of the fans as their beloved Yanks get crushed.  It's one of those scenarios where it's 'anyone but New York' for those of us who have no team playing in October.  At least that's the way I'm approaching it. 

It's Okay

You see these posts on social media that are titled things like 'a list of things for my son' or 'every rule my daughter needs to follow'.  Once they gain momentum on social media sites, it's hard to slow them down.  Then they go away for a bit, then suddenly reappear.  There isn't anything wrong with them.  I usually read through these and get a smile or two out of them.  I have my own list like that.  I call it my 'It's Okay' list.  

It's okay to be the 'work parent'.  Be the person that others go to for advice.  Life advice, work advice, it doesn't matter.  Be the person that younger co-workers go to.  My wife tells me plenty of stories of people she works with that come to her for day in and day out advice.  It helps that she works with people that are ten to twelve years younger than we are.  It gives you the opportunity to be a life mentor without it being a stupid program. 

It's okay to not like 'classics'.  Whether it is movies, books, art, whatever.  It's fine for you to not like something just because it is considered a classic.  There have been several books that are classics that I just didn't like.  'The Sound and the Fury' and 'Tropic of Cancer' to name a few.  Most Hemingway as well.

It's okay for your favorite pop culture item to be something other than a classic.  One of my favorite books I have read is called '44 Dublin Made Me' by Peter Sheridan.  It's his memoir about growing up in Ireland.  Yes, I have my favorite classic books, but it's nice to have a favorite that maybe not everyone has heard of.

It's okay to binge watch an entire season of a show in one day.  Streaming services have made this a possibility the past few years.  Personally, I can sit and watch a few hours worth of television shows but I cannot, on the regular, sit and watch eight or nine episodes of a show in one day.  Sometimes it's nice to escape the day and laze around.

It's okay to spoil yourself.  Sometimes it can be something as small as stopping at Dairy Queen and getting yourself a treat just because.  It can be going out and buying something new like a work outfit, a book, or a case of craft beer.  I have a wedding to go to in the fall and on my last day off, I went out and bought some new dress clothes.  I'm not a huge shopper, but it was fun to do on a day off. 

This last one isn't an 'it's okay', but I'm going to throw it on here.  Everyone should own at least one jazz album.  I'm talking Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald.  Jazz musicians feel music at a whole other level than other musicians.  It's just something you need to hear, and once you do it'll stick with you.  

Tank Games

As we watch the Detroit Tigers struggle to reach the finish of the season, there are plenty of people that believe that the team should go out of their way to lose games.  The thought is that the more games they lose the higher the draft pick they will get in next year's draft.  The higher the draft pick, allegedly, the better the talent.  The better the talent, the better your team gets.  Pretty straight forward thinking.  I see a few problems with this strategy, as do plenty of others.

The first problem I see with this idea is that with baseball prospects, even the guys that are coming out of college, are still several years away from playing in the MLB.  By all accounts, the major leagues are on a much higher level than even the minor leagues so if a fanbase thinks that a number one or two pick is going to have an immediate impact on their team they don't really pay attention.  There are once in a generation type players that can have an immediate impact, but there doesn't appear to be any player like that in the upcoming draft.  They'll settle for a top five draft pick for next year's draft and the front office that the Tigers have will most certainly do an excellent job selecting their next player.

The MLB draft seems like a crap shoot when it comes to comparison of the other major sports.  A lot of that hinges on players getting drafted so young.  There are plenty that get drafted right out of high school, and yes they can decline to sign with the team that drafts them and pursue a college career.  You see that quite a bit that a player will get drafted out of high school, not sign with the team, and then several years later get drafted much higher because they have developed.  Even those generational players that get drafted spend some time in the minors before getting called up.

It takes time.  It always takes time.  With all the holes that are in the Tigers roster, it's a good thing for them to take their time developing their young players.  Al Avila traded away five veteran players and got nine players back.  There have been a couple that have played in the Major League with other teams and have even seen some time with the Tigers this year.  The majority of the players are in double A or lower.  There are players that they have drafted that are about the same level.  So the next crop of talent is going to come up soon, and they are going to come up together.  That is how you seemingly come out of nowhere and start winning plenty of games.  Look at the Royals in 2014 and 2015.  Look at the Cubs the past couple of years.  The Astros.  All of them were terrible for so long.  They drafted talent, developed the talent, and then were seemingly relevant.

I feel like I have written several posts like this, and part of it might be trying to convince myself that this is for the best.  This is how the Tigers are going to get good again.  Gone are the days of winning now.  In five and six years they'll have the win now mentality, but for now it's going to be terrible baseball to watch.  Just keep an eye on the minor league teams if you want to get excited about baseball.  That's what will keep you going. 

Papa

My grandfather passed away this afternoon.  His health steadily declined over the past month or so.  We got to see him and my grandma when we were home in August for our family reunion.  He was a good man, a family man, a lowkey funny man.  My entire family is, of course, sharing stories and photos of him on social media.  What I want to share is longer than what most social media posts are, so here is a fun story I have of the man we all knew as Papa.

Several years ago, we were home around Christmas time because my wife's grandfather had passed away.  All of the services were going to be in the spring time because you can't really do much in terms of burial in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in December, but we wanted to be with our family.  During that week we were home, we took a trip to see my family for their annual Christmas get together.  Papa suggested that if we were going to be around for a bit that I come out to hunting camp to hunt for a day or two.  After clearing it, I went out there with my dad and Papa.  As we were leaving camp to go to our respective seats, dad told me 'nothing that doesn't have antlers.'  I said okay, not thinking I would see much only having just a few hours of light.  Papa turned to me and said 'Bullshit.  Charlie he's home for just a few days.  Shoot whatever the fuck you want!'  I looked at him, looked at Dad, shrugged my shoulders and said okay.  Just before sunset, I had a small doe walk into the bait pile.  I waited for a bit hoping for maybe another (read: bigger) one come in with it, contemplated, then shot it.  This was the first deer I had ever shot.  We didn't hunt much as kids, which looking back at it I hate myself for that.  I walked back to camp and Papa had just gotten there before I did.

Papa: 'See anything?'
Me: 'Yup.'
Papa: 'Well did you dress it out?'
Me: 'I didn't have a knife. (I wasn't planning on hunting so didn't come home prepared) Papa, this is my first deer.'
Papa: 'Oh?'

He then walks over to where the Crown Royal was stored and pulled out two shot glasses.  He poured, we toasted, then had one more.  Just Papa and I sitting at King Pine Camp.  Sharing a few shots of whiskey.  It was everything. 

The Foundation is Set

The dust has settled on the MLB trade deadline.  The Tigers ended up pulling off one more trade which most everyone was expecting.  They sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Chicago Cubs for more prospects.  As with the JD Martinez trade, the prospects weren't the highest profile.  To be fair, the pieces that the Tigers moved were not worthy of top ten or twenty ranked prospects.  After the Martinez trade, the fan base was ready to run Al Avila out of town.  After the Wilson/Avila trade, most seem to be willing to give it a chance.  These trades were necessary and were extremely helpful for the organization. 

All in all, the Tigers got six prospects all of which are infielders.  Third basemen and shortstops at the moment.  Some people that know more than I do think one or two might end up being an everyday player at the major league level while others will end up being a serviceable bench player.  So why should a fan be excited about players that aren't going to be the next Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant?  Because the Tigers didn't have these types of prospects before.  Looking at the top prospects within the organization, before the trade, seven of the top ten prospects for the Tigers are pitchers.  The other three prospects were all outfielders.  When all you draft is power arms and outfielders this is what you end up with.  After the trades, two of the new prospects are slotted into the top ten and another is within the top fifteen.  The farm system still isn't the best in the league, in fact I believe most have it ranked in the bottom third of the league, but it is improving. 

I think that the foundation is set for the next era of the Detroit Tigers.  I don't think that we'll see a decade's worth of ruling the AL Central, but they are going to be fun to watch.  The players that are coming up in the next three to four years aren't the power hitters we have come to grow and love.  These are going to be guys that hit doubles and get on base and manufacture runs.  It is going to be very different.  It'll be a different type of game played.  Think of the way the Kansas City Royals play, that is how I think it'll be for the Tigers.  On base guys in front of some power bats.  These trades that were made are not going to solve the problem though.  It is just the start of the solution.  Al Avila is rebuilding the organization, he needs time.  They have drafted fairly well the last two years, getting some pitchers but also going after athletic players.  

I think these trades might have helped jump the rebuild ahead a year, but it will all depend on how the prospects develop.  I think they will be making noise in 2019 but 2020 or 2021 seems to be more likely for them to really threaten to take the AL Central back from other teams (most likely the Chicago White Sox).  That will depend on the coaching in the minors.  Get excited about the future Tigers fans.  It'll take some time, but get excited.  

Burn It To The Ground

The first big piece has moved out of Detroit.  The Tigers sent JD Martinez to Arizona for three prospects.  The immediate reaction from the twitterverse was less than favorable we'll say.  Al Avila's virtual head is on a pike outside of Comerica Park at this very instance.  Of course we as fans are upset over it.  No one really likes to see a fan favorite like Martinez get traded, but this is how you rebuild your farm system and major league club.  The fact that the Tigers haven't done this in recent years is in part to why there is tremendous backlash.  It's going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets better.  The whole thing has to be burnt to the ground in order to rise again.  Get ready for some 2003 era type baseball to be played in Detroit folks. 

Here is the one thing that I think people need to keep in mind:  JD Martinez wasn't going to be playing for Detroit next year.  He is a free agent at the end of the year and is going to garner a lot of attention in the offseason.  He is going to be looking at a multi-million, multi-year deal.  This is something that the Tigers front office said going into this season that they are going to be moving away from.  They are getting 'younger and leaner' (Al Avila's words).  With the passing of Mike Illitch, the win now mentality that brought the big names and big contracts is gone.  It is now time to watch the team draft and trade for young talent and develop the team.  This has already started after Dombrowski was let go/fired after the 2015 trade deadline.  Avila is doing a good job in drafting and we are starting to see the draftees make their way up through the farm system.  Get familiar with names like Manning, Burrows, and Funkhouser.  Eventually those guys are going to be the core of the pitching staff. 

Patience is required for the next three to four years.  We won't see it from the fans, but that is what is needed.  Anyone with half a brain knew that this day was coming.  The major players are getting older and contracts are expiring.  The young talent might be forced into playing time before they are ready, but that happens when you are rebuilding the organization.  As great as it was to see the Tigers get big name players and be very successful over the past decade, it came at a cost.  They sold the future for the present.  While it didn't bring a World Series to the city, it made them relevant.  Avila was left holding the reins while Dombrowski went to Boston and has been gutting their farm system. 

We won't know if this trade was a good trade for another three or four years.  The guys they got back in the trade are 22, 21, and 18 years old.  The highest level any of them have played in is Double A.  They might not end up being blue chip, big name players.  But getting three players for one, even if two of them end up being just every day mediocre players, isn't that winning the trade?  Especially if you get these young players for five or six years of Major League play.     

Personally, I'm excited about the rebuild.  I know it is going to be painful to watch, but when it's all said and done, if the team becomes successful when the young players come up it'll be fun to see the bandwagon fans come back.  The people that are pissed that the organization is trading away players that they can no longer afford could come back into the fold.  Homegrown talent is what makes baseball fun.  You get to see the guys that are drafted by and then produce for the organization.  Even these young guys that are traded for early on in their careers will be seen as an organizational guy. 

Surprise Book

Last week, my wife and I went to a Barnes & Noble because she has run out of books to read.  I always offer her any number of my books to read, but all my books aren't good (her words, not mine).  Sometimes you just need to go out and buy a new book.  I suggested going to Half Price Books, but the selection isn't always wonderful.  Half Price Books is the place to go if you want to take a risk on a book you've never heard of and won't be mad if you don't end up liking the book.  If you are looking for a new release or a book you want to buy and know you'll enjoy, places like Barnes & Noble is the place to go.

Whenever we go to the book store, I don't ever know what I want.   I don't have a lot of authors that I read on a constant basis.  I usually wander around and hope that something catches my eye.  Not much does.  Then I came across this display. 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Jul 4, 2017 at 1:14pm PDT

This is such a cool idea!  All different kinds of options and topics to choose from I didn't really know where to look.  I picked up the book that was wrapped and labeled as 'Blind date with an assassin'.  The notes they had for the book:

• Revenge
• Romance with a touch of magic
• Exciting fight scenes
• Strong Female Protagonist
• Unputdownable 

I loved the 'unputdownable' note.  The fun thing about this idea is that it can introduce you to an author you may have never heard of or a subject you might not have read.  And this book could end up being a dud, but who cares?  It was like opening a gift on your birthday or Christmas.  The book I ended up with is titled 'Poison Study' by Maria V. Snyder.  Of course I hadn't heard of it, so I looked it up online and it's the first of a trilogy.  So first off, thanks Barnes & Noble for putting the first of a trilogy in the mystery game.  Although it would have been smart to put the second or third book of a trilogy because you know most people want to read the whole trilogy.  Will I like this book?  Maybe.  And who knows, I might end up buying two or three more of these blind date books if Barnes & Noble keeps this display up.  I would petition the company to keep this going. 

Indie Ball

Whenever you think about a sport like baseball, you automatically think of the major league.  Professionals that get paid millions of dollars to do the thing that they love and the thing that we love to watch them do.  You also think of overpriced tickets, overpriced souvenirs, and overpriced food and drink.  You might also think that the players get overpaid.  Personally, I think all of those things from time to time.  Yes, they have worked their entire lives to get to this point and their talents and efforts have paid off.  But what about the guys that never make it to the show?  What about the guys that haven't quite given up on the dream?  The guys that are playing just to play and maybe have an outside chance of signing with an MLB team?  Those are the guys that are playing just to play. 

When we bought our house I couldn't help but notice that we are about a ten minute drive from such a team.  The St. Paul Saints.  They built a new stadium in 2015 in the Lowertown historic neighborhood of St. Paul moving away from Midway (which is for the best).  I also noted how dangerous this could be because the tickets are normally pretty cheap unless it's a holiday weekend.  

The Saints play in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball league.  A bit of a mouthful.  Basically it's independent league baseball and encompasses teams from Texas to Canada in the central part of the continent.  There is a lot that goes on because these games aren't to be taken too seriously.  They do a lot of little fun games in between innings with the fans.  Lots of interacting keeps things fun and loose. 

I'm sure that I've written about this before, but my all time favorite memory revolving around baseball happened at a Saints game several years ago.  It was a Friday night game so they had fireworks like plenty of teams do.  It wasn't anything crazy extravagant and didn't go into the wee hours of the night, maybe twenty to thirty minutes.  In the process of the fireworks going off players from both teams, still in their uniforms, after playing a full game, came out of their locker rooms to watch the fireworks.  Just a bunch of guys coming out to watch the fireworks.  It was like that scene in the Sandlot when they were playing baseball on the 4th of July and Benny hits a home run and all the players look to the sky to watch the ball then stop to watch the fireworks instead.  And Ray Charles' version of 'America the Beautiful' plays.  It was magical. 

Here's a shot of the new stadium.  It's very open.  It still has the new stadium smell. 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Jul 1, 2017 at 5:13pm PDT

I even bought a hat to support the team!  It's my first non-Tigers organizational hat.  This is a big step for me.  I figure as long as it isn't a team the Tigers play against I'm not breaking my self imposed rule of not buying non-Tigers gear. 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Jul 1, 2017 at 8:36pm PDT

Under Construction

'Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself.' -Rae Smith

In 2015, the Detroit Tigers came to the conclusion that their chances of getting to the post season were shot.  The team was not playing well, the fanbase was very displeased, and murmurs started of the team being sellers at the trade deadline at the end of July.  I was home on vacation when they sold off the few pieces that they could move.  David Price to Toronto.  Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets.  Jokiem Soria to the Pirates.  All players that the Tigers were not going to resign in the offseason.  The players they got back in return are mostly up with the big club now.  This was going to be a retooling the fans were told.  A one off.  In the next year or two the Tigers were going to be back to pushing for the playoffs.  They were in the playoff hunt last season and gave the fans hope that maybe 2015 was a bump in the road.  Eventually they missed the playoffs, but that was okay because they were close.

With Dave Dombrowski being replaced by Al Avila after the trade deadline in 2015 and the passing of owner Mike Illitch, the old guard is gone.  The Tigers did their best to get to a World Series for Mr. Illitch, but failed to do so.  Sadly.  Dombrowski and Illitch were win now guys.  They built the team to contend, and it was great.  It brought stars to the organization.  It made the team exciting.  Everyone loves a winning team.  While they were building a contending team, the minor league team suffered.  The farm system was (and continues to be) ranked at or near the bottom of the league.  This is how you build a win now team.  You sell the future for the present.  Al Avila has been left holding the reins on a dying team.  He has been at the helm for almost two years and has focused on the future.  Plenty of people want him gone, but I believe in him.  He needs time to draft for a couple of years and get players into the organization that will help the future out. 

Here we are in 2017 and the Tigers are slowly falling back again.  The rumors and murmurs are more dire than they were in 2015.  Talks of the Tigers going into full rebuild mode have sprung up.  It was reported early in the season that if the Tigers did not have a winning record by the end of June, they would be sellers at the trade deadline.  We are just over a week away from the end of the month and even if they win out the month, they'll still be near the .500 mark.  This is not good.  Everyone knows that no matter what, this team cannot make the playoffs.  Sure they are only three or four games back in the wild card race, but even if they make it, they cannot contend in the playoffs.  

If the organization goes into full rebuild mode it appears that not many players are safe.  It would be difficult to move players like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Justin Verlander.  Mainly because they all have large contracts that not many teams want to take on.  If the Tigers move any of those players, most likely they would still have to eat some of the contract money and that binds their hands.  Victor is old and broken, it would be a miracle if any team asks about him.  Cabrera and Verlander are the faces of the franchise, can they be moved?  Absolutely, as painful as it is to say that.  If a team is willing to give up several top prospects for either of them and you are committed to the future, how could you not?  J.D. Martinez is the big name that people talk about.  He is a free agent at the end of the year and will probably not be with the team next year.  The way he is playing right now, he could bring back a couple of prospects at the trade deadline.  If he is still with the team in August, something is defiantly wrong.  Even players like Ian Kinsler, Justin Wilson, and Alex Avila are players people are talking about as being tradeable.  It's ugly, but that is how you contend in the future. 

People who know better than I think that this team will not be contenders until 2019 or even 2020.  The young talent is coming up through the organization.  There is plenty of buzz around the teams in West Michigan and Erie, but these players are young.  Mostly in their early 20s.  They need time to mature.  The talent is there and with the draft that was just completed, there is more optimism.  If you look at teams that are successful in the recent past (Kansas City, Houston, Chicago) they have all drafted and developed the talent.  These teams also suffered for long periods of time while drafting the talent.  I was listening to a podcast recently that was talking about how a team can be successful and it revolved around drafting and developing young talent and then getting a free agent or two to round out the team.  It is no longer about paying out big bucks and long contracts.  Having a team together for four or five years seems to be the mold.  Then you just hope that when the time comes you can move some pieces to make way for even younger talent.  It's a vicious cycle. 

While it is going to be painful to watch the Tigers over the course of the next few years, I am ready for it.  I am ready for the bandwagon fans to run away while the team struggles.  And I will be ready to welcome them all back once the team starts winning again.  Even if it won't be until 2020.  I will just enjoy the extra leg room on the bandwagon while you all go cheer for the Cubs and Astros. 

New Rules

In the middle of May, I was watching a random baseball game (like I do) because there wasn't much on during a day off I had.  I believe it was Tampa Bay and Kansas City.  Not exactly a marquee match up, hence the afternoon baseball game televised on MLB Network.  During the game a batter hit a hard and fast line drive foul and the ball boy made a great jumping catch preventing the ball from going into the stands and possibly hurt someone.  It got me to thinking, what are some fun (most most likely not going to happen) new rules for the sport of baseball.  Here's a list of fun things that can enhance the game we all love.

1.) If a ballboy/boygirl makes a leaping or diving catch before the ball hits the ground, the batter is out. 
2.) If a ball is hit into the opposing bullpen, the ball can be thrown back into play.
3.) No more dome stadiums.  Retractable roofs are acceptable.
4.) Teams are limited to seven (7) shifts per game.
5.) 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame.' is the only song to be played during the seventh inning stretch.
6.) Bat flips are mandatory for no doubt home runs.  No bat flip, runs don't count.
7.) All teams are required to attempt three (3) stolen bases each game.  If requirement is not met, the game is forfeit.
8.) Pitchers are restricted to four (4) throw overs to first base per runner.
9.) If first base is unoccupied a batter can attempt to take the base, regardless of pitch count, on a wild pitch or passed ball.

I tweeted these all out after the play in the Tampa/Kansas City game just for fun.  Then I got to thinking about some of these actually becoming part of the game.  One thing that a lot of people who don't like baseball say is that the pace of play is too slow.  They say it takes too long to complete the game.  Personally, unless the game is creeping into the five hour territory, I don't think the games are too slow.  Not all games are exciting to watch, I will admit, especially if it's two teams that are struggling.  If you make a rule like limiting shifts per game or limiting throws over to first base you keep the pitcher on task of throwing to the batter so the game keeps moving.  If you require a team to attempt stolen bases you force the game to move forward.  It creates excitement.  Stolen bases are fun.  You also create an opportunity for an out thus making an inning that much shorter. 

Cursed Cursive

 'I just hate sitting and writing.  I had to do that in school.  Plus I have terrible handwriting.' -Saul Kripke

Last month, my parents came out while my sister and her family were up for a hockey tournament my nephew played in.  My parents were nice enough to empty their basement of totes of my old stuff.  It was just four or five totes, but they decided since I live just a ten hour car ride away, that I needed to have these in my house.  This is a little bit of bullshit because my sister lived in the same town and yet she had totes in the basement for years and years.  It took her moving to Missouri to get them out of the basement.  Last night, my wife and I went through and weeded some stuff out.  During this fun expedition into my childhood, we found a bunch of my report cards from elementary school.  One thing was constant throughout all the years kindergarten through fifth grade.  My handwriting was (and continues to be) terrible.  Awful.  Cringe worthy.

There is no two ways about this, and I have always known that my handwriting is not the best.  Even when I slowly write things out, I still look at it in amazement at how bad it looks.  My wife makes fun of my signature and even when I take my time writing that it doesn't look great.  Whenever someone comments on my handwriting, I like to tell them the story of my fifth grade teacher (Mrs. Bump).  Granted I don't remember the minute details, all I remember is this one thing.  She said my handwriting was chicken scratch.  Looking back at it, it's funny because it's true but I'm wondering if it was at that point where I was like 'fuck it, this will be how I write from now on.'

Here are some comments from elementary school teachers regarding my handwriting:

• 'Needs improvement and additional practice.' -Mrs. Evans (1st grade) first semester
• 'Showing improvement, but still needs some additional practice.' -Mrs. Evans (1st grade) second semester
• Penmanship grades B, B-, B+, B-.  -Mrs. Campbell (2nd grade)
• Penmanship grades C, B- (Improving), B+, B.  -Mrs. Ware (3rd grade)
• Penmanship grades C-, C+, C, B-.  -Mrs. Bullock (4th grade)
• 'Breathe' (referring to spacing on my cursive writing). -Mrs. Bullock (4th grade)
• Penmanship grades C+, C-, C, D (written in black, pressed hard into the report card).  -Mrs. Bump (5th grade)

Obviously we see a trend of little to no improvement over the course of five years.  In fact, there was quite a sharp decline in fifth grade.  Penmanship has always been the least of my worries.  I struggled all throughout school in subjects like math and science and passing subjects like that was a bit more important than writing clearly.  Let's just not talk about me almost failing math my junior year of high school.  That's another can I don't really want to open.  Like ever.  

Stories With Notes

'Without music, life would be a mistake.' -Friedrich Nietzsche

To avoid the terribleness that is happening these days, I listen to more music.  More than usual.  Before last November I listened to a number of political podcasts.  I don't listen to them much these days.  It's just too infuriating and stress inducing.  It's one thing to have a politician in power that you don't agree with, it's another thing entirely to have a 'politician' in power that doesn't understand anything that is going on.  I'll still listen to them, but it gets to the point when I just can't anymore.  I hit that point most weeks by Tuesday.  

To fill the time and space in my drives to and from work, I listen to a lot of music.  As such, I have been talking to a lot of people about the types of music or artists they listen to in an attempt to expand my musical library.  While I was talking to some people yesterday, I asked if they had listened to a particular album that came out recently.  I was given a strange look as if my eyes were bleeding.  'You buy albums still?'  I responded 'of course I do, I'm old.'  I don't mean actual CDs, I buy them electronically.  I know that streaming music is more popular and commonplace today than it was even six or seven years ago, I just like owning music.  Sure, it's more expensive to do it this way, but this is my 'old person' mentality.  

There's plenty of times when I just listen to an album over and over again.  Part of it is because the music is connecting with me other times it's because I'm listening to the stories the album is telling.  While it is not true for every single album tells a continuous story, there are plenty that have themes.  One of the wonderful things about songs and music is that it can be interpreted in different ways.  Sometimes the story is obvious, but when you have a song that is ambiguous it leads to conversations.  While you think a song is about one thing, a friend might think it's about something completely different.  If you have that discussion, you'll listen to the song in a completely different way.  

That is the advantage of buying an entire album.  You can listen to it all over and over again and pull the stories out.  Just hearing one single from an album you don't get the full experience.  Sure there are going to be exceptions.  There are going to be albums that don't tell full stories or any stories at all.  It can just be a collection of songs.  This is one of the things I miss about buying a physical CD, the book with all the lyrics typed out.  It was great, you could listen to the songs while reading the words.  Sometimes with songs that I have downloaded, I'll listen to them and basically wonder what is happening.  I don't always listen in depth to individual songs, I just enjoy them.  If you have one song linking to the next and next and so on, don't you pay a little more attention?  Maybe? 

I don't know.  Maybe I'm just getting too old and want the music and songs to mean more than they actually are.  Or maybe they don't write them the way they use to.

Cart of Life

It's not that I have a coffee addiction, it's just that I enjoy it on a daily basis.  An entire pot of it.  I didn't start drinking coffee until I was in my mid 20s, and it was then that I found it to be wonderfully delicious and an even better decision.  Since then, I have had coffee almost every morning.  It is just part of the routine now.  Wake up, drink a cup, pour the rest in my thermos for work, and enjoy throughout the day.  It's all natural too, so it's much better than drinking things like pop or energy drinks, right? 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on May 7, 2017 at 7:03am PDT

Once we moved into our house, I set up a nice little cart for my coffee and all things attached with said coffee.  Coffee beans, grinder, maker, filters, a place for my cups and thermos.  I do love my coffee.  Some might say I have a problem, but they're wrong.  

Random Finds

The cool thing about going into a second hand bookstore is that you never know what you'll find.  When you go into one, you do know what you are going to get.  That musty smell.  You know it.  It's usually a little bit darker.  And every once in a great while, you'll find a bookstore with a cat in it.  Those are the best ones.  The great thing about second hand bookstores are usually locally owned and help drive the local economy.  There has been a great drive to buy local across the country recently, and that is pretty cool.

We have yet to find a cool second hand bookstore in our new city, but I'm always on the look out.  When I find my way into a second hand store, there are a few things I look for.  Classic novels.  They're called classics for a reason and even if you don't end up liking the book at least you can say that you read it.  Or is that just a pretentious thing to do?  You might find a book that is a classic that you end up falling in love with even though you had little to no idea what it was about.  For example, I found a copy of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' many years ago in a second hand store.  I had heard of the book and the character and took advantage of finding it.  I enjoyed the book.  I'm glad I bought it and it is still on my bookshelf.  However, I don't know if I would have bought it if I had seen it at a normal full price bookstore. 

Second hand bookstores also give you the opportunity to find an author or genre you might not have ever seen or given a thought to pick up.  I started reading more fantasy books this way.  You can maybe find a trilogy or a two part book series and can buy the entire set for fairly cheap.  I've bought some books that ended up not being very good, but when you only pay four or five dollars for them, it's not as disappointing as if you had paid full price.  Not that long ago, my wife and I made our way up to a Half Price Books.  It's a nationwide chain of second hand bookstores.  You can also sell your used books there for credit if you so desire.  I found a book called 'The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared'.  The main reason it caught my eye?  The interesting title.  So far, I'm about one hundred and twenty pages into it.  It's a fun book and so far I am glad I found it. 

Find a used bookstore.  Take a chance on a book or a genre you wouldn't normally buy.  You never know what you will find.  You might go down a genre rabbit hole you wouldn't have gone down. 

Quite The Post

'Nothing echoes like an empty mailbox.' -Charles Schultz

When we bought our house, after the excitement of being a homeowner wore off, we started looking around at small things that we wanted to change.  We've painted a few of the rooms, found colors for others, and made some slight adjustments.  Nothing major yet, but we have plans.  One thing that we wanted to change was the mailbox.  The one that the previous owners had was on a post to the side of the front porch.  It was white and started to rust a little on the bottom.  It just didn't look right.  To make matters a little worse, moisture was getting into it.  Nothing crazy, but the mail every time it rained or snows was a little damp. 

For whatever reason, some years ago, some idiot sealed up the mail slot that was built into the house.  It's a cute little feature, but it's covered up now and that sucks.  You can see the door from the inside of the house, but it has been sealed and it's covered up from the outside.  I'd love to have that as the mailbox again.  It's a cool feature that was pretty standard from the time our house was originally constructed. 

We went out to a home improvement store to find a new one.  We went with one to mount on the exterior of the house.  Something simple and classic looking.  When my parents were out here a few weeks ago, they put it up one day while we were at work.  How nice of them!  After I took the old mailbox off the post, the next step (naturally) would be to remove the post.  It was a simple metal post and I thought it was something that was just a few feet in the ground.  As it turns out, nope.  Not the case.  I had to take a shovel to it to dig it up. 

Below is the post in our garage.  The damn thing is about seven feet long.  SEVEN FEET!  What the hell were they worried about?  Did they think a strong wind was going to pick up a measly little five foot post and send their mail flying about?  Were they worried some mischievous pranksters were going to try and take it?  Who knows.  Anyone need a seven foot metal post?  

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Apr 21, 2017 at 1:47pm PDT

Lawn Care

 'A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.'  -Michael Pollan

We have entered a new stage in our home ownership.  The spring.  Buying our house in the fall we didn't have to worry about much lawn care.  The only thing we had to deal with was raking leaves.  While it is time consuming to do so, raking leaves does not require a lot of effort or equipment.  A rake, some bags, and that's about it.  After all the snow melted away from the winter, and the occasional snow storm, we started thinking about a lawn mower.  We don't have a large lawn, so a push mower is in our future.  There are just so many options.  At least more than I had originally thought about.  From mulching to bagged, gas to electric (corded or cordless), just many more than I thought.   

We (mostly I) thought about battery operated push lawn mowers.  I don't know if it's because it's newer technology that hasn't been improved, but I was disappointed in the reviews when it came to battery life.  The 'best' reviewed mower I could find was, first off, about five hundred dollars.  It also had a running life of about forty five minutes.  If I'm going to invest that kind of money into a mower, I better be able to cut the lawn without having to take a thirty minute break while the battery recharges.  To be fair, they are not all that expensive and most are priced about the same as some of the gas powered mowers we have looked at.  Yes, it would be nice to get away from gas powered mower.  It would be more cost efficient in the long run, but what kind of time frame would you be looking at for it to basically be paying for itself.  Take into account cost of gas/oil and cost to recharge the battery.  This might be a viable option eventually or if we really dove into researching the right mower we might be able to come up with one right away.  

No matter what we end up going with, this is just another exciting facet of owning a house.  Sure, by the time the end of August rolls around I'm sure I'll be excited to no longer be cutting the grass, but for the foreseeable future, I'm looking forward to it.  Just like with shoveling snow or raking leaves, it comes with the territory.  It shows you care for your house and property.  It might be just another job to some, but to me it shows investment in your home.  You don't want to be the house on the block that has an unkempt lawn.  It just looks trashy.  Let your neighbors be the trashy people.  

Early Riser

'Sleep is the best meditation.' -The Dalai Lama

I find myself up early in the morning quite often because of my job.  There are times when I go into work at 2:00 in the morning.  Other times are more manageable such as 5:00 or 6:00.  It is funny to think about because as a child and teenager, never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would find a career that would have me work so early.  But then again, does any young person think the world starts before eight o'clock in the morning? 

When I was in high school, I had a job as a lifeguard.  Our pool had an early morning swim time that started at 5:00.  That was super early in my mind, because it was 5:00.  I only worked one or two days a week.  I had the toughest time getting up for it.  Mainly because I would stay up late doing things like reading or homework.  The alarm would go off and I would struggle to get up. 

In college, the best advice that I got was have classes that were at least an hour apart, no more than fifteen credits per semester, and no class before 8:00 AM.  Solid advice that I didn't fully understand until I had to book it across campus a few times because I didn't listen and had classes in different buildings thirty minutes apart.  The 8:00 rule was a no brainer.  Who wants to get up that early and learn stuff?  Nerds.  That's who.  The first semester of my freshman year, I had a couple of 8:00 classes because you didn't get to choose your class schedule.  After that, I didn't have one single class that started before 9:00 or somewhere in that ballpark. 

After I graduated college and made my way into a professional career, I found myself gravitating to early morning work.  My job started at 7:00 in the morning.  I was done by 3:00.  After a month of this, I came to the realization that early morning work was great.  You could get a lot done before having to interact with people.  Not that people are terrible (sometimes they are), they are more of a hindrance when you are working on a big project.  Now I work even earlier than that from time to time.  Plenty of 5:00 o'clock shifts make up my work week and month.  Even earlier shifts are sprinkled in there. 

With all of the early morning work, early bedtimes are included in that.  This is the one downside.  As we roll into summer, I will go to bed sometimes while it is still light out.  It isn't too tough to fall asleep because I've gotten into the pattern of going to be early and getting up early.  Sure there are days when sleep is elusive, but they are few and far between.  I would say two or three times a month I have trouble sleeping and only get a few hours.  Other than that, getting six or seven hours of sleep are normal and it has come to the point where eight hours of sleep seems luxurious.   

Looking at it all, I think that the earlier you get up and work the better.  You finish with your day in the early afternoon and have the half the day to get stuff done around the house.  Or to watch baseball.  Or to nap.  Guys, naps are the best.  I never anticipated being someone who worked super early in the morning because I loved sleep so much, and I still do now.  Getting a great night's sleep makes you feel like a new person.  It is fun, though, to drive to work before the city gets up and moving.  To see empty parking lots and silhouettes of buildings before the day begins is kinda cool.   

Exciting Plays

My wife commented a while back that I tend to write a lot about sports.  Baseball in particular.  She was also nice enough to point out that maybe not everyone wants to read about sports every single post I write.  Because I'm a stubborn and petty person, I present to you a post about some baseball plays.

It is true that baseball isn't the most exciting sport out there.  While the game is constantly moving, there are plenty of lulls in the action.  When something does happen, the entire ballpark erupts.  Unless it is the opposing team that has the exciting play.  No matter if it is the team I am cheering for or their opponents, if a few certain plays occur during a game I find them exciting and entertaining. 

The stolen base.  While stolen bases are fairly common, it is still exciting and energizing to watch.  The most exciting part of the play is the throw from the catcher to the base.  Anything can happen once it leaves the throwing arm.  Yes, more often than not the fielder catches it, but if it's a bad throw it's that much more entertaining.  And shall we talk about a straight steal of home?  Does it even happen anymore?  That can bring everyone to their feet.  

The double play.  The double play is poetry in motion.  Especially the 4-6-3 (second base-shortstop-first base) double play.  The shortstop coming to the bag and continuing his motion and then with the throw to first.  It can all be so fluid.  And while the 6-4-3 double play is just as wonderful, it is just a little more choppy because the second baseman has to turn and throw and interrupts the fluidity of the play.  It's still sexy though. 

A triple.  The triple to me is the most exciting play in all of baseball.  More exciting than a home run.  More exciting than a walk off hit.  It is the most exciting because several things have to fall into place for it to happen.  You need a batter with speed, so that is exciting to watch because he is going to be flying around the bases.  You need a well struck ball to the outfield and the ball needs to find a gap.  Or the outfielder needs to make a bad play on the ball.  The ball has to be thrown back into play and more often than not, there is a close play at third base.  The batter will be sliding into the base and a tag will be applied.  The play can go either way.  

Honorable mention:  the home run.  The ball gets hit hard and far.  And it travels very fast off the bat to the bleachers.  It gets the team and fans pumped up.  The only downside is that it ends about as quickly as it begins.  Many batters trot around the bases and that can take away from the moment. 

My Own Holiday

Everyone has their favorite things.  Whether it is food or movies or sports.  For me it is baseball.  As I've gotten older, my love for it has just grown.  It sure has been nice the past decade being a Tigers fan.  It hasn't always been that way.  We all remember how bad they were in the late 90s and early 2000s.  We all don't want to remember it, but we do.  They are transitioning to a younger team and in the process of rebuilding/retooling.  They are outside shots at getting into the playoffs let alone the World Series.  That is okay though. 


The past few years, I have taken Opening Day off of work to watch baseball.  Living in Minnesota, I don't always get to see the Tigers, but I do have the MLB Network and they do live look ins throughout the day.  The Twins play later in the day today and I'll watch them take on the Royals.  While I'm not a full on supporter of the Twins, I have been following them as long as we have lived in this state.  Plus, if they can beat the Royals that is for the best.  I take the day off because I look at it as a bit of a holiday.  Every year there are tons of people that clamor for the day after the super bowl to be some sort of holiday so they don't have to go to work.  I don't care that much for football, so I have never been one of those people.  I am, however, one of those people when it comes to baseball.  This is the national past time.  This is a day of wonder, joy, and excitement.  

I have yet to make it to an Opening Day at the ballpark.  I have been to opening weekend a few years ago when the Tigers were here in Minnesota.  It was game two of the season.  That is as close as I have come.  True, it would be best to get to Detroit for Opening Day, but that has not come to pass.  I would take what I could get though.  If someone handed me a ticket to the Twins/Royals game today, I would take it.  IT'S OPENING DAY! 

I threw on my Alan Trammell jersey, my Tigers hat, and planted myself on the couch.  Nerdy?  Yes.  Does it make me smile?  Absolutely. 

A post shared by Michael Litzner (@melitzner) on Apr 3, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

I grew up watching baseball.  I remember skipping college classes on Opening Day to watch the terrible Tigers of 2001-2004.  I have taken the day off of work the past few years, and I will continue to do so as long as I can.  If you have a love of a sport why wouldn't you want to, in some way shape or form, partake in it's Opening Day? 

Useless Accessories

It was in the mid-60s today and it is the end of March.  Some could point towards a little thing called climate change, others could point towards the fact that it is Spring time and it's time for the cold weather to go away.  My wife came home after stopping at the grocery and she brought steaks with her.  It was wonderful grilling weather.  How can you argue with sunny, yet cool, 60 degrees?  Perfect beginning to the grilling season.  A few years ago, we bought a new grill because the one my parents got for us for our wedding finally kicked the bucket.  The burner rusted out and I looked at replacing it, but I couldn't find the parts because the grill was about eight years old. 

Our first grill had one of those stupid burner on the side that never really worked.  I hooked it up when we first got it and it didn't work.  Right out of the box, didn't work.  Not too upsetting because who uses that?  The majority of the time when we grill in the summer we have baked beans.  Not once, in the nearly ten years we have grilled, had we thought 'hey, let's throw the beans in a pot on the side burner of the grill.'  No.  Anything other than what is being cooked on the grill is usually prepared and made inside. 

Is the side burner one of the most useless accessories every invented when it comes to food preparation?  I mean, unless you invest in a professional level grill and can use it year round, is there a point to this burner?  The only use I got out of it was as a beer holder because the middle of the coil was the exact diameter of a can.  Beer cans rested perfectly on the burner of no use.  The grill we bought as a replacement does not have this useless accessory.  The only accessory that the new grill came with?  A bottle opener.  Perfect. 

Endings and Beginnings

Half way through the hockey season, anyone with half a brain realized that the Detroit Red Wings were not going to make the playoffs.  Their play was inconsistent, other teams were playing far better, and they struggled against teams in the conference.  Of course the main focus as everyone came to this realization was that the 25 year streak of the team making it to the playoffs was going to come to an end.  While it is a bit of a disappointment, it can be seen as a bit of a relief.  As I watched the game this afternoon against Minnesota, I thought that it was good that this streak was coming to an end. 

So why would a fan of a team be happy about their struggles?  Why would someone in good conscious want to watch their team fail?  In actuality I don't.  Of course I enjoyed seeing the Wings make it into the playoffs year after year after year.  The last time they hadn't made the playoffs, I was ten.  My concern is all about the development and focus of the younger players.  Many on the team now are just coming up to the NHL or have been in the league for less than five years.  How stressful must it be to be in your first two years into your professional career and have this playoff cloud looming over you?  You start to grip the stick a little bit tighter.  You start to make passes that are too fine.  You want to continue the streak as opposed to becoming a better player.  I am all for the team missing the playoffs one or two or even three years if it means the young players can focus on becoming better hockey players and playing as a team. 

It is true that they are coming up from an organization in the Grand Rapids Griffins that are successful, but that is the minor leagues.  This is the big time.  The game is faster, the guys are bigger, the stage is broader.  The young core of this team has learned the winning ways of the organization and they must maintain it.  Coach Blashill has said (paraphrasing) that this year is just a bump in the road and it is the Red Wing way to play well and win.  The players they have I think can do that.  They just need to develop.  Avoiding the injury bug is key as well.  

Another reason why it is a good thing that the team is not having a successful year is the draft.  The last time the organization had a top ten pick was the year before they started their playoff streak.  TWENTY SIX YEARS AGO!  It was the 1991 draft and they drafted some guy named Martin LaPointe.  During their playoff streak, the highest draft pick they have had was in 2014 and they drafted Dylan Larkin.  Someone who many people the next couple of decades of success can be centered around.  There have been plenty of late first round and early second round picks to be sure, but in this sport one guy can make all the difference.  During this twenty five year stretch, they have had ten years when they did not have a selection in the first round, and two years when they didn't have a second round pick.

The organization is run well enough that they will not sink into oblivion.  I do not see them struggling for more than two or three years before returning to form.  Granted, I think they still have plenty of work ahead of them in terms of becoming Stanley Cup contenders again, but a return to the playoffs should calm the nerves of the fanbase.  They also have the talent within the organization to be playoff contenders.  As long as the injury bug stays away from key players they can make their way back into contention.  It is yet to be seen as the future is always cloudy. 

162 Games of Wonder

'Good seasons start with good beginnings.' -Sparky Anderson

We are less than two weeks away from Opening Day of baseball.  THIS IS NOT A DRILL!  Our long winter nightmare is almost over.  We got a wonderful taste of meaningful baseball with the World Baseball Classic tournament.  The WBC comes around every three years and I love it.  There's more outward emotion, explosive moments, and amazing moments (Adam Jones' leaping catch anyone?).  The wonderful thing about it is that it's just a two week tournament.  They cram lots of talent and entertainment in that time.  It's hard to think that this type of energy and hype and emotion can be spread out over the course of a 162 game season, but you can still enjoy the marathon that is the baseball season.

The A.L. Central is in flux right now.  A couple of teams in Minnesota and Chicago are in rebuild mode.  Detroit and Kansas City are both teams that can compete for a post season spot but are a few pieces away from being true contenders.  Only Cleveland got better this offseason.  At least it started out that way.  The injury bug has hit them a little bit in the last week, but they were the only team that added pieces.  Good pieces. 

They added Edwin Encarnacion and will have Andrew Miller (former Tiger Andrew Miller) for a full season.  When you're the reigning divisional and league champions and you add a couple of pieces that bolster your roster you are crowned the champs of the upcoming year.  On paper they should win the division.  Granted, it might be closer than last year because surely they won't beat Detroit fourteen out of eighteen games again.  Right?  RIGHT?  At least that is the hope.  They are pretty young with the exception of a few players and are just starting to hit their stride.  They could be the top of the division for the next few years until Chicago's team comes up.    

Chicago is in full rebuild mode and will be really good in about three or four years depending on the development of the prospects they added to their farm system when they traded away a couple of players.  Minnesota has been in rebuild mode since the early 2000s.  I'm starting to think that they aren't very good.  I know they are a small market team and can't draw big name players, but for a long time they had a highly rated farm system and the players haven't really panned out.  We've lived in Minnesota for quite some time now and I've gotten to see a lot of their games.  It's a struggle to sit through some of them because the talent isn't really there.  

Detroit went into the offseason saying that they were going to get 'younger and leaner'.  They traded away one player.  That was it.  Granted there were plenty of sighs of relief in Tiger Town, but at the same time they are getting older.  Everyone is happy about the trades they made to get their younger pitching staff, but the offense is getting old.  I don't know if they were asking for too much for the players that they were shopping or if no one was interested at all, but I was a bit disappointed.  I want to see them throw the towel in for a few years in an effort to get better in the long run.  This is how you reopen the window for championship runs.  They are still dangerous.  They are still good.  It will all depend on the pitching rotation.

What the hell happened to Kansas City?  Was it just a hiccup after going to back to back World Series?  They still have their core team.  They are still pretty young and just as talented.  Just like the Tigers, the team will go as far as the pitching staff will carry them.  If you don't have a starting rotation that can pitch your team to a good chunk of wins, you are in trouble.  Sure, their bullpen is still pretty good, but not as good as it was two years ago.  The game is no longer six innings before getting to a shutdown bullpen.  There are now holes in the armor.  Their core players are coming up on free agency.  If they don't sign team friendly contracts, Kansas City will be back to rebuilding.  They would need to trade away their star players to get young talent or draft picks back.  The Royals are still really good, don't get me wrong.  They just don't scare me as much as they did about four years ago.  It is very likely that they can come up and end ahead of Cleveland and Detroit.  Their roster is full of players that get it.  They know how to win and what it takes. 

With all that said, here's how I see the A.L. Central ending up when the season is complete:

1. Cleveland
2. Detroit
3. Kansas City
4. Minnesota
5. Chicago

I'm a big picture guy and I think that Detroit won't be in the playoff hunt and I hope that this is evident by the beginning of July.  They could trade off guys like J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton for prospects.  Martinez is up for free agency at the end of this year and if healthy is going to draw lots of interest and will probably come away with a large contract.  The Tigers are moving away from larger contracts so it is safe to say that unless he wants to sign a team friendly deal, he is going to be playing somewhere else in 2018.  If he signs elsewhere, the Tigers won't get anything in return.  They need to trade him away if there is no shot at the playoffs.  With some of the other teams in the MLB, I don't think they truly have a shot at the World Series, but who knows.  I hope I'm wrong on that.  Upton has an opt out clause in his contract.  He can bounce at the end of the year if he wants.  Yes he is under contract through 2021 (I think), but the opt out clause is there in case he wants to test free agency.  Again, if the Tigers want something in return he will need to be traded. 

Managerial Leash

'The head coach tells us what to do and we follow his orders.' -Peyton Manning 

If there is one thing that truly irritates me, it has to be a fan base wanting a manager axed just because the team struggles a bit.  Every team in every sport in every country I'm sure has had a call for a manager to be fired.  Coaches should be allowed at least five years to be in charge of a team before a major decision regarding their tenure is addressed.  Unless something major comes up that endangers or otherwise compromises a team or players, why can't they be given a certain time frame to institute their style on the organization?  The one thing that can help stabilize a team/organization is leadership.  Not the leadership that players provide, but the leadership management provides.  If an organization has the same manager for a sustained period of time, I believe they will inherently get better.  You wouldn't have a different leadership style every couple of years.  You wouldn't

Two coaches in Detroit, Brad Ausmus and Jeff Blashill, have been under quite a bit of scrutiny as of late because of the struggles of their teams.  While both coach for recently successful organizations, the fans don't seem to want to give them any slack or compassion.  The Red Wings are going to miss the post season for the first time in 25 years this season.  They have been awful this year, no doubt about it.  They are transitioning to a younger team.  Their veterans are on the verge of retiring and their young players are coming up.  There is going to be a learning curve for these young guys.  Their two plus decades of success have caught up with them as they have had very few high first round draft picks.  Yes, they have drafted and found talent, but players getting drafted in the top ten are there for a reason and the Wings haven't been able to capitalize with those high draft picks.  The Tigers are on the verge of getting 'younger and leaner' in the next few years.  They need to rebuild their farm system and in order to do so, they are going to have to draft and trade their way to do that.  In the next few years, Ausmus is going to grow as a manager or he will be fired.  There is no doubt about that.

I have faith that both managers will succeed.  Both have a good head on their shoulders, but more than that, they have an organization that is not rash in their moves.  At what point, however, does the ownership step in and cut the manager loose?  The leash on these managers seem to be pretty long.  The organizations seem to be letting them work through a lot of issues without stepping in.  I feel like that is a good sign.  With that said, the organizations do have to be ready to cut ties if that is what is best.  The past couple of years the Tigers have been signing Ausmus to a year to year contract.  That is a smart idea.  That way they aren't on the hook for an extended period of time if they do not see eye to eye with Ausmus or if Ausmus loses the team's confidence as manager.  It's smart, but at the same time can keep the team in flux.  Especially if the team has a bad year and Ausmus gets fired.  Then they are back to square one with a new manager and new voice. 

Entering his fourth season, Ausmus has managed the Tigers to a 250-234 (.517) record.  That's about 83 wins per season.  Not bad for a guy who hasn't had any MLB managing experience.  Granted, he was given a team with a strong track record of winning the majority of it's games.  Jeff Blashill was 41-30-11 in his first season as the head coach of the Red Wings and everyone thought it was going to be easy sailing as the team transitioned.  Not so much.  He and the team have struggled this year and many question whether or not he has the gumption to be an NHL coach.  He needs time to learn and grow.  The players know him from his and their time in the AHL.  

Blashill has some growing into the role to do, but Ausmus's learning curve is coming to an end.  The one thing that is really holding Ausmus back is his bullpen management.  Of course, if he had a bullpen with solidified roles, it would be much easier.  Blashill might not make it very long as the Red Wings head coach.  This organization is use to being a power house and relevant that he might be the fall guy as the team learns how to lose again.  The organization leadership hopefully sees him as the guy to lead the learning curve for the young players and keep him around.  Whether they do or not has yet to be seen, but I feel like he won't last very long.