Back in my day

I just finished having a conversation with Dad about watching sports and about how watching them back in the 70s and 80s was 'better' than now.  And it truly is compared to watching it now, if only I was alive back then.  From baseball to hockey and we even touched on boxing for a quick second.  Just watching clips and show now on sports back in the day it makes me long for those good ol' days.  Players just wanted it more.  They played hurt and with broken hands and fingers and with sprained ankles (etc. etc.).  For love of the game if you will. 

It got me thinking if thirty years from now I have a child (big IF), can I say that I remember watching great sports moments?  There are a few moments in my mind right now, but they revolve around Detroit.  I will forever remember Magglio hitting that home run against Oakland, the overtime game winner that Stevie Y scored against St. Louis, the epic Detroit-Colorado rivalry that spanned several years.  There are a few outside of Detroit sports memories that I remember, but not many. 

It makes me sad that I never got to watch Gordie Howe or Al Kaline.  But at least I watched Barry Sanders in his prime, and the majority of Steve Yzerman's career, even though I have no memory of his early years.  The big issue I have is that I enjoy watching baseball and the farm system isn't really in tact.  Sure they have a player here and a player there that can come up and make it to the bigs, but organizations don't replenish their teams the way they did back then.  They buy their players, or trade big names. 

Once again, I'm sad that I missed out on the golden age of sports when players played because they wanted to.  Because they loved to play.  Not because their paycheck made them play. 

It's too far......

As I was helping someone at work today, the object that they were looking for we were out of.  The nice thing about our system is that we can look at other stores in the area and see if they have any of something that anyone is looking for.  Granted, the other stores have to be called and the item that someone is looking for can be put on hold, so the process takes a little longer than some may like.  If you really need or want an item, it would be best to take the time to find out if another store has it. 

So I helped this person look for an item and we didn't have it and I offered to call the closest store to ours, about six miles (at the most).  This person didn't want to drive there.  It was too far.  Oh yes, six miles is too far nowadays.  When did this happen?  Did I miss that memo? 

More of the same

Once again, I didn't go to crazy with buying my beer of the month.  I went with another case of Budweiser.  It worked really well for me just because it went well with watching baseball.  Now, with the baseball season in full swing, I felt it was another great move to get some more.  This could become a regular thing throughout the summer months.  It just has happened that Budweiser has been on sale the past two time I have gone to the liquor store. 

I feel no shame, it could be worse.  I could scrape the bottom of the beer barrel and bought some Red Dog or Old Milwaukee.  But whatever. 

and he is looooooong gone.

Word just came across the wire that Ernie Harwell passed away today. He was 92. He had been battling cancer. There is nothing that can really be said about him that hasn't already been said. The greatest thing about Harwell was that he was the voice for the Tigers for such a long time that sons and fathers and grandfathers all have stories about listening to good ol' Ernie on the radio and television. His voice is classic. For all the dark years when the Tigs were losing ninety or one hundred games, Ernie's voice was still there. Classy as ever.

Last year, he gave a farewell speech at a Tigers home game. After I watched this special moment (they were playing the Royals, so I watched it live), It made the immediate connection to Lou Gehrig's farewell speech.


Thank you Ernie, for all the memories.

No fear of youth

When you think of an older manager or coach in one of the four major sports, you may think of Jim Leyland. You may also think of an 'old guard' thought process. Why let young players, unproven players, even *gulp* rookies, when you can just let the older guys play. Proven guys who may be passed their prime.

Leyland has bypassed this hat the last two seasons. Last year, Ricky Porcello and Ryan Perry both made the team out of Spring Training. Both were twenty years old. What were you doing at twenty? Porcello had a great rookie campaign, earning the second spot in the rotation (damn good for a rookie) and Perry did decent enough. Being in the bullpen doesn't always bode well development unless you have some serious talent and veteran leadership to talk to while waiting for the call from the dugout. So, Leyland's strategy of going with youth paid off last year.

And this year...his moves were a little more scrutinized. The main reason is because the organization moved two well loved and important pieces in previous years in Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco. I was a little skeptical myself just because these two players were at the top of the batting order, so how do you replace them? With two rookies?! Are you kidding me! After the first month of the season, I am quite happy to eat some crow. Austin Jackson (replacing Granderson) has shown speed on the bases and out in the expansive field of Comerica Park. He hits in front of Johnny Damon, and that helps because Damon is an excellent number two hitter. The number two hitter doesn't always need to hit home runs, his job (in most people's opinion) is to move the base runner ahead of him. Polanco did that greatly in his time with the Tigs, and Damon has been doing it just as well.

So, that just leaves Polanco's absence in the field. How do you replace consecutive Gold Gloves? With a rookie?! Are you kidding me! Scott Sizemore has been a little bit slower to develop at the plate, but has shown why he is playing. He is a product of the Tigers organization, which is wonderful. He made his way up through the organizations, starting all the way down at Single A West Michigan. He hit his first home run of his pro career last night, and hopefully there are more to come. In the field, through close to twenty games, he has four errors. Not the greatest, but come on, he's twenty five years old.

The last rookie to play this year is Brennan Boesch. He was called up because of injury to Carlos 'no knees' Guillen. This better be a passing of the torch because Boesch is showing signs of power. His first career home run was a grand slam. When Guillen comes back, Boesch will head back to the farm in Toledo, which is okay, he will just be back when the Tigers make the playoffs....







You heard me.