What to do now?

Well, it had to come to an end. Without being pessimistic, didn't we all really know that it would end like this? I mean, the Tigers were in first place like, forever! The second half of the season was dismal, by any standard.

Ahh yes, but what about the ALDS and ALCS? I agree, they had me fooled too. The emotions were running high and confidence was peaking. It looked good going into the World Series on a weeks worth of rest. Some "experts" thought that a week off was enough time to get rusty. Others thought it was excellent, giving time for Pudge and Zumaya, amoung others to rest.

It is simple really... Get players on base. Get them around the bases. Solid starting pitching. Relievers who don't blow it. And, make routine fielding plays!!!!!!!!

Holy cow, has a team ever had so many errors in the World Series? I am sitting at the airport for a few hours, so I am going to do a little research.

EDIT: The five fielding errors by the four Tigers pitchers were two more than any pitching staff in a World Series of any length.


OK, the Tigers had the lowest team ERA by a World Series loser since 1996. Their 3.00 ERA should indicate that the pitchers, pitched well. Not exactly. Costly mistakes took away from that. Umm...please learn how to field a ground ball in the spring.

OK, so the elimination of errors would not have really affected games 1, 2, or 3, other than possible momentum implications.

Game 4 is another story. The Tiggs ended up losing 5-4. Rodney threw the ball away, giving up 2 runs. Hmm......... Tigers tied at 2-2 in the Series, with at least one more game guaranteed in Detroit, where the fans were amazing!

Game 4 was in the books however. Game 5 was within reach, but Inge and Verlander game up 2 more runs on errors. Damn. Oh yeah, and Placido Polonco was 0-17.

OK, everyone saw it, so I am not going to stay down on the Tiggers.

In un-Jonly fashion, I am going to be optimistic and look at the future.

The Tigers enjoyed over 600,000 more fans at Comerica Park this year. You can imagine the increased revenues from those fans. Tickets, concessions, merchandise, etc. etc.
I think it sends a clear picture to Mike Illitch that having a winning team makes more money. From a business aspect, it makes total sense. (Ask Matt Millen how he feels about this).

We are just a player or two, with the mistakes that we made, from being the World Champions. Mags was clutch at times. Pudge is ridiculously not an offensive threat. Polonco is great, but officially streaky. We had a balanced offense in terms of power and consistency. It is time to grab one more big name, who can hit 30+ homers and provide a spark.

Your core is still slated to be around next year. With what can gather, the only real free agents we have are Jamie Walker and Sean Casey. In my humble opinion, both should stay, especially Casey. I was not a big fan of him at first, other than his cheerleader type ways. He proved in the World Series, coming off of an injury, that he can be big time.

Verlander and Zumaya are outstanding, but they have a little growing up to do. Bringing them back with Bonderman, Maroth, and Rodgers returning, the pitching staff looks great!

So, officially from me to you, Thank You Tigers!

Does anyone want to start talking about plans to go to Lakeland next spring?