The Tigers Are In (the playoffs)

You might remember my earliest posts ... about the trip to Kansas City. That was way back in early April. Folks, the Tigers dream started in KC and it took one more step toward reality in KC. The Tigers went into Missouri (Missoura, as George Kell would say) and found their bats. They pounded the Royals, who admittedly have weak pitching. But, it was nice to see the Tigers scoring runs in bunches. Heck, earlier in the season they didn't even score against KC like they did this week-end. I have to admit that I am EXCITED!

To put things in perspective, as I thought back through this whole thing ... In '87, I was taking drivers' training and convinced the instructor to let us listen to the Tiger playoff games against the Twins. Yeah, they played playoff games in the afternoon back then. Ronald Reagan was still the president. Family Ties was still a popular television show. Barry Sanders wasn't even playing for the lowly Lions yet. I don't even think Wayne Fontes was their coach yet.

I remember 1987. I remember that while the Tigers were playing the Blue Jays and battling for the chance to play in the postseason, I was working week-ends with my dad putting floor covering in some huge plant in Traverse City. It might have been Sara Lee. I just remember it was hard work, but we were able to listen to the Tigers. Still, to this day, I think my dad had me work with him a few times (including one whole summer) to convince me that I didn't want to work in floor covering and that college might be a good decision. It convinced me!

The Tigers stay in the playoffs that year was SHORT. The Twins, led by Kirby Puckett, won. They had decent pitching and it just carried them. After the season, Tom Monahan began to dismantle the Tigers. Kirk Gibson left as a free agent. He then went on to win the MVP award for the Dodgers in '88 and everyone remembers the home run he hit in the World Series. Hey, as we've said before, enough about the past ....

This is about the 2006 Detroit Tigers! Congrats to Jim Leyland, his coaching staff, all the players, Mr. Illitch, and Dave Dombrowski and his managerial staff ... Congrats to Rod Allen, Mario Impemba, Jim Price, Dan Dickerson, etc. Congrats to the Tigers family. Congrats to all of you like me (die hards) who have been waiting a long time ... not only for the playoffs but for .500. Let this run be a long and enjoyable one!

Thanks for listening to my rambles!!!