Still talkin' baseball

The 2006 to 2013 Era 

One of the greatest things about the 2006 Tigers was their penchant for clutch hits. I can recall so many times that one of the players would hit a late inning home run or a walk off. That season was magical, and it seemed like any decision Jim Leyland made turned to gold. It could have been Pudge Rodriguez, Craig Monroe, or Marcus Thames. Everyone took their turn creating magic that season. Of course, the biggest clutch hit was Magglio Ordonez's second home run in the American League Championship Series clinch game on October 14 in Detroit. I can still hear Dan Dickerson making the call — which I didn't hear that day because I was watching it in person. Still an incredible memory. 

The later pennant winning team, 2012, didn't seem to have the magic of '06. That '12 team was well–built with a pitching staff that dominated. The '13 team was better, and probably the best team in baseball. The one thing that never returned after '06, though, was a dominant bullpen. We went through a plethora of ace relievers and never really returned to the glory of that '06 bullpen. Maybe the piece we missed was Joel Zumaya ... 

The 2013 team was solid, but once again, the team didn't really have a lockdown relief ace. As evidenced in October with one swing of Big Papi's bat. It was only game two of the ALCS, but you could feel it at that point … the Tigers were not going to win the series. Is there a worse moment in Tiger history? 

Well, maybe one …