Hope Lives On ...

My early spring skepticism was perhaps misguided. The boys of summer have almost reached the Midsummer Classic (which has been shamefully jerked around for promotionalism), and the Tigers will be no worse than tied for first come Sunday night when the first half of the season is in the books. Even if the Tigs lose tonight and tomorrow they will still have best record in baseball since the Pale Hose lost today. Who'd a thunk it? They might have 60 wins at the break. In 2004, the Tigers got their 60th win on August 27th. In 2005, they improved by six days, getting their 60th win on August 21. In the Disaster of 2003 (119 losses), the Tigers missed 60 wins by 17 games. At their winning pace, it would have taken the Tigers another 64 games to reach 60 wins. They would have been playing till December.

But now, things have changed. Will this be the miracle year? It might be time to start holding your breath. These guys look like they are for real. If they can get a few bull pen things nailed down, and stay free from injuries. They have more than a half-dozen blown saves already this year, and have not won many against the big guns in the AL. But they don't have to right now. If they can play decent ball against the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox, and take care of business with the rest of the league, they will make the postseason. And in baseball's postseason, perhaps unlike any other sport, all bets are off.

So find your hats and mittens. We might see October baseball in Detroit before it's all over this year.

Memo to MLB: Stop awarding World Series home field advantage to the representative of the league that wins the All-Star Game. After 162 games, the team with the best record should get the home field advantage. Something that important should not rest on an exhibition game played by people trying not to get hurt or work too hard.