Tigers reach .500 with dramatic ninth-inning rally

"Tigers reach .500 with dramatic ninth-inning rally: "Those are frustrating ones, to be honest with you,' Leyland said. 'You've got a three-run lead in the ninth and then you look up, bottom of the ninth and you're down one. But that's the life of a closer. Here's a guy who is 14-for-14 (in save opportunities). Pretty tough job when you're 14-for-14 and you blow one and get booed that bad. That's pretty tough.'"

Sorry Jim, we had every right to boo that lustily after that performance. The fact that he was cheered coming to Sunday's game was the correct response by the fans.

Update: Todd Jones the next day.
Jones, on the fans' reaction to him: "I was very thankful. I got a pretty nice ovation. I could hear it today. I was anticipating a Jason Grilli-esque greeting."

Thoughts on the news

Hey there. I was able to survive the thunderstorm from last night, actually, we were called in from the golf course via the GPS system just in time before the rain really started coming down. I think the course (Cattails) did a great job of tracking storms and getting everyone off the course.

So what happened with the Pistons? They forget how to play? Thank goodness the Wings and Tigers turned it around, with the Wings just playing great and Verlander pitching in ways that should make Tigers fans drool for years to come.

I wanted to note an article in the Detroit News today, Daniel Howes article on the Chrysler sale,

• False synergy, bad deal
  DaimlerChrysler was a big promise that seldom delivered. Its mastermind, Schrempp, badly misunderstood Chrysler's weaknesses and overestimated the "synergies" the deal would deliver by underestimating the antipathy his own troops felt for Chrysler and the idea of melding any of it into Mercedes-Benz.

Wow, that sounds like what I said, although with more concrete details. Makes me feel kinda smart.

Another article on detnews.com, Mayor Kilpatrick is trying to rebuild the city by focusing on certain neighborhoods. They selected a mix of neighborhoods in varying conditions and set out specific, measurable goals for each, tailored to the issues facing the neighborhoods. I like this plan, not only for the specifc neighborhoods, but also for the lessons that can be learned for improving the other neighborhoods and other cities. Once the blueprint has been set out and refined through practice, and some results are shown, maybe places like Flint, Pontiac or Battle Creek can use the lessons, and focus on rebuilding smaller sections.

I also like the selection of areas with differing problems and levels of need. This allows experimentation with different methods and not trying to do all the hard things at once. This in turns allows the better management of resources instead of over using some (police - trying to stop crime) and under using others (business development). I have always liked the idea of getting all the interested parties together, and the project managers that are going to be hired (hopefully with quality project management experience) should have an ear open for ideas from all parties. Put residents, police, city managers, financial people, area (and potential area) business managers and others all in the same room will hopefully lead to unique results.

Sean

Sean

Hard day to be a Detroit fan

Mother's day was not a good day to be a Pistons fan. Or a Wings fan. Or a Tigers fan. Did the Lions do something to screw up somehow? That was a brutal day. My mother had the entire day planned around watching the games, and luckily she went to bed before the Wings lost. The only game I thought was critical was the Wings Ducks game - how can you lose to DUCKS! They aren't even Mighy anymore - we needed to keep that home ice advantage. But they seemed to outplay us a lot in that game, and most of their goals seemed to be off turnovers, those turnovers were caused by aggressive play, not even great play, just very aggressive. Losing game 2 is frequently a problem (sorry, don't have the statistics), since Ducks have momentum, good feelings and confidence going back home. I hope the Wings can overcome

Tigers pitchers could never get the ball down, and the hitters coudn't figure out the curve from Bonser - how can you lose to a guy named BOOF! - and looked silly an awful lot. I felt bad for Virgil Vasquez, brought up for one game and he got rocked, not that Grilli or Ledezma did much better. Vazquez did get a lot of instruction from the pitching coach, and there was a great scene of those two on the bench and Chuck was just giving all this information and Virgil soaking it all up. Nice picture. Sox next, I am looking forward to seeing some of Dice-K on Tuesday, if the Motor City Kittys bat like they did yesterday, it might be his first MLB no hitter.

Pistons dropped back into their "we've got plenty of time" mentality and allowed the Bulls a little life. I think they saw the number of times a team has come back from 3-0 (0 for 81 in NBA history, ABC showed that stat about 20 times) and decided the series was over. That run by Chicago at the end of the 2nd quarter made the Pistons look like a ... uh ... no clever metaphor - just bad. I still feel like they will pull it out on Tuesday, but I hope they play a lot harder.

Whalers won - something, can't say I understand the playoff structure.

Later

Daily Thoughts

I was very bad last night, I didn't wear my mask to sleep, so I ended up not getting up until 10:30 this morning. Since golf season hasn't started yet, I dont have to leave at 4:00 today, so I can get some work done.

Song - Well, album - The Who - Live at Leeds

I wish I had something more interesting to talk about, but thought I would mention the new widget to the right -> that is an easy way to donate to my Vegas trip fund if you were interested. Please do. I really want to go to Vegas soon. Thanks

Today is TWL day, so I am looking forward to that. Wait, I just re-read that, I am looking forward to getting my butt kicked on the treadmill, what has happened to me.

Sean

BTW - was that a real boring game last night or was it just me? I mean, there were some good plays, but once Florida got ahead, I didn't see Ohio State fight enough to keep me interested. I didn't watch much, lost interest.

Taxpayer Funded stadiums

I read this article and had to say something. The two people mentioned in the article, who are testifying to congress, are a resident of Detroit who fought for 10 years against the building of Comerica Park and a woman from the South Bronx complaining about the apartment buildings near parking garagaes for the stadium. And the headline is Taxpayers Last to Benefit from Stadiums. These people are free to testify before congress, whether they are objective or not, congress is free to listen to anyone they want, but wouldn't it make a lot more sense to bring some economists into the discussion? That seems to make a lot more sense to me, but I have a business education background, so I might be biased towards research.

Their quoted testimony is pretty interesting too.

• 'We have terrible budget deficits as a result of having professional sports,' said Frank Rashid, a Detroit resident who waged an unsuccessful 10-year campaign to stop construction of a new Detroit Tigers Stadium at Comerica (NYSE:CMA PRZ) (NYSE:CMA) Park.
  
  At a House subcommittee hearing on domestic policy, Rashid said promises of economic development and new jobs didn't materialize from the stadium built with public and private money in 2006
  
  He maintained that 30 schools are being closed, residents can't get quick responses when they dial 911 for emergency help, and there are fewer police and fire fighters on the streets.

I can't speak for the Bronx statements, but I will be the reaction would be similar. WHAT THE CITY OF DETROIT PAID FOR COMERICA PARK AND FORD FIELD ARE NOT THE REASON FOR BUDGET DEFICITS AND MISMANAGEMENT OF THE CITY. I feel extremely comfortable with that statement. I would hazard a guess that is the lack of neighborhoods, terrible business climate, horrible city government, lack of care in the city, the antagonism from the city towards the suburbs, etc. You can't say the 2005 All Star game at Comerica Park and the 2006 Super Bowl at Ford Field didn't help the image and finances of this city. These parks are part of the reason people are opening new restaurants and bars and clubs downtown and why some people are actually moving back into the city.

I am not sure if the return on taxpayer money has been sufficient or if the money should have been used somewhere else instead, but I know Detroit is a better place to be now than 7 or 8 years ago in my opinion.

Lastly, just bad reporting in the article, it's not a Detroit Tigers Stadium at Comerica Park, its Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Detroit Tigers Stadium is the crumbling hulk further out on Michigan Ave.

Bye

Night of the Storm

Don't know how you are doing, but I am safe at home, watching an awful basketball game. State is not playing real well and Michigan is playing awful. I like what Tommy Amaker has done with the team off the court, but his Michigan teams just do not seem to improve from year to year and during the year. I think he has got to be on a short leash, where maybe he must make the tourney next year or is gone. Thinking of Michigan coaches makes me wonder about the last big game that Lloyd Carr's team has won and I don't think you can count Notre Dame this year.

Another thought, that I thought I had thought of, but apparently Jason did first, was that it seems The Daily Show has become the new breeding ground for comedic talent. It used to be Saturday Night Live, then stand up, now the people for the Daily Show seem to be heading out and doing other work.
Kilborn - Late Late Show
Colbert - Colbert Report
Carell - Office, 40 Year Old Virgin
Black - Started stand up, really big now
Corddry - The Winner
Corddry - Studio 60
Rachael Harris - TV commercials and shows
Ed Helms - Several episodes of The Office

The interesting thing is that the current crop of correspondents is top notch - John Oliver, John Hodgman, Jason Jones, Samantha Bee, Rob Riggle, Asif Mondvi, all damn good.

So, until next time, later

Saturday night December 8th

I have been drinking. Drinking at a new bar called Sips at Orchard Lake and Grand River. Site of the former Midfield Grill. Cool place

BTW - Song playing during post - Naked Eye by The Who

I tried to do a google search on sips, not out there yet. A cool place, I would recommend. Great pizza, and the bartenders are hot. Smokin' My buddy Walter and I sat, had a number of drinks, and talked with WDFN's Sean Beligian. That made us feel cool. He was a heck of a guy with a sweet Canadians hat that he picked up at a game 20+ years ago. You have to love that kind of dedication. Plus, I picked up a few WDFN Thunderstix for mom, who seems to love them.

Now - Baby Don't you Do It - The Who - From the extended version of Who's Next

Hey, guess what, Troy Smith won the Heisman. Really big surprise. Actually, the biggest surprise to me is that Quinn finished 3rd. Mike Hart finished 5th. Watch for him next year, with about 40 carries a game, at 5 yards per. Especially if Jake Long is coming back.

As for the title game, I agree with the polls, Michigan had their chance, if they could have stopped the big runs, they would be there playing Florida. The key seems to be for Michigan to beat USC in the Rose Bowl. If they don't, the pollsters were right and the BCS works.

I realized over the last few weeks that the most troublesome thing for me about not having a playoff is that we place reliance on the bowl system (and the BCS) to tell us who is the best team of the year. The problem is that the bowls are played several weeks after the final games of the season (51 days in the case of Ohio State, 44 for Michigan). Are the teams really the same after that much time off? How much of the teams edge is lost in that time period, with finals and family obligations involved? If there is a former athelete out there who reads this, amongst the 3 (at max) readers, is the team the same after that long of a layoff? Were the Tigers hurt by a 7 day layoff in the World Series?

Music wise - I really need to buy The Who - Live at Leeds (1970) - this live stuff at the end of extended Who's Next is amazing. I think it was from recordings in Montreal around the same time. I no longer have the liner notes.

As a last note, I don't know who is on the Red Wings anymore. It is so bad that I referred to Daysuk as Kozlov when he scored tonight. I need to start watching Wings games more carefully.

Sean

Monday Night

Trying to figure out if I should just go to bed, but I have things to do yet. Guess I should not have played that 3 hour game first.
This is Game week. Go here to see the countdown - 4 days 16 hours as I write this. The magnitude of this game is truly astounding. I don't want to think about it too much as I will not do anything, and I mean anything, else. I have already reviewed the TV schedule (as mentioned yesterday) and found all the prior games that Michigan won, and am recording them. That is one of the things I need to do tonight is to get some more things off my DVR to have room for the new things.

Anyway, nothing real exciting, however, I did have a thought. When is someone just going to develop a tapeworm that can be controlled? I wouldn't mind taking a tapeworm pill once a month that will eat all the fat going through my body, but allow my digestive system to absorb all the nutrients it needs. And then it dissolves and I create a new one. This sounds like the weight loss plan to beat all weight loss plans, why isn't anyone on this? Remember, nature has had all kinds of time to perfect these things, look to her for guidance.

Sean

Glad to be back - 11/12/06

Actually, I didn't go anywhere, just didn't post for a while. For a while I had to get my computer fixed, then was focusing on a few other projects. The main thing was getting myself set up to move all the Michigan games from my DVR to my computer to burn them to DVD. This process is critical so I can save them. I also spent about 30 minutes going through the schedule for next week to make sure I found every program that was about Michigan Ohio State football, including the games on ESPN Classic (except for the ones where Michigan lost). So I am going to need lots of room. The problem is my computer is kind of slow, so it is taking a while. I bought the machine in 2002 after all.

I don't know what else to talk about right now, but I will get back to you soon.

Sean