Well, the Tigers lost 8-4 at Yankee Stadium last night. Although they managed 12 hits, they left way too many men on base – poor hitting with runners in scoring position, poor starting pitching (again!), and a couple of really odd managerial decisions just left this team looking a lot like the team that lost a whole lotta games the last month of the season, and not the team that held 1st place for 4 months of the season.

Ah well – maybe they’ll pick it up tonight. Rain delay, though, will make us wait.

It’s been so interesting today, and annoying, to listen to and read the sportcasters and sports analysts thoughts (proclamations) on what’s going on with the Tigers. So many people are saying things with such vitriol, it’s amazing! There’s a very interesting attitude pervading much of the discussion, that feels like “Who the hell do these guys think they are?! They suck! It’ll sure be fun to watch the Yankees pound them for 3 games and then move on to something important.” Like it or not, this team won 95 games this year! I mean, I know several New Yorkers, and they’re not ALL positive that they’re the center of the universe, but is it a requirement of New York Sportswriters to think that?! It’s entertaining, really, to listen to people gloss over the HUGE difference in salary, and experience, simply because what makes a good story is to be loud and abusive.

I mean, we COULD be hearing stories about a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 19 years, and has a lot of young guys taking their first steps into what, just possibly, will be a long series of postseason appearances. However, it’s WAY more fun to go “Oh, there was the ‘cinderella story’ that I wrote about 3 months ago. Let’s tear them down!”

So, I’m annoyed. I even ranted on OTHER peoples LiveJournals! (Not at them, they’re great people. Just TO them, because they know baseball.)

Would I have rather they won the last few games of the season? Yes. Would I have preferred a different outcome to last nights game? Yes. Do I think some roster moves need to be made in the off-season? Yes.

But I’m not going to start ranting about how much a team sucks, and how every decision is a clear sign of stupidity, and how every mis-play is a sign of immaturity and complete lack of talent.

Sorry, jumping on that bandwagon is just a little too easy.