Thank you, Tigers!

I am thankful I am just now saying goodbye to the Tigers in mid-October, when the leaves have started to fall in earnest and the air has a definite chill.  What a great season by a terrific team!  Justin Verlander, possibly the  AL MVP and Cy Young award winner, making every game he pitched an event.  Miguel Cabrera, making every at bat a possibility. 

And then there was  the post season and the thrill of victory in beating the Yankees.  Then came the Rangers and we saw Alex Avila, Victor Martinez and Delmon Young, playing through pain.  Brandon Inge, playing his heart out. And in game six of the series, despite losing by a landslide, the Tigers never gave up.  And when Cabrera homered in the 8th inning, his last at bat of the season, allowing me to ask one more time  "Why do they keep pitching to him?", I was at peace.   They had done their best. 

And now it is over.  And I will miss it.  I love the "every day-ness" of baseball.

Thank you Justin Verlander, for one of the most amazing seasons by any pitcher, ever.  Thank you Austin Jackson, for making some of the most spectacular catches in center field I've seen this season.  Thank you, Alex Avila, for the terrific regular season and for playing through the pain in the post season.  You block stray pitches like no other catcher.  Thank you Victor Martinez and Delmon Young - your bats gave us life in the post season.  Thank you Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago - you came through when it counted and propped us up when we needed you.  Thank you Miguel Cabrera, possibly the best hitter in baseball, but so much more than that. I  will never forget your face after the 3-2-3 double play in game 2 of the Rangers series.  What a competitor!  Thank you, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde and Doug Fister for your outstanding pitching efforts.  Who knew, except perhaps Dave Dombrowski, how key the additions of Doug Fister and Delmon Young would be to the Tigers?  And thank you, Brandon Inge, for being the athlete that you are and playing your game until the end of the series - rock on!

But what will I miss the most?  Sitting in my office at home after work and listening to Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, the voices of the Tigers as they describe every play, every detail of the game so clearly I can picture it.   I know where Brandon Inge is lined up at third.  I know if the infield is at double play depth.  I understand the pitches, the strike zone, and the calls.  Thank you, gentlemen, for another outstanding season.    And I look forward to next season.  We'll get 'em next year.  And I can't wait!