Stevie Wonder may know we need a lefty bat, but at a certain point you have to appreciate how limited the teams options are when it comes to adding payroll.

“My point is that given a choice I’d take the Yankees history and current makeup over our own. Same goes for the BoSox”

I don’t know what to say about that. I appreciate the Yankees, and the RedSox under their current management, and all the history that goes with them, but not to the extent that I want to trade places with them.

I know it’s a different sport, but the Pistons, again allowing for normal ups and downs, came to play 98% of the time from 2003 to 2008. I just would like the Tigers to have a stretch like that where you’re fairly confident you’re going to get your money’s worth on most nights.

Dare I say it gets back to the character issue?

If you want to be masochistic and compare yourself to the NYY or RSox, that’s your choice, but you’re ignoring the reality of the gap in the respective markets. Boston erased over 80 years of fan frustration with 2 WS in 4 years, but as recently as 2003 there wasn’t much separating the Tigers and RSox in terms of achievements.

Perspective people, is the key.

Things are just lovely in Tigertown.

Can you provide an example of a team that played hard and competed for 162 games? That’s a lot of games, teams are going to have losing streaks and go through periods where they aren’t playing well. I agree with you that this team has taken lots of at-bats off and plenty of games (it seems), but I don’t think that’s unusual.

Frankly, you could argue the 2003 team played hard every day, but didn’t have anywhere near the talent to compete. Yet down the stretch, staring history in the face, they won 5 of their last 6 games to avoid setting the record for losses in a season. Is that what you have in mind?

I get the frustration, it creeps up on me from time to time too. On the other hand, I work in an office full of WSox fans who’ve (like Billfer mentions) been saying “Tigers better watch it, we’re coming” for months now…and you know what, they haven’t. The whole division is pretty mediocre.

If I had to pick a time of year where I’d prefer the Tigers to struggle, I’d rather it be now with enough time to galvanize for the playoffs than, say the week before the playoffs (assuming these struggles don’t cost them the playoffs). Its funny that you mention the Red Sox like they’re some long-standing tribute to excellence, because until fairly recently I bet that most of their fan-base was echoing your complaints about having just one consistent season, in their LIFETIME.

The Red Sox have won two WorldSeries in a 4 year span, something our illustrious franchise has NEVER accomplished in 109 years of playing major league baseball. Bill Buckner was a symbol for the frustration of Red Sox Nation, but that has all been wiped out by their recent run of success. What is Tiger Nation built on? The legacy of Ty Cobb? Hell, that was so long ago that most everybody who saw Cobb play has been dead for some time. The Detroit Tigers have exactly four world championships in 109 years of playing major league baseball. That’s one every 27 years, not a very good track record. Please don’t tell me that Tiger fans have nothing to complain about, whether it be my generation or my grandfather’s generation. We recently were subjected to the worst 10 year run in Tiger history (1996-2005), including the misery of 2003. We have been second-class citizens in the baseball world far more often than not.

Great point on the Cubs. We have a better track record than a team that hasn’t won a World Series in 101 years. Aiming high today aren’t we?

As far as this season goes, if you find this to be an entertaining season well I guess we have different ideas of entertainment. Yes, we are in first place but is the ugliest first place team I can ever remember cheering for. The frustration level with our hitters is off the charts for me, capped by the “beautiful” back-to-back stikeouts from Thames and Raburn in the fifth inning of last night’s game. Thames with an inexcusable stikeout (watching strike 3 go by with men on 2nd and 3rd with one out), followed up by Raburn’s strikeout. It happens night after night after night and if you are a diehard Tiger’s fan it becomes really tough to stomach, first place or not. The whole point of this diatribe is that DD failed at the trade deadline. Washburn was a “meh” addition when we needed a “hell yeah” addition to the team (i.e. Adam Dunn). I’m not worried about five years from now. When we are in contention I want an owner and a GM who go for it at the trade deadline. Who knows what will be going on in five years? Did anyone forsee the bankruptcy of GM five years ago? My understanding is that Ilitch gave DD the green light to do whatever it takes as he wants a World championship in baseball before he dies (he is age 81). DD (in his infinite wisdom) decided that he liked watching 2-1 games and added a pitcher so that maybe we could win a few of those (I suppose as I can’t understand not getting a bat so win those games by scoring runs). The Washburn trade was not bad in itself, but the real move that needed to be made was not made. We needed a hitter and that showed itself again tonight and Friday night in Cleveland. Could you imagine what our team would look like with Baltimore’s hitters and our pitching? Its hard to believe that Baltimore can find so many guys who can rake while we struggle to squeeze out three runs most nights. What is DD in terms of position player development? We have almost no one in the minors in terms of position players that look to be impact players down the road. Wilkin Ramirez is the only one who looks to have any potential at all. I hope that Avila and Sizemore aren’t the next Santiago and Infante (anyone remember when we Tiger fans were being sold that they were the next Whitaker/Trammell around 2001). This team is in position to win this division. Its biggest glaring weakness all year has been the inability to score runs and we get a…………starting pitcher? Wow. Just wow. To further make my point, my father is a diehard Tiger fan and is very even keel (the polar opposite of myself). Their lack of ability to hit has even provoked him to call me up and bitch about the Tigers (something I’ve never heard him do before including 2003). All I’m saying is that the Tiger’s lack of hitting is akin to a man who has no legs and that person’s caretaker (Dombrowski) goes out and buys that man a new pair of shoes. Why? We don’t need the pitching, and the guy who has no legs doesn’t need the new pair of shoes. The Washburn move was OK, but really needed to be paired with a hitter who could drive in runs (i.e. Adam Dunn with his power and .400+ OBP). If DD is unable to pull off a trade in August for a hitter, I think it will be the death knell of the 2009 Tigers. It is just a matter of time before we get passed. Somehow we have held on this long, but there are 57 more games to play and I don’t see how we can hold on that much longer with this group of hitters.

The Red Sox Nation was built on a foundation with Bill Buckner.
Boston is now stuck with Daisuke Matsuzaka. The 2nd stupidest move ever was to invest nearly $100 million in a guy who never pitched in the majors. They made the stupidest move ever when they traded Babe Ruth to Yankees. That’s Unforgivable.
Currently, the Red Sox starting rotation is almost in shambles. Beckett and Lester are good, but Smoltz and Penny have stunk. Matsuzaka and Wakefield are on the DL. Buchholz has been a huge disappointment. Can a team really make the playoffs with that starting rotation? I don’t think so.

How about the Yankees?
Do you realize how much they owe AJ Burnett, CC Sabbathia, and Mark Teixeira for years to come. About $400 Million for the next 7 years!!
ARod is hitting .265 and is getting paid $30 mill a year until 2017. LOL!!
Yes, this is a good team right now, but contracts go sour awfully fast, as we’ve found out with Dontrell Willis. How bout them Apples?

The Mets have a $145 million dollar payroll and they are 50-56 and in 4th place. They don’t even have a chance to make the playoffs.
This franchise re-wrote the book on underachieving and choking. Even with Santana and KROD they aren’t any good.

This years Cubs are almost a mirror image of the Tigers. They have a huge payroll. Their offense has been pathetic. Their fans have been in discontent. But they’re somehow in 1st place right now. Why? Because of their great pitching. Not much is worse than being a Cubs fan though. They haven’t won a world series in over 100 years. Tigers fans should have nothing, absolutely nothing, to cry about.

Last season I learned one important thing though, it’s not who has the best team on paper, it’s who has the most wins at the end of the day.

Oh, and also: it only counts as 1 loss.

OK, I said there wasn’t much. Just trying to keep a positive/negative balance.