Terry Foster: The Best Way To Watch A Tigers Game
By Terry Foster
The Family Deal
Here is how I chose to watch a Tigers game.
I go to a bar or restaurant before the first pitch, grab something to eat and I may or may not be in my seat before the first inning. And I make sure to hit the New Amsterdam 416 bar in right field before the game concludes to meet new people and enjoy a pop or two.
The team winning or losing is secondary. If they win the ball game that is fine. If they lose well I still had a good time. It is an OK team. It is not bad. It is not really good. So I go into it with no anticipation of a pennant race or a championship at the end of the season.
The Tigers are an also ran. We do tend to overact in sports. I admit it. However, losing two of three to the lowly Minnesota Twins and scoring four runs in the process proved to be a breaking point to many. For me it was losing 11 of 12 to the Cleveland Indians who have everything in place except a consistent setup man in the eighth.
The Tigers' problems go much deeper. Their engine is broken. Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez usually make this thing go offensively. V-Mart finished the Twins series 2-for-22 and Cabrera has not driven in a run since July 6 when we were finishing up leftovers from the holiday bar-be-que. Those smoked ribs are long gone.
Miggy looks off-balanced at the plate and is swinging through fastballs. We too often see Martinez trotting down the first base line after hitting into another shift.
Manager Brad Ausmus said he is not worried about Miggy. I think it is about time that he did. The man looks a little lost. Of course the manager does to sometimes.
However, it is the same Oh, same for the Tigers. Anibal Sanchez will pitch again Sunday after one of his few decent starts and we will continue to see Andrew Romine who is the new Brandon Inge/Don Kelly.
The Tigers are 7 ½ games behind Cleveland in the American League Central and 4 ½ out of the wild card chase. Teams have made bigger moves to get into the playoffs in late July and August. I simply don't see it with this team.
Why stress out about it?
So if you see me at Comerica it is likely to be in the New Amsterdam or along the outfield wall just relaxing.
This is a solid ball club, but the Tigers are not worth losing sleep over.
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com. Twitter: TerryFoster971)
