But seriously, the Tigers are competitive again

When is a 70-win season considered a smashing success? When, the season before, you were the butt of jokes on Leno and Letterman and you nearly chased down the '62 Mets. That's what the 2003 Detroit Tigers were all about--they had streaks of 1-17, 2-10, 2-21, 2-12, 1-15 and 1-16 on their way to a record of 43-119. No need to rehash what happened in the Motor City last year; Leno and Letterman have plenty of new material this year anyway, thanks to Kobe Bryant and Martha Stewart.

Let's just say that 70 wins this year would be plenty of salve for the throbbing wound the once-proud franchise had become. Do I hear 80?

"It's possible," says manager Alan Trammell, "but we're subscribing to that day-by-day thing around here. The respect comes back, but not all at once."

The lack of respect for the Tigers hardly was lost on Trammell last offseason. When he and Dmitri Young appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show (don't ask), somehow Her Oprahness kept referring to the legendary former Tigers player as "truh-MELL". That's OK with Tram, though--he never has been one for the spotlight (and last year, neither was his team: At one point in 2003, Detroit lost 27 consecutive games in front of crowds of 30,000 or more.)

"All we're trying to do is restore some people's faith," Trammell says. "It's very important to me that (Hall of Fame Tiger) Al Kaline is able to hold his head up high again. He'll always be the face of this franchise, and regardless of wins and losses, just being competitive and playing the game right is a real start toward giving A1 the kind of tribute he deserves."

Last year the Tigers had to rally to avoid immortality; they won five of their last six games to avoid the stain of those '62 Mets. In [act, when Detroit beat the Twins in the regular-season finale, the whole team danced in the clubhouse to Kool & the Gang's "Celebration"' An overjoyed Matt Anderson was heard to soulfully bellow: "We're the happiest worst team ever!"

This year, the Tigers' remaining schedule sets up nicely for them to party with an 80th win by season's end, instead of a 43rd. After August 29, the only winning teams the Tigers will face are the Twins and the White Sox, and without Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez, who knows if the Sox will have a winning record by then?

The only thing that might gum up the works in pursuit of an 80th win (the Tigers were 51-59 entering the week) is the health of Pudge Rodriguez. No one expects him to win the A.L. batting crown--no catcher ever has. But recently, opposing basestealers have succeeded on 12 of 15 attempts, which tells you Pudge's hip flexor and back injuries are more than just inconveniences. If Pudge is Pudge, it says here the Tigers will finish 81-81. And at that point, Oprah, you'll have to get the pronunciation of Trammell down pat.

Josh Lewin is the television voice of the Texas Rangers and a play-by-play announcer for FOX's Saturday Game of the Week.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning