The Pride of Detroit

Swag.

24 wins. 250 strikeouts. Cy Young Award. American League MVP.

Just another day for Justin Verlander, right?

Not quite. With his shiny new MVP trophy came the knowledge that  JV is the first pitcher to win the award in 19 (!) years. That is pretty amazing, not only for Justin, who must be on cloud nine right now, but also for the Tigers organization and the city of Detroit.

Despite Cleveland writer's best efforts, JV has successfully bucked the trend of Tigers being shafted during awards season. And it's no wonder. With his absolutely dominating season, even ESPN realized there was baseball outside of New York or Boston. So suck on that, Curtis Granderson and Jacoby Ellsbury! Actually, New York fans from what we could tell have been pretty gracious. It's the whiny, still-hurting Sawx fans that are really upset. Not like we care. Not like Justin cares.

Obviously this means a lot to Justin. He himself said that "not even in his wildest dreams" did he think this could happen. We hope Tigers fans everywhere appreciate that not only is he one of the best pitchers  that will ever come through the organization, but also that he is one of the most humble and generous. As soon as the award was announced he thanked the city of Detroit, his teammates, and the fans, and also said he was never prouder to "represent Detroit--city of resilience and pride." He then got #DetroitPride trending on Twitter in the United States in ten minutes.

Who else does this? How many athletes do you see these days putting the city and the fans, especially a city as down-on-its-luck as Detroit, before themselves, especially when they and they alone have accomplished so much? Most pros would not do that. In a sports world that has been bombarded lately with scandals and fines and crappy sportsmanship, it is refreshing and heartwarming to see one who, despite all his success, plays with his city and teammates in mind, not himself. It's even better to know that this man is a Tiger, and will be for a while.

It's so important that we fans appreciate his greatness, and never take it for granted. Players like Justin Verlander only come around every so often. Seasons like the one he just had are even rarer. 

Congrats, Justin Verlander, 2011 MVP and Cy Young Award winner. You make Detroit proud.

Offseason Blues

Withdrawal. It's a bitch, isn't it?

Seriously, though. Sorry we haven't been updating very often, but when you'e busy counting down the days until Spring Training and whiling away the hours moaning and being jealous of stupid football and hockey fans, you lose track of time.

WE JUST WANT BASEBALL BACK. Good thing we have about three and a half months to go, which doesn't seem like a long time, until you think about the fact that the offseason has been going on for only about three weeks. It also seems longer when you think about the snow and the cold and indoor sports and no sun or warmth or baseball.

So, what does one do when faced with the endless and dreaded winter/offseason two-for-one special from Hell? We have a few ideas.

April in the D's Official Offseason To-Do List
1) Check Bless You Boys (www.blessyouboys.com) often. They have the best/most interesting Tigers coverage in the offseason, if not year round.
2) Stare at this picture of Verlander and the Italian Stallion from their recent jaunt to a Jets game. Studs. Note the grammar.
3) Come up with a dream offseason wish-list that includes Martin Prado, Roy Oswalt, and Amaris Ramirez. Then send to Tigers' front office. Thats all we want for Christmas, Santa Dave Dombrowski!
4) Watch replays of ALDS Game 5. A sweet, sweet victory that includes bragging rights until next year against the d-bags in New Yawk. SUCK IT.
5) Pray on a nightly basis that Gene Lamont is going the Red Sox. Killing two birds with one stone, as far as we're concerned…
6) Beat the cold by snuggling with a loved one in a cozy Detroit Tigers Snuggie. Yes, they exist. Yes, we want one!
7) Read this hilarious new blog by Phil Coke's Brain of Twitter fame. The perfect way to cheer you up during frequent bouts of offseason depression!
8) Pray that the FSD Girls are gone by next year (we're sure we're in the minority on this one).
9) If the FSD girls are NOT gone, pray that certain Tigers players make sexy, distracting appearances on FSD commercials too. Equal opportunity, people, equal opportunity.
10) Make a pilgrimage to Comerica Park. Try to break in and, if successful, go roll around on the field. It will likely be snowing, but it don't matter!!!
11) Go to TigerFest! We really hope the three of us can go this year…
12) Send Nicotine patches to Jim Leyland as a Christmas/Hanukkah gift.
13) Produce endorphins by running in the cold. To get your lazy winter butt out of the house, tell yourself that this is what Doug Fister is doing (he's a runner, if you didn't know)
14) Attempt to see and photograph Doug Fister actually running.
15) Watch football and comment on how much Joe Buck sucks at commentating on any sport.

Well, there you have it! 15 ways to waste time until pitchers and catchers report. In all seriousness, it will be interesting to see what happens next week when the MVP winners are announced. We would say that tomorrow's Cy Young announcement would be interesting, but lets face it: this has been Verlander's award since July. Wrap it up, JV. Wrap it up.

An Ode to Ordonez

Magglio Ordonez. Magglio. Maggs.                                                                                           

He’s been a playoff hero, a batting-title winner, everyone's favorite Tiger. He's had the best hair in the leagues, and he’s been the not-so-secret crush of many of of our friend’s mothers.  He was perfect.        

He was never more perfect than in 2006, when delivered The Home Run--that beautiful walk off homer against Oakland in the ALCS that seemed to stay in the air for years. He earned then eternal love and adoration of Tigers fans everywhere after that one, no matter how many times we suffered short term memory loss whenever Maggs was in an occasional rut.  And whenever he got in said rut, he would bounce back in full, fantastic Magglio fashion.

 In 2007 he had a phenomenal year, with a .363 (WOW) batting average, 139 RBI, 28 HRs, and was runner up for the AL MVP behind ARod. (One of the many MORE reasons to hate that guy.)  His numbers have since trickled down, and some traitors fair-weather fans losers people didn’t think he had it in him this year.

Well, he showed them.  The second half of his season was great, and he was a clutch badass against the Yankees. He was phenomenal, even in his old age. It was like the Magglio of old had graced us with his presence, showing all the haters of the world exactly just who had helped bring the D back to prominence.                                                                                                                               

Unfortunately, it was not to last. Now that he has re-broken his ankle, hope is officially GONE. He will not come back to play with us next year.  Dombrowski has rightfully ended his (and Carlos') time with the Tigers, and as much as we agree with this decision, it hurts our hearts to know we won't see his Antonio Banderas-esque face in the Tigers dugout. We hope Magglio can settle down and retire with his wife and kids (who's names bear the proof of Magglio's humility) and re-grow his mane of curly locks.

 The spirit of Magglio, and that magical 2006 team,  will always be with us.  He never gave up.  He embodies the fighting spirit of our Tigers.  They don’t stop until they are physically incapable of doing so.  We saw it with Delmon, with Alex, with V-Mart, and even Inge in this year. But no one more so than sweet Magglio. He is a man of inspiration.  Inspiration to his team, to his fans, and to the WORLD.  We know we are getting sappy and melodramatic, but only because he deserves it.  And only because we know its all true. 

We love you, Magglio Ordonez. Thank you for all you have given us.