Sportsbeat ?Would?ve, could?ve, didn?t?
Baseball fans outside of the great state of Michigan were calling Tuesday nights tie breaking, game No. 163 of the regular season ?an instant classic.? It felt like instant pain to Tiger fans, who were hoping to avoid one of Major League Baseball?s biggest collapses, although the Twins went on an improbable 16-4 run to steal Detroit?s playoff spot.
Just as the deck was stacked against Detroit heading into the House of Horrors (Metro Dome), the Tigers would have been heavy underdogs against the New York Yankees. Tiger fans, like myself, just wanted to get there. They were in first place since May, and to lose the division, was nothing short of heartbreaking. TUESDAY?S GAME was a microcosm of the Tigers? 2009 season. It was exciting and exhilarating, but yet frustrating beyond belief.
Remember last Thursday at Comerica Park, with a full stadium of Tiger fans behind them and a chance to celebrate a title and put the Twins away, they failed to answer the bell. Rookie Rick Porcello was brilliant against a hot hitting Twins teams, as was the starting pitching all year long.
General manager Dave Dombrowski fortified the defense, but gave up offense in return. During the second half of the season the No. 7, 8 and 9 hitters couldn?t hit themselves out of a wet paper bag most of the time. In Tuesday?s one-and-done, Brandon Inge failed to deliver in a one out, bases loaded situation in the 12th. Sure, there was a non-call of a hit-by-pitch, but he still had a chance to get the go-ahead run in. How many times during the course of the season did the Tigers lose a contest because they failed to get the bat on the ball to deliver a key run. INGE WAS followed by catcher Gerald Laird in the top of the 12th inning, who turned in a miserable at bat.
Then there?s the outfield defense. Ryan Rayburn?s m
That was probably the play fans will remember most from this game. It was one of many misplayed balls by outfielders throughout the six months of the regular season. There were numerous sliding catches where outfielders shouldn?t leave their feet and balls hit over their heads. I really hope Dombrowski gets a free agent outfielder, who has range and pop in his bat.
IN THE end, there were just as many goats as heroes. It is too difficult to pin it on one player, or one play. Want to blame Miguel Cabrera for what happened last week with his wife? He should be held accountable, but he carried the team on his back for weeks and got things going in game No. 163. The good part is most baseball fans are pleased with the drama, intensity and excitement the Twins and Tigers brought to the game. It will help them forget the embarrassing collapse. Deep down, Tiger fans who remember the lean years of the 1990s and early part of this decade, are proud of the team?s efforts, but will still be left with a sad end to the ?would?ve, could?ve, didn?t? season of 2009.