it was hurting, but that was a product of bad timing. The Tigers were certainly struggling when IL play started. We started our annual abuse of NL teams a little late this year. Still, great to hear silence from all the lil' Cubbie fans who invaded our park.
who goes to UofM, so I loved to see that the Cubs and Tigers were playing. In the doldrums of a 162 game season when it seems that you play the Reds and Astros every day, it is so nice to play an out of the ordinary team to spice things up a little bit.
Too bad the Tigers have really been giving it to the Cubs. But that's what happens when you suck I guess.
FU-KO-DOM-E, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP
SWEEP THE CUBBIES, CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!
Sorry.
Meh. As one of the Cubs fans that invaded Comerica, I was less than impressed with the class of some of the Tigers fans. For the most part, as is true with most Tigers fans, there was nice conversation, respectful cheering, etc. But from just two years ago to now, it seems like the amount of tattooed trash has really risen at the stadium. Maybe it's the recession, maybe it's Detroit, but it doesn't bode well for actual rivals of the Tigers.
That's okay though. I guess the Cubs fans invading Comerica was just revenge for Tigers fans completely taking over Wrigley in 2006 for a weekend (also a Tigers sweep)
Like I said, all class.
And no, that stuff doesn't happen everywhere. I've been to ballparks around the country. I grew up in Wrigley. Fans get rowdy, no doubt, but there has been a downslide at Comerica in the last two years (I say this having attended games the last three years).
Maybe it's the state brain drain. There were enough State bros in attendance to just about permanently destroy higher education in Michigan forever.
...who lives near Wrigleyville, I don't even want to hear that.
Show me the tats. It was like the fing circus yesterday.
$5 tickets == More people from Taylor
Eh the Cubs won some close games lately and then they lost some to the Tigers. tip your hat and go to work against the Reds, Astros, whomever.
Yeah. I root for the cubs and the tigers so this was exciting for me too.
I wonder how many Soriano and Fukudome jerseys were cast aside throughout the stands of Comerica after today's game.
I also wonder how many of those who did as such got in line at the merch shop and purchased a Verlander or Cabrera jersey.
as annoying as many people seem to find Cubs fans, one thing that they are is loyal, I doubt they went and bought a Tigers jersey. I mean to have one of the largest and best traveling fan bases in the MLB without having won a World Series title since 1908 speaks directly to that point.
As I hope the Tigers found out, Cubs fans travel well and are extremely passionate.
Probably precisely 0.
100 solid years of losing generally weeds out most bandwagon fans. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were being sarcastic rather than idiotic.
The Cubs have perhaps the most loyal fan base in the Majors. After a decade of losing, the Tigers often sold approximately 20000 seats to a game. It took the 2006 campaign to get attendance back to a respectable record. In contrast, the Cubs routinely sell out every season, regardless of how bad they are. As a Tigers fan who has attended both Tigers and Cubs games when both teams sucked, I must say that the Cubs fanbase is far more loyal than the Tigers.
Winnar.
The freep ran a story two years ago about the Tigers having the second least loyal fanbase in the MLB.
Second-least loyal is too harsh. There are a lot of MLB teams that currently are drawing fans but did not do so for a long, long time. In the 1980s, Cleveland and Atlanta were lucky to draw 10,000 to a game. San Francisco never drew when they played in Candlestick Park. Seattle had horrid attendance for years (and now it's dropping off again). Arizona only seems to draw when they have a championship contender. And the two Florida teams certainly don't pack 'em in.
On the whole, I think Tiger fans are pretty much par for the course. They turn out for a winner and don't when the team stinks (though they at least will draw 15K when they're bad, which is better than some other franchises).
I don't really think it is the most truthful statement in sports. There are certainly other teams that clearly have less loyal fans (cough, Marlins, cough). But, just saying what the Freep was reporting back then.
The Jays have to be the worst. They can't give tickets away
You have to acknowledge that the Cubs are a special case, though. Certainly, they have their share of diehard fans, but there's also a definite frat-boy element at Wrigley that seems to regard games as a big, outdoor party and doesn't seem too interested in the game itself.
This is true, especially in the bleachers. Some like to say that the Cubs have the yuppiest fans in all of baseball. I don't disagree for the most part, but I don't entirely see it as a bad thing. Half the people in the stadium of any given ball club would likely struggle to comprehend the conversations that happen on the MGoBoard. I just would rather they be yuppies than trash.
Of course, I vehemently root against the White Sox, so that should be obvious.
I wish the Tigers were a NL team. I basically had to pick a team in the NL and root for them. I picked Philly (long before last season BTW). I like manufacturing runs and the strategy in the NL. I know Philly is about as AL as you can get in the NL, but they didn't used to be that way!
Rodney 16 for 16 what's up with that!
rodney scares the crap out of me with a 2 run lead or less.
Agreed. His control comes and goes and he seems to often get into a jam...but somehow escapes.
and a double today. All while managing to strike out the side
I'm waiting for a bunch of people to flood this thread with "Rodney is a bum" crap and say, "Well, he may be perfect in saves this year, but the stats get in the way. I use the EYEBALL TEST."
The stats don't get in the way. Baseball insiders pay far more attention to ERA and WHIP than saves when evaluating closers. Rodney's ERA is average at best and his WHIP is below-average.
Also, the 16-for-16 stat is deceptive, as there have been a couple of times in which Rodney has been pulled in a save situation when he was on the verge of blowing it. Someone else then had to finish the inning.
as important as you're making it out to be. There are a lot better indicators of future success than ERA. WHIP, BAA, BABIP, FIP, K/BB, ect.
Rodney is Todd Jones reincarnated as a power pitcher. When he's healthy, he generally gets the job done, but scares the living crap out of you in the process.When Rodney pitches, however, contact is a much scarier thing than it was with Jones.
Yeah, but Todd Jones threw more strikes at least.
When Jones retired and people called into 97.1 literally saying "My prayers have been answered," I laughed my ass off. Rodney has done decently this year, but when they named Rodney the closer last year, I said, "Oh yeah, this is WAY better than Jones." I was being sarcastic.
To be fair, who else could they put there if not Rodney? The Tigers bullpen has been a giant can of gasoline for several years running now.
You missed a series... probably Colorado. Tigers are now 9-6 in IL play, I believe.
Oh yes, forgot that one.
I'm amused that a cubs fan would complain about other team's fans being disrespectful. Have you ever seen your own fans? And yes, I'm a cardinals fan.
Ha. Where is your "Zambrano mows my lawn" shirt? Your fanbase is garbage.
This often happens when on-liners debate fan bases, and the overly broad statements are often the worst when applied to baseball fan bases.
I'm a Tigers fan, currently living in Wrigleyville. True Cubs fans are loyal, undoubtedly - and frankly, the ones I know are all classy. But that's because in real life, I don't interact with a-holes (usually, or at least intentionally). My sample size is selective. If I based my general opinion of the Cubs fan base, on the whole, on the half dozen or so Cubs games I attend every year (or the drunken frat boys that litter my side street every other day), I'd say the Cubs fan base made any State bros at the CoPa seem like liberal arts professors. Young adult baseball fans tend to get drunk at the games and act like asses. This is hardly unique. For any Cubs fan to think otherwise is, well, crazy. I mean, come on. I love games at Wrigley (partly because I don't care as much about the outcome, and just enjoy a great park on a nice day), but numerous times I've had to call out a-holes that were being wildly inappropriate around either a family with younger kids, or just being drunken dicks. Whether or not they were "true Cubs fans" or carpet bagging drunk frat boys doesn't matter - the point is, my perception of the fan base can't be based on that limited of an experience.
As for the Tigers fans' loyalty being questioned by ticket sales - in general, that's a fair way to judge, but if you dig deeper, you know it's imperfect for some regions. Clearly there's an economic impact being felt. It's one thing to take pride in being born into a fan base - that's what I love about rooting for the hometown team (it's why I really like true Chicago fans, or true Detroit fans, or true [any city] fans). But it's unfair to question the loyalty of a base because of ticket sales only (which, I realize, was the Freep, not a poster)- as has been pointed out, being born into a depressed economic region inevitably means that many fans move where economic opportunity is superior, or because it means that the ballpark doesn't fill up as easily because many loyal fans are content to watch at home.
Although, I will agree that Tigers fans were a disappointment to me during the decade of futility - in 2003, my parents and I (they're huge fans, and I was between undergrad and grad school, so therefore had a ton of free time) went to 37 home games. It did grind me a bit in 06 when every Chicago bar was filled with people wearing the Olde English D telling me "finally, I have a reason to watch the team." A reason? Effing A. Lame - I admit that Cubs fans don't need "a reason" to watch the Cubs. Still, I don't think ticket sales, considering the economic downslope the Detroit region has been on for so long, are the fairest way to evaluate.
I agree with this post. And fist bump for toughing out 37 home games. I didn't get quite that many in 03 but we usually went up multiple times a month. That team sucked, but it was a fun season in the sense the park wasn't crowded, tickets were cheap, and hey, it's baseball.
It was cool that you could get good seats for a decent price. I went to four games that year and got lower-deck seats every time while buying tickets the day of the game. On the downside, the Tigers lost all four games by a combined score of something like 20-5 (they were shutout twice).
where Inge hit a 3 run bomb to beat the Brewers. I actually made a real assholeish comment wherein people kept annoying me by standing up in my way during innings (instead of, you know, waiting for the inning to end before you go get food!) where I said, "Damnit, this was almost more enjoyable before 2006 when I was the only fan in the stadium."
Yeah, I'll admit it. I go to more games now than I used to. I'm not going to spend money on 5 or 6 tickets a year (or however many I go to) when the team sucks. However, I stil watched all the games, even in 2003. Just, I only went to 1 or 2 instead of 5 or 6.
I agree with most of this. I'm also not entirely sure what the Freep was basing their analysis on, be it ticket sales or something else.
Yanks and sawx fans are much worse than tigers or cubs. Fuck those guys.
I look at it differently than those of you preceding me on this blog, I had no desire to go see a minor league team (2003 Tigers) playing in the major leagues. There are too many other ways to use my free time on a summer day.
I don't wear any Tiger gear, so I was not grandstanding in 06, though I did watch many games and did enjoy the season.
Cleveland among others endured the same phenomena as Detroit. Before Jacobs field and before the Tribe got good, Cleveland fans were not to be found in great numbers at the ball park. Many fans enjoy or enjoyed their team on the radio and don't partake too many trips to the park.
Writing about Cleveland's time in the wilderness reminds of the wunderkind from that time, Super Joe Charboneau.
Being an astros fan, I wore my jersey to the first game. The Astros had the lead until the bottom of the 8th when Lee hit a 2 run homer to put the Cubs up 3-2. The fans around me went from the nicest people to showering me and the family of 5 (astros fans with kids around 8-12 years old-ish) in the row behind me with popcorn, chunks of hot dogs, and ice.
I got my revenge though. Last August, in the game featuring tornado warnings and a massive rain delay, I went walking back and forth on the concourse being drunkenly belligerent yelling "Astros win! Astros win! Cubs suck! Wooooo!" In all fairness, a lot of the fans found it hilarious that I was trying so hard to be a dick. I liked those fans. They were a good time.
Oh, and go Tigers the last few days...