No pop in the bats

No pop in the bats

by | Oct 26, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

SAN FRANCISCO – How on earth was Doug Fister still standing? How was he not lying in an ambulance being raced through the streets with a siren blasting? That was a baseball, wasn’t it? That thing that screamed off Gregor Blanco’s bat and hit Fister...
No pop in the bats

An incredible inning

by | Oct 25, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

SAN FRANCISCO – The ball went screaming high into centerfield, you could almost hear the seams crying, and as early signs go, this was like waking up to a buzzard outside your window. Justin Verlander, on an 0-2 count to Pablo Sandoval, had just brought a pitch...
No pop in the bats

Believe!

by | Oct 24, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

This time will be different.A host of deja vu emotions swirl as the Tigers take the field tonight against the San Francisco Giants. The Detroit fan worries about six years ago, the last time the Tigers played in the World Series; the Tigers blitzed through the Yankees...
No pop in the bats

Leyland’s our guy

by | Oct 21, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

There’s no crying in baseball, Tom Hanks said that, but you can get choked up. And Jim Leyland does. You see it when he credits certain hardworking players. You see it when he speaks as the son of a factory worker. You see it when he thanks the fans.In the din...
No pop in the bats

Kicking the habit

by | Oct 21, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

Denard Robinson is a force of nature, a joy to watch, but he is simply not an accurate passer. It’s not mean. It’s fact. Now and then he makes a terrific throw, but just as often he misses a simple pass to keep a drive going. I lost track of how many...
No pop in the bats

Yankees go home

by | Oct 19, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

Prince Fielder waved everyone back, and, defying several laws of gravity, bounced like a pogo stick as he waited for the ball to descend. When he finally squeezed it – series over! – Phil Coke threw his glove to the ground, Miguel Cabrera pointed to the...
No pop in the bats

Those strange Yankees

by | Oct 18, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.Sometimes it doesn’t even rain.Max Scherzer stood in the Tigers’ locker room, looking all-too refreshed. He was supposed to pitch Game 4 on Wednesday night at Comerica Park. Now he was pulling on a...
No pop in the bats

A tense ending

by | Oct 17, 2012 | Detroit Free Press, Sports

Batter after batter, they went down like chopped vines. A harmless popout. A dribbler to second base. Justin Verlander would machete through the Yankees, sit down for 20 minutes, come back and do it again. A fly to left. A pop foul. A strikeout. A lawn mower...