Quote:
Originally Posted by DamPenguin
After all my negative posts I was just trying to be optimistic, lol. Thanks for bringing me back down to earth.  |
Didn't mean to drag you back down, man. Just tell it like it is, without the bloody rose-tinted glasses. To me, it doesn't matter if you're negative or positive, as long as you're a realist and see things the way they are. To be otherwise is foolish and asking for trouble.
There's a lot of positives about this team - when they're on fire, they can out-hit and out-pitch any team in either league. The problem is, as you noted, they're inconsistent, have some major issues with the 'pen, and they don't have the killer instinct (read: desire and fire) to really bash their way through things.
The '84 Tigers didn't have much in the way of big guys like Miggy or Prince, but they had fire and heart. It wasn't any one guy that got them there - it was the team, working together, playing with those traits.
I think that's the biggest differences between this year and the '84 team. The 'Bless You Boys' gang had a manager (Sparky) who knew how to manipulate his players into playing their best and had emotion. I can't really say the same about Leyland.
I'm not gonna question his game decisions - he's on the spot and has to make last-second choices, something we don't have to do (and could we make choices with any better results in his spot?) - but I do question his management style. Yes, he can bring a team with the proper talent to the playoffs (any manager can), but it takes someone special to put them over the hump.
He ain't that guy.
So stay realistic, dude, and speak your mind.
