I'm A Believer

For the first time in years, maybe decades, I think the Detroit Tigers are a really good baseball team.  For most of this season I felt they were only a bit above average, but they're having an incredibly strong finish. In fact, right now they're on a 12-game winning streak, but even before that they were well above .500.

True, they're in the weakest division in baseball.  (It still drives me nuts that Tigers fans have to pay attention to Kansas City or the White Sox, and not the Orioles or the Red Sox.  Who let this happen?)  They're not as good as the Yankees, and probably would be in third or even fourth place in the Eastern division.  But they're real contenders, with real talent.

They've got four hitters over .300 and even better, Justin Verlander, the top pitcher in baseball.  The Tigers have been showing some talent since they made it to the World Series in 2006 (after many years in the wilderness), but that felt like a fluke to me.  This feels like a solid team.  Anything can happen in the post-season, but it's nice to be able to look forward to watching them play, rather than fearnig the latest.