Traveling for work stinks, and that is when everything goes well.  When something goes wrong, traveling is right up there with taxes and root canals.

Back in May, I had to travel to our aluminum manufacturing facility in Franklin, GA southwest of Atlanta.  I thought this trip was going to go well as I was able to find a direct flight out of Flint (as opposed to Detroit, Flint airport is closer to my home, and much less of a hassel...so I thought) cheaper than I could out of detroit.  I was departing just before 5pm, which put me in ATL at 7pm, and I would be settled into my hotel before 9pm...so I thought.

While driving from work to the airport, I got a call from Delta, seems my flight has been delayed about an hour.  No big deal, I actually had a warm fuzzy feeling at this point, thinking how nice it was that Delta called me to inform me so I wasn't stuck in a terminal at the airport.  I used the opportunity to grab a burger at Fuddruckers in flint.

While enjoying a delicious burger and chocolate shake at the previously mentioned Fuddruckers, I get another call from Delta, informing me that my flight was delayed again.  This time about 30 minutes.  Hmmm, the warm and fuzzy feeling is now more of a room temperature normal feeling.

So I hang out at the FR's a bit more, and mess around with my Blackberry.  No more calls, so I head to the airport and to the terminal, where little did I know I was about to wait for another two hours for the inbound plane I was trying to go outbound on to arrive at FNT.  8:30pm, almost 4 hours later than scheduled, we board the plane.  Then we get to wait on the tarmac an additional 35 minutes because of additional delays.  9:10, we finally took off.

My warm fuzzy feeling is a full on cold prickly one!

I got settled into my hotel at around 1am, thankfully I'm too tired to be mad at anyone or anybody, so I just go to bed.

BTW, what does Delta think 4 hours of your time is worth?  Fifty bucks, and I would not have gotten that had I not asked.

So thankfully the trip itself went well.  Good meetings at work, and I actually go to take in a Braves game.

Then I got to go home, and the fun began again.  Seems right as I was heading to the trains at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, there was smoke coming from one of the train stations under the airport.  Had the trains stopped, and they were not letting anyone through, so hundreds if not thousands of people were stranded in the basement of an airport where there may or may not be a fire.

I chose to head backwards against the flow (or herd) of people.  If there was a fire, I was heading for higher ground as soon as I could.

Here is a link to the story on the debacle:

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/fire-smoke-atlanta-airport-concourse-051910

So after about an hour they open the tunnel back up.  The trains are still not running, but they are letting people in there, you could get down there easy enough, but moving once down there was a different story.  I estimated the walking pace to be abour 0.005MPH.  It is now 2pm, and I have a 2:45pm plane to catch.  I quickly realize at the pace I was traveling, making my flight was going to be tricky.  I was not quite to concourse 'A', and my flight was leaving from concourse 'D'.  I happened to be walking next to a pilot, and he informed me that concourse 'D' was "around a mile from where you are standing right now."

Now I realize that making my flight is not going to happen if it is on time.  I decide to head up the escalators at concourse 'A' to check the status of my flight.  This would prove to be a mistake, as this is what I was greeted with at the top of the moving stairs:

So I missed my 2:45, and now there are no direct flights to Flint until 8pm that night.  What a stupid idea flying out of Flint!

I do end up catching a 3:40 flight to Detroit, where my wonderful wife Kari picked me up so I didn't have to connect to Flint in Detroit.  Kari would have to drive me to Flint to get my car.

We did end up grabbing a bite to eat at, of all places, Fuddruckers, where it all began 3 short days ago!

Thanks for stopping by -- Dan

Too many broadcasters today are “homers”, too big a fan of the teams they are broadcasting.  While I do like the quirkiness of Ken “The Hawk” Harrelson, the TV announcer for the White Sox (I do like how he quickly says “he gone” when an opposing player strikes out), it isn’t classic play by play game calling.  He is a fan, saying things like “get up there” when a ball is hit trying to coax it over the wall for a home run.  This is over the top.
 

Ernie was what you rarely see in broadcasters anymore.  He was a Tiger fan, make no mistake about it, but he did it in such an eloquent way, that you barely noticed.  The way he could visualize with words, you almost felt like you were watching the game on the radio.  He was a master at letting the game come to you by saying nothing, letting the sounds of the stadium radiate through the radio for a moment before he began speaking again.  And finally you never went to long without knowing the score of the game thanks to a little hour glass that Ernie had with him in the booth.  And I will always smile when I think of him saying “thank ya Paul” coming out of a commercial break when Paul Carey would hand the mic back over to Ernie after reading an ad or announcement.
 

And now that he has passed, you are hearing stories of how great a person he was, inviting random fans to lunch and dinner, going out of his way to greet fans at spring training and at Tiger Stadium.  He was truly a great person treating everyone the same from the owner of the ball club to the janitor that cleans the urinal troughs at Tiger Stadium; everyone seemed equal in Ernie’s eyes.
 

In my mind, Ernie was truly the best broadcaster ever to sit behind the microphone, and will never be replaced.  I know I’m a biased Tiger fan, and I never had the fortune of listening to Mel Allen, or Jack Buck, but Ernie was #1 when it comes to base play by play guys.
 

1a on my list (again in my humble opinion) is Vin Scully.  I’ve called Vin “the Ernie Harwell on the left coast” for a while.  Both of them had the same uncanny ability to become part of the background of a baseball game, while being the primary voice that tells everyone what is going on.  The game was first, and the play by play voice was only there to add to it, not to overshadow it.  Truly a skill that I think is under appreciated.
 

Over the course of my career, I've made a handful of trips to LA for work.  Aside from the weather I really don't like LA, and rarely look forward to going.  One thing I do look forward to is the possibility I might get to listen to Vin Scully  I don't know if it's because he called the 1984 world series for the Tigers (at the time I was 10) but I've always enjoyed listening to Vin Scully call a game.   So I thought Mr. Scully could say it better than I could ever type.  This excerpt is from the Dodger broadcast last night after Vin had learned Ernie passed away.  I’ve attached the link, and then the text in case you can’t get to the video, but watching and hearing it is the only real way to appreciate Mr. Scully, and of course Mr. Harwell.
 

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2010/05/vin-scully-talks-about-ernie-harwell/1
 

I have a problem and I hope you will understand and bear with me.
One of the finest men we have ever met and a great broadcaster, he's in the Hall of Fame, Ernie Harwell, the voice of the Tigers for so many years, who started with the Dodgers broadcasting in 1948, passed away today.
 

The strike two pitch is outside, ball one.
 

But there's a great story about Ernie, who came to the Dodgers in 1948 and '49, then he went to the Giants, and then he was with the Detroit Tigers from 1960 to 1991, and from 1993 through 2002.
 

The pitch to Reed Johnson is down and away.
 

So I really want to salute him and at the same time I don't want to get in the way of the ballgame, so see if we can possibly do both.
 

Two-and-two the count to [Reed] Johnson.
 

Before Ernie Harwell ever made it to the big leagues, he established a record, as Reed hits it foul down the line.
 

What happened was, in 1948, the Dodgers were in Pittsburgh on an off-day. Red Barber was going to play golf at the Pittsburgh Field Club, and instead he hemorrhaged and was rushed to an emergency hospital, and the Dodgers had one announcer — a good one — by the name of Connie Desmond. But one announcer with a full season ahead is pretty tough.
 

Two-two pitch is high, ball three.
 

Now, Branch Rickey, who ran the Brooklyn Dodgers, had a friend by the name of Arthur Mann, who ran the Atlanta Crackers in the Sally league. So Branch Rickey called Arthur Mann and said, "I need your announcer." And Arthur Mann said, "I need a catcher."
 

Here's the three-two pitch coming up to Reed Johnson. Fastball lifted back of first, down the line. A trio of Brewers, it'll be the right fielder Corey Hart making the play, and we have one out.
 

So a deal was set up. The Dodgers sent a catcher, Clint Dapper, to Atlanta. And the Atlanta club sent Ernie Harwell to the Brooklyn Dodgers. So Ernie was the first and only baseball broadcaster to be involved in a trade.
 

He was such a lovely man, everybody loved Ernie, and eventually he just stole the hearts of everybody in Detroit and the state of Michigan, and for that matter anybody who loved baseball.
 

Russell Martin takes high, ball one, one and oh.
 

Ernie was blessed, I mean really blessed. He lived to be 91, and he was married for over 67 years, to the same lady by the name of Lulu.
 

There's a ground ball to short. Up to get it is Escobar, takes care of Martin. So we have two down in the first inning.
 

Well, Ernie passed away just about two hours ago or thereabouts. I never could say God bless you to Ernie because God had blessed him indeed. And from what I heard, the last time I talked to him a couple of weeks ago, he was ready to go. He was totally and completely at peace. You and I should be that lucky.
So anyway, we say goodbye to Ernie today. Detroit's in Minnesota. I wish they'd been at home, but they weren't. And we have lost a very dear, gentle soul, Ernie Harwell.
 

Okay, two out, first inning, no score....

Thanks for stopping by -- Dan

I’ve bought a brand new vehicle exactly once in my life, a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500.  Black Sport 4x4 with a 318, and dual exhausts behind a flow master muffler (thanks to Mike Owczarek).    Brand new meaning you were the one who drove it off the dealer lot.  I remember how quickly I hit 30,000 miles, and how upset I was that it happened so fast.

I sold that truck when the opportunity came up to purchase my father’s truck, a 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 dually 4x4 Cummins Diesel.  If you google bad ass Dodge Ram 3500 in Michigan, his truck comes up in the images section, so I really had no choice.  Keep in mind for the sake of this blog post that this truck had almost 350,000 miles on it when I sold it.

Since then I’ve purchased 3 other vehicles (all of them with my wife).  A 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Cummins Diesel (see a pattern developing here), a 2002 Chrysler Sebring (really purchased by my in-laws), and a 1966 VW Bug. 

Currently the 2500 Cummins has 105,000 miles on it, the Sebring has 160,000 miles on it, and the Bug is unknown, and really not important…I’m not even sure why I’m bringing it up, maybe because old cars are cool regardless of make and model.  We own a car that is almost 45 years old, still in solid working condition, ready for the road at any moment (as soon as I get the carb fixed).  So I now own two vehicles, making payments on one of them, with more than 100,000 miles on them.

Because I’m a car geek, and a bit of a dork, when the Sebring hit 150,000 miles, I pulled over on Grand River in Howell, near Burkhart Road (yes I remember where, because again I’m a dork) and took a picture of said event.  I’m proud of it, and can’t wait to hit 200,000 and beyond.

So when does this happen?  When did I go from being pissed about 30,000 miles to being elated about 150,000?

I think 150,000 is my personal magic number.  100,000 used to be the number, but I think with the way cars are built now  - a - days, that is too low, heck, you don’t even have to change spark plugs until 100,000 miles now  (if your vehicle has spark plugs, keep in mind that 1/3^rd of my vehicles do not).  100,000 miles is the new  50,000 miles if you ask me.

So 150,000 is it, the point where I quit being worried about how many miles I put on a ride, to wanting to rack them up to hit the next 50,000 mile milestone.  There is a certain sub plot here with me, and that is American cars do last, they get a bad wrap with the national media, and the Big Three DOES BUILD QUALITY PRODUCTS.  While I do think (and wish) more people should buy American name plates, I don’t want this post to turn into a pro American car one, or an anti foreign one.  I work for a company (an American company) whose biggest customer right now is Toyota.  Having worked on programs for Toyota, Honda, Subaru, KIA, and Hyundai, I understand that this is a global market, and the sales of vehicles in general help my company out, and keep me employed. 

I do buy American name plate cars, and more specifically Chrysler American name plate cars (you know aside from the German made 66 bug).  This is mostly due to the fact that my father worked for Chrysler, it is hard to beat his employee discount on cars and parts, and I still have a good network of knowledge from his Chrysler contacts that help when I work on and service my vehicles.

Which leads to my final point, I maintain my own vehicles.  Recently on the Sebring, I replaced all four struts, rear ball joints, front ball joints (upper and lower), front sway bar links, among some other things.  I am my own warranty policy as a diesel buddy of mine likes to say.  I think when you do this, you take more pride in owning a vehicle that has racked up a bunch of miles.  When you can tell someone that your car has 160,029 miles on it, and quickly go through in your head the list of maintenance items you have personally performed to help keep on the road to hit that number, your smile gets a little larger when you tell the story.

200,000 miles is less than 40,000 miles away, and I can’t wait to write the blog.  Now, if everyone can join me in knocking on wood so something catastrophic doesn’t happen now, I would appreciate it.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

In general, we have a lot in common, similar tastes in music, TV, movies, politics, we see eye to eye on a lot of stuff.  On this particular issue however, I guess we are going to have to "agree to disagree."

What is the issue you might ask?

What to do with her 66 VW Bug?

Everytime I work on her car, or clean it, I notice something else wrong with it or something I want to change.  Kari also notices things she wants changed or improved as well.  Nothing major, a ding here, some rust there, weathered seals, small wiring issues, bent bumpers, carburator problems, little things like that that add up.  The car was probably restored 15 - 20 years ago, and neglected for at least a few of those years.  It really is time to start over, take it down to the "frame" and re-do it from the ground up.  Me and Kari are in agreeance that this is what needs to be done, and have talked about how long it will take (always longer than you plan), what it might cost (always more than you budget), and even how she can help on the project. 

The problem is vision.  You see when I think of starting over with a blank 66 VW Bug canvas, this is the type of vehicle I picture...

...or in some extreme cases, this...

THE problem is my wife's idea's are more like the Bug that stars in the new VW commercials, you know...

I've been quickly cut off several times when I start talking about the things I'm gonna do to her Bug.  I've gotten a lot of replies when I "suggest" modifications for her car they include but are not limited to:

NO!

I want that car to look normal.

That is stupid.

You're a dork.

(and my personal favorite)

You already have two race cars you can do whatever you want with, leave my car alone!

This past weekend (August 30th) at a all Volkswagen show not too far from our home, this difference of opinion was once again evident as we voted on the people's choice awards.  You have to vote for your favorite car of the show, and whoever had the most votes wins!

Kari's picks were these two vehicles:

See the theme, original, stock, BORING!

These were my choices:

You see my theme, low, chrome, shaved, COOL!

What to do, what to do?  Well, I guess any marriage is about compromise, so that is what we did.  She has agreed to let me put a tach in it, as I showed her that AutoMeter makes a small 2" tach that will allow me to know what the engine is spinning at, without distorting her dash too much.

And I got her to agree she does like the current 5 spoke polished aluminum wheels and billet aluminum running boards currently on the car...those can stay.

Finally the concensus was I could do "whatever I want to the car" as long as it looks the way it does now (aside from picking a new color when it comes time to paint).  I'm not sure if she knows how that translates from english to gearhead but...

I just got the greenlight to build a sleeper!

I will admit I still know very little about VW's and how to make them fast, but I do know there is a lot of potential in the 1600cc dual port mill that currently sits in the back of her Bug, and with a little research, I can make a car we can both be happy with.  It will look (pretty much) stock, but will run, just off the top of my head I'm thinking, bore kit, new heads, camshaft, exhaust, and dual carbs.  All that can be packaged without changing any of the exterior appearance.

I hope you all learned a valuable lesson when it comes to relationships and marriage, It doesn't matter if it finances, kids, schedules, work, housework, cooking, or a 1966 VW Bug that will toast Mustangs and Camaro's at a stoplight, but "look stock", you gotta meet each other in the middle.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

The pitcher getting a new baseball after chucking one in the dirt.

It's not that I've never noticed the pitcher get a new ball after he throws one in the dirt, or one is fouled off at home plate, I noticed that a long time ago.  Since it happens about 40 times in an inning, you can't help but notice.

And I understand why it is done.  The scuffs on a baseball could give the pitcher an advantage (or even a disadvantage) and dictate where the ball is heading, and what type of spin is on it.

What I never noticed before until a couple weeks ago is that a pitcher will pitch a ball, the batter will hit it into the ground with a hardened wooden object (this would be the bat) it rolls across grass (or turf) and dirt, into a leather mit.

The fielder then grabs the ball out of said mit, fires to first...here we will assume worst case and say he throws into the dirt.

The first baseman scoops the ball out of the dirt (now the 2nd time it hit the dirt) and into his leather glove.

Batter is out.

Ball is then thrown "around the horn" (1st base to short to 2nd, to 3rd back to the pitcher...the order sometimes changes, but it is pretty close to this) where the pitcher gets it back and gets ready for the next batter.

One pitch into the dirt, new ball.

One hit into the dirt, fielded, thrown into the dirt, fielded, and tossed around a bit for fun, no new ball

Why isn't this ball replaced after it was abused during a "routine play"?

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

One of my pet peeves is when people try to talk about the game who obviously don’t have a clue what is going on.  I know it is their right to enjoy a game just like I do, and to be a fan just like I am.  I also know they have a right (protected by the constitution in fact) to talk about whatever they want, but when ignorant fans talk about stuff they clearly know nothing about, it sends shivers down my spine, and I just want to get up and bitch slap them across the face (this is what makes me a snob).  I hear this mostly on sports talk radio (including from the show hosts from time to time), and every now and again from fans in attendance at the games I go to.

The latter situation happened at my most recent game, an 8 – 2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday August 4^th, 2009.

Me and a fellow baseball snob, my friend Todd, decided to head down to Comerica to watch Jarrod Washburn's Tiger debut.  Todd knows as much, if not more on certain topics about the game than I do, and is just as big a Tiger , and baseball for that matter, fan as I am. 

During the 3^rd of 4^th inning of the game on Tuesday Todd and I had a couple of ignorant fans sit directly behind us.  One of them who sounded drunk (they were both drinking, but not knowing the guy I wasn’t sure if he was sober, buzzed, or drunk, maybe he talks like that all the time, you know, slurred gargled words) was truly clueless.  He was saying some of the most asinine things that I finally turned to Todd and said, “I might have to blog about this guy”…which I’m doing right now!  Because he sounded drunk, and was drinking during the game, Todd decided he was watching the game through “Labatt Blue Vision”.

I really wish I had a pad of paper and a pen to write down what he was saying, because I knew I would not remember all the drivel he was spewing, but here is a summary of what me and Todd could remember from the game on Tuesday.  I tried to put them in order of what I though was the least to most clueless, enjoy.

1.       After Thames grounded out to third, his response was, “how hard is it to hit a ball to right field?”

a.       This was somewhat funny, because Thames is, for the most part, a pull hitter.

b.      This was made somewhat funnier because of the fact that he pronounced it exactly as it looks with a ‘long A’, and not as “Tims” which is how it should be pronounced.

2.       Asked, “ who is this Laird guy, is he a new guy we picked up?” As the Tiger catcher was headed from the on deck circle to the plate.  Yes, he is a “new guy” we got him in a trade on December 8^th, 2008 he’s been our starting catcher all year.

3.       His buddy (who knew a little more, but remember everything is relative) asked if he saw the walk off home run that Ryan Rayburn hit last night (the 8/3/09 game).

a.       Although a walk off home run was hit on Monday, it was Clete Thomas, not Rayburn who hit it.

4.       He said Inge was stupid for not going on the DL to rest his torn knee ligiment to “get better for the end of the season”.

a.        I will cut him a little slack here, it isn’t everyone (just us snobs) that reads detroittigers.com, mlb.com, the baseball sections of foxsports.com, si.com, and espn.com, and the tiger sections of detnews.com, and freep.com almost every day to catch up on what the Tigers (and their farm system) is doing, so he might not have read that the trainers and doctors have said that resting the injury won’t help it, he might as well wait out the season and have surgery this winter.

5.       While watching the bottom of the lineup, without any provoking, he all the sudden says, “the problem with our offense is the bottom of our lineup is no good, because Inge bats between Laird and Everett.  I mean what is Leyland thinking that Laird is going to drive in Everett?”

Ok, this one was hard for me and Todd to grasp (and as Todd said, in an email Wed evening, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around this logic”) so here is what is wrong with the above statement:

a.       1^st off the bottom of the lineup of even the best teams is often flawed, THAT IS WHY THEY BAT AT THE BOTTOM!

b.      Often times, you put your best defenders who don’t put up the best offense numbers at the bottom.  This pretty much describes Inge (whose defense speaks for itself), Everett (known for his solid glove, although I wonder this year sometimes), and Laird (who throws out close to half the runners who try to steal on him, which is HOF type numbers).

c.       The bottom of the Tigers line up on this day was: 7. Inge, 8. Laird, 9. Everett.

d.      So with the above mentioned line up in place, I’m not sure how Laird would ever drive in Everett unless they batted around in an inning, which is still mathematically impossible to do.

And we will save the best for last…

6.       After the Tigers leadoff hitter stuck out during his 2^nd at bat, he complained how that was a horrible at bat, because the batter struck out on three straight pitches.  (At this point I turned to my friend Todd and asked if he was watching a different game?) He continued to state that Granderson is horrible at hitting left handed pitching (which in his defense is actually a true statement), but you had to keep him in the game because his glove was so good. (And it was at this point my friend Todd replied to me, “oh yea, he has to watching some replay of a game on a portable TV or DVD player” keep reading)  He continued, stating that you really want a right hander in against the left handed pitcher, but because of his defense, you had to start Granderson.

Lets see, where to begin with this one…

a.       The tigers leadoff hitter did strike out, but it was on a 2 and 2 count, and he had fouled off 4 pitches during the at bat, so aside from the strike out, you could argue it was actually not a bad at bat.

b.       Wilken Rameriz was the said leadoff hitter, not Granderson

c.       Rameriz is a right handed hitter, and was clearly hitting from said right side during this at bat, and his pervious at bat to lead off the game.

d.       Granderson never entered the game, not even as a defensive replacement.

They left after the 6th inning, and did not return.  I guess in a way, they made a 8 - 2 snoozer a little more entertaining.

 Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

There is a team that plays in a different division the same night and place that I do. (Monday's in Novi).  The team consists of 100% Japanese players, and they seem to be decent enough players, but my team hasn't played them (and won't being they are in a lower division) so I don't really know.  Besides this entry isn't specifically about their softball skills, so how good or bad they are really doesn't matter.  Not sure if they work together or live together, or are part of some evil plot by Toyota to finish the take over of Detroit, I just know they play softball together on Monday's and their team name is "The Bombers".

While my game was wrapping up (another win by the way), the aforementioned Bombers were begining to congragate for their game.  I noticed one of the teams fans (they have incredible fan support by the way) hollering and pointing at another Japanese girl who looked to be in her early teens.  The hollering fan was probably a grand mother, as she looked to be in her 60's, but my age meter scale could be off, because it hasn't had the proper ethnicity calibration performed on it yet.

At any rate, the Japanese Grandmother was pointing at the Japanese teeny bopper's shoes and was yelling something.  She seemed excited and was somewhat laughing, but I wasn't sure what she was saying as my comprehension of the Japanese vocabulary is very poor...actually poor isn't the word I'm looking for, non - existant is probably a better term.

As she was pointing, an older...non playing (again outstanding fan support) Japanese man began to talk, and make a motion with his hands.  He held his hands flat, and pushed them out from his chest away from his body.  With this he added a "wooshing" sound almost as if he was describing an airplane flying through the air (remember the team name is the bombers).

At this point, the teeny bopper popped up on her heels, and I realized what all the comotion was about.  The Japense girl had on a pair of Heely's, you all know the shoes with the single roller skate wheel in the heel, this was what was causing all the rucus!!!

She began to "Heely" (not even sure if that is a verb) around the ball diamonds, and as she did this caught the attention of almost the entire Bomber team and it's fans.  They stood and watched her meander around them, silently mumbling and laughing to each other.  This wasn't for a few seconds, several of them watched until I got bored watching them.  This is why I was somewhat dumbfounded.

Japan, the country that has brought us such things as the walkman, the electronic calculator, Godzilla, LED lights, floppy disks, and Ichiro, just to name a few, had 20 or so of their transplanted citizens mezmorized by a tennis shoe with a wheel in the heel.

It was truly a unique sight to behold.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

But an event over memorial day weekend, gave me a good topic to write about that I'm sure most of you will find funny, and will be able to relate to.

I accepted an invitation to go mountain biking at some trails near my house with some guys from work.  the work guys actually wanted to go to a different trail, and I suggested a different trail (that we agreed on) a little more centrally located....this suggestion would prove to be a mistake.

Keep in mind I haven't ridden so much as a few feet down my driveway this year let alone on any trails.  One of the guys I was riding with used to do mini triathlons, and runs and bikes all the time.  He is about 5' 7" 135lbs, and has a full suspension bike.  I knew there was no chance to keep up with him.  The other guy is a bit older (late 40's), and not as fit looking, but rides at least once a week, and rides 15 miles to and from work when the weather permits.  He has a small gut (like yours truly), but I figured I could hang with him at least for 4 or 5 miles.  Bottom line is I knew it would be rough, but I had no idea how bad it was going to be.

I did ride the bike a bit down my road on Sunday night, and everything worked.  I put some air in my "vintage" Rock Shox MAG 10 to add some strength to it, it was a little spongy.  I couldn't find my bike pump, so I dialed down the PSI on my compressor to 20, and figured I would be ok. This also would prove to be a bad decision.

We agreed to meet at 9am, I was very excited to ride.  Every summer I say I want to ride a couple times a week, and never seem to be able to make time, so I was happy I was finally going.  Because of this excitement, I was 12 minutes early and the first to arrive.

We head onto the trail with the triathlete in the lead.  Not 100 yards into the trail, I hit my first rut, and my bike violently “jolts” into my arms.  It is now that I notice my front shock was bottomed out.  The triathlete just so happens to have a front shock air kit and we attempt revive the shock, and again, it works for a bit, but the shock slowly falls.  This time with the caps off the pin hole, you can hear air slowly leaking out.  He asked me if I tried to pump it up with a compressor (hey, how the f--k did he know that)?  I replied that I did, but only at 20psi.  "Nope", he said, "you can't do that, you probably blew out the upper seals, that is why it isn't holding any air.  You will have to get this rebuilt".  Sweet!!!!  Before I just felt like someone out of shape, now I felt like someone out of shape…who is an idiot.
 
So we continue our ride, me with no front suspension.  Now the Raleigh used to have a solid front fork, but I never remember it being as rough as it was on Memorial day.  I felt every little rock, rut, root, and pebble that the trail had to offer.  It was beating me senseless, I don't know how I ever rode without a front shock.  Probably me being 20 had something to do with it.
 
The ride started out well (aside from the above mentioned bumps sending jolts through my wrists, up my arms, and into my shoulders).  The older guy got on the front brakes a bit too hard going down the first decline, and sent himself over the handle bars.  He was ok, which meant it was ok to laugh uncontrollably at him.
 
The first couple hills were tough, but not too bad.  the trail we were on is very technical, with mostly single track stuff, a lot of switch backs, and "rugged" terrain.  I was keeping up pretty well with both guys, although I think the triathelete was WAY off his internal throttle.

About half way through the 3.8 mile loop, I really started to feel it.  I wasn't really winded, but my back hurt, my wrists were starting to ache, and my thighs were SEVERELY burning (and yes, my pussy was sore)!  Now even the smallest hill was tough, and if there were any obstacles in the hill, it became almost impossible.  It took all the energy I had in me to climb the hills, if I needed a little extra, it just wasn't there.
 
My two work buddies were long gone, but waited for me at a small clearing in the trail.  I informed them then that this 3.8 mile loop would be the extent of my ride for the day, not to wait for me, and if they wanted to go further, they didn't have to wait for me.  I was out of shape, had no legs for this trail, and it was showing.  They told me not to worry about it, and saying some other things in an attempt to make me feel better, but the bottom line was I felt old, fat, like a wuss, and out of shape, not necessarily in that order.

Finally I got tired of being such a big puss, having to walk up almost every hill having roots ¼” above the earth giving me all kinds of fits, so I hit a hill that I determined I was not going to fail at.  I was going to keep making circles (biking term) and get to the top, no matter what happened.
 
The good news:  I accomplished my goal, and beat the hill, making it to the top
 
The bad news: I was THE most tired I have been on the entire ride, and now I had no energy, not just to ride up hills, but to ride PERIOD!  At the top of a hill was a small flat trail, and it was all I could do to pedal to keep myself going.  Finally there was a downhill section where I could coast.
 
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh coasting, nothing better, especially not at this exact moment in my life.
 
The work buddies were waiting for me one more time, and the last turn off before the trail head.  They said they were waiting to make sure I knew where to go.  I truly believe they were waiting for me making sure I wasn’t passed out or worse somewhere on the trail. 
 
The older guy mentioned how this was a “tough trail” and how the trail he wanted to go to would have been an easier ride for me.  Remember it was my idea to come to this particular trail, a decision I most certainly was regretting.
 
Just over a mile was left, and I was spent, I already knew that Tuesday was going to be rough, and I had to find a place to service a Rock Shox MAG 10 that I purchased 15 years ago, and that they probably quit making 10 years ago.
 
By the way, 3.8 miles, that was it, this is what I struggled with, not even 4 f—king miles, 3.8.
 
SIDE NOTE: There is a place in Colorado called Hippie Techs that will service the shock.  Quoted price was $150 - $200.  For $135, I can get a new shock to replace it…installed.  This is what one bike shop told me, the other said there is “nothing you can do for that fork”.
 
I guess the silver lining is that I can’t wait to go again, riding is so enjoyable, so much fun, and such a good work out, but you don’t feel like you are exercising, it is enjoyable.  I hope to replace the front fork, and go again as soon as I can.  I would like to try to go once or twice a week, and on the weekend when I can.  It was a blast, and with so many good trails in the area, there is no excuse not to enjoy it.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

During the most recent Gremlin X engine rebuild, I was talked into opening up the bearing clearances on the 401 that powers the Grem.  What used to be 0.0015 - 0.0020 was raised to 0.0025 - 0.0030.  I was never comfortable with these numbers, but was getting the info from what we will call "The Yoda" of AMC engines (and several other makes as well) so I went with it.  It is my humble opinion this lowered our oil pressure 5 - 10 lbs.

Next time I will take the "it's my motor, I will build it my way" approach.  I've rebuilt this motor 4 times since 2000.  Twice because of issues (cracked main cap, and cracked cylinder head), and twice just as "routine maintenance".  I know this motor, what it likes, how it likes it, and how it runs, and I knew 0.0030 was too big.

So based on this recent build, we can say that as pressure to open up clearances increases, engine oil pressure decreases. My stupidity, or course, remains constant.

Recently the 2002 Chrysler Sebring's (my daily driver) oil pressure idiot light started to flicker at me while sitting at stop lights idling, the light will flicker, and like an idiot, I've done nothing about it to this point.  This is why it is an idiot light.

It pisses me off that there is no gauge on the car, just the light.  When does the light come on, 20 lbs, 10lbs, 5lbs?  The car idles at 600RPM, so I would be ok with 15 or even 10lbs, as long as it goes to 40 or 45lbs when I'm driving.  The problem is I don't know, because the f--king engineers at Chrysler decided that I didn't need to know exactly what it was, just that it is low enough to turn on a light.

On a side note, and much to my wife's shagrin, the car is going to get an oil gauge, and me being me, will probably get an AutoMeter graphite faced gauge or something to that affect.

On a side note the side note, no 'A' Pillar gauge pods, this car isn't fast and sure isn't furious!

So why am I telling you about my oil pressure woes?  Because a few days ago, I drempt about oil pressure.  First it was the Gremlin not having any, my dream was just me in the car warming it up at the track and seeing the gauge not move off of zero.

From there it went to the fix creating too much oil pressure, and blowing seals all over the motor.  It was very graphic in my dream, like a Hollywood movie would be (you know, like the fast and furious) with hoses shooting off of things, oil spraying everywhere, even the line going to the gauge in the car bursting, and covering the interior with oil.

Next I was in the race shop coming up with a solution, which I never got to, because I woke up.

So I know a handful of you reading this know what I'm talking about.  Of all the things I could...and probably should...be dreaming about, you know, sports, friends, girls (only my wife of coures!), I'm dreaming about cars and oil pressure.

I've heard that if you dream about drinking and getting drunk, you may be an alcoholic.  Guess I'm addicted to cars and racing.  Anyone know of a good 12 step program for that?

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

I will fight to the bitter end to defend Brandon...just so you know. If you want to talk about overrated we should probably start a converison on Caberra. I think with the amount of money they are paying him, he should be able to field and hit. He can hit, but his fielding is scary...I mean it should not be considered an outstanding play because he has to stretch a little to get the ball...a first baseball should stretch. It's pretty sad that Palonco calls him off any fly ball that comes near Caberra. It is like they are down right afraid of his fielding. That is overrated!

Not mad...I am just loyal :)

I saw your pictures from opening day...that is awesome. I am hoping I might make it to opening day of these times. I don't think you could have asked for a better game result...the Rangers got spanked!! Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come!

Go Tigers!!!

I was caught off guard.  How do you go from Inge being overrated to Cabrera being overrated?  Inge is an arguement, no card carrying baseball snob would ever even think to suggest that Cabrera is overrated, but this person just did.

They also can't spell "Cabrera"

So I tried to be nice, trying to appreciate a Tiger fan (female by the way, increasing the level of patience I would exhibit with her slightly, and also making me keep her nameless, and refrain from giving her a nickname like the one I gave to dipshit) and replied with the following: 

She followed up with this assinine re-statement of her first assinine statement:

I will never submit to this agruement! Caberra IS overrated. Wait until his next game...I guarantee Palonco will call him off any infield fly balls. Wait, I will go further...Caberra will make at least one error. Today's game looks to be rained out...we will have to wait until the next... 

I have no idea why she keeps up with this argument point that Cabrera is a bad 1st baseman, because Palonco calls him off?????  AND, his fielding percentage is currently 1.000, but more on that below.

So here is the reply I sent just before I typed this blog.  (My wife gave me the idea to use this as a blog, so I decided to mail it in a bit, an use this email chain as an entry, hope you enjoy). 

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this message, settle in.

Ok (person to remain nameless), here we go...

First off, I'm going to assume you are an intelligent baseball fan, and I don't have to explain to you that the middle infielders have the right of way over the corner guys, and take charge with fly balls.  This happens in the outfield as well.  So Polanco (which you spelled wrong) calling off Cabrera means absolutely nothing, because IT IS HIS JOB TO DO SO!

Now, since baseball is such a statistical game, I would assume you have some numbers to back up your claim, otherwise it is just an opinion (which is wrong by the way).

1st lets compare Cabrera with your boy, Mr. overrated Inge.  I won't even get into the offensive numbers, because it is a no contest, Cabrera soundly beats Inge hands down in every offensive catagory...well except strike outs, Inge has him beat there.

Now defensively I won't even begin to say that Cabrera is as good as Inge, Brandon is a better defensive third baseman (and Inge might be the best defensive third sacker in the AL), but take a look at the numbers, and they are closer than most would think.

Again with your understanding of the game, I'm sure you know that fielding percentage is the measure of how good a player is defensively.  This is the comparison of how many chances a player has in the field compared to the number of errors he has.  Here is how Cabrera stacks up against your boy:

CAREER FIELDING PERCENTAGE:
Inge: .978
Cabrera: .974

hmmmmm, .004, pretty close.

Next, lets look at 2006, and 2007, the last years both of them played third base.

Inge: .958
Cabrera: .951

hmmmm, again relitively close with a difference of only .007.

But Cabrera is now a first baseman, and I contend, one of the best in the AL...hell, in baseball.  Again, I will now back this up with actual numbers (being the dork engineer and baseball geek that I am).

With the exception of maybe two other teams, any major league team would trade whoever they have playing first to get Cabrera.  St. Louis would probably keep Pujols, and Philly would probably keep Howard.  EVERY OTHER TEAM WOULD TAKE CABRERA IN A HEART BEAT, this isn't only my opinion, you will find a lot of baseball people who would agree.

So lets compare Cabrera's salary and stats with what most would consider the top two first basemen in the league (all numbers from 2008):

AVERAGE:
Pujols: .357
Howard: .251
Cabrera: .292

Pujols is a stud, and I will concede now he is probably the best first baseman in baseball right.  Had Cabrera not switched leagues and started slow, he would have hit around .320.  He is proving that this year, currently hitting just under .500.  Also, Cabrera is 25, and Pujols is 29.  Four years from now, Cabrera will be the best, you heard it here first.

HOME RUNS
Pujols: 48
Howard: 37
Cabrera: 37

Cabrera lead the AL in home runs last year.

RBI's
Pujols: 116
Howard: 146
Cabrera: 127

Howard lead baseball by far in RBI's last year. Cabrera was third in the AL, and fourth in baseball.

So he was in the top 10 in batting average, lead the AL in Home runs, and was third in RBI's.  Still thinking he is overrated?

How about defensively:

FIELDING PERCENTAGE
Pujols: .996
Howard: .988
Cabrera: .992

Slightly worse than Pujols (see above statement), better than Howard, and keep in mind this was Cabrera's first year at 1st base, he improved during the year, and is already much better this year (currently his fielding percentage is 1.000...no errors).

Onto the money.  The all make too much, but you have to compare apples to apples, so lets look at their salaries:

Pujols: $14.5 Million
Howard: $15 Million
Cabrera: $14.3 Million

Cabrera makes the least, but is right in line with these guys.  There are also a couple other First baseman who make around the same amount of money who have much worse stats than Cabrera.

So if you still think he is overrated, I really don't care, you can't argue with numbers, math doesn't lie, and they are laid out in front of you above.

I just hope you can come to appreciate your All Star, future hall of fame 1st baseman and enjoy watching one of the best ever, next time you head to Comerica.

(this was fun!)

I left her a few loop holes, lets see how good she is, and see if she can find and manipulate them.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

After looking back, I quickly realize why I'm not a baseball columnist, and just a blogger.  To steal a line from the movie Dumb and Dumber: I was way off!

I still have the standing bet with dipshit that Inge will not hit .260 with 15 homers (and I still would not mind loosing that bet).  Also, me and dipshit bet that Ramon Santiago will be your starting shortstop by 6/15.  Since Everett has already been hurt...in spring training...I still ike my chances on this one.

I never did get to the position player predictions, and honestly wouldn't have said anything ground breaking had I posted a blog about them.  I would have repeated my Ramon Santiago thing above, said Cabrera would have a major year (going out on a limb I know), and the defense would be much improved.  I also would have said that Granderson and Polonco will be their usual selfs (again another limb), Guillen would be fine in left, and Ordonez is a very underated right fielder.  Is he outstanding defensively? No, but he is very servicable, and not a horrible defender like some would suggest.

Well Guillen already looks destined to play DH (as he was "rested" the first game of the season)...and I would have never predicted Sheffield would be released, good riddance by the way.

Ordonez has got to start hitting for power again, and not singles like he was doing the last 10 weeks of 2008.  His .320 average does the Tigers much less good if he is hitting singles.

We will have to see how it goes.

But lets look at my pitching predictions:

I said Verlander will return to form, this we can not comment on.  He looked like total dog piss in the opener, but lets not panic just yet (although I'm concerned), will have to wait a few starts to see where he is at.

I said I have no idea what Bonderman will do.  Still don't as he started the year on the DL.

Galaraga is still wait and see, as well as Edwin Jackson who just had a 1-2-3 1st.

Ahhhh, the fith starter.  I said it would be Dontrell Willis, and that he would bounce back.  Unless you consider being on the disabled list with "anixety disorder" bouncing back, you could once again insert the line from Dumb and Dumber here.

Let me now say that Willis is done, and I actually made my self write 1000 sentences that said "I will not make boneheaded predictions about 5th starters again" as punishment.

I also wrote that the tigers can't bring Porcello north.  Willis, Robertson, Miner, and the Bonderman injury left the Tigers with no choice, it had to be him.  Look for Miner and Porcello to battle it out until Bonderman is healthy, if Porcello is the guy, they will move Miner to the pen.  If Miner is the guy, they will send Porcello to Erie.  If Bonderman's shoulder suddenly explodes, things will stay as is.

No matter what, Porcello will be closely watched to keep pitch counts and innings down.

When it comes to the bullpen, I was still way off, but not as bad as I was with the starters...which isn't saying much.

Robertson is in the pen, so my prediction that he will become a late inning guy could still hold true.

Lyon has been horrible, so my comment of not liking the signing still stands.

I said Bobby Seay will be your lefthanded specialist, and he had a good spring, so this one is on track.

My suprise was that Zumaya will be unhittable and your closer...oops is an understatement!  He is on the DL as well, and now I wonder if he will ever be able to pitch again.  He may be another Matt Anderson, or Mark Fidrich.

I said Juan Rincon will be the 8th inning guy, and this looks good as his spring ERA was 0.00 (although he looked only slightly better than dog piss in the 8th last night).  I'm surprised that he hasn't been talked about as the closer, he has looked good this spring! 

Rodney as a closer still keeps me up at night.  Seriousely I've been having nightmares that I'm being attacked by a crooked hat.

So that is it going into the season.  I really don't think you can say this team will be bad this year, I also don't think you can say they will be good, too many questions, and what if's. 

I guess the good news is that the core of this team from 2007 that did ok, and that many thought would win it all last year is still in tact.  The defense will be better, which will help out the pitchers.  The offense will still be there, and should put up plenty of runs.

The bad news is the pitching has way to many what if's, and needs a lot of them to turn into sure things for this to be a good year.

Lets hope Verlander can bounce back, Galaraga wasn't a one hit wonder, Jackson can improve and live up to his "stuff" Bonderman can come back, Porcello can handle the pressure and work load of a MLB season, and that the bullpen can shut the door.

Yep, a lot of what if's, and I don't feel good about very many of them, and don't expect much this year.

Here's to hoping I'm wrong, and 2009 turns into 2006.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

This friend has some more consertative views such as my own.  He believes like I do that no one is going to do anything for you, if you want anything in life, the best way to get it is to go after it and get it yourself.

Here is the piece from the email that I 100% agreed with, and what got me to thinking about this post:

"He also talked about accountability and how no one has to be accountable for anything anymore.  Basically its ok to fail, someone will take care of you.  In my opinion its now traveled down to kids sports  - "Everybody is a winner"  there are no loosers in some of the kids sports anymore -Bullshit, get out there and compete.  Its what drives us to be better at anything we do." 

As I already mentioned, I agree with my friends comments that the "there are no loosers, everyone plays, regardless of how good they are, we don't keep score in this league" mentality that society seems to be adopting, actually hurts kids in the long run.  His little rant caused me to think of several things.

The first was an article I read a while back about how college professors and employers are becoming increasingly frustrated with kids entering school and the work place, because they can't take any critcism of their work.  They've never had it before.  It has always been, "good try", or "as long as you did your best, that's what counts"  There was no accountability for failure or sub-par work.  As anyone who works in the real world knows that shit won't work, and leads to short term employment.

The second thing I was reminded of was a scene from Meet the Faulkers (the second Meet the Parents) when Gay Faulker's Dad is showing off his sons trophy's and accomplishments.  He shows Robert Dinero a 5th place ribbon.  Dinero replies, "I didn't know they gave out ribbons for 5th place."

The next thing I thought of was an interview with GM's Bob Lutz, you know, the Current Vice Chairman of Global Product Development for GM, almost single handedly responsible for the development of the Volt.  The guy who over saw the Viper, Prowler, and LH vehicles at Chrysler (even if you didn't like the Intrepid and Concord, they saved Chrysler once again in the early 90's) while he was president of the company.  He also was responsible for initiating the Ford Explorer, which Ford sold a few of over the years.

In the interview, a question was asked to him how he got into cars.  He said as a kid he liked to draw sketches and concept vehicles.  As he got older he started to show them to his dad, and his father would basically tell them that they were ok, or pretty mediocre, but he didn't think he had much of a future as a car designer.  One of the DJ's was taken aback by his dad's answers and said, "nice support from your dad." in a sarcastic voice.  Lutz's reply was that he was glad his dad was honest with him, it made him realize that he WASN'T a good designer, and therefore he didn't waste anytime pursuing it in college, and instead went into engineering, production, and management.

It would appear, from the outside looking in anyway, that things worked out ok for him.

The final story takes me back to a field day at Country Elementary when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. 

My Dad made the trip to watch, which was a pretty big deal, since he worked in Detroit, and had to take the better part of a day off to make the hour drive to Pinckney in time to watch the events.

I had entered into a bunch of races, and did not have a good day from a ribbon standpoint.  I don't remember exactly how many races I entered, but I don't think I got one ribbon.  I was pretty pissed about not winning anything, and was sulking and pouting during the ride home with my dad (another bonus of him showing up, I could skip the bus).  He would try to talk to me, and I wouldn't say anything, because I was upset about not winning.

What I remember my Dad telling me wasn't "well you did your best", or "you'll get em next time", or any type of an attaboy.  Instead I remember him asking me what I was going to do to get better for next time.

Two comments stick out to me from this short ride home, that I remember to this day.  Actually I don't know if they were comments, or life lessons, is maybe a better term.

The first was him telling me to remember this feeling that I had right at this moment.  How upset I was, and how I didn't like loosing like I did.  Use this feeling to work harder, practice, do what I could to try to get faster, so the next time I entered a race, I would have a better chance to win.  Don't use a loss to pout and cry, use it to work even harder, and strive to not let a loss happen again. 

The second was him telling me that maybe entering all running races wasn't the best plan.  At first I didn't understand what he was saying, who cared what I entered, I lost, that was the point.  He mentioned to me that maybe I wasn't the fastest kid in my class.  Maybe my strength wasn't my flat out running speed.  Maybe I should have entered some different events, maybe a throwing event, maybe an obstacle course, or a jumping event, something to that effect.  Something that plays on my strengths, and not my weakness of being a slow ass kid. (ok, that last part was my words, my Dad might have been trying to teach me a tough lesson, but he didn't call me a "slow ass kid")

I still use these two lessons to this day.  I've been chewed out by a boss, or a customer before.  My instinctive reaction is to try to learn from the ass chewing, try to figure out exactly what they were expecting from me, what I failed to do for them, and use that for the next time I have to do something for them so I don't get chewed out again.  I use the feeling of humility and embarassment in the moment, that helpless feeling you have as your boss belittles you, to try to never let it happen again.

I also think I recognize things that I'm good at and try to tackle those tasks.  Tackling tasks that I know I'm good at will utlimately make me more successful, at what I do, and (hopefully) people will notice these things.  At the same time, when I'm asked to do something that I know I might not be as strong at, I try to recognize this as soon as possible, and do things to eliminated the weakness.  Research online or in books, ask co-workers for help, call suppliers, or trade organizations, etc, anything to try to make the task more successful.

We are raising a generation of wimps, and people who expect things to be given to them or done for them, beit from thier friends or family, or from the government.  For the sake of the country (no I don't think I'm exaggerating) this has got to stop...quick!

Thanks for Stopping by - Dan

First off, I hope that he gets a bunch of shit from the veterens at spring training for allowing the photo above to go to print.  If he doesn't, I have no confidence in the clubhouse chemistry for the Tigers this year.

So how do we convince him that Erie is the place for him come April?  Well, he is from New Jersey, so he already knows about the deliciousness that is Yuengling.  Plus, he is only 20 years old, so that won't legally work anyway.

I've never been to Erie, but have driven through, and did't see anything to really draw anyone there, especially a 20 year old millionaire.  Not that Detroit is all that, but it is that enough to beat Erie, pretty much hands down.

There is Lake Erie...oh wait, never mind, scratch that.

So I'm not sure what, but we got to think of something, and quick, camp breaks in less than a month.

Quick check of Procello's stats, and the first thing that jumps out to me is IP, or innings pitched.  The most innings he has pitched in a season was last year in the Florida Coast League when he pitched 125.  He was also on a 75 pitch count last year.

He is not physically ready for the show, at least not a full season in the show.  By all acounts his stuff might be, and his mental make up seems to be, but he is not ready for the 175 - 200 innings that might come with a full MLB season.

"Well, it worked with Verlander." is what the more passive Tiger fan might say.  Verlander played in college, and then had a full season in the minor leagues.  He had some years with some extra work, and he was a couple years older than Porcello.  Maybe his drop in 08 was because of his workload in 06 (don't forget to add in all the post season games) and 07, who knows?

I'm not against him coming up this year, don't read this post that way.  Call him up after the all star break if he tears things up in Erie (and/or Toledo).  If someone gets hurt (Bondo, you listening?), call him up then.  If anyone just has the wheels fall off (Willis and Robertson, you listening?), call him up.  Make him a September call up, just don't put the burden of a full season on him this year.

There is a scenario where I might allow this:

Limit him to 75 - 85 pitches a game, and keep Miner around to come in for Porcello, almost every start.  If he has a no-no going into the 7th, but has thrown 82 pitches, in comes Miner, NO EXCEPTIONS!  It would almost be like two starters, Porcello will get you to the 5th or so, and Miner will get you to the "bullpen".

This also gives you a security blanket if something goes wrong.  If he has trouble with big league hitters, insert Miner, if his pitches and innings start to climb, shut him down, and bring in Miner to start.  You could also let Miner spot start here and there to limit Porcello's work.

I truely believe the best thing is for him to start things off in Erie to watch his development.  The problem is that Willis and Robertson have been a horrific mess so far this spring (I know it is early yet) and Porcello has looked very good (I know it is early) that you hear more and more that he will be the 5th guy.

So lets hope my previous prediction is correct (I still have faith in you D-Train) and that Willis gets if figured out by the end of this month and wins that spot.  With his contract, I feel if he is at least part of the way decent, they are going to bring him north and give him a crack at it.  If he is shakey, then lets talk at that point about who they should get to replace him.

Chances are good the name will still be Porcello.

By the way, some of you might be asking who is Al Avila and Glen Ezell?  That would be the assistant General Manager, and the Director of Player Development in the Tigers organization.  Yes, I'm that big a baseball snob.

Thanks For Stopping By - Dan

So stealing an idea from Sports Illustrated's Peter King's 10 things I think I think, I went with Random Thoughts Randomly Running Through My Random Brain.  I may do this from time to time in the future, just various items that have drawn some of my interest since my last post.

So with no further adeiu, here is Random Thoughts Randomly Running Through my Random Brain for March 1st, 2009:

1.)  I saw a bumper sticker on an Explorer on my way to work on Satruday that was for the Mystery Spot in St. Ignace, MI.  My thought was, did this person visit the Mystery Spot, and think that it was so over the top fantastic, that their first thought was, "Oh, I have to get a bumper sticker to put on my Explorer!!!"

2.) One button on a pair of pants is plenty.  I recently purchased some new casual pants for work that have two buttons.  I become 1/2 as efficient as I could be every time I go to the bathroom the instant I put them on.  These are almost as bad as butterfly 501 jeans.

3.) There is no such thing as reverse discrimination.  Sometimes when African Americans exhibit hatred towards Caucasians people will say that is "reverse discrimination".  Discrimination is discrimination, no matter who it is towards.  Reverse discrimination would be the opposite of this, essentially meaning you are overly nice to someone of a different race, and this really isn't a bad thing.

4.) An outfit is not sexy.  No article of clothing should be marketed as "sexy".  It is not the clothing that is sexy, but the person that is wearing the clothing that is sexy.  A person makes an outfit sexy, not the other way around.

5.) I'm probably late for half my appointments.  At work (for meetings and such), this number probably drops to 25%.

5a.) My wife is going to tell you that my half estimate above is way too low!

6.) I love the smell of diesel exhaust, have since I first smelled it in middle school when some of Pinckney Community Schools new busses were diesel powered.  This might be when I started to like diesel engines.  That, and the fact that one can easily produce over 1000 ft-lbs of torque at around 1500 RPM...incredible.

7.) I have mixed emotions about the ban on smoking in Michigan bars and restaurants.  I hate going to bars, having trouble breathing, and coming home with clothes and hair that reeks of smoke.  I also hate the government telling us what we have to do.  Actaully as I type this, I realize that although I'm not a smoker, I'm against the ban.  If you don't like smoke, don't go to bars with bad smoke.  Let the bar and restaurant owners decide if they want to allow smoking or not.  If it is a good idea, the places that ban smoking will thrive, dropping business at their competition, who will follow suite, or close.  If it doesn't work, thier business will drop, and they will allow smoking again.  It sounds pretty simple, and like the way the free enterprise system is suppose to work.

7a.) When did society begin to think the government is there to provide us with everything we need?  Healthcare, college tuition, housing, income, where does it stop?  It seems to have gotten worse in my lifetime.  Every person should be responsible for their actions, and providing for themselves, and children until they are old enough to do so for themselves, and the cycle repeats itself.

7b.) I remember that a girl in Ms. Cavanaugh's 3rd grade class could spell restaurant correctly, I never could, and I was jealous of her.  Now, 25+ years later after typing it a few times in number 7 above I realize that I still can't spell it and had to look it up.  This no longer makes me feel jealous, I just feel dumb.

8.) I believe in aliens.  If we the people on earth are the smartest people in the universe, then the universe is in big trouble!  There has got to be something else out there.

9.) I have wanted a tool shed since I bought my first house in 1999.  I'm very excited because it looks like I will get one this spring! 

10.) I really wanted to come up with 10 things, and will be slightly short, but since I have a "5a", and "7a", and a "7b", I technically have 12, so I'm stopping for the night.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan

I wanted to get this post up so everyone can see where I'm at before even one game is played, before one pitch is thrown, before one homer is hit, before Leyland has one smoke, and before Gene Lemont adds one more inch to his waistline (ok, those last two have probably already happened).  This way, if any of the predictions below come true, I can refer back to this post in September and say "I told you so", or "You heard it here first".

I will start with the pitching staff today, because I think it is wide open, and then get to the position players later in the week (and yes, they will have played a game by then).  I was going to try to get it all in one post, but it got a little long.

So without further ado (which I believe is spelled wrong), here are my bold predictions and surprises for the pitching staff for the 2009 Detroit Tigers baseball season:

STARTING PITCHING

I think Verlander will bounce back and be fine, giving you what I hope are his "normal" 15 - 20 wins.  Verlander seems arrogant to me, and after being rookie of the year in 06, and having a good 07 with a no-no mixed in, I think he thought he could go out there every 5th day, grab a baseball, and go 6+ innings, and have a chance to win.  This isn't true, and I think 08 humbled him a bit.  Look for the old JV in 2009.

I have no idea what Jeremy Bonderman will do.  It would not surprise me if he ends up with 13 - 16 wins, hell it would not surprise me if he flirts with 20.  It also would not surprise me if he struggles to get 9 wins.  He seems to be such a head case, that I will make no bold predictions with Bondo, and hope for the best.

Galaraga somewhat falls in the same category as Bonderman.  I really don't know.  Was 08 a fluke, or the norm?  We will know the answer to that question by mid-may after a handful of starts.  Have AL hitters figured him out a bit, and can he adjust if they did?  I hope 2008 was no fluke, and I have a feeling that it wasn't.  Look for a similar pitcher in 2009, with 12 - 15 wins, and an ERA in the mid to high 3's.

Edwin Jackson...this guy better be good, because it cost the Tigers Matt Joyce.  My question is if he was so good, why did Tampa get rid of him so quickly?  I have done no homework on this guy, and have no idea what to type.  My only prediction is that if he doesn't do well, his nickname will quickly become Ed-LOOSE.

5th starter...the question as I type this is who will it be.  It sounds like it will be Nate Robertson, Dontrell Willis, or Zach Miner, with 2007's 1st round draft pick Rick Porcello having an outside shot.  It is this spot in the rotation that leads into my starting pitching surprise!!!!!

I think Willis will bounce back.  I don't know why (as being a lowly blogger from Fowlerville, I have no inside info).  The D-train was just too good to forget how to pitch.  Early reports out of lakeland are that he looks good, and I think he comes in relaxed, focused, and healthy this season, and will win the last spot. I also think he will be in the 15 win range again, giving the bengals 200 innings.  All reports are he is a good guy, good to have in the clubhouse, so I hope he sures up the back end of this staff.

Overall I'm comfortable with the starting pitching.  Why, I don't know, and I realize that every spot has a question mark, and the bottom could have fallen out of the whole thing before June.  I think the addition of Rick Knapp as pitching coach was a great move, and will be a huge X-factor and will help the pitchers immensely.  The problem is when they hand the ball over to the pen in the 6th or 7th inning, can those guys shut the door?

BULL PEN

I really only like two things about the pen that I will get to in a minute.  There are more question marks with the pitchers out beyond the LF wall than there are with the starters.

Let's go back to the starters for a moment to talk about the pen.  If my "scenario" holds true and Willis gets the nod for the final spot, this puts Miner and or Robertson in the pen (if this happens though, I believe Nate will get delt, I feel 2006 was his peak).  I really like Miner (or Robertson even) in long relief.  Furthermore, I like Nate at as 7th or 8th inning guy.  See below for my bold bold prediction for the bull pen.

I will not talk about Rodney until he proves he can pitch 1/3rd of an inning without walking two guys.  I'm frustrated he is being considered for the closer spot, and why the f--k can't he wear his hat straight.  If he doesn't live up to his "potential" early on this spring, they should leave him in Lakeland when they head north, or drop him off in Toledo, it is right on the way.

Next is Brandon Lyon, which I'm not a huge fan of, but I feel this is a good signing.  They got him cheap and added a bunch of incentives to motivate him, and if it doesn't work out, they don't loose much.  I don't think it will work out though, that is the problem.  Basically you got Todd Jones, with much less confidence in himself, just ask the Diamondbacks.  A 2.43 ERA before the break is outstanding, the 8.46 that he had after the all star game is of concern.  For you non baseball fans, that is giving up almost one run per inning pitched, and that is not very good...horrible would be a better word to describe it.

So my little mini surprise for the bullpen is that Bobby Seay will be a servicable lefthanded specialtist again this year.  I think he returns back to 07 form when he took over for the departed Jamie Walker.  Last year lefties hit him better than righties, which again is not good for your left handed specialist, but I think he reverses the trend this year.  Robertson could also fit this role as (again except for 2008) has been much better vs. lefties over his career.

Now onto my bullpen surprise Joel Zumaya will be unhittable this year, and be your closer by years end.  Comerica will be like the old Municipal Stadium in the movie Major League, replace Wild Thing Rick Vaughn with Zoom, and replace the song "Wild thing" with the begining guitar rif of Jimi Hendrix's Vodoo Child that Zumaya comes out to, and the Copa will go nuts when he comes in...lets just hope he keeps away from guitar hero!

Like Willis, he is focused, intense, and healthy, and early word is that although his velocity isn't back in the high 90's (yet), he now has a big league curve and change-up.  Can you imagine waiting on a 97+ fastball, and all the sudden he drops a curve on you, or pulls the string on a 85MPH change?  If he stays healthy, and things are working like reports say they are, I think Joel is set up for a big 2009!

So now onto my bold, bold prediction...Miner and Macay McBride will be your long relief guys.  As I mentioned, I like Miner, but not McBride, put any name in there, it would just be a filler, (use any of the following names if you like, Robertson, Freddy Dolsi, Clay Rapada, or even Ryan Perry could make the club).  I guess options are good, but none of those particular options send a chill down my spine (maybe Robertson as I said), and that worries me.

Now onto the boldness of this prediction, this is what your backend will look like:

7th inning...Robertson.  I've thought for a while, Nate might be a good back end guy.  He is usually good for three innings, so put him in there for one, and he might have enough stuff to make it work.  At first, he will not like this, but after coming in late during close games, he will come to love the situations (think 2006 ALCS).  I know it is out there, that is why it is BOLD!

8th inning...Brandon Lyon, or Juan Rincon.  Have a feeling about Rincon being paired up with Rick Knapp who he worked with when he was in Minnesota.  He might just be my "small mini surprise" for 2009.

Closer...Joel Zumaya.  For all the reasons I listed above and more, he will be your closer for 2009, and for years to come!  Just quit playing f--king video, and helping people move!  You play a video game for a living, and will soon be rich, pay someone to help you and your family move!!!!!

So there are my pitching predictions for 2009.  Check back in a few days to get the position players stuff.  Here are a couple teasers:

Cabrera to have a HUGE year.

Ramon Santiago will be your starting SS by June 15 (Adam Everett might already be hurt or hitting .187)

Oh yea, Inge will be better, but not great...I just pray he can somehow hit .240.

Thanks for Stopping By - Dan