With The Tigers, It's Just A Ride

By: Eric Thomas

A fierce debate raged this weekend about (surprise!) Brandon Inge and whether or not he is going to be on the opening day roster, despite a sub .200 average (again) in the spring. I found myself getting angry. I wondered how long this story was going to play out in polite sports circles. How long did I have to evaluate the final roster position? I thought about how it made me crazy that a guy who does not play the game as well as someone else should still make a team someone else made a bad business decision two years ago.

Then I had an epiphany. The time has come for me to realize something: It's just a ride. I have been trying to accurately map the twists and turns of the Tigers offseason this year. From this latest Inge nonsense to being stingy on positions of need and spending superfluously on positions they totally don't need, I finally can say it: I give up.

I am going to follow this team every single game, and enjoy it. But what I am not going to do is spend the next 160 games questioning every decision they make. I fear I don't have the strength. If I spend my entire summer bellowing about the Fielder acquisition ("when has it ever worked to buy a bunch of bats?!?" or "tell me why again we didn't go after CJ Wilson?") I will be a hollow shell of my former self.

It seems that most Tigers fans just want to let things play out and watch it. I suppose I am not going to do the same. I am going to forget past, and stop questioning things so much. It's useless to do anyway. It's not like I can change the direction of the organization. It is baseball, it's fun to watch and its often sunny outside when it is being played.

I am not going to give up my fan hood. The Tigers are my team and I root for them. I will always root for them. I will always wear the Old English D on my hat, and not just because I am trying to cover up the extent of my male pattern baldness. I support the team because I care about them, but this second guessing is exhausting to me. I have said my peace and now it's simply time to watch baseball.

If Inge is in the lineup and strikes out with the bases loaded (again), why I would get mad? If Cabrera struggles mightily at 3rd base and also struggles at the plate when he attempts to find his spot in this whole situation, I will not say anything about it. If Fielder goes on an A-Rod slump now that he makes A-Rod money, and has a lot of trouble hitting American League pitching, I will remind myself: It's just a ride. Sit down, enjoy the ride and just watch some baseball.

It's just a ride. Might want to get a helmet, though.