Today, Tiger fans got some consolation. After being dismissed by the Red Sox in the ALCS, The Motor City Faithful were rewarded for something they knew since June. While it's not a World Series Championship, the Cy Young winner once again resides in Detroit. What makes this even more awesome is that, like the MVP debate of last year, we all were sure this was gonna happen. Yes, there were other pitchers that could have easily taken this award. Yes, there were stats and facts that could have swayed this away from Max. However, Max has just as many stats and facts to back up this win. Even better, he had the kicker of that most holy of stat: The Intangible.
When Max Scherzer was was part of the great Dave Domblockbuster Deal of 2009, he was not the pitcher that we see today. Hell, early on the Tigers had to send him down to Toledo for the great retooling experiment tht every pitcher can go through. Take a step back to take a leap forward. I had the privelege of working on a Tigers Weekly TV show that spotlighted this moment in Scherzer's career. After seeing Max come all the way back from what could have been a death sentence to win the Cy Young, I have to wonder: Are the Tigers extremely lucky? Or has Detroit once again worked itself into having a group of people that are above the crowd? Funny enough, we've seen this story before in the form of another local sports club. You may have heard of them, the Detroit Red Wings?
The Red Wings were left for dead, a once great franchise now wallowing at the bottom of the standings. Affectionately called the Dead Wings, they had one hell of a dry spell. But the winds of change blew with the purchase of the team by Michael and Marian Illitch. Then the dominoes began to fall with the hiring of Jim Devellano, the clutch pick of Steve Yzerman, the sleeper pick of the millennium in Nicklas Lidstrom and the arrival of the Russian Five. The result? 22 straight Playoff appearances, 4 cups in 11 years, and a return to glory. It now appears that same magic is working for the Tigers. Coming off their third consecutive division title and back to back ALCS appearances, the Tigers have poised themselves for continued success. And this success is attributed to every level of the organization, starting with Dave Dombrowski going all the way down to the coaches. The Tigers have built a winning culture for the Olde English D, just as the Red Wings did. And we all know that old saying...
"If You Build It, They Will Come."
Max Scherzer is a great pitcher, but there's always a balance that must be reached between talent and discipline. Herb Brooks said, "You do not have enough talent to win on talent alone." Max Scherzer has great talent, but it took the tutelage from some of the great minds in baseball to help him towards the elite level of play that we are seeing from him. This Tigers winning culture can turn so-so skill into great skill. The results are far more than twice over when you have amazing skill to start with. I remember seeing Max in one of his first starts as a Tiger and he was good but unproven. Watching this guy hone, refine, and push himself towards the strong and skilled pitcher he is today has been amazing. Now, he's won the Cy Young and is amid rumors of being traded. Round and round we go. Whetever happens next, we're all gonna look back at this season with fondess, excitement, and pride. Whether it's more skill, more hard work or even the intangible that's gotten him here, I'd like to believe it's the balance of all three. So he's got that going for him...which is nice.
When you know something is going happen, when you feel deep in your bones that something will come to pass, there is still some small, minute, infinitesimal piece of doubt. But that doubt gets obliterated when you see that thing turn from fantasy to reality. Tigers fans are still waiting for another World Series win. It's nice, however, to be reminded that we still have top talent on this team. It was even nicer to be able to say one of the more gratifying and infuriating statements in all of fandom.
Told ya.
No comments:
Post a Comment