The "Favored" Curse

There will be no championship parade through Downtown Detroit for the Tigers. On Friday night, the World Series ended with the crowing of the St. Louis Cardinals as the new champions of Major League Baseball. They win the series 4-1.

What a disappointment. This was a painful series to watch for a Tiger fan, which- in the interest of full disclosure- I am not because I don't like baseball. But as a Detroit native, I became a semi-fan when the Tigers jumped out to the best record in baseball early in the season. They did fade down the homestretch, but found themselves and momentum when the playoffs started. They stunned the favored New York Yankees in the ALDS. Then shut down the Oakland A's in an ALCS sweep. The City of Detroit was elated to be in the World Series for the first time in 22 years and most of the baseball pundits had the Tigers as heavy favorites to win the title. Maybe that was the kiss of death.

Home field advantage disappeared in Game One. The Tiger bats went stone cold against the Cardinals' red hot pitching. Detroit's pitching went South. Kenny Rogers produced the only win and that was marred by "Dirtgate." The biggest disappointment-- all the defensive mistakes Tiger players made. They committed eight errors in the five games. The majority of those errors were charged to pitchers. It was downright embarrassing. I don't want to take anything away from the Cardinals, who played a terrific series. So, I won't say Detroit handed them the series. But Detroit handed them the series. The mistakes basically left me feeling like the Tigers didn't want to win the series. They weren't ready for the pressure of playing for all the marbles.

C'est la vie. My late grandfather was sitting by the radio in the kitchen of his heavenly mansion with a huge smile on his face when Brandon Inge whiffed on the final pitch of Friday night's game. My dad was probably happy, too. Earlier in the week, he told me he was pulling for St. Louis to win. Congratulations to the Cards.

The Tigers now become the third professional team in Detroit to be heavily favored to win their league title this year and not claim the prize. The '05-'06 Detroit Red Wings had the best record in the NHL and failed to win the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They didn't even make it out of the first round. The '05-'06 Detroit Pistons had the best record in the NBA and failed to make the NBA Finals. Now, the '06 Detroit Tigers, after holding the best record in Major League Baseball until the final weeks of the season, failed to win the World Series. When it comes to Motor City teams, it's obviously a curse to be favored to win a title and the Detroit Shock prove the point. They did not have the best record in the WNBA and were not favored to win the title, but the 2006 WNBA Finals trophy resides at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Oh, Good Evening!