2016 Season, Fan Experience

Comments on Comments

20 Comments

Well, since the Tigers are becoming increasingly more difficult to talk about, let’s have a discussion about discussions.

I don’t know how billfer (our founder) ever did this thing on his own. I have definitely gained a real appreciation of what he did. He was a groundbreaker, he did it all on his own, and now he is wandering lonely, bearded and bedraggled and broken, over the old Tiger Stadium grounds, with a cardboard sign—a scathing one, I might add—ripping the Curtis Granderson trade.

Kevin and I are doing are best to keep this thing going, but really the lifeblood of this beast is really the community of readers and commentators that have stuck with it, along with those that are just discovering it. I really do believe there is still room out there for a well-run, well-lit place in between the corporate mega-blogs and the solo monoblogs.

This is in response, of course, to a comment here which ruffled the feathers and muddied the waters and somethinged the somethings. It addressed some things which probably needed to be addressed. I do wish it didn’t have the feel of a one-and-done criticism; I hope he stays around a bit (I know he’s been a reader in the past). I think we need to add some more views to the mix to keep this interesting. If he can bring back Vince from Minnesota, all the better. (Vince? are you out there?).

I think the biggest issue is that in the game day comments, people, to put it bluntly, bitch about stuff. I know I do. I try to be somewhat measured in my posts (Kevin probably does that better), but in my comments…sometimes not so much. But at the same time, when you go to a game, don’t you react and respond in a way that is very different than what you would do the day after? People react; live sports is reactive stuff. I try to take the game comments in that spirit. Just because you yell “you *#+$*!” at someone in your disappointment doesn’t mean you don’t treasure your signed baseball card of him, and play him in your fantasy league.  Personally, when I get frustrated, I just try to say funny stuff. I’m not sure if anyone here was around then, but Rear Admiral Julius von Thursday…yeah, that was me.

Anyway, I’ll throw out a few things off the top of my head here, in no particular order:

1. The Tigers grossly underperformed last season, and it looks like they are going to do it again. I said it looks like—it’s too early to say that. Still, that makes watching games beyond frustrating sometimes.

2. The number of commenters is smaller, so occasionally (and I’ve felt this from the reading side and the commenting side) it seems like you are talking to yourself a bit. And I think that encourages a bit of a different tone in the comments.

3. In the past, the blog has had Game Posts, and Other Posts (which is not an official category). The Game Post comments were full of dumb insulting nicknames, negative comments, the whole bit. But the same people would be more measured when discussing the same issues in a non-Game Post. I will try posting on off days to see how that works, if I can manage it.

4. One good thing about this blog has been a very…collegial? feel. We all respect each other’s opinion here, even if…well, really, what is wrong with them! We can disagree without being personal. And people do feel comfortable sometimes sharing personal things here, and that is something to be respected.

5. Most of us still commenting here have been here a while. But we will end up talking to ourselves if we don’t respect and encourage other people who comment here who aren’t regulars, whether they are new readers or just infrequent commenters. I’ve seen that happen other places. It’s like having a team of old players who…oh wait, I don’t want to think about that.

6. Maybe we need a way to direct comments and suggestions to Kevin and I here? I have been told there are things one might want to tell us, that one doesn’t want to post as a public comment. Makes sense.

7. It’s really easy to throw the manager under the plane (they don’t take busses these days). And it’s very inconsistent too: Joe Maddon lets the players wear whatever they want and does goofy things. Genius! Another manager lets his players wear Zubaz and he’s a damn idiot! It’s an interesting discussion, but I don’t know how to have it. Maybe making bad puns on the managers name is unhelpful, but then again, maybe he is a bad manager who deserves some punning. I just don’t know.

8. There is no number 8.

9. Kevin may have a more concise and better response, which even may be no response. But does he have a 20-game hitting streak in Beat the Streak? No, he does not.

Lastly, when I initially read last night’s comments, for some weird reason, I latched onto the comment about people commenting in all caps, and wrote this long thing which somehow covered Homer and included the word “orthography.” You know Homer never “wrote” the Iliad and Odyssey; he compiled them at most. In all caps. With no spaces or punctuation. Will this post better that comment? The bar is low, as the Dead Sea bartender said.

20 thoughts on “Comments on Comments”

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  3. I appreciate the time and effort you put into this post, and it gives me hope that we may be able to turn things around and bring some life to this site again. You and Kevin have done an amazing job in Billfer’s absence, and now the rest of us have to decide if we want to do our part.

    Stray observations:

    -It does feel like we’re talking to ourselves a bit. I’m guilty too. WordPress comments sections aren’t the best for conversations, but I guess it’s the best we’ve got. Maybe we can all make an effort to reply to at least one person per game instead of only posting top-level comments.

    -Joe Maddon is my favorite manager in all of baseball, but the whole dress-up party thing drives me nuts. I’d give anything to see him managing in Detroit, but I’d have a hard time hearing about the cowboy-themed road trips.

    -I guess Homer would’ve been right at home here with his all-caps tomfoolery. Does that mean we’re all geniuses or that he was a moron?

    1. I was just having fun with the Homer thing, but it’s true that small letters were a much later invention than caps. And yet when you take a Greek class, you learn the small letters first. Strange.

  4. Hopefully Jim Eggers USMC will agree with what I am about to say.

    It seems that the center of our controversy is Brad, our manager. Strip away the baseball component and what Brad is supposed to be is the leader of a group of young men. In the military, he could be a squad leader, platoon leader, company commander battalion commander or even general. In the military the job of all of these is the same: to get a group (size of the group differs) of young men from different cultures, backgrounds, ethnicity, and even primary language to get along together and work toward a common goal. The difference between failure in the military and civilian occupations is that when the military leaders fail, the cost is sometimes measured in casualties. In baseball it only results a lost game, sorry season and perhaps embarrassment. So let’s realize that it is just a game as far as the Tigers are concerned.

    No matter what standards you apply, Brad has NOT been a great manager, not even an acceptable manager. If you are not making the grade in any sport, even more so in the MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA, you will get criticism. But the good news is that you are generously compensated for failing. Do we need to remind ourselves that a 300 hitter still fails 7 out of 10 times? If you can’t take the heat as the old saying goes……

    Personally I would have been delighted to be a sub 200 hitter that was on a major league club for a couple of years. Unfortunately, I never even made the grade in little league or stickball although I did enjoy playing. So let’s count our blessings. We have a great place for us non-achievers to express our displeasure with what goes on with our beloved Tigers and not get too bent out of shape if we don’t agree. In fact, it is the place to disagree and we don’t take any casualties, except an emotional one if we allow it to get under our skins.

    I personally try to keep my comments to blunders and disappointments that happen on the field but I also will occasionally rant. A couple of weeks age I stated that Miggy did not look like Miggy. I have tried to suggest reasons other than mechanical or physical since our beat writers will never bring up bad news in fear of getting their access cut off by the club. Presumably this is the difference between a reporter and a sports writer.

    What would really upset me is if I met one of you that told me you read something on the blog that pissed you off so much that you DIDN”T respond.

    (ALL CAPS, HOMER IS LONG GONE, AS ERNIE USED TO SAY.) KEVIN AND COLEMAN (AND ANYONE ELSE SILLY ENOUGH TO RUN SUCH AN ENTERPRISE) DESERVE OUR THANKS FOR PROVIDING THIS FORUM WHICH IS FREE FROM OUTSIDE INFLUENCES. IF YOU READ IT AND HAVEN’T CONTIBUTED, SHAME ON YOU! IF I CAN REGULARLY MAKE AN ASSMUS OF MYSELF, SO CAN YOU. THANKS, KEVEN (I STILL HATE THE RANGERS) AND COLEMAN. DO LET US KNOW WHEN WE MAKE YOUR JOB HARDER.

    2. Tony I do concur, Sir, and in the light of day I realize that what transpired this past weekend in my personal life bled into my rant. So, i do feel that the Tigers are underperforming, this is nowhere near the baseball I coached for 15 or so years, and if and when the Tigers do decide to can Mr. Brad whomever steps into that role will be fair game for the bloggers on this website too.
      On a happier /sillier note, when I related to my wife what i had written she commented that she was glad the commenter had not taken a shot at Heidi Watney, cuz then I would have been really hacked off.

    1. Back to business! I’m glad they sent him down. Boyd pitched 4 2/3 good innings yesterday. Although he walked three, he pitched well enough to consider him for a start up here since our starting rotation seems to be in trouble right now.

  6. I only have a 18 game win streak on Beat the Streak…do what do I know about hitting!? And I never read Homer, nor Do I know anyone maned Homer.

    1. It’s a lot harder than it seems like it would be. I’ve been doing it for four years, and 18 was my longest streak until just now, so I’m excited. My secret this year has been avoiding Tigers not named Kinsler.

  7. VerHagen will be fine..he has been solid for most of last half last year and up til yesterday…I hate it when Brad leaves a pitcher in to get his brains beat out, only to get a certain number if pitches in. He does that to every pitcher at one time or another.

    1. I agree. VerHagen was not sharp yesterday yet Brad left him in long enough to put the game out of reach after we had come to within one run. No situational awareness.

  8. I’ve heard through the grapevine that Leyland may be brought back to replace Ausmus. Either way, this could be a season that could drag out till the bitter end and only through our fine commentary and tidbits of wisdom can we make it seem not quite so long. After all, we didn’t create this mess the Tigers have become but we can at least make the journey more enjoyable, and from reading comments by others outside this blog, I feel we have much more to offer than all the others put together.

    1. OK, that would be weird. There is also Lloyd McClendon lurking in Toledo. I would take him over Gene Lamont.

      Brad Ausmus has a huge amount of respect around the league…but most of it comes from his long and impressive playing career. And the women seem to think he is hot; a reverse Heidi Watney effect or something. But I’ve yet to hear anyone stick his or her neck out and say he is a good manager.

      And, after further review, it’s a tiny bit disappointing that someone from Troy didn’t jump in on the Homer topic.

      1. Oh where is Sheldon Cooper when we need him? Doesn’t Leyland’s managing the US team make that less likely than Legendary Lloyd?
        Personally, I still think it’s too early (now that it is too late) for Al to replace Avila. He may wait until mid season or later to see who will be available. Or until Mr. I has had enough.

    2. How reliable is your grapevine? Because even though I didn’t care for Leyland much his last few seasons, he’d be a breath of fresh air at this point. Plus, can you imagine the storyline if they brought him back and he turned the team around?

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