This is an article I wrote a couple of weeks ago when it would have been more timely. There are a couple out-of-date lines in there - like saying the Tiger news has been slow - but I thought it was still worth posting.

The internet has changed the way we remember, I think. It used to be if I were going to write about a baseball memory, I would do just that. I'd have to trust my brain to lay the events out as they actually happened instead of subbing in Chet Lemon for Gary Pettis or making me think it was the ninth inning when it was the seventh. Today, I wouldn't write a story about a game I attended the day before without having the box score opened to make sure I had the details correct. There are resources that allow us to get it right most of the time and it's embarrassing to go from memory and see the dreaded reader comment starting with "Actually..." 

However, today I'm going bare-brained. I don't do a lot of looking back in what I write. That's because it doesn't interest me all that much unless it helps me figure something out going forward. Consequently, I don't really have much interest in all the best of the 2000s lists we're seeing right now. So to do one that interested me - it is a slow news time for the Tigers, after all - I had to come up with a hook. 

I wondered if there was a moment from each season of the past decade that stood out in my memory. Just my memory. No poring over Retrosheet box scores and play-by-plays. No going through archives. Just memories. I'm not just relying on memory to pluck moments from the seasons, either. I'm sticking with memory to go back to the point in time. All the details, names and descriptions are right out of my head - no research allowed. So get your red pens ready and follow along. (Click the title to read the article.)

2000

I remember I was in Nick and Jimmy's in Toledo with my then girlfriend - future and current wife - when I noticed the Juan Gon trade scrolling across the bottom of the ticker. The Tigers traded for Juan Gonzalez? Who'd they have to give up? Kapler! Catalanotto! Thompson! Aw crap. Well, in my memory it was much harsher language. I didn't care much for Gonzalez. I liked those three players and there were others thrown in as well. When I got to the internet to see what others thought, the critics were harsh. The Tigers were acting like they were a player away from contending. They gave up too much for a declining player who didn't get on base enough or play a key defensive position and they would likely only keep for one year. It was not encouraging. 

When the season started, it didn't get much better. Gonzalez started off slow and to make it worse, it seemed like all we heard were complaints about how big Comerica Park was for right-handed hitters. Even his mom, when brought to the stadium to watch her son, said the Tigers' new yard was too big. So we had given up what seemed like a lot to bring a declining player to a stadium he didn't want to play in for one year. Still, as a Tiger fan, I was pulling for him. 

That brings me to my two most vivid memories from that season. The first one was a game we went to against, I believe, the Red Sox. Gonzalez was playing right field, and a ball was pulled over the first baseman's head into the corner literally ten feet from our seats. I had come to dislike Gonzalez because of his poor performance and belly aching, but being a Tiger fan I just wanted him to start playing like the player the Tigers hoped they were getting. But when I saw him racing toward us to run down that ball, he was a player who was hustling. He got a good break, cut the ball off before it started bouncing around off the walls and held the runner to a single. "Nice play, Juan! Way to hold the runner!" 

Maybe I had been too hard on him, I thought. Not too long after that came my second memory. I was watching a game on television and Gonzalez pulled a pretty sharp grounder to short and pretty obviously didn't work too hard getting out of the box on the routine play. As he 75 percented down the first base line, somebody sitting very near the television mike could be heard clear as a bell yelling in exasperation, "Hustle!" It was kind of funny, but it also seemed to highlight to me, even at the time, how Gonzalez would never be accepted in the Motor City. 

I don't mean to make it seem like Gonzalez's failure in Detroit was all about effort, or lack thereof. These were just two contrasting impressions of a player in the midst of a disastrous season who clearly never should have been brought to Detroit. Detroit fans were fortunate for two reasons, though. The trade didn't work out a whole lot better for Texas and Juan Gon turned down a gigantic contract that would have been a ball and chain on the Tigers' budget for years to come. 

2001

My clearest memory from the 2001 season is much more of a moment and again involves Juan Gonzalez. My friend Greg and I were at a now defunct BW-3 - it was still called that then, I think - near the University of Toledo campus on Dorr Street. We were just downing beers, playing trivia and yapping but on the television the Tigers were playing the Indians. I was keeping a not too close eye on the game, and just about every tiem I looked up at it I reiterated how much I hated Gonzalez. 

After all, the Tigers traded a ton of players to get him, tried to throw money at him and he not only acted revolted by the Tigers, he underperformed in the one season he spent with the team. Then, after turning down the Tigers to become a free agent, he signed a one year, $10 million contract with the rival Indians. To make matters worse, he was having an MVP candidate season that would help the Tribe into the playoffs. What a bastard, I repeated over my beers. 

Anyway, in this particular game the Tigers held a late lead and Juan Gonzalez came up late in the game in a crucial situation. Dave Borkowski was on the mound trying to keep a lead, and I wanted so badly for Gonzalez to make the final out. These were the Indians. This was Gonzalez and failure by each would help my beloved Tigers. It would be a nearly perfect ending. Perhaps you remember what happened, though. Gonzalez hit what I remember as a walk-off home run. "God, I hate that [mister falcon]! What the hell is Borkowski doing pitching in that situation?" I yelled as the bar's Tribe fans hooted and hollared and taunted its Tiger fans. Such was the misfortune of being a Tiger fan at the time. 

2002

To be honest, I don't remember much about the 2002 season. Don't get me wrong. I probably watched or listened to most of the games, swearing about this or that player sucking and how god awful the team I loved was...again. It's just that there apparently wasn't much from that season that distinguished it from all those other terrible Tiger teams from the late 90s and early 2000s in my mind. The thing that did stand out for me was the instance in which Luis Pujols let the Tigers bat out of order. I don't think I was watching the game in question, but I remember opening The Blade the next day to read about the incident. 

This incident - I think that's what happened; it could have been something screwed up on the lineup card - was used to portray how badly Pujols was overmatched as a major league manager. He regularly batted same-handed hitters consecutively, making the team susceptible to situational pitching changes late in the game. He didn't seem to know how to manage his pitchers and now there was this. A mistake that gets little league teams laughed at, made by the manager of a laughingstock team going through probably the worst stretch of its century-long history. Pujols, thrust into the manager's spot a year after leading Double A Erie to the playoffs and after Phil Garner was fired six games into the season, was obviously not re-hired the next season. The Tigers went with local hero, Alan Trammell. 

2003

What can I say about this season? It forced us to sit through one of the worst seasons in the history of Major League Baseball. They were so bad I had to listen to stories about them on NPR, where I had tried to find solace from sports news about the woeful Tigers. There were stories early in the season about National League pitchers hitting better than their entire lineup while they once again struggled to earn their first win of the season. There are almost no good memories from that season, so it should come as no surprise that my clearest memory was an awful one. 

My mom had secured tickets to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game, and when she told us I thought, "Well, at least they have a shot at beating the Rays." The starter was going to be Joe Kennedy and as we drove to the game, the Tiger announcers informed us of the struggles he was having. You could hear the pleading in their voices. Listen to what this guy is giving up. Surely we can do something against him? 

We were late getting to the game, to the point where we heard the first inning on the radio. The Tigers retired Tampa in the top half of the inning and Andres Torres led off the first with a triple. Thank you, Joe Kennedy! Here was the thing, though. They didn't get him in. Not only did they not get him in, when we got into the park and watched the rest of the game we didn't get to see a single hit. The Tigers managed just one hit off Joe Kennedy and the Devil Rays and we were looking for parking when it happened. From my family's perspective the Tigers had essentially been no-hit. What I remember so clearly from this game is turning to my mom and my wife and saying, "I think we just saw the Tigers' worst game of what may be their worst season ever." 

You see, it was only May or so and we couldn't be sure at that point that this was the worst Tiger team to ever pollute the airwaves. I've heard people ask which season was more frustrating between 2003 and 2008, when the Tigers went in with World Series aspirations. I think people who ask that question checked out on the Tigers long before 2003 was over. That season was torture. They were terrible - historically bad - and it seemed there was no relief in sight. 

2004

Luckily, there was relief in sight after the Tigers' awful 2003 season. They signed Fernando Vina, then Rondell White. They wanted to get Rich Aurilia, but after he opted to go to the Mariners they traded for Carlos Guillen. Apparently, after watching two straight teams that probably wouldn't have won the Governor's Cup, they decided to go get some major league players. This was kind of the mood among Tiger fans, if I remember correctly. But the big news came when a rumor surfaced that Pudge Rodriguez was talking to the Tigers. 

After being seen as the leader of the upstart World Champion Marlins, he was having trouble getting a contract that paid what he and Scott Boras thought he was worth. He was an aging catcher who had sat out with some back problems and nobody wanted to step up and offer the multi-year contract paying him $10 million per year. The Tigers ponied up, and even though the circles I ran in on the internet skewered the Tigers for giving him so much money, Pudge and all the others coming in made the season a little exciting. They certainly weren't going to contend, but at least they were going to field a major league team. That seemed clear. 

None of this was the most memorable part of that season for me, though. That was the time leading up to the draft. This was the Tigers' sole reward for the dreadful 2003 season. For having one of the worst teams in league history, they were rewarded with the second pick - don't ask - in the 2004 draft. There was some question as to who would be taken. There were three pitchers who seemed like possible targets. There were two Rice pitchers, Jeff Niemann and Phil Humber, and a fireballer out of Old Dominion, Justin Verlander. 

There were advocates for each as the best pitcher in the draft. I read stories in Baseball America and tried to figure out which one I wanted the Tigers to take. When I read the story about Justin Verlander, it became clear. The Tigers and Dave Dombrowski loved power arms and this kid had the definition of just that. I loved the story about Justin walking with his dad when he was 12 and coming up to a lake. His dad picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could before looking to Justin as a challenge to beat him. Verlander picked up a rock and threw it right over the lake to the other shore. 

The most memorable part of the 2004 season for me was the Tigers taking Verlander and his finally agreeing to sign. Obviously, the second part was the most important. His agent had taken a bit of a hardball stance and there was a little distance between what he thought Verlander should get and what the Tigers wanted to pay him. Just when it looked like the two had reached an impasse, Verlander's father figured prominently in another story about his son. He stepped in and insisted that the two sides hammer out an agreement so his son could play baseball. An agreement was reached and the Tigers are now enjoying their best pitcher since Mickey Lolich. 

2005

This was another season where there weren't a whole lot of memories that jumped out at me. I'm sure if somebody described a few games from the season, I would remember what they were talking about. As I sit here, though, depriving myself of internet-based memory joggers, I come up largely empty when it comes to 2005. After some temple massaging, and some serious excavation of the memory banks I did come up with two memories that stood out as equally significant for the Tiger franchise so I'll share both. 

The first involved Alan Trammell, and to be honest, it may have come after the second one I will share chronologically. I don't quite remember the situation, but I remember it was one in which the manager ALWAYS comes out to argue. I believe there was a call on a play - perhaps at the plate - and the opposing manager came out to argue. After some back and forth and an umpire conference, the call was overturned. That may not have been the exact sequence of events, but like I said, it was a situation where the manager comes out every single time. Except this one. 

This is the part that's clear in my mind. Trammell, who I'm sure was upset, still only yelled a sentence or two from the dugout but didn't step out on the field. Maybe he knew the umpires had corrected a mistake. It didn't matter. In my mind, that was the moment it became clear Trammell had lost his job for the 2006 season. 

The other big moment from this season was the Urbina-Polanco trade. I remember reading about how Pudge and other members of the team were upset as the team trading their closer seemed to be a sign of surrender. He thought they were still on the periphery of the playoff hunt and this trade seemed to suggest the front office disagreed. I remember the story detailing Pudge's discontent very well, and now it stands out as a great example of why players don't often become GMs. I also remember because Urbina was later involved in what I consider the funniest headline I've ever had on my blog. "Urbina signs 14-year deal with Venezuelan prison" 

2006

This season is obviously much easier to remember. There was the thrilling debut of Joel Zumaya. Curtis Granderson emerged as what had been a long lost breed in Detroit, a homegrown everyday player who could be a star. Craig Monroe's game winning homer against the Yankees to avoid a doubleheader sweep in New York. The horrifying collapse that allowed the Twins to win the division and gave the Tigers a first round date with those same Yankees. 

Of course, all that just made the most memorable moments a little sweeter. To be honest, I can't pick between the top two moments for me. I was at the clinching game four against the Yankees. I remember the Tiger home runs clearing the fences and Bonderman being perfect heading into the fifth inning. But none of that is as memorable as seeing the Tigers come back out on the field to share and savor the victory with the fans. We were in the club seats in the upper deck out in right field, but it seemed like Joel Zumaya, standing on the wall with two bottles of champagne and screaming, was right there. I literally get chills thinking of how happy a moment that was. 

The same thing happens when I remember what is understood as the defining moment of the 2006 season, and what I consider a tie for number one. That's obviously Maggs' walk-off homer against the A's. I was in a bar called the Six Pack on Sylvania Avenue about a mile from my house. I went up there with my wife and our friend Alex to watch what he hoped would be the clinching game. Because we were drinking and talking and it was a bar and we couldn't really hear the game, I don't remember the game as vividly as I'm sure many fans do. 

I remember Jason Grilli almost giving the game away with walks before Wil Ledezma came in to get the inning's final out with an infield popup. But by the tenth, when Maggs came up with Monroe on second and Polly on first, everybody was watching. When Maggs lifted that ball towards left, I don't remember if the bar roared or if it was hushed in anticipation. I just remember hopping up and down thinking that it had to be gone. Before it even landed, I was screaming with the rest of the bar, hugging and kissing my wife, high fiving Alex and yelling that we were going to the [firetrucking] World Series. [Firetruck] yeah, baby! 

Again, chills. We will not speak of what followed. 

2007

I'm sure there were plenty of triumphs in 2007. After all, the Tigers went into the All Star Break on a roll. Granderson had made one of the best catches we had ever seen and the Tigers had run through two very good teams in the Braves and Red Sox. Edgar Renteria was quoted after the Braves series as saying that the Tigers were the best team Atlanta had seen to that point. But it all seemed to tumble down in the second half. 

Still, September rolled around and the Tigers had a series in Cleveland. If they could manage a sweep, this thing may not be over. Not only that, we had tickets to the Saturday game so we had a shot at being witness to the Tigers' revived chances. But in the Friday game, Casey Blake hit a walkoff homer to give the Tigers a crushing defeat that seemed to end their shot at the playoffs. It was just brutal and when it happened, my wife and I both said we didn't really even want to make the trip to Cleveland to watch the next day. 

Sure enough, the Tigers got smoked. They hung around for a while, but I believe the Indians' first four hits were all homers and they just pulled away. The Cleveland crowd was obviously thrilled, but I was surprised at how much of the energy was focused on Detroit losing. It was clear the Tribe was going to the playoffs, but the chants and calls were usually along the lines of "Detroit sucks" than "We're going to the playoffs". I still remember a sign that said something to the effect of, "Indians > Tigers, OSU > UM, Even Browns > Lions, Detroit Sucks". It all seemed distasteful and when we were walking back to the car, I angrily told my wife that I hope Cleveland never won a championship in any sport ever. 

I should probably be more sympathetic to a fellow Rust Belt city struggling through tough times and trying to savor whatever triumphs they can get their hands on. Screw that, though. And screw you, Cleveland. I still hope you never win anything and I hope LeBron James bolts after you lose in the playoffs this year. Not exactly magnanimous of me, I know, but what can I say? Tribe fans said some hurtful things that night. 

2008

The 2008 season will be remembered as the colossal failure of a team that went into the season as a supposed contender for the World Series. The embodiment of that team's failure will probably always be Dontrelle Willis. In my mind, the team's failures are intertwined with his own. I remember driving to my brother's house and turning on a game against the White Sox. He had not given up a hit a few innings in, but he had walked three or four batters and there was the feeling his "no-hitter" was a house of cards waiting for a stiff wind. 

The stiff wind came in the form of multiple runs in the fourth or fifth inning and I remember being relieved - actually relieved - when he hurt his knee slipping on the wet grass. I may have even said "Thank God" at the time. I'm not proud of it now, of course. It's shameful how tied up we can get in the teams we love. But at the time Willis's injury just seemed like sweet relief from his total inability to hit the strike zone. 

2009

I'm not going to dwell too much on this one, as it's such a fresh wound. Most of the season was a pleasure as Verlander stepped into the superstardom we had always hoped for and the Tigers seemed like a certain playoff team, even in the final week. But their lead continued to collapse and they had that fateful late season series in Minneapolis. In that series' Saturday game, Verlander seemed like our best bet to get a win and hopefully come closer to locking up the division. Things looked pretty good, too. The Tigers were up 2-1 in the seventh (or was it the eighth?) and with two runners on, Jason Kubel lifted a fly ball to left fielder Don Kelly. 

I was listening on the radio and breathed a sigh of relief as Verlander sounded like he had wiggled free of a jam against a hot hitter and a hot team. Then Dan Dickerson's voice raised as he realized Kelly lost the ball in the Metrodome roof. Two runs scored and after that the wheels came off. My wife and I were on our way to a party, but I was crestfallen. "God I hate the Twins. No, really, I hate the [mister falconing] Metrodome!" She tried to get me to shake it off - just a game, let's just have fun at the party - but I simply could not believe the Twins and craptacular dump of a stadium had burned the Tigers again. 

So there you have it. There's a stroll through my own personal Memory Lane. I guess I should work on making my baseball viewing a little more kid friendly, but I have thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of words invested in this team at this point. Sometimes it can only be said with an expletive or two. Now I expect, and even hope, that you will do what I would not allow of myself in the writing of this piece. Some fact checking. I encourage you to find these moments and articles I speak of and detail how my flawed memory deviates from actual history. It was kind of the point and hopefully, the fun, of this exercise.

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