Dear Mr. Commissioner, Please Don't Change Our Game

Dear Mr. Commissioner, 

You are full of enthusiasm for this game we all love called baseball. You want the game to be as great as it can be. But we love the game for what it is and also what it isn't.

This is not hockey, basketball, or football; full of speed and action at every turn. That's okay. We don't want it to be. We watch baseball for what baseball has to offer. Those of us who are baseball fans are okay with its pace. 

Mr. Commissioner, I support measures to take out unnecessary time wasters. A clock on the time between innings - sure. But putting restraints on key components of a game, like regulating how many times a catcher can go out to talk to the pitcher; now you're changing the game in a significant way. Make changes around the game, but don't regulate the timing of the game itself. 

Baseball has always had a large following. I don't see that changing any time soon. Those who like it will continue to like it as it is. Changing the game to make it faster is more likely to lose you fans you already have then draw in more fans. In my opinion, people who don't like baseball as it is probably won't be converted just because it's faster. I think the draw or dislike of a sport goes beyond time and action. 

Dear Mr. Commissioner, please think seriously about any changes you may propose. Please seek out the thoughts and opinions of players - current players but even more, past players. Please continue to let the saying be true, that a player from 100 years ago could come to a game today and still know what's going on. 

Add fun, add excitement, but leave the fundamentals the same. Don't change our game. 

This Year Puts 2015 Into Perspective

Last night's game against the White Sox was a microcosm for our whole season. The numbers, the expectations, the talent all says the Tigers should have the advantage, and yet, we lose. Jim & Dan kept saying, "This makes no sense" and that is the tag line for the Tigers season this year.

In 2015, a season which when over, I said was a year to forget, we at least had a logical reason for our record; significant injuries to significant players. This year, there is no logic. Everything said at the beginning of the year that we should be good; that we might have a shot at getting back into things. It makes sense that Norris and Boyd go through some struggles in their sophomore season, but other than that, the rest of the troubles defy explanation. If someone said that players were being paid off, I'd consider it. It makes more sense than the seeming nothingness we have. 

Okay, I'm being dramatic, but the most frustrating part of this year is that there is no rhyme or reason for it. Everything is there for us to win and we can't win. It makes no sense. 

Stop Booing Players

We were playing the Baltimore Orioles and knocking Chris Tillman around. I was happy because the Tigers were winning. The Orioles fans were decidedly UN-happy. And they were making sure Tillman knew it. I actually felt bad for him.

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PROVE?

Imagine for a moment that you had a responsibility/job to do. The only person that this affected was you, but you were failing at it. You would feel terrible. You would feel like a failure. Now imagine that you have a job that affects approximately 30 people immediately around you and tens of thousands of others. Oh, and you get paid a LOT of money to do this job. Now when you fail, it feels even worse.

Do you see? Chris Tillman, and any other baseball player struggling, is essentially failing at his job right now. He's probably beyond frustrated. He knows he's letting his teammates down, his manager down, the fans down, and it's probably killing him. So what do players who are struggling need from the fans? The last thing they need is us voicing our frustrations. That's all booing them accomplishes. It tells them we are unhappy and makes them feel even worse. It doesn't improve the situation at all. 

TRY TO BUILD THEM UP 

What if, instead of booing when they fail, we cheer loudly and exuberantly when they succeed? Even if it's throwing a strike, let them know we appreciate when they do a good job. Because they already know we are frustrated. (And we are not more frustrated than they are). Rather than complain about how terrible someone is doing on our social media platforms, find something good that they are doing and praise them for it (and tag them too!). There is pretty much ALWAYS something good and positive to find, if you know how to look for it. 

LET'S BE HAPPY

Baseball is a game almost designed to bring heartache and sorrow all on its own. Why should we create more discord by our words? I implore the baseball fans - look for the good. Search long and hard if you have to, but try to find at least one good thing in a bad start, in a loss, in a crummy season. You have no idea how much it will improve your overall attitude toward the game, the players, and even life.