Relish old baseball stadiums while they last

ON BASEBALL

Tuesday could be a very sad day in Detroit.

That's when a Detroit City Council will vote on whether certain remnants of Tiger Stadium should be preserved. To me, the thought of driving in on I-96 and not seeing the old stadium stings. It will be hard for me the next time I drive to a Tigers game.

If my summer baseball trips the past few years have taught me anything, it's that you can't replicate an old stadium. You can hire the smartest, most decorated stadium architect. It doesn't matter. In 21st century America, new stadiums simply have a different smell.

Last month I visited Yankee Stadium for the first -- and almost certainly last (unless someone hooks me up with free tickets) -- time. Every moment of the five-plus hours I spent inside the stadium was special. I forgot for one night that I detest the Yankees. The old building made me forget.

A quick four reasons why the old Yankee Stadium is so great:

1. The upper deck. That's where we sat. There's no way I could afford a lower-deck seat. But the upper deck at Yankee Stadium is fine, because it hangs over the field. Even sitting way out in left field, I felt closer than I ever have sitting in Comerica Park's upper deck. I even had my glove out the entire night, thinking a home run could reach me -- something that was easily verified during the Home Run Derby last week.

2. The scoreboard. It was so simple, so old-school, any baseball purist had to love it. The names of players were displayed. Batting average, other statistics, etc. There was nothing fancy about it. Why would there be?

3. The lack of Ferris wheels. There was no attraction within the ballpark that had nothing to do with baseball. If you're going to a Yankees game, you're going to see the Yankees. You're not going to take your kid to the amusement park or see how fast you can still throw a ball. It's all about watching the Yankees.

4. The fans. Nothing against Detroit, but Tigers fans these days can be pretty ignorant, like when they boo Todd Jones for a save he didn't even blow. Yankees fans, on the other hand, knew what they were talking about. And they made plenty of noise, especially when the hallowed Mariano Rivera came in to pitch the ninth. He deserved the applause.

In a year, don't expect a similar experience at the new Yankee Stadium. The only good thing about it will be that it's not "Hewlett Packer Stadium." Poor people like me won't be able to afford tickets. The architecture won't be the same, instead providing a better view for the wealthy lower-level fans and screwing the upper-level mionions.

And, of course, there will be a Ferris wheel -- or some variation of one.

These old stadiums need to be relished, because once they're gone, they're gone. If you're a baseball fan next season, the two stadiums you have to visit if you haven't already are Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. And make Dodger Stadium your No. 3 destination.

All the other ballparks can wait. Sure, there are small variations among them. And Baltimore's Camden Yards is the best of the bunch. But they're all similar. They all fall into the same modern-day ballpark mold. The mold that makes millions for the team, but doesn't give the baseball fan like myself a better experience.

When Tiger Stadium was abandoned despite still having plenty of baseball left in it, I was devastated. It had been the ballpark I'd grown up visiting. I had sat everywhere within it and loved every seat I occupied (except for the time I had an obstructed-view chair). It had that baseball smell. That's what it was all about.

But along came Comerica Park, and no, it didn't solve any of the Tigers' problems. The team stunk up the joint until the magical season of 2006. Can you imagine how special that summer and early fall would have been inside the old confines? There sure wouldn't have been any fans riding the Ferris wheel during a playoff game!

Of course, it's usually about money. And the Tigers of 2008 are much richer than the Tigers of 1998. Who would have ever thought a decade ago that Mike Ilitch would make them one of baseball's biggest-spending teams? Not I.

But I'd trade Miguel Cabrera for the old stadium in a heartbeat. There are plenty of Cabreras out there. There is -- and soon we'll be saying "was" -- only one Tiger Stadium.

Here's to hoping that Red Sox and Cubs fans hold on as long as they can.

Stadiums like Fenway and Wrigley can't be replicated.

Thinking about baseball

ON BASEBALL

My trip down here to Tobacco Road, to the Research Triangle, provided me with a lot of thinking time.

Approximately 13 hours alone in my Honda Civic. As good as my Journey CD is, I couldn't listen to it 44 consecutive times. I had to put on my thinking cap.

And while baseball isn't more than an afterthought in this basketball-crazy environment, it consumed my mind for much of the trip.

Here are a few thoughts as we prepare for the league championship series:

Only in New York
So it is very likely Joe Torre will not be back as Yankees manager next year after 12 extremely successful years. The Boss said during New York's series with Cleveland that anything short of a series win would probably mean the end of Torre's tenure.

Crazy, I thought -- only-in-New-York crazy.

Let's see... Torre's Yankees have never missed the playoffs and won four World Series. Of course, it's a what-have-ya-done-for-me-lately society, but any other team in the majors would be happy with making the playoffs every year (not to mention winning the division every year except this year).

Poor Joe.

On a related side note, I recently finished watching "The Bronx is Burning," ESPN's original show about the flamboyant 1977 Yankees. The show, which received rave reviews, portrayed an inexorable George Steinbrenner constantly on the brink of firing quirky manager Billy Martin.

Martin barely held onto his job and went on to lead the Yanks to an improbably
world championship that year and the next. But The Boss wasconstantly breathing down his neck, questioning every personnel decision he made.

So maybe Torre didn't have it that bad after all. He's the longest-tenured
Yankees manager since Casey Stengel held the job from 1949 through 1960.

And Stengel didn't have to deal with a certain Boss running the show.

A good start for the Tigers
The Detroit Tigers got their very important off-season running in the right
direction this week by picking up the $13 million option on catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

Is "Pudge" worth $13 million at this stage in his career? No way. But name five catchers in the game better than Pudge right now -- especially defensively and calling games.

Tough task, isn't it?

The reason keeping Pudge was the right decision is because his replacement would undoubtedly be a downgrade. Detroit wants to win now. It's not building for the
future. It's got the pieces to repeat that magical run of a year ago, and Pudge (even with his putrid OBP of .294 this season) is one of the pieces.

The most telling number that demonstrates his importance to the Tigers is that the team's pitching staff's ERA was 1.00 lower with Rodriguez catching compared to Mike Rabelo catching.

The Tigers still have plenty of work to do before pitchers and catchers report. The most pressing issue now becomes finding an All Star-caliber shortstop to replace Carlos Guillen, who's moving to first base.

Atlanta's Edgar Renteria seems like a good bet if Detroit can pull off a trade with the Braves. And then there's Alex Rodriguez, or "A-Rod."

Many Tigers fans are quick to rule out trying to sign the soon-to-be American League MVP, but before they shun the idea, they should consider who exactly they're shunning.

Forget his playoff numbers. During the regular season, A-Rod is the best player in baseball -- hands down. If owner Mike Ilitch is willing to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars, the Tigers should pursue A-Rod, who is expected to opt out of his current Yankees contract.

You just never know what might happen.

There's still baseball
Because of how quickly the first round series were completed, we've experienced this three-day window devoid of games and filled with speculation. Fortunately, this period is almost over.

Colorado-Arizona begins Thursday and Cleveland-Boston commences Friday.

Have the playoffs lost a little spice with the quick exits of the Yankees and Cubs? Sure, they have. But these two series appear very competitive (then again, I would have said the same about the first-round matchups).

As is usually the case in October, pitching ruled the first round. The Rockies shut down the Phillies' high-octane lineup and the Indians pitchers were able to limit the
damage caused by the Yankees. So forget the bats for a moment -- these two series will be decided by pitching.

Which is why I'll take the Diamondbacks and Indians in two series that stretch six or seven games.

While no one will argue that Colorado has more punch in its lineup than Arizona, the D'Backs -- led by Brandon Webb -- have the pitchers to quiet the Rockies bats (even at Coors Field).

Cleveland and Boston's top two starters are a wash, but I like Cleveland's Nos. 3 and 4 guys over Boston's, and the Indians' middle relief has proven more steady of late.

So I'll take Arizona in 6 and Cleveland in 7.

Giving the D'Backs a chance to win two World Series in seven years (while the Yanks have none during that period) and the Indians an opportunity to win their first championship since 1948.

Yes, minus the Yanks and Cubs, there are still myriad storylines left in October.