Nice night at Comerica Park tonight. Nice weather, a stadium comfortably not too crowded and a pleasant (almost shocking) surprise of a pitching performance from Dontrelle Willis.
Computer Boy had his baseball card and sharpie ready for Josh Hamilton however Josh did not play or participate in batting practice nor was he on the field for the pre-game; I believe as a consequence of him hitting the wall making a catch a few nights ago. The only glimpse Computer Boy had of Josh is when he came out to stand for the National Anthem. As I mentioned in a prior post, Skate Kid and I are going to the Tigers/Rangers game Thursday and Skate Kid will bring the card and sharpie and make an attempt. I did "catch" a batting practice ball (it rolled to me as we were standing in foul territory watching the hitters) and Computer Boy now owns the ball so he is happy with that obviously. It now goes in the box with other batting practice balls to be signed by the players at Tiger Fest in February.
Well the story of this game was Dontrelle Willis who had not won a major league game in 20 months. Willis was sharp, and that is an understatement, allowing 2 baserunners in the first inning but then retiring the next 17 batters in a row. He ended up with 5 ks, 2 walks and only 1 hit given up in 6 1/3 innings. The Tigers win 4-0 with Willis getting the W.
One thing I noticed is that after the first inning in which Willis escaped without giving up a run, about 25 people behind the Tigers dugout stood and gave him a loud cheer; much more than a normal cheer in that situation. After the second inning, there were about 30-40 people standing and cheering. After the third inning, practically the whole section was standing and cheering. We sit in Section 126 just behind home plate and by the fourth inning, our section was also standing and cheering along with other sections. When Willis was lifted in the 7th inning, the entire crowd gave him a loud standing ovation. It is a well known fact that Dontrelle is a little on the emotional side. During the final (again loud) ovation as Dontrelle was walking off, he was smiling ear to ear and he began clapping his hand into his mitt. He then looked to the crowd and touched his heart. I am not much of a sentimentalist but I was touched anyway.
If Dontrelle could get back to where he was in his early years with the Marlins, he could have this city in the palm of his hand. He really could.
If tonight is any indication, if he needs any assistance from the fans, he's got it.
Go D-Train!
Forgot to mention. I went to park in the lot that I have been parking at forever and it was "closed for the day" with nobody there and a gate barring access to the property. I then went two blocks down and found a safe and secure lot which is quite a bit cheaper so this is my new parking lot unless they "close" or something. Moral of the story as to the first lot: Don't close ever.
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