Game 6- 69 Tigers

Win, 6-0 over Kansas City Royals

Two straight shutout wins for the Tigers. This time, Earl Wilson dominates and Don McMahon finishes. The offense roars to life finally in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Roger Nelson was fantastic for KC, but Cisco and Drago cough up five runs and it's a romp.

Record: 3 wins now in pool play.

AL Pool Play top 6:

Twins 6

Orioles 5

Red Sox 4

Royals/Yankees/Tigers 3

NL remains the same, as no games were played.

Next up: vs California, who is among the teams with 2 wins.

Game 5- 69 Tigers

Result: 2-0 win against New York Yankees

Record in pool: 2-3

Summary:

Mickey Lolich pitches a three hit shutout. That's about all you need to know about this one. Jim Northrup knocked in two with a single in the third and Lolich made it hold up. Fritz Peterson pitched well for the Yankees, but there was no need to use the bench. This was a pitching and defense game.

Up next: 

at the Kansas City Royals

Pool update- top 4

AL: 

Minnesota
Baltimore
KC
New York Yankees

NL:

Chicago Cubs

Pittsburgh

SF

LA

Scenes from 2025: Cleveland, OH

September 26, 2025

I finally arrive in Cleveland. So glad I upgraded my seat for this flight. I get off quickly and move through the airport. I imagined this moment in Charlotte and it kept me calm. After walking up the bridge, I notice that Cleveland's airport was not huge. I find my way to ground transportation and make my only real blunder of the trip, which was grabbing a cab instead of an Uber. $45, the cabbie tells me and I wince a little on the inside. I used Uber a few times on this trip and probably should have just booked it while I was in Charlotte, but oh well. I relax and look around at the surroundings. The ballpark is the first thing I see on my way in, and I smile, as I know I'll be there tomorrow.

The cab pulls up to the Westin Cleveland Downtown almost exactly at four o'clock, and I make my way to the desk. The process takes a longer time than the desk clerk would like, and she hands me a breakfast voucher at the restaurant. I head up to my room up on the 17th floor and once inside, I exhale. The travel part is over. The tourist part has begun.

Game Four- 69 Tigers

Game Four:

vs Boston Red Sox

Yeah, so that didn't go well. Tigers lose 7-3 in a game that was a pitching duel through six and then the Red Sox unload from innings 7-9. This seems to be a theme, as the Twins did the same thing.

The good: McLain through six innings was in top form.

The bad: The wheels fell off for him and Tom Timmermann, who has had two disastrous outings so far.

The offense didn't really show up until the 8th inning, as Lee Stange held the Tigers in check.

Bottom line: Can't afford too many more like this. Thankfully, there's still time to turn it around.

Next Up:

Vs New York Yankees.

Game Three- 69 Tigers

Pool Play Game Three

5-2 win vs Cleveland Indians

Highlights:

Al Kaline four hits, including two HRs

Earl Wilson with solid performance

Shaky:

Bullpen a little wobbly but gets the job done. Dobson comes in after two innings from McMahan.

Result: Tigers get on the board. Twins so far undefeated in AL, but there's room for the Tigers still to make a run.

Next up: 

vs Boston Red Sox

Question: start McLain or Kilkenny?

1969 Detroit Tigers- Playoffs

1969 Playoffs

Round Robin style, so games against all 11 AL Teams.

Top 4 move on to regular postseason.

Game One- 

Disappointing loss to Seattle. 

Seattle's pitching held up well.

John Gelnar 5+ IP for Seattle

Tigers were down 4-0 in the 9th and tried to rally against Diego Segui, but it fell short.

Solid pitching performance by Denny McLain wasted (6 IP, 2H)

Game Two-

Brutal loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Offense gave Tigers a 4-0 lead, but Twins scored in 4th through 7th innings to take the lead and then Ron Perranoski held on. The bullpen was again a negative. Pat Dobson faltered in the first game and it was Tom Timmermann in game two. Lolich was also shaky.

Tough start to pool play. In game one, the offense didn't show up until late, and in game two, the pitching staff let the offense down.

After 2 games, zero points.

Next up:

Earl Wilson takes on the Cleveland Indians and Stan Williams

Kansas City Athletics vs Minnesota Twins 4-12-66

 Listened to this one today. Tight affair between Mudcat Grant and Catfish Hunter

Box Score for Athletics (1) vs Twins (2) on April 12, 1966 at Metropolitan Stadium

Scenes from 2025- Charlotte Douglas International Airport

After a pretty uneventful flight from Milwaukee, I emerged from the tunnel in Charlotte with about three hours before my next one would leave. Checking my phone, the American app pinged me three times with three different gates, none of which were all that far away.

The thing about Charlotte is that it's like a smaller version of Atlanta. Hordes of people moving in every direction and every gate seemingly overflowing with travellers. It's not as much of a bother when you have three hours to wait, but it did make me a little weary when I was trying to find somewhere to eat my lunch. 

There's an atrium between terminals, and the atrium was filled with restaurants and convenience markets. I didn't really know what I was hungry for, but I could see Jersey Mike's and Chick Fil A. I could also see the lines at those places backing up for a while, so I eliminated those from consideration. Walking a bit further, I found a place that was a little pricey for sandwiches but also had no line. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, and I found a spot on a bench in an area that wasn't overly crowded.

I did eventually begin to get crowd fatigue. Since I was solo, I didn't have a partner to chat with. I didn't really feel like reading, and all I could focus on was the bustle of humanity flowing through the terminal. So I sat near my gate and people watched for a while, then felt an odd peaceful rush wash over me. In simplest terms, I just had to wait. I had no stress and no hurry, just a boarding pass for a flight to Cleveland. I had nothing pressing there, either, as the show I was attending didn't start for several more hours. I sat down, smiled, and imagined my flight in Cleveland landing and the freedom of being out of the airport scene for the day. 

Roll The Tape (Adam Deitch Quartet)

 

I didn't quite enjoy this one as much as Egyptian Secrets. It's a mostly peppy, upbeat album. Not sure if I want to re-listen much to it, let alone get it. 

Scenes of 2025- Mitchell Airport, Milwaukee, WI

I'm up early and an Uber took me to the airport this morning.

For a few years now, I've looked at the schedule on MLB.com and wondered what it would be like to take a baseball trip. Last month, I went through with it and booked my flights and my hotel room. Now, I've cleared security and am sitting at the gate almost two hours early for my flight to Charlotte. 

 This is my first solo trip in almost ten years. I visited my brother in DC in 2016, before I became a dad. But this is a pure solo trip. I've mostly got an itinerary. Since the weather is warm and dry, I'm seeing comedian Sheng Wang tonight, going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow morning, and seeing the Guardians play the Rangers tomorrow night. 

I'm a little in disbelief that I'm actually here and it's a little bit of a shock to the system. Every day, day after day, I do most things with my family. Kids come home, have dinner, then we spend time together. Weekends, we wake up, get ready, set, go. Today, it's just me, and it's going to be just me for the next 48+ hours. I have some nerves about that. We've travelled a lot as a family, and we rely on each other, but now it's just me. The thought has crept into my head that I could just turn around and go back home, but I know I won't. That's just me being used to being immersed with family and all its responsibilities. 

There's a family of three next to me, and I smile. I can watch the families navigate the airport, and it's not as big of a deal in Milwaukee as it will be in Charlotte, and I'm not responsible for them. It always takes me time to relax, and I know once I get seated on the plane, my nerves will calm. Some people have issues with flying, but I never have. Hey, if someone else is handling the driving or flying, I can kick back and relax...

Dealbreaker- Groovy Uncle (via Bandcamp)

 Dealbreaker by Groovy Uncle

1  OK

2  OK

3  OK, I feel a Beatles influence (Sgt Pepper)

4 (I)- Good (Get?)

5 OK (Beatles/Musicals?)

6 OK (same/kind of Beatlesesque)

7 getting a little repetitive now

8 starting to get annoyed

9 "" ""

10 "" ""

11 What the hell is this? 

12 So you're trying to sound like the Beatles with some cleverness. It gets repetitive after a while.

It's like this band took the "granny songs" that Lennon complained about and wanted to expand on them.

Lazy headline: Dealbreaker might be the dealbreaker.

On second thought, this was their 14th album in 14 years. Perhaps I should listen to their earlier stuff.