Twice is Nice!

It's been so long since us Spartans won two-in-a-row over Michigan that many of us weren't even alive to witness the prior phenomenon. Duffy Daugherty was the coach of MSU back in the 60's, when the program last won, not only strings of victories against the Wolverines, but national titles as well. With that in mind, how did Mark Dantonio, in only his third season at the helm, get the Spartans to a point they haven't been to against their in-state rival in 42 years?

• No Staff Turnover - When Mark Dantonio arrived in East Lansing, he brought a great crop of assistant coaches along with him. For instance, both offensive coordinator Don Treadwell, and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, have been on Dantonio's staff since he arrived from Cincinnati and brought both coaches along with him. Former MSU quarterback Dan Enos has been particularly important in the recruiting realm.
  
• Recruiting - Dantonio's recruiting emphasis has been within Michigan and Ohio, and it's paid off in spades. Rivals.com ranked the MSU 2009 recruiting class 17th in the nation, and the 2010 class is 28th as of this posting. In-state kids like William Gholston, who may have practically be conceded to Michigan under the John L. Smith regime, have been coveted since day one by Dantonio and his recruiting staff.
  
• Emphasis - When it comes to the U-M game, Dantonio has made it a priority every season. The clock he had put up counting down to  the game didn't seem to make its intended point in 2007, but it's worked these last two years. Having been an MSU assistant under Nick Saban from 1995-1999, and then working as a defensive coordinator at Ohio State during their 2002 national championship season, Dantonio understands Spartan Nation's special disposition towards the Wolverines.
  

2009 Detroit Tigers - The Season of Missed Chances

Scrappy, frustrating, exhilarating. These are just some of the words used to describe the 2009 Detroit Tigers. But nothing sums up the entire season like the word "almost." The Tigers almost ended it after the top of the 10th. They almost scored a go ahead run in the 9th and 12th. But, when it was all said and done, it was the Minnesota Twins, taking advantage of the Tigers mistakes, ending Detroit's 2009 campaign.

Believe it or not, the Tigers didn't lead the majors in LOB (men left on base), nor were they even close. It's hard to imagine, especially considering Tuesday's one game playoff, but it's probably because they have a difficult enough time even getting guys on to begin with. Inge couldn't come through in the end, Laird couldn't come through, and Cabrera, despite his two run shot early on, is going to take a lot of deserved heat these next few days.

This end's going to make for a long summer, and bring up plenty of questions. Should the Tigers have given Magglio those AB's to kick in his $18 million next year? Where are they going to improve the starting pitching/bullpen when there are hardly any good free agents or money to pick them up with?

Kudos to the Twins and Tigers for putting on a heck of a show, but it's another morning on Wednesday where I've gotta duck SportsCenter for CNN.

Tigers just CAN'T leave that many guys on base and still expect to pull it out.

Tigers seem to have blown it in the 9th . . .

Can the Tigers pull it off?

Hard to believe they're in this situation, but the Tigers brought their one game playoff with the Minnesota Twins upon themselves. Luckily, the Tigers have the starting pitching advantage tonight with Rick Porcello going up against Scott Baker for the Twins. Even though Baker got a win against the Tigers last time he faced them on October 1st, he hasn't done remarkably well against them otherwise. Watch for Curtis Granderson to have a decent day, as he gets to hit a righty.

P.S. - Let's just hope Miguel Cabrera isn't inebriated for this one.

This is a test post, as I am testing the SMS post feature from my phone. I'll be posting a U-M/MSU game article in the next couple of days, so watch for that.

Quick Hits

Since I have devoted no time to this blog over the past few months, I've decided that maybe just some quick updates would be a better route to run in terms of getting things posted. The posts will likely be "Twitter-like" in nature, and kept to a short blurb.