Detroit Tigers: I Hate the All-Star Break

Jul 1, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) reacts as he struck out during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 1, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) reacts as he struck out during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

No baseball makes this Detroit Tigers fan grumpy. And, the All-Star Break is four days without baseball. I don’t like and I never have.

Ok, the home run derby is occasionally fun, but the All-Star Game itself isn’t. I’ll watch the game, just because it’s baseball. But, it’s really not good baseball.

I also know that the All-Star break is an important time for baseball players to get a few days away from the ballpark. I get that. Vacation is important.

But, I still don’t like it.

During the All-Star Break, I can’t watch my Detroit Tigers on TV and I can’t listen to the impeccable Dan Dickerson on the radio. I’m stuck listening to the actual…gasp…music…when I’m in the car, especially since most of our local sports talk personalities in West Michigan are focusing on football already.

Jun 30, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (1) at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 30, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Detroit Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias (1) at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

I always record and save a few games on my DVR for the winter months when I need to see the boys of summer, but watching the games in the All-Star Break isn’t as satisfying because I just watched them a few days or weeks before.

Then, we all get to speculate who the team will pick up at the trade deadline. As a fan with a blog, I have posted my thoughts about the team, but in all honesty – I like most of the pieces that Al Avila has put on the field. And, to get someone valuable for the Tigers, someone valuable usually has to go. I’d be just fine seeing a few players go, but those aren’t the valuable guys.

So, while I’m reading about the Tigers as other fans with blogs share their predictions for the post-All-Star-Game trades, I have to try to steel myself against other fans’ wishes that Ian Kinsler, Justin Verlander, and Miguel Cabrera get sent somewhere. I’m cringing as I write these horrible ideas – because no team will want the guys that really need to go- the albatrosses: Anibal Sanchez, Justin Upton, Mike Aviles, and Mark Lowe

More from Detroit Tigers News

So, I sit, trying to last for four days without any baseball games and with the constant chatter of who is staying and who is going. Of listening to the experts on the national shows discuss the trade options for the teams that everyone cares about, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox, and those Chicago Cubs. Our Tigers are so rarely mentioned on the national stage – it’s almost like they don’t even exist.

There are a handful of other things that make me hate the All-Star Break. I hate the snubs that so many good players get. I hate that the really bad national announcers (you all know who I’m talking about) are usually involved in the All-Star events. And, most of all, I really hate the fact that the All-Star Break is the moment when fans like me have to realize that there is only half of the baseball season left.

Next: Is it time to bring up Joe Jimenez?

See you all at Comerica Park on Friday!