Watching the All-Star festivities, it would seem to be a good time in Detroit. The team is looking up at the break, some of the youngsters are showing promise and, more importantly for the city, people from the outside seem pleased with their visit.

For a look at the Tigers future, two stories about the futures game show the promise of a hard-throwing young pitching staff that already includes Jeremy Bonderman, owner of the best record not to make the All-Star game.

And Rosey hits another column. Perhaps I’m biased toward the game, but since he’s been through hockey and basketball championship runs, I’ll take his word for it: Imagine how nuts this city would be:

So this is how it can be. This is what it’s like when baseball engulfs a city, when the biggest stars show up and the whole sport is watching. …
No sport brings anticipation like baseball. In all my life, I have never heard people say they wanted to get to a football game early so that they could watch kicking practice. Yet fans poured into the ballpark Monday afternoon to watch the All-Stars take batting practice. …
And in Detroit, we often debate about which pro team is most popular. It’s a fun debate, but let’s admit it: A winning baseball team can electrify a city the most. There is nothing like 81 home games a year, most of them in great weather, all of them downtown, in support of a World Series contender.
We don’t know when Detroit will have that again. The Tigers say they are getting close. But one look around Comerica Park on Monday night, and you knew the town would be ready. After 18 years of watching everybody else have the fun, Detroiters finally got another taste, and surely the older fans can remind the younger ones of the best thing about baseball:
The next day, you come back for more.

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