Judgment Call

Now that the Tigers have fallen out of first place—briefly—after residing there for a record 198 straight days, it's time to start rooting for them to stay on top. There have been six different world champs the past six seasons, and baseball could use a powerhouse team to look up to, or root against.

See, the game needs a team that sets a standard of excellence, a team we can talk about in the 1990s, the way we talk now about the feisty, hairy A's of the early '70s, the '75-76 Big Red Machine and the '77-78 Yankee Bronx Zoo.

Fans enjoy powerful teams with distinct identities, and the Bless You Boys could be next in the line of great clubs. So...Go Tigers! Win another World Series.