8702090744 DETROIT FREE PRESS 870821 Friday, August 21, 1987 STATE EDITION

NWS

1A Photo Color MANNY CRISOSTOMO MITCH ALBOM SEE ALSO METRO FINAL EDITION page 1A Copyright (c) 1987, Detroit Free Press CALM? REASONABLE? GO TIGERS!! The hard part now will be staying calm. The hard part now will be sleeping without a batting helmet. The hard part now will be making up excuses as to why you are sitting on the front porch in your pajamas at 5 a.m. "Oh, hi!" you will say as the newspaper boy rides up on his bike. "I was just, uh, watering the driveway. Got the sports section?" The hard part now will be reminding yourself that the Tigers have many games left, that first place in the American League East is not a given, that losing is still in the realm of possibility -- although admittedly in a corner now, with a sheet over its head. "Remain calm," says the voice of reason. "HOT DOG!" says the other voice. "I MUST HAVE A HOT DOG!" Can we tell you what what it's like to play the Tigers these days? Four easy steps: 1) Put on a uniform. 2) Listen to the national anthem. 3) Get your brains beat out. 4) Shower. What was the score against the Twins Thursday? 8-0? And the day before? 7-1? And the day before? 11-2? We are talking base hits before you find your seat. Home runs before the beer gets warm. Well. OK. The beer starts warm. Home runs before the beer gets hot. Offense? Pitching? How's this? A sweep of the Twins, three out of four from the Royals, two of three from the White Sox, three of four from the Yankees. Are they hitting? Are they scoring early? The Tigers are doing a twist on that old NBA joke; the only important part to watch is the first five minutes. "Calm down," says the voice of reason, "there is a long way to go. All this can change. Teams cool off." "TICKETS!" says the other voice. "WHERE DO I GET THE BLEEPING WORLD SERIES TICKETS!" This is not going to be easy. "DO YOU PREFER defending first place rather than chasing it?" someone asked Darrell Evans after Thursday's victory, which kept the Tigers a half-game ahead of Toronto in the AL East for the second day in a row. "Well," he said, grinning, "it's been pretty good so far!" Pretty good? If things got any better for the Tigers, they'd be printing their own money. Take Thursday. Here is Lou Whitaker, scratched from the lineup with an injury. Here is Pat Sheridan, stepping into Whitaker's leadoff spot. Here is Pat Sheridan smacking a double. Here is Pat Sheridan stealing a base. Here is Pat Sheridan hitting a home run. Thank you, Pat. Look. Out on the mound. A new Tigers pitcher. Doyle Alexander. He needs a street map to find the stadium. Does he care? Is he nervous? Does he throw eight shutout innings? No. No. And yes. "I've been through the wars," Alexander said Thursday after beating Minnesota's ex-scuffball pitcher Joe Niekro, proving that a man is not the same without his emery board. "Every day will not be as easy as this one. But I'll keep going out and trying again. That's why I'm here." Is that perfect? That is perfect. That is the attitude of these new and improved Tigers. Quiet calm. Steady confidence. Veteran savvy. "AYEEEEEEEEEE!" And that was the fans. DID YOU SEE that crowd on Thursday? Over 45,000? On an workday afternoon? We are talking Waves. We are talking chants of "Dig, Dig, Dig -- Ice Cold Coke!" (I have no idea. And I do not want to know.) We are talking the pent-up desires of fans who waited through mediocre 1985 and mediocre 1986 and plain old lousy early 1987. At one point in May the Tigers record was 11-19. People were starting to watch polo. But now? Now the Tigers seem like Rocky and the rest of the league a slab of cow. "We're hammering a few folks," admits Kirk Gibson. Yes. Forty-four runs in their last five games? One hundred and thirty-four runs since Aug. 1? Their motto should be "Next?" The hard part will be keeping all this under control. The hard part will be trying to think about anything else in September. Raking leaves? Very tough. Back to school? Impossible. Football? Football is going to be very hard to think about. Very hard. If the Lions were smart, they would play all the tough teams early. Who would notice? "October?" you will say, when relatives call. "Gee, we might be a little busy in October. Yeah. The whole month. Sorry." The hard part will be perspective. The hard part will be to not dye your hair white and smoke a pipe. The hard part will be thinking that whiskers are for shaving, that Mad Dog is not a term of endearment, that Jack Morris and Frank Tanana are not actually Hercules and Samson. The hard part will be believing that the smack you just heard was merely the bats at Tiger Stadium, and not the lips of destiny, planting a hard juicy one on Motown's boys of summer. "Stay calm," urges the voice of reason, doing its best. "Nothing is for sure. Stay calm." "TIIIIIIGERSSSSSSS!!! Very hard. CUTLINE Tigers fan Heather Durand, 3, of Rochester, shows her true colors. DTIGERS;BASEBALL;Detroit Tigers