Justin Verlander Fever and a Detroit Tigers Fan's Excitement

I remember as a kid watching crowds of fans standing outside of Tiger Stadium, hoping to get on the end of a monstrous Cecil Fielder home run. This was on TV, since I wasn't in Detroit, but the feeling of awe was very real.

I write about soccer and basketball, and have never made an attempt at writing about baseball despite playing it, watching it and being generally fascinated by it. I love statistics, so what's not to love about baseball?

Nevertheless, despite my armchair manager tendencies and pulling my hair out when Austin Jackson strikes out for the umpteenth time, I've never tried writing an article about it.

I'm on vacation this week, but can't seem to stop writing. Since I'm on vacation, I decided to write something different, as a fan rather than as an analyst or strongly opinionated commentator. So, here goes my attempt at explaining why I'm so excited. I have done everything shy of setting Google News Alerts to keep me updated on spring training.

The feeling of watching Cecil Fielder jack home runs has hit me many times since then in a variety of sports. Watching something great in any kind of sporting event, knowing that you're seeing something that is beyond anything you will ever be able to do yourself, is awe-inspiring.

Watching Vince Carter leap over the head of Frederic Weis in the Olympics was one of those moments, as was watching Tyler Hamilton ride the 2003 Tour de France with a broken collarbone.

I don't care if he was 'roided up or no. That's an incredible feat. 

Last season, was an incredible season with a disappointing finish. I watched Justin Verlander throw a no-hitter, Miguel Cabrera hit better than anyone else in baseball and Doug Fister come out of nowhere and look like Greg Maddux.

There were plenty of awe-inspiring moment. With baseball being so stat friendly, the awe-inspiring moments were fairly obvious. Verlander's entire season was awe-inspiring, even if you're just looking at the stat sheet. 

That's why I'm so excited about the coming season, and why I'm paying more than a cursory glance to spring training. In years past, I would look at the box scores to see who Jim Leyland is playing, and try to make blind predictions about which Toleo Mud Hen or Erie SeaWolf is going to break into the team during the regular season. 

This year, there's a buzz that every Tigers fan feels, including this one. The promise that last season held—the dream that went unfulfilled—has every expectation of coming to fruition this year.

Verlander has every reason to be as dominant as ever, and a whole new offseason and spring training period to get even better than before, tightening his mechanics ever so slightly.

Every time Verlander pitched last year, someone expected him to throw a no-hitter. He took a ridiculous number of no-hitters into advanced innings, and every one of them had me biting my fingernails, watching text updates on my phone from wherever I was working at the time.

This season could be even better. Verlander could throw his third no-hitter and have statistics that are so dominant that people will be talking about a second consecutive MVP award. 

Of course, this being baseball, he could also pull a Dontrelle Willis. At this stage of his career, though, I agree with the rest of the baseball world in thinking that's highly unlikely. There will once again be building excitement throughout the week as the days get closer and closer to his next start.

Then, the dream, that until someone gets the first hit off him, that he is working to join the company of a very select group of individuals. 

With all the excitement surrounding Verlander, it's easy to overlook the rest of the pitching staff, but there's plenty to be excited about there. Most of it is found in the lanky frame of Fister and the exuberant aura of Jose Valverde.

With the talk of Verlander trying his hand at recruiting with Roy Oswalt, there could be even more things to be excited about. Apparently, the Oswalt deal is unlikely, but so was the biggest reason to be excited.

If watching Cecil Fielder smash home runs was a highlight of my childhood, then watching Prince Fielder smashing home runs will be a highlight of my adult life.

I distinctly recall talking about thinking last season when Fielder announced that he would not be returning to the Milwaukee Brewers, how awesome it would be if the Detroit Tigers got him.

The consensus was "no way," he wouldn't agree. Too many bad associations with his dad, won't want to hear the comparisons. I argued that his strained relationship with his father would spurn him to join the Tigers just so he could be the best Fielder in franchise history. 

Maybe that had nothing to do with it. After all, their relationship is reportedly improving. It doesn't matter if Prince came to the Tigers to win a World Series, to trump his father or because he loves Detroit. His motives don't matter to me, but his actions do.

And his actions are speaking volumes already, bonding with his teammates, catering to his fans and making it exciting to be a Tiger fan. 

No mistake about it, if the Tigers had one of the best hitting tandems in baseball last year with Cabrera and Victor Martinez, it is the best in baseball this year. No more intentional walks to Cabrera with Fielder waiting on deck, and perhaps a bit of impetus to rein in Jackson to get him on base more often.

With Cabrera's great on-base percentage, Fielder could have the opportunity of hitting a two-run or more home run almost 50 percent of his at bats, just from Cabrera alone being in front of him. 

That is a big reason to be excited, and is reason to not be deathly concerned about sacrificing some defense in exchange. It would be great to have a perfect team, but that's just about impossible, so I'm happy with what the Tigers have.

With all this excitement, it's good to remind oneself of the sad spots. Magglio Ordonez, one of my favorite Tigers ever, is likely gone. Victor Martinez is out for the season with a knee injury that may prevent him from ever coming back. Brandon Inge, another favorite, yet frustrating, player is without a steady position.

The Inge situation (the sIngeuation?) could have an exciting development, though. A player who's impossible not to cheer for—a terrifically hard-working, kind-hearted—sportsmanlike professional, should catch good breaks here and there. Last season was a stinker, but he came on at the end.

This offseason, he has reportedly jacked up the training and added beaucoup muscle, speed and overall power. Spring training is going to be interesting, and it's going to be exciting.

I can't wait for October.