Swinging and missing in D-Town



Comerica Park before ALCS Game 5



I was wrong about Detroit. I have a friend who likes me to repeat when I say I'm wrong, just to hear me admit a second time that I was wrong. That says something...

People would ask me which cities I dreaded the most. I would usually say, in order, "Detroit, Cleveland, Houston..." I based this opinion on old data. In the old days, when I covered both the Oakland A's and the New York Yankees, downtown Detroit was essentially devoid of hotels. There was the Atheneum, the Doubletree and the Ren Center. I stayed at Hyatt Hotels, which meant Dearborn. 

Dearborn meant driving to old Tiger Stadium. Outside of the late-night run to White Castle along Michigan Avenue, it meant driving everywhere _ from the airport to the hotel to the ballpark _ and nothing seemed particularly convenient. 

AND...since I don't really like Greek food so much, it was a terrible food town. How many times, I ask, can one go to Fishbones?

 Before arriving Tuesday for the ALCS, I hadn't been to Detroit since 2002, and in the nearly 10 years since, things have changed for the business traveler. The Westin Book Cadillac hotel is solid, even more so because of Michael Symon's Roast (http://www.roastdetroit.com/), Slow's barbecue (http://www.slowsbarbq.com/) and a place I was willing to take _ trying to branch out _ a Greek flyer on, Pegasus (http://www.pegasustavernas.com/index2.html). Suddenly, there were food options AND I could walk to Comerica Park. Things were looking up...

Great baseball. No food. Box lunches. What kind of destiny is that?

Until they weren't...Two years ago, I had vowed to wake up earlier, to manage my mornings and afternoons to factor in ample time for lunch, to avoid the dreaded postseason box lunches and ballpark food. ("This is your body on cheese fries"). I had vowed to be better.

No chance. Sunday's rainout in Texas wiped out Monday's off-day in Detroit which wiped out the one free night for dinner (buh-bye, Roast!). Tuesday was a night game, Wednesday's rain delay wiped out the 4:19 p.m. start (the game started as 6:30 and went 11, yes, 11 innings) and any chance of a late dinner and by Thursday, with an outside chance at a 9 p.m. dinner at Roast, I had been beaten down, lost my mojo.

Detroit was there for me, and I failed it....but there is good news. D-town is off the list, replaced heartily by St. Louis...