One more game. That pretty much sums up our season now. We have extended it one more game that will take place at the Metrodome against the Twins on Tuesday night.

Last month, I blogged thinking that we had played our last game ever in the Metrodome, but since we ended the season tied with the Twins and they had a better head-to-head record against us, we have to go through their home to win the AL Central in game no. 163.

Every year when you start a season, the goal is to win the World Series and I want more than anything to win a title. Not just for me and my passion for winning, but for the city of Detroit as well. They deserve a title. Recently, the Pistons and Red Wings have been able to deliver titles to this blue collar city, but we haven't yet.

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I just played my last regular-season game and series at the Metrodome last weekend. There are so many different opinions about not having to play there anymore that I figured I would discuss some of the pros and cons of playing there since we are finally done with that building forever. (I think.)

Everyone mentions the bad, so I'll start with the good. The inside temperature is always 68 to 72 degrees. That might not seem like an important thing, but keep in mind that the season is from April to September and the temperature during the season can range from 40 degrees to 100. So when you play in the Twin Cities, you never have to worry about cramping from dehydration or overheating because of heat. You never have to worry about being immobile from wearing layers and layers of clothes to warm up. We also never have to worry about a rainout or rain delay, so we know our games will always start on time. This doesn't seem like much, but it eliminates double-headers and delayed games that don't start until 9 or 10 at night. Everything goes off as planned and it's easier to be prepared and ready for that night's game.

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Jim Riggleman recently made a comment about how baseball isn't a physically taxing sport. It drew a fair amount of attention, but he certainly isn't the only person who feels this way.

In fact, I can't say that I disagree with him. Compared to some other sports such as basketball, where there is constant running, or cross country where you log miles and miles a day, or football where you're taking a physical beating, baseball doesn't measure up physically.

I would also say that when looking at the bodies of athletes in each sport that the baseball body by far is one of the worst. The baseball body doesn't need to be the most cut up or strongest out of all the sports. Baseball players need strong tendons in their elbows, wrist and shoulders. We need a strong core (abs, hips and lower back) and strong legs, but we can be strong in those areas without looking physically big.

Still, there are some categories that makes baseball a difficult sport to endure. First, our season is the longest out of all the major sports. Our regular season is 162 games and though you may not play in all of the games, you're still good for about 150 or more games. Also remember that we have 30 spring training games prior to the regular season. so players might get about 150-190 games a year.

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We're finally into the first week of September and our postseason race in the AL Central is a tight and exciting one.

For some people on the outside looking in at this race, they feel that certain moves made in the past few weeks mean that a team is out of the race. But a majority of our games remaining this month are head-to-head matchups in the division, so as teams sweep a series or get swept, a lot of ground can me made or lost quickly.

Nothing's over yet. We still have two more series apiece with Minnesota and Chicago, the next two teams behind us in our division. Lately, a lot of people have been saying that the season is over for both of these teams. However, I feel the opposite. Of our remaining 29 games, seven are with the Twins and six with the White Sox. While the White Sox just traded away a big bat in Jim Thome, there is still a lot of fight left in that team. Bigger deficits have been made up this time of the season. Just ask the Phillies and Rockies from recent years.

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When I watch Little League World Series games these days, I always flash back to my younger days. Back then, I'd always hope and wish for a chance to play on national television and I remember that they'd always show the players' favorite TV shows or actors or movies listed under their names when they came up to bat. It was an experience I wanted to have.

Believe it or not, I wanted everyone to know my favorite movie was "A Christmas Story," my favorite player was Ken Griffey Jr. and my favorite TV show was "Martin." To me, this was the most exciting thing about playing in the Little League World Series (not to mention getting a chance to win it, too).

Watching LLWS games today reminds me of how fun the game of baseball was for me at such a young age, and how it remains fun for kids of all ages all over the world.

Now that I'm 28 years old and play professional baseball and get paid to do it — which is every Little Leaguers dream — can it be as fun as it was when I was 12 years old? I feel very blessed to be able to play baseball at the highest level, and no matter what, it's still just a game, just with a few more fans and a larger field.

People come up to me and say, "You play the game like you are having fun out there all the time." For nine innings, I can say I give my all. If I'm tired or mentally drained, I'll get some rest when the game is over.

Of course, that's often a lot easier said than done. There are so many things that are thrown at a major league player that can easily take the fun out of the game. Most of it comes with the territory like hecklers from the crowd, negative media or the pressure to win. I can understand why a player might look like he isn't having as much fun out there, or why a player gets tossed out of a game, slams a bat or breaks something in the dugout. The game itself is tough enough.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you don't mind, but it's once again time for a shameless plug.

As you might have heard, I've put together some stories from my childhood for a book that I felt could be helpful to some of today's youth with the issues and problems they face every day. The title of the book is "All You Can Be" and it was just released by Triumph Books. 

Within the book, I explain how I handled different situations,while growing upand how I had to weigh all the consequences of my decisions. Every kid grows up in different family and economic situations these days. However, every kid still grows up with the same choices. They can choose which path to go — whether it be down the wrong path with drugs and alcohol or the right path with with school and education.

Growing up in Chicago, I faced a lot of those tough decisions. Sometimes you don't know if you made the right decision or chose the right path while you are doing it and that's why I wrote this book. I wanted to give today's youth something to relate to when it came to my experiences, my friends, my family and my education. Maybe they can use it while experiencing some of the same things in their lives.

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Unless you've been out of town the last week or so, you've seen the fight that happened in our series against Boston. It was all over television, in the newspapers and on the blogs the next day.

If for some reason you missed it, here's what happened: Rick Porcello hit Kevin Youkilis with a pitch during the second game of our series in Boston. Youkilis charged the mound and the benches cleared. Both Youkilis and Porcello were ejected from the game and both were later suspended. 

Fans and friends have been asking me what happened, and what caused it. Well, in the first game of our series, both Miguel Cabrera and Youkilis were hit by pitches. In the second game, Miguel was hit again and Youkilis was hit for a second time. Eventually, after being hit over and over, someone will react, and sure enough Youkilis did. Remember that the ball hurts and can do damage, no matter where it hits. Miguel ended up leaving the game because he was hit on the hand, and depending where you get hit by the ball, the injury can be worse.

I understand pitchers need to throw inside to be able to control the hitter and eventually pitch away later in the at-bat. Sometimes the ball is going to go a little too far inside and guys will be hit. It's up to the team to decide if the pitch was on purpose or on accident. That's where it gets a little difficult to try and figure out.

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Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Things were a little hectic with the All-Star Game and then a lot of travel for our team right after the break. Now we're back home for series against Baltimore and Minnesota.

It's really exciting to once again be back in the playoff race for the final two months of the season. It's going to be a very tight race in the AL Central and you sure can't count on any wins against anyone in the division, no matter what their record might say.     

For example, we just left Cleveland this past weekend. The Indians traded away a bunch of their players before the trade deadline and when you look at our team and their team on paper, a lot of people would say we should have won all three games. But playing in Cleveland and playing against new players who are very talented and out to prove they belong in the big leagues is a dangerous combination. We ended up losing two of three games and the next time we play them it will be another tough series. At this point in the season, you have to expect that type of effort. Teams that are supposed to be out of the playoff race start changing their rosters every week and the September expansion of rosters adds another wrinkle. It definitely presents a few more challenges.

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Well, the All-Star Game is officially over.

For me, it was an incredible experience. There is no way to truly prepare for everything thrown at you your first time at this event except to experience it. Players in both leagues were great in showing me the ropes. I also have to thank the city of St. Louis for making this an amazing All-Star experience. What a great baseball town that is. The fans are true, loyal and passionate.

Meeting President Obama was great. Being from Chicago, most people assume I have met him, but I've never even been close. He's the most powerful man in the world. The meeting was brief, so I didn't get to say everything I wanted to, especially as it pertains to discussing educational initiatives with him, but it was still very cool to shake his hand and say hello.

I didn't want to write too lengthy blog this time around. Instead, I figured I would share a couple videos I took on my iPhone on Tuesday to show you the experience. The first clip is of President Obama making the rounds in the American League clubhouse — I had to shut it off when he approached — and the second is of the amazing autograph tables. 

I hope you guys enjoy them!

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BLS contributor Curtis Granderson is in St. Louis, participating in his first All-Star Game. Over the next few days, he'll be taking readers inside the Midsummer Classic.

ST LOUIS — On Monday night we had the Home Run Derby, which for many fans is their favorite part of the All-Star festivities. For us, though, it was a very long evening.

There was a lot of downtime on the field, which was tough for us players and especially the Derby competitors.  While I understand that breaks need to be taken for television, I think they could do more for the fans in the stadium during those breaks.  The possibilities are endless, so I'll look for your ideas in the comments of this blog post.

Still, it was fun to watch the Home Run Derby at Busch Stadium. To see all those baseballs flying 450 or 500 feet was exciting.  I'm always amazed at players with that kind of power, and how they seem to do it with ease.

Prince Fielder, who won this year, has a pretty violent swing, but many of the other competitors have a swing that just seems to glide.  It doesn't look like a home run swing, but they always seem to hit it just right. After the derby, I headed over to Ryan Howard's party, where the picture above was taken.

Tonight I am looking forward to just being part of the All-Star Game.  Hopefully I can speak with President Obama and set up a meeting with his Secretary of Education. 

Of course, you know I'll want to get a picture with him.

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