Confidence at all-time high, but do fear-mongers linger?

After an off week on the confidence poll, due to a bit of editor negligence (gulp), it's back. And it's higher than ever.

Like the Tigers' lead in the division (7.5 when the poll opened, 8 today and the Tigers winning percentage (.563 today) we're at season-highs all over the place. The voting came in at an 88.5 average. Holy moly. To think it was in the 60s just three weeks ago.

A few more numbers for you. The playoff odds, according to the two most popular computer simulations.

Baseball Prospectus 98.3%

CoolStandings.com 98.7%.

Also, the magic number is 14 with 20 games remaining, and Justin Verlander hasn't even started pitching yet today.

Why do I point that all out? I just want the few holdouts amongst us -- and I know at this point they're an incredibly small minority -- to realize just how likely it is the Tigers win the division. Certainly anyone who notes the division is not won until the magic number reaches zero is correct. It's possible the Tigers could suddenly stop winning and the White Sox or Indians could go on an incredible hot streak. "It's happened before," they'll tell you.

This just seems like expecting the worst to happen to avoid disappointment. To the Eeyores among us, I say lighten up. "It's better to have competed in September and lost than to have never competed at all," I believe the phrase goes. Just ask those of us who survived 2003. Try to enjoy yourself a bit. In the end, this team's going to be playing in October. The Tigers are different. The Twins are eliminated. The Indians and White Sox haven't shown the ability to accept good fortune without answering it with bad.

Enjoy yourselves, otherwise every time the Tigers lose or another team wins, you're going to give yourself a bellyache.