By MARK HALE

I’m at Comerica Park for the first time in four years right now. The last time I was here was the end of the 2003 season, and I wasn’t covering the Mets. My office sent me to Detroit for the final series of the season because the Tigers were nearing the all-time record for losses in a season.

I’m pretty sure this angle was mentioned a ton last year when the Tigers went to the World Series and had such a great season, but it really has been a quick turnaround for them. From atrocious in 2003 to the Series three years later. Pretty impressive.

Other than the team, though, Detroit apparently doesn’t offer much (I guess the Pistons and Red Wings, too). I’ve been warned by people of how bad the city is. Of course, this is no surprise — in one of my favorite movies ever, “Almost Famous,” Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character (Lester Bangs) wears a t-shirt that reads DETROIT SUCKS.

A few other items:

-Not sure how many of you believe that Willie Randolph messed up by bringing in Billy Wagner for a potential four-out save last night, but while I wasn’t at the game, I certainly agree with Willie’s decision. You guys might know that I disagree with Randolph’s maneuvers quite a bit, but I think he was right on this one. Wagner didn’t close it out, but he was the right guy to have in the game at that point.

There were stories today about the Mets’ bullpen collapse against the Phillies, and obviously they didn’t pitch well in the three-game set. But I’m going to tell you not to worry too much about the ‘pen.

Now, that being said, I do believe the Mets’ eighth-inning situation is the biggest issue with the team, and I’ve felt that way for a little while. Heilman’s been shaky this year, Sanchez is hurt and Mota is unknown. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets’ main trade acquisition before July 31 is a reliever.

But the current pen is still real good and you can’t get too concerned. Wagner, despite last night, has been outstanding. Joe Smith has been good, Feliciano has been good, Mota has looked okay and Heilman could still get it together. You can’t ignore the fact that the bullpen has been great for almost the entire season before the last three days.

-It was pouring here a little while ago — a TON of rain — but it’s okay now. Based on what I saw on weather.com, I think we’ll be okay for the game tonight.

-Something interesting at Comerica is that on the wall out in left-center, the Tigers have their retired numbers and the player’s last name under each respective one. But for Ty Cobb, there’s no number. According to local man Danny Knobler from Booth Newspapers, the reason is that Cobb didn’t wear a number. Interesting.

-As for my series pick, I had been on a real hot streak lately, but what an awful prediction I made with the Phillies series. I said the Mets would take two out of three, and obviously they got swept.

I’ll look for redemption this weekend by saying Detroit takes two of three.

My standings:

SERIES PICKED: 20

SERIES I GOT RIGHT: 11