Vince Ellis
Postseason lock?
Jul 13, 2006
OK, the Tigers have baseball's best record at the All-Star break. In the wild-card era — that's since 1995 — the team with the best record at the break ALWAYS has made the playoffs. Will the Tigers be the exception?
Here's why they shouldn't:
They have an eight-game lead over the Yankees for the wild card. Eight games! Good teams — and the Tigers could well be a great team — don't blow eight-game leads.
Forget all the tough games left against the White Sox and Twins. There are no more West Coast trips. Six of the last nine games are against the lowly Royals.
Pitching, pitching, pitching. The Tigers have it. If you can pitch, you never have a long losing streak.
Can't wait for October ...
Comment by mizdaice | 07/13/06 at 8:50 PM
I saw that bat go into the stands in the 5th inning of tonight's game, and I can't help but wonder if that little fan was injured? The Tigers should send her a bat signed by both teams. A kind gesture by a kind team(s) could go a long way.
Go Tigers!
mizdaice
South Texas
Comment by gary b | 07/15/06 at 11:44 AM
It's hard to shake off the frustrations of years or decades of losing, but this years team just defies all of the characteristics of those bad teams. Just keep winning and forget about the other teams!!! They're in :)
gary b
Comment by Paul Body | 07/15/06 at 4:54 PM
As I have watched the Detroit Tigers winning streak this has disturbed me a bit. I was a Tiger fan many years ago when I watched them
in Spring Training. But over those mwny years
with a few aberrations like 1968 and 1984 when they won the world championships they were almost like the Cubs of the National League. The
Detroit Tigers were in a sense the American Leagues loveable losers as the Cubs were the National Leagues loveable losers. As a case in
point I remember a man who came to the Spring Training games in Lakeland, FL say that he loved
this "ole sorry team" referring to the Tigers.
It does seem to go against the grain having a Tiger team that is a winner and I wonder if the
baseball gods will look on this development with
disfavor. There is a place for a loveable loser
team in both leagues and the Detroit Tigers do not seem like the Detroit Tigers anymore. Could it be that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have now taken over that roll as the American Leagues "loveable losers." Could be. But I liked it better when the Detroit Tigers were the
American League "loveable losers."
Paul R. Body
Comment by keven | 07/17/06 at 12:20 PM
I think that pitching is the key and the Tigers have good pitching. They should make the playoffs as either a wild card or divisional champ.
What intrigues me more is the question of which was the last city to have three professional teams lead thier perspective leagues with the best record?
Comment by Vogue Male | 07/18/06 at 6:29 PM
As a child I have watched the Tigers, the good, the bad and the ugly games. Growing up in Dearborn Heights, the first page of the Newspaper I opened was the Sports section to read about the Tigers. I have never lost my love the Tigers. I still have papers from '68 & '84.
This is a dream to have a team play this well with the talent they have. Go downtown, watch tehm play, smell the ballpark in the air. I'm 1300 miles away, but my heart is at the ballpark everyday! " Love those Tigers!"
It seems every so years or so they win it all, This maybe the year!
Richard-
Ormond Beach, FL
Comment by PH Madore | 07/25/06 at 3:12 PM
I still can't buy into the Tigers just yet. This is practically the same lineup that won 71 games last year. Guillen's never played a full season and Ordonez hasn't played a full season in three years, can you expect them to hold up?
Call me a doubting Thomas or worse, and maybe we're the next Marlins or White Sox to come from nowhere, but it's still the Tigers. You know, the team that hasn't finished .500 since 1993?
Comment by Jason Ross | 07/25/06 at 4:10 PM
Maybe this is the just about the lineup that won 71 games last year. But they've won just 4 fewer than that in 63 fewer games. That is a considerable difference, despite the similarities in the lineups. This is not the same Tiger team we saw even just last year. They are 53 games above their performance last year (20 below .500 v 33 above .500), and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Has it gotten so bad in Detroit that people really think these Tigers are a farce? How many more times can they beat the crap out of teams before everybody wakes up? They got their mojo back against the Sox, so I'm not too scared of them anymore. They will win at least half of the heads up games against Chicago, meaning the Sox have to gain games elsewhere.
Bottom line is the Tigers are no joke. Even Jim Rome thinks the Tigers are for real. They have the best record in the MAJORS by 7 games! And it's almost August. No way the Tigers blow this lead. And I don't mean the wild card. They will win the AL Central. You watch.
Comment by Sports Betting | 07/26/06 at 10:51 PM
If they continue to win. Which i know they will. Then they will most definitely make the playoffs. The Tigers will keep winning and there will be no reason why they are not in the playoff's this year.
Comment by Online Sportsbook | 07/26/06 at 10:54 PM
The Tigers have not finished over .500 since 1993 and until they reach that, they have no business being in the playoffs.
Comment by Jason Ross | 07/27/06 at 12:47 PM
Hmmm... that seems to me one of the most ignorant comments ever posted. The Tigers have to win just 21% of their remaining games (13-48) to finish at .500. Considering they've won 67% of their games thus far, that appears to be a foregone conclusion. Even the '03 team won 26% of their games. And I would say any team winning 2/3 of their games and holding a 7 game lead on every other team has EVERY right to be in the playoffs. I'm sick of the naysayers. This isn't '03. This isn't just another terrible Tigers team. If they were going to collapse, it would have happened by now. But it hasn't. So quit acting like Randy Quaid's character in 'Major League' and enjoy this wonderful baseball season, instead of pointing out all the flaws from previous years.
Comment by Bobby | 07/27/06 at 7:51 PM
I just wish I could come home to catch a couple of games, proudly wearing my old dirty Tigers hat!
Take it all in and enjoy it Detroit!
Comment by STEVIE D | 08/01/06 at 11:53 AM
I hope the tigers can still play the same since they lost one of their gears of the machine . dont like what happened to shelton, BS
Comment by Chadrock | 08/02/06 at 1:00 PM
OK, I just have to get into this now.
I love riding the fence and contributing to both sides of any arguement and this won't be any different.
The reasons the Tigers will not make the playoffs are plenty. They don't have much for experience in a playoff hunt. Pudge, Rogers and perhaps Guillen are the only players who have experienced it. The inexperience doesn't end there. In Tuesday's game vs. the Devil Rays, there were four rookies in the game at one point or another. Teams don't win championships with rookies, they rebuild. Rogers has a history of folding after the All-Star break, Pudge seems to have mailed it in for the past couple of seasons, and there are a couple of injury prone players who play every day. Their leadoff hitter strikes out too much and they haven't had much pop from the first base position lately. Sounds like doom, right? Nope.
The Tigers will be in the playoffs and even win their division for several reasons. The aforementioned injury prone players are healthy and nothing this year has indicated that it will change. Mags and Carlos look as good as they have in their careers. Pudge has a reborn look to him. He is not chasing the low and away breaking ball like he did last season and has hit well with runners in scoring position. He has also handled the young pitching staff well with fastballs back from the catcher to the pitcher with the message to get it together. These rookies that dot the lineup are no ordinary rookies. One is a bonafide Cy Young candidate, another roams centerfield at Comerica like he has played there for a decade, a third throws the ball 100 mph consistantly and has an unhittable breaking pitch. The fourth rookie hasn't been up long enough to judge although the early indications have been great. The middle of the lineup has driven in runs at a pace that it is possible for five of them to have 75 RBI for the season. There doesn't seem to be one super star that the team looks to for the big play when needed. There is a different player who comes through each game. Dare we mention pitching? The five man rotation are arguably the best in baseball. There are three pitchers who are used for the closer role with very few blown saves. One thing that is overlooked about this team is the middle relief. Most teams have middle relievers with ERAs in the 5.00 range or above. Detroit's middle men currently go 1.35, 3.18, 4.10, 4.40, 4.93 and 6.46. Only one Tiger pitcher has an ERA above 5.00. While Detroit hitters are feasting on the opponent's middle relievers, Tiger middle relievers are effectively getting the ball to the closers with minimal damage. Despite the recent two game slump with four errors each, the defense on this team has been very good. There is defensive strength up the middle with Granderson in center, Guillen and Polanco at the keystone and Pudge and even Vance Wilson at the stick.
The Tigers have all of this plus a brain trust that has gained the respect of the players.
Will the Tigers be in the playoffs this year. Buy your tickets early. They will go fast.
Chadrock
Comment by BILL | 08/07/06 at 5:18 PM
This team is the real deal so why all the negativity,it would be great to see a reunion at Comerica Park at a home game with the old Tigers, Rocky,Paw Paw, Chico,Wirtzy,etc, those oldtimers would get a big kick out of that and give us fans who are old enough to remember watching them play a chance to see them once again.
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