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We are on Ship Abysmal, and it’s sinking fast.
At this point, the Detroit Tigers—if they have any mercy—should just lose the rest of their games and miss the playoffs. Spare the fans the heartache. Even if the team were to make the playoffs, the chances of advancing past the first round are slim. The chances of getting swept are much better.
On Tuesday, the Tigers extended their losing streak to seven, blowing a 2–0 lead against the Cleveland Guardians and losing 5–2. Mind you, that was on a night Tigers ace Tarik Skubal pitched his heart out.
Now, for the first time since April, they are no longer in sole possession of first place. They’re tied with Cleveland, with two more games to play there. Don’t be surprised if they’re two games out of first by the time they leave Cleveland and board a plane to Boston to finish the final three games of the season.
And don’t be surprised if, after those three games against the Red Sox, the Tigers don’t make the playoffs, not even as a wild card team.
It’s clear some players are just dead spots in the batting order. Javier Báez had a great first half of the season, but unfortunately, he’s resorted to being the player the Tigers regretted acquiring in 2022. Trey Sweeney is another dead spot in the lineup, and Parker Meadows has been a major disappointment as well.
Could things change in the final five games? Possible. Likely? Not really. (I hope I'm wrong)
The upside of the Tigers missing the playoffs is that it would serve as a reminder that president of baseball operations Scott Harris is not the smartest guy in the room. Some will argue that he played it safe at the trade deadline, acquiring mediocre to poor talent (except for Kyle Finnegan) and refusing to part with any potential stars in the farm system.
The thinking was: the Tigers couldn’t go all the way, so why jeopardize the team’s future?
The problem is, fans are tired of waiting for the future. In this case, the future was now. Harris needed to recognize that and go all out to ensure the Tigers strolled into the playoffs. That meant not acquiring poor talent like Charlie Morton from Baltimore.
At this point, it’s too painful to watch the team night after night. Who wants to see them blow games, strike out, and leave players stranded on the bases?
Maybe Scott Harris. And only because he has to.
