Race for the Central (Tigers stuff)

S.I. did a good art. on Det. pitchers. Bondo and Ver. are both 23. But Bondo has 4 years MLB experience. Teams fear these guys because they are power pitchers and that wins in playoffs. I think it said no one under 25 has won a playoff game in the wildcard era.
Something tells me half our rotation will be gone next year as rich teams try to grab the talent.
Did you see Casey's gaff? Someone robbed him of a double with a pretty diving catch then he hit a liner to short that popped out of the glove but Casey had stopped. By the time he recovered he was thrown out at first.

Tigers lose 4-2, hopefully they get it together... The White Sox and Twins are currently tied 4-4.

IMO anything that happens after this is just a bonus... this team has exceeded anyones expectations.
I'll be ok with it even if they don't make the playoffs (slight chance)... hopefully this young squad will get the needed playoff exposure.
I think they're in the position to acquire the big lefthanded bat in the offseason... I don't know the extent that Illich will go in the FA market... but at minimum they could trade one of their starters (or Maroth)... we have two or three excellent arms in the minors.
This team needs a better fielder in right field than Mags... this guy scares me everytime the ball is hit that way... how many almost catches could someone with good speed/instincts could have caught?
Make Mags your DH with Young.
Will the Yanks just go out and buy our talent? I hate that the league still allows this to happen without a significant penalty... when are they going to adopt a real cap system?
The Tigers will have some of the most requested young talent... how cool is that?
The long drought is finally over.

A big negatory to your first sentence Merc. We didn't come this far to be teased and have our legs cut off.
Maybe Illich will give these guys a fighting chance next year by spending some money. If not the drought starts again next year.

Gotta agree with that, TFD. It's been a long, long time since this franchise has made ANY noise. If the team doesn't make the playoffs, I'll be hugely disappointed. I don't care much about exceeding expectations. I want results. The reason the Tigers have exceeded expectations is because as Tigers fans, we are trained to have incredibly low expectations.

Yeah kinda like the Lions going 10 and 6 and not making the playoffs. Disappointment.

Agree...don't tease us and then let the experts predictions come to fruition and the Tigers are on the outside looking in like the previous 19 seasons.

If they do hang on and finish with the best record, do they automatically play the wild card team, or the playoff team that finishes with the worst record? Have not been paying attention the past few years since the Tigs weren't involved.

I'm going with Merc on this one...kinda. I'll be really disappointed if they don't make it but not angry. I gotta give them credit for what they accomplished in one season.

I think they can hang on still, but it's no sure bet.:fingerscr

Man, the Tigers are going through a tough stretch. It's currently 8-5, and Verlander was on the mound! Every team goes through at least one . But this really isn't a good time, with the twins and sox lurking (even though the sox look like there going to lose again) One night the its the tigers offense, scoring only two runs. Then its there pitching, Verlander giving up eight runs and there offense is above average. I can't wait for this slump to end.

They might be looking forward to the Yanks.
But expecting them to .666 ball was and is crazy. It's crazy, crazy!

Tigers snap there streak and win 7-1, nice game by Rogers. There is also more news:
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said lefty Andrew Miller, Detroit's No. 1 draft pick in June, will be called up Tuesday from Class A Lakeland before the Tigers open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in New York

how come we optioned Clevlen to Erie?

i thought he'd been pretty good for us. it's not just because granderson had a good game today finally, is it?

one other thing: it seems to me leyland has an absolutely PERFECT attitude: "Either we're good enough or we're not,'' he said. ''You have to keep playing. If it's good enough, we'll still be playing in October. If not, we'll go home. We'll find out.''

Sweet!... this kid needs the exposure... good.... bad or indifferent.

I still think most sports are games of streaks. I was afraid that the Tigers would be like the Pistons and peak too early. That does not leave time for a losing period and recovery before the playoffs.

But, the losing times came early enough that they can peak again at the right time.

Players just have to keep their heads up and their minds on the game; things will straighten out in time.

How many times does it happen that you can lose several games at a time and still have the lead the Tigers have?

When you're winning 6.5 games to 1 over 110 games you're not a streaky team you're dominant. Only the best pitchers were taking wins from us. Going up 10 games on the world champs is consistency. Losing a starting pitcher and not fading is awesome.

Tonight is an off night for the Tigers, so I was bored and came across this Tigers song. It's pretty cool, I think they should play it as their theme song for now on... (The slideshow is cool, but the song is even better)

link: YouTube - Tigers Gonna Do It Again!!!!