On June 20th, 1993 the Detroit Tigers were 43-25. The had just defeated the Milwaukee Brewers and looked to be a contender for the post season. However, the team would go on a road trip lose 10 straight, and 15 of the next 20 games. It was an unreal cold streak that brought the 1993 season to a sad end. That year the fateful road trip was to Baltimore, Boston, and New York. Flash forward to 2012.
After winning five in a row, the Tigers have gone cold are have dropped two of three to the Cleveland Indians, the Toronto Blue Jays, and lost tonight to the Boston Red Sox 7-3. Granted the 2012 version of the Tigers are far more talented than the 1993 version, but the road trips are eerily similar. It is time to face a stark realization; the Tigers may be good enough to win this division. However, they are going nowhere fast in the post season if the offense continues to be as streaky as it has been.
For some merely reaching the post season is the goal. Sure, once you get in the post season anything can happen. However we learned last year that a pretty good Tigers team cannot stand up to the true powers of the American League. In fact the Tigers have had a hard enough time beating the Cleveland Indians (they have gone just 2-7 against that team) and have been particularly bad at home and on the road against the Tribe in 2012.
This team is now two games below .500 on the road (26-28) and (28-21) in the confines of Comerica Park. Sure they are five games over .500 overall, but they are now two full games behind the Chicago White Sox for first place in the AL central, and two full games out of the Wild Card Race. That means they need to play a heck of a lot better sooner rather than later, and Manager Jim Leyland needs to find way to keep the offense from going cold for long stretches. If they do that the starting pitching is good enough to get this team to the post season, but likely not very much farther. Of course once you make the post season anything can (and often does) happen.
The schedule is not getting any easier. After two more games in Boston the Tigers come home for a three set with the Indians followed immediately by a four spot with the New York Yankees. After that is another road trip to Texas and Minnesota. It is quite possible that the 2012 season will be decided during these games. If the Tiger continue on as they have they will be eliminated from the post season. If they get hot again maybe just maybe they spark a run at a World Series title.
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