Blame Christopher Ilitch, Scott Harris for Detroit Tigers’ collapse
On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold and Chris Brown evaluate who to blame for the Detroit Tigers’ collapse, highlighting Chris Ilitch and Scott Harris.
The Detroit Tigers may have squeaked into the postseason, but they’re hoping to roar once the wild-card games start.
They do have a few issues to address, however.
The Tigers are taking on the Cleveland Guardians in one of two American League Wild Card Series, a best-of-three round that starts on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 1:08 p.m. ET in Cleveland.
The Guardians are one of the hottest teams in baseball, going 20-7 in September and racing ahead from an 11-game divisional deficit on Sept. 4 to win the AL Central. The team they overtook (the Tigers, naturally) went 7-17 in the same month, including 1-5 head-to-head against Cleveland in one of the biggest regular-season MLB collapses ever.
Can the Tigers overcome their devastating late-season performance for a turnaround series win against their division rival? Here are three questions to consider before the series begins.
Can someone (other than Jahmai Jones) start hitting?
Designated hitter Jahmai Jones has a 259 wRC+ in September, slashing .424/.537/.788 with three home runs and 8 RBIs in limited action so far this month. But he’s the only guy who has been hitting for the Tigers recently.
By wRC+, basically every other Tigers hitter has been slightly above average (Spencer Torkelson, Parker Meadows, Dillon Dingler), below average (Zach McKinstry, Kerry Carpenter, Gleyber Torres) or flat-out bad (Riley Greene, Wenceel Pérez, Javier Báez) in September. That’s a lot of dead weight for Jones to carry, especially when he takes most of his plate appearances against left-handed pitching.
So, who’s going to step up? Torkelson has the best OPS (.785) against the Guardians this year of any Tigers batter, but even that figure is lower than his season-long OPS (.789). Torres has seven hits and 11 walks, but also 11 strikeouts and a .184 average against Cleveland this year. Greene has three home runs, but also 20 strikeouts and a putrid .136 batting average against Guardians pitching.
There’s no clear answer to the Tigers’ offensive struggles at the moment. And with Cleveland’s bullpen pitching the way it is, and with ace Gavin Williams saved and rested for Game 1, Cleveland has what it takes to make quick work of Detroit’s sputtering lineup.
Who is in A.J. Hinch’s circle of trust?
Postseason bullpens traditionally get tighter, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if Tigers manager A.J. Hinch shrinks his circle of trust to just a few relievers. But if it were up to Tigers fans, that circle may include righty Kyle Finnegan and no one else.
That’s not realistic, of course, so let’s try to add a few more names. Tyler Holton has been the team’s most-used lefty recently, so he’s in. Will Vest has pitched much better than his 4.50 September ERA indicates, so he’s probably in, too.
Other than that? Tommy Kahnle has the postseason experience, so he might see some high-leverage opportunities. Rafael Montero has been good in Detroit, but the sample size is small. Either Troy Melton or Chris Paddack would be fine in long relief, but that might not be necessary in a short series.
Basically, there are reasons to worry about the Tigers’ chances against the Guardians if the starters can’t give at least six strong innings per start.
Will the Tigers let retribution fuel them?
After Tigers ace Tarik Skubal’s most dominating start of the season, a 13-strikeout “Maddux” against the Guardians on May 25, Skubal denied having any feelings of retribution for him losing Game 5 of the 2024 AL Division Series against the Guardians.
That was likely a genuine response, with Skubal saying he has “a ton of respect for a lot of the guys in that dugout, including their manager.” But that doesn’t have to be how every player in the Detroit clubhouse feels.
Because who wouldn’t want some sort of retribution after going 1-5 against the Guardians in a 10-day span? Who wouldn’t remember how close the Tigers were to making the AL Championship Series, up 1-0 in the fifth inning of the deciding Game 5 before Cleveland’s five-run explosion?
That’s now how every player finds motivation, of course. But pro athletes still have pride, and the Guardians unquestionably shook Detroit’s in September. If the Tigers want to get it back, it might be time to let some angrier emotions fuel them.
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Christian Romo’s prediction for Tigers vs Guardians
With a week off and a best-of-five series to prepare for, the Tigers could have probably done something to figure out their offensive struggles and bullpen configuration. But a hangover game on Sunday and a rest day on Monday heading into a best-of-three series probably isn’t enough time for the Tigers to get back on track against the hottest team in baseball.
What the Tigers have over the Guardians is more talent in the lineup and on the starting staff. In order for Detroit to overcome a month-long slump (and a crazy Cleveland crowd), the star players like Skubal, Greene and Torres are going to have to assert themselves in ways they haven’t done in a while. That might be too much to ask for on short notice.
Skubal gives a heroic performance over Cleveland’s ace Gavin Williams and the bullpen protects a low-scoring Game 1 win. But the Guardians pitching shuts down the Tigers offense throughout and takes this series. The pick: Guardians in three games.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com