Put a Fork in our 2015 Detroit Tigers – They Are Done

Monday night’s Detroit Tigers’ debacle against the Cincinnati Reds should have finally extinguished the hope and the tribal flame of any Tigers fan believing that this team will make it to the 2015 post season.

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All year this team has found ways to lose a game. They hid their bats when the rare pitching gem was produced. Their arms went rubber when the bats produced. They are average; mediocre; and they are not playoff bound for the first time in five years. These are our 2015 Detroit Tigers.

In case anyone needs any more convincing, let me pile on the reasoning this team is done and their travel agents’ phones are ringing off the hook for their October trips.

• First – Math. Let’s assume that the Tigers would have to be two games above .500 to win that second wild card spot. They currently sit 5 ½ games out of that position right now at 59-64 (written Tuesday afternoon). There are 39 games left in the season. This means that the Tigers would have to go 23-16 the rest of the season. That’s playing .589 ball the rest of the way. If a train is going 65 mph in one direction and it hits a cow on the tracks…Sorry I digress. We don’t need a story problem to tell us that is near mission impossible.
• Second – The Schedule. (Keep my first point in mind while reading point #2.) Winning 23 of 39 games wouldn’t ordinarily be hard for a playoff contender. Now consider WHO the Tigers face in the next 39 games – Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and a smattering of mmatches with the White Sox and Indians in there. .589 ball against playoff bound and playoff contenders. I don’t know what the Vegas odds are here on this, but I’d keep my money in my pocket on this one.
• Third – Anibal Sanchez and Daniel Norris are done for the season. Even if the Tigers are telling us Sanchez isn’t done, his $16 million arm should be done and rested for 2016. While it’s also debatable how many innings Daniel Norris may have had left in his young arm this season, he was still going to eat some innings up between now and the end of the season and he actually was pitching decently. Two of the five starters are gone again at a time when they are needed most. Buck Farmer and Randy Wolff aren’t going to cut it.
• Fourth – Brad Ausmus. He’s a lame duck and he knows it. The team knows it. He is now just going through the motions. Wait, as I type that and look at those words that might actually be better than him trying. Alas, still not enough to go 23-16. Even if he was trying, he costs us games when he does so we would have to handicap that 23-16 run we would need to go on to account for at least five Ausmus challenged games.

The Tigers are done. I hate to burst your bubble if you are one of our few optimistic fans left. Flip on college football or the NFL, it’s time to enjoy fall without the Tigers.

In the meantime, let’s sit back and savor Miguel Cabrera as he coasts to his fifth batting crown in six years. Let’s marvel at J.D. Martinez’s fight for the home run title. Let’s bask in Justin Verlander’s return. Let’s relish in Jose Igelias’ fielding. Let’s be thankful for Ian Kinsler and what he brings to the team.

217 days until spring training 2016 starts. Let’s also see what Al Avila has up his sleeve to finish this reboot and let’s pick a team to root for in the post season.

Next: Pitching is Tigers biggest downfall