Detroit Tigers: A Eulogy for the 2015 Season

Aug 4, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus (7) watches from the dugout in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Brothers and sisters, we have gathered here today not to mourn a death, but celebrate the life of the 2015 Detroit Tigers’ season. It was a season filled with so much promise, but ended with so much disappointment.

When it was in its adolescence, the Tigers gave fans hope with an 11-2 start. They routed the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians and took series from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox. They were on the road to greatness with Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon both starting the season with 3-0 records and sparkling ERA’s.

Then, something went terribly wrong. All of the things that the Tigers could do right, they did wrong. In games where they pitched well, their offense went silent. In games where their offense produces, their pitching went missing. Finally in games where the starters produced strong innings and the offense produced, the Tigers’ bullpen melted down.

As the season grew, the Tigers disappointed time and time again. Victor Martinez was injured at the beginning of the season and the Tigers never recovered. Shane Greene regressed and was sent to Toledo. Alfredo Simon regressed and plummeted through what the Tigers believed his floor could be. Justin Verlander struggled when he first returned from injury and things were looking down.

The Tigers had a chance to salvage their season prior to the All-Star Break. They took on the Minnesota Twins and had a chance to make their way to the top of the Wild Card. If the Tigers won their 4-game series, they could have positioned themselves to buy at the trade deadline. They won the first game of the series and had a commanding 6-1 lead in the second game of the series.

Then, the Tigers had the moment that changed their lives. The Twins came back and scored 7 runs in the 9^th inning and crushed their hopes at the postseason. The Tigers did not respond to the adversity and the Tigers lost the last 3 games of the series and never recovered.

The Tigers realized their flaws and decided to look to the future at the trade deadline. They traded away their current hope in David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Joakim Soria for future hope in Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, Michael Fulmer, and Jacoby Jones. They knew their season was over and they moved on.

The problem was not everyone thought their season was over and did not want to move on from the suffering. We then lost a friend. The Tigers released Dave Dombrowski from his duties as general manager. We then watched him move on to the despised Boston Red Sox. It would feel like cheating, but we broke up with him and he moved on to to the team that crushed our dreams in 2014.

Now, we have hitched our wagons to Al Avila. Avila has not proven himself yet, but he has a future that could be as bright as any in the future.

We thought we would move on from one more friend, Brad Ausmus. We were all ready to move on and find a new manager to lead us into battle. We were ready for another scapegoat, but instead, we received news that Ausmus would be staying for another season.

It was a long season indeed, and we didn’t even get a full 162 games from it. Now we shall rest through the winter, see the new players we acquire, and move toward the spring of 2016. Thank you for joining us today; we will see you next season.