Former Tigers division rival just had worst possible take on Detroit's current surge

As a baseball color commentator and analyst, AJ Pierzynski is much like he was as a player for almost 20 years: divisive.

Tigers fans have more reason to dislike him than most. He spent the majority of his a playing career with the Twins and White Sox and was a known agitator. Much like Josh Naylor and Dalton Rushing, he was the kind of guy you love to play with but hate to play against.

Apparently, you can take the man out of the AL Central, but you can't take the AL Central out of the man. His latest anti-Tigers take will absolutely enrage Detroit fans.

"We don't want a team that sold two of their best players still sneaking in; I think that's bad for baseball. I think that's a bad precedent to set. You want teams to try, to be rewarded for trying," Pierzynski said.

The Tigers were never going to please everybody with what they decided to do, or not to do, at the trade deadline. Even though the sentiment that they absolutely had to trade Tarik Skubal at the deadline was overwhelming, they're now getting flack for doing so and still remaining competitive.

What on earth do these people want from us?

AJ Pierzynski's putrid take on the Tigers' post-deadline surge will enrage fans

A mid-market team that made the hard decision to trade not only their ace but a former first overall pick is now proving that they can overcome the undoubtable toll it took on the clubhouse, and that they might still be a playoff team without their marquee player. How could that ever be bad for baseball?

And how dare Pierzynski suggest that the Tigers aren't trying? Scott Harris has gotten a lot of flack from Tigers fans for any number of reasons, but no one can say that he hasn't believed in the players drafted and developed on his (in some cases under Al Avila's) watch. The Tigers didn't stage a fire sale. They traded two pitchers knowing they had internal options who could immediately step in to replace them. That's not giving up.

To say that the Tigers' season all boiled down to whether or not they kept Skubal (and Casey Mize) is an almost insulting underestimation of the rest of this team. Detroit is "sneaking" into contention; they've been the second-best team in the AL since June 1.

Maybe Pierzynski still holds a grudge. But maybe he should actually watch a few Tigers games (and take a look at the standings) before saying things that don't make sense.

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