Tarik Skubal's injury comments make Tigers fans wonder why action wasn't taken sooner

Tigers fans are still recovering from the whiplash of "Tarik Skubal is being scratched from his Monday night start against the Red Sox for precautionary reasons" to "Tarik Skubal is undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies with no timetable to return."

What makes the whole situation worse is that Skubal sounded optimistic as recently as Sunday. Despite his brief injury scare against the Braves, he was all systems go for Monday night. "I think a lot of people here were (worried about it)," he said, "but I don't think I was one of them."

Less than 24 hours later, he addressed the media and acknowledged that he'd been dealing with some discomfort all season. He said it's "good to get an answer, honestly."

Dude ... what?

We might be dealing with a case of "ignorance is bliss" on both sides here. The Tigers want Skubal for as many starts a possible. Skubal wants to compete, and he really wants to drive up his price in his impending free agency. Even the language being thrown around since the surgery was announced — "routine surgery," "only 2-3 months" — seems meant to downplay this just as much as it's meant to reassure fans, if not more.

Tarik Skubal sent some mixed messages before and after Tigers announced surgery to remove loose bodies

While it might be true that the arthroscopic procedure he'll undergo as soon as possible might be routine and minimally invasive, no one will be able to convince Tigers fans that this isn't potentially disastrous for Detroit. One player doesn't make or break a team, and there have been times when Skubal hasn't even looked like the most dominant pitcher on the roster, but to lose him right after Will Vest, right after Casey Mize, right after Javy Báez, right after Zach McKinstry, right after Parker Meadows?

The Tigers are losing pieces bit by bit, and Skubal is the biggest one by far.

The delay strikes fans as some combination of wishful thinking, pride, and pure interest in maintaining his market value. No doubt we'll keep playing the blame game and switching sides every other week, but right now, this might be on Skubal. Why else would he have been so blasé about the situation despite internal concern?

The Tigers are going to have to get used to life without him, fast. The AL Central is still the most winnable in baseball, but Detroit just lost their greatest weapon.

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