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During the first half of the season, it was hard as a Detroit fan not to think about the possibility of the sizzling-hot Detroit Tigers going to the World Series.
Now, fans can't help but wonder if the Tigers can hold on to first place and make the playoffs.
The Tigers have lost 17 of their last 25 games, and as of Saturday night—after losing to the Los Angeles Angels 7–4—their lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians has slipped to just five games. At one point, they held a commanding 14-game lead.
The Guardians are hot. They're 9–1 in their last 10 games. The Tigers are 5–5.
The Tigers had hoped that their acquisitions right before the trade deadline would be enough to push them through to the finish line. So far, that hasn't been the case.
Sure, the Tigers could get hot again, and the Guardians could go cold. But right now, they look like a tire slowly losing air on a car stuck on the side of the road. Cleveland, which had been miles behind, might just catch up—and pass—that Tigers car.
As the Tigers slip, Detroit fans can't help but begin to default to their usual mindset around this time of year: looking forward to the Lions' season.
It’s certainly not over for the Tigers—at least not yet. But they can't keep playing this way and still hope to make it to the playoffs.
