Time For Tigers To Be A Royal Pain In Kansas City
This is what good baseball teams do in late September: they go into the ballpark of a team that might lose 100 games, and they -- and pardon my language -- kick their ass.
In this case, their Royal ass.
The Tigers have an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth, and seize control of the Central Division, this weekend in Kansas City. The Royals have been the Tigers' punching bags this season, having only beaten Detroit once in 12 tries.
Don't tell me about how "respectable" the Royals have been since the All-Star break. Don't tell me about the fits they've given other upper echelon American League teams recently. Don't tell me about how their motivation is to play spoiler, and that they could use that to carry them this weekend.
Hogwash.
The Tigers, frankly, might be facing their biggest litmus test of all this month, in Kansas City today thru Sunday. For these are the series that the legitimately good teams capture with all the finesse of a pillaging group of Vikings. There are no prisoners taken by the elite teams when they face the dregs of the league. No mercy. No letting up for air.
The Royals, no matter what you say, are among the very worst teams in all of baseball, and the Tigers better treat them as such.
The White Sox, sinking faster than Refrigerator Perry attached to a boat anchor, are so far out of sorts that the Tigers, at this point, can't help but qualify for the playoffs, no matter what they do in Kansas City this weekend.
Again, hogwash.
The Tigers need to finally flex their muscles and take the Royals to the woodshed, maybe even in a three game sweep. No more fooling around. Forget that the magic number for a Wild Card berth is only four. Don't back in. Storm into Kansas City, slap them around, and get this Wild Card thing wrapped up ASAP so the concentration can be on the division and setting up playoff pitching schedules.
That's what the good teams do.
In this case, their Royal ass.
The Tigers have an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth, and seize control of the Central Division, this weekend in Kansas City. The Royals have been the Tigers' punching bags this season, having only beaten Detroit once in 12 tries.
Don't tell me about how "respectable" the Royals have been since the All-Star break. Don't tell me about the fits they've given other upper echelon American League teams recently. Don't tell me about how their motivation is to play spoiler, and that they could use that to carry them this weekend.
Hogwash.
The Tigers, frankly, might be facing their biggest litmus test of all this month, in Kansas City today thru Sunday. For these are the series that the legitimately good teams capture with all the finesse of a pillaging group of Vikings. There are no prisoners taken by the elite teams when they face the dregs of the league. No mercy. No letting up for air.
The Royals, no matter what you say, are among the very worst teams in all of baseball, and the Tigers better treat them as such.
The White Sox, sinking faster than Refrigerator Perry attached to a boat anchor, are so far out of sorts that the Tigers, at this point, can't help but qualify for the playoffs, no matter what they do in Kansas City this weekend.
Again, hogwash.
The Tigers need to finally flex their muscles and take the Royals to the woodshed, maybe even in a three game sweep. No more fooling around. Forget that the magic number for a Wild Card berth is only four. Don't back in. Storm into Kansas City, slap them around, and get this Wild Card thing wrapped up ASAP so the concentration can be on the division and setting up playoff pitching schedules.
That's what the good teams do.
posted by Greg Eno at 12:50 PM
Proud Member of DIBS
1 Comments:
I was thinking the same thing. A rather prophetic post, don't you think? :)
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