WEBVTT 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:08.660 Look, we get it, Tiger fans. We know the baseball 00:00:08.660 --> 00:00:11.660 season can be a grind. Luckily, when you're ready 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:14.960 to trade hot dogs for tailgates, we've got you 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:18.199 covered with Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast. 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.000 It's the same unfiltered Detroit sports talk 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:23.839 you get here, just with more biting kneecaps 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:27.050 and fewer bullpen meltdowns. So when Sunday rolls 00:00:27.050 --> 00:00:29.850 around, don't just pace around like AJ Hinch 00:00:29.850 --> 00:00:33.250 waiting for a reliever. Fire up Litterbox, a 00:00:33.250 --> 00:00:35.710 Detroit Lions podcast, wherever you're listening 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:38.990 now, and roar with us through the NFL season. 00:00:48.720 --> 00:00:52.119 Billy P from The D and Chet here. Thank you all 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:54.280 for listening to Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:56.840 podcast. If you enjoy the show, please make sure 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:58.619 you hit that subscribe button so that you never 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:01.000 miss an episode. We'd love hearing your thoughts 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.920 too. Leave us a rating or just drop us a comment. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:06.060 Please let us know what you think and whatever 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:08.540 you want us to cover next. Your feedback really 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:11.079 helps us grow and keeps the Tigers talk rolling 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:21.500 all season long. Go Tigers and thank you. You're 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:24.239 listening to the Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:30.019 podcast with your hosts, Chet West and Bill Patterson. 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.680 Detroit Tigers Litterbox listeners. The sky is 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:37.780 officially falling in. Chicken Little was right. 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:40.980 And the Tigers are now only three and a half 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:45.019 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. That's 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:47.439 just depressing, Bill. Thank you for that start 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.299 to today's episode. It's what I needed. after 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.299 watching this debacle over the last three days. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.340 There was nothing good to report, although the 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:00.719 fact remains, Chet, that the Tigers were always 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:04.620 in these games, save extra innings. They were 00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:09.099 never more than a run off, but they cannot score 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:12.319 with runners in scoring position. It has gotten 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.400 so frustrating, Chet, that they can no longer 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:17.599 put it together as a team. If the pitching's 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:20.539 good, The bullpen's bad meaning starting pitching 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:23.740 if the hitting is good the pitching falls apart 00:02:23.740 --> 00:02:28.080 Chemistry is just it's off sometimes right like 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.120 Sometimes it just feels like one leg of the tripod 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.500 decides to take a day out of the ballpark and 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:36.099 go shopping or something And the other two just 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:38.479 fall over. It's like the thing just falls over 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.020 without the leg I don't I don't really get it 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:42.830 except for them. It's probably more like two 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:45.229 legs of the tripod take the day off and it becomes 00:02:45.229 --> 00:02:48.150 a monopod. But anyhow, it does seem like they 00:02:48.150 --> 00:02:50.870 can't put it all together. And it's very frustrating 00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:53.969 to watch. There were telltale signs. There were 00:02:53.969 --> 00:02:56.229 telltale signs. And it was interesting today 00:02:56.229 --> 00:02:59.930 to watch AJ Hinch's and Tarek Scoobel's postgame 00:02:59.930 --> 00:03:03.090 interviews. And they both alluded to the same 00:03:03.090 --> 00:03:06.909 thing, that they are just not putting it all 00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:10.830 together in every phase, meaning pitching, defense, 00:03:11.030 --> 00:03:13.370 offense, whatever else you want to say. I mean, 00:03:13.729 --> 00:03:15.789 they've tried to be aggressive on the base paths. 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:19.750 However, that's actually come back to bite them 00:03:19.750 --> 00:03:23.210 somewhat against the guardians. And it just, 00:03:23.469 --> 00:03:26.229 I keep getting the question from listeners, family, 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:28.729 friends, who else is out there? What else do 00:03:28.729 --> 00:03:30.930 we have? You know, what's, what's in the farm 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:32.750 system? I keep hearing, we have this great farm 00:03:32.750 --> 00:03:37.699 system and My retort and answer is you've seen 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:39.879 what's there. Everybody else is in double -A. 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:43.340 They're not ready yet. And the triple -A guys, 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:47.460 especially pitching, we've seen those players 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:51.699 this season. And I... They just don't have a 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:54.060 lot of firepower down there to pull from right 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:57.520 now to come up and infuse energy in the team. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:03:59.900 You're looking for like a prospect that's going 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.900 to come up. Show off a little bit show out and 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:04.659 these vets are gonna go man. We gotta get you 00:04:04.659 --> 00:04:06.419 know, this guy's got us going We had a little 00:04:06.419 --> 00:04:09.300 fire. There's nothing coming with fire No, you 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:12.400 know and torque was quoted the other day as basically 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:15.759 saying last year We had that fire. We had that 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:17.720 kind of we were chasing right? You're the rabbit 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:19.399 chasing the carrot You're trying to get to the 00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:22.139 playoffs and do the unbelievable this year It's 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:24.339 like they don't have that and he kind of said 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:27.100 that we he goes we want to win But we just don't 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:31.120 have that hunger this year which is Sort of disappointing. 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:32.779 I don't even know if you use the word hunger, 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.259 but it was something real close I thought is 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:37.839 this it's not me looking for answers because 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:40.939 I've I know that there's nothing out there the 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:45.220 frustration lies and Again with the front office 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.160 thinking that this was enough to get them over 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:52.420 the hump and if this Evaporates and the Tigers 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:56.199 do not win the American League Central this season 00:04:56.199 --> 00:05:00.079 all I can say is shame and the Tigers front office 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.339 ownership, the entire organization, because this 00:05:03.339 --> 00:05:07.740 was a golden opportunity that has slipped through 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:11.120 their fingers. They were up 15 games on this 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:14.360 Guardians team and the Royals as recently as 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:19.240 the third week in July. And here we are. Being 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.600 swept by same guardians. So very much like a 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:24.860 horse race, right? Like the guys get out of the 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:27.839 gate really fast You almost discount that horse. 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.639 You're like, yeah that horse isn't winning. Everybody's 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:31.660 gonna catch up. This thing's too long They're 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:34.439 coming out real hot. They're playing above themselves, 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:36.360 which is what the Tigers did in the first half 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:40.000 I mean we had guys like, you know, look and we 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.680 loved it I loved him. We had McKinstry. We're 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:44.699 begging for an All -Star nod to McKinstry, and 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:46.939 now he's gone back to being Zach McKinstry, right? 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.519 I was gonna say, the second you said that, Chad, 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:52.019 the first thought bubble that popped in my head 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:55.079 was Zach McKinstry, in terms of her first player, 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:59.800 you know, outperforming his normal or career 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.540 average ability. And your dog feels the same 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:07.329 way. He is really, Carl is really, really, really, 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:10.250 really upset with Zach McKinstry. I don't blame 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:13.350 him. So we know what we also don't. We just don't 00:06:13.350 --> 00:06:15.470 have like a Jose Ramirez. Every time we play 00:06:15.470 --> 00:06:17.569 the Indians, I look at a guy like Jose Ramirez 00:06:17.569 --> 00:06:20.389 and I'm like, this guy is feared. He comes to 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:23.230 the plate and it's almost like the needle on 00:06:23.230 --> 00:06:26.350 the record scratches. Everything just stops and 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:29.040 the whole team locks up. Like, oh gosh, it's 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:30.860 Jose Ramirez. What are we going to do? We don't 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:32.939 really have a guy like that in our lineup, do 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:36.920 we? No. And that is the biggest thing that I 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.920 think was missing from the trade deadline. We 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.399 called it dumpster diving. The media called it 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.240 that in terms of relief pictures, starting pictures 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:48.100 that were picked up on the cheap or not trading 00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:52.560 valuable assets. I still think, and we documented 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:57.319 it. via this podcast, that the big bat, the reliable 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:01.100 big bat was what we were missing. And unfortunately, 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:04.480 Riley Green's not that reliable yet. Not yet. 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:07.579 And there just isn't another guy. And the Guardians 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:12.180 have two guys. It's my obligatory love fest to 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:14.240 Stephen Kwan. Yes. Even though he went 0 for 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.100 5 today, he's still basically... He is your baseball 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:20.939 centerfold. He is my baseball centerfold. I'm 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:24.040 looking at him right now on the wall. Do you 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:26.579 I so what so let's talk about this though. I 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:29.279 do feel oh boy Don't get too worked up over mr. 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:33.740 Kwan. I do feel though like it might have been 00:07:33.740 --> 00:07:36.459 a little bit of bad luck for the Tigers this 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:40.139 year because The trade deadline didn't really 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:44.459 have much to offer of need for them and the stuff 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:47.240 they needed, like 10 other teams were going after 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.540 likewise. So it wasn't like we had that big bopper 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:52.759 out there that you'd invest heavily in and trade 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:55.500 pieces. It wasn't like we had, you know, Eugenio 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:58.699 Suarez was the guy, and he's not that great. 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:01.600 I mean, we've already profiled his struggles 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.079 in the second half when he got traded over to 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:05.839 the Mariners, and I haven't looked up what he's 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.660 done over the last two, three weeks, but he wasn't 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:13.620 exactly the biggest boon for them, and I just 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:17.079 don't think, and Jose Ramirez doesn't pop up 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:19.279 all the time on the deadline, right? So it was 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:21.120 like, who are we going to get that was a needle 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.019 mover? There just weren't needle movers. My retort 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:26.939 to that would be get creative. I was about to 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:28.160 say, you want them to get creative. You want 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:30.560 them to figure it out. You want to find something. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.460 Well, the San Francisco Giants did, and it looks 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:35.480 like they might not make the playoffs, so I was 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:38.980 wrong on that prediction. Sure. But they opened 00:08:38.980 --> 00:08:42.500 all this, signing a disgruntled Raphael Devos. 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:45.649 Yeah. And figuring out a hole in their lineup, 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:50.049 moving Mike Yastremski to the Royals. And they 00:08:50.049 --> 00:08:52.389 have played better in stretches. I still think, 00:08:52.389 --> 00:08:55.409 you know, the Giants are probably a season away. 00:08:56.350 --> 00:08:58.669 This isn't a Giants podcast, but that's - But 00:08:58.669 --> 00:09:00.830 Devers could be great for the Giants next year. 00:09:01.129 --> 00:09:03.429 Even though it didn't work this year. It was 00:09:03.429 --> 00:09:06.230 the type of creativity that I felt was lacking 00:09:06.230 --> 00:09:08.929 from this front office, because when that deal 00:09:08.929 --> 00:09:11.429 was done, the Tigers were the best record in 00:09:11.429 --> 00:09:13.830 Major League Baseball. You know, I'm sure people 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:16.009 were feeling really good about it. And you and 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:18.230 I have talked about when this team's clicking 00:09:18.230 --> 00:09:21.850 all three phases, the ceiling's high when it's 00:09:21.850 --> 00:09:25.399 not. And I look at Wensil Perez playing center 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:28.919 field today. I sit there and just scratch my 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:32.259 head at how they've won this many games. He played 00:09:32.259 --> 00:09:36.759 in all three games this week. And he's not, he's 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:39.299 a great right fielder. He can play adequate left 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:42.259 field. He is not a major league center fielder 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:44.539 and he would be the first to admit that. And 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:49.100 it didn't bite the Tigers per se the series, 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:52.870 but it certainly could have. I just don't think 00:09:52.870 --> 00:09:56.389 the organization top to bottom is as strong as 00:09:56.389 --> 00:09:59.090 the records supported in any way shape or form 00:09:59.090 --> 00:10:05.409 this year. I still think this team is possibly 00:10:05.409 --> 00:10:10.230 2027, 2028. you know, provided there's no work 00:10:10.230 --> 00:10:12.950 stoppage away from contending, contending. And 00:10:12.950 --> 00:10:16.450 I don't think this team was as bad as the writers 00:10:16.450 --> 00:10:18.830 had them chalked up to be at season start. You 00:10:18.830 --> 00:10:20.850 remember everybody had us in third place in the 00:10:20.850 --> 00:10:23.690 AL Central. That may happen fourth. Yeah, they 00:10:23.690 --> 00:10:25.809 were like, this was a flash in the pan last year. 00:10:26.049 --> 00:10:28.289 And look, they came out, proved everybody wrong. 00:10:28.429 --> 00:10:31.279 They had an incredible. Incredible first half. 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:35.080 It was awesome. However, I saw a few things in 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.259 this past series. I had a couple of those moments 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:40.179 where you just sort of stare a hole in the television 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:44.320 while you're watching it take place. First and 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.799 foremost, it's like an accident. It's like watching 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:50.019 the car accident. You can't stop watching. So 00:10:50.019 --> 00:10:54.919 in game one, we get this great ninth inning home 00:10:54.919 --> 00:10:58.860 run to tie things up from carp, right? And I'm 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:01.639 feeling, man, this is what we need. This is how 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.059 you get through a series like this at the end 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:06.779 of the season and everybody gets going and it's 00:11:06.779 --> 00:11:10.220 all pistons firing, right? And you get into the 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:12.480 10th inning and you give up four runs right off 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:15.539 the bat in the 10th inning. And that is the way, 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.279 in my opinion, you take all the air out of the 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:22.740 balloon right there. Whenever I see a team lose 00:11:22.740 --> 00:11:26.389 that way to start a series off. or whenever my 00:11:26.389 --> 00:11:29.429 team wins that way to start a series off. The 00:11:29.429 --> 00:11:31.230 only thing I can think of is, man, we got the 00:11:31.230 --> 00:11:33.870 momentum now. And momentum at this time of year, 00:11:34.570 --> 00:11:37.789 I'll take momentum over talent at this time of 00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:40.929 year, any day of the week. The emotion to get 00:11:40.929 --> 00:11:44.129 you through to game 162 is extremely important. 00:11:44.710 --> 00:11:47.850 The mojo that these teams need. And that was 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:50.070 a mojo killer. I saw that happen in game one 00:11:50.070 --> 00:11:53.289 and I just went, boy, this is going to be a long 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:57.710 series. And it was. And that probably explains 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:00.769 Billy P from the D's grumpiness getting on this 00:12:00.769 --> 00:12:03.870 pod. I was on with a few family members at the 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:05.889 game. Cousin Evan, we're going to give you a 00:12:05.889 --> 00:12:09.909 shout. And when Karp hit that Karp bomb, I was 00:12:09.909 --> 00:12:12.909 going nuts. He had his phone on speaker. You 00:12:12.909 --> 00:12:16.309 could hear it. It was awesome, Chet. And then 00:12:16.309 --> 00:12:20.769 to give up four runs from Will Vest, who, yeah, 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.320 I don't question. Well, no, I don't question 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.360 the decision. No, no, no. He didn't. He didn't 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.360 have it. He was the best available. He didn't 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.399 have it. And I am. And he's had a couple of rocky 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:34.179 outings lately. I'm 100 percent with you, Chet, 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:37.919 that the momentum and wind went out of the sails. 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:41.700 Hence the next game. Guardians win for nothing. 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:45.799 The Tigers bats were awful. Gone. 0 for 10 with 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.840 runners in scoring position, and then to finish 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:52.480 it off a 3 -1 loss today. So the second time 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:55.059 in this series when I stared a hole in the television, 00:12:55.340 --> 00:12:58.379 and I was sitting there going, what happened 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:02.259 to our wonderful ball club? I got to watch the 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:05.360 treat in the latter portion of the game, and 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:08.379 I kind of couldn't believe that I was watching 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:12.659 this. The Order, I believe at the time, it was 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.860 a very strange happening the way this was, but 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:19.700 it was like, Wensil Perez, Andy Ibanez, and Jemai 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.320 Jones somehow came up in order at one point. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:25.600 And I might be missing somebody in there, but 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:27.600 somebody may have gotten on base. But I remember 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.919 thinking to myself, like, you have all three 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:34.279 of these guys batting within a slot or two of 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:36.720 each other in the Order. In the most critical 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:41.320 part. a very critical game down a run or two 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:43.279 and you've got I think we had ducks on the pond 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:45.000 at the time I think we guys on first and second 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.639 actually which is how this happened we did and 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:54.779 I I sat there going you can't rely on a when 00:13:54.779 --> 00:14:00.240 seal Perez Andy Ibanez Jemai Jones trifecta of 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:03.340 average with two ducks on the pond down to oh 00:14:03.340 --> 00:14:07.350 and I know why they hit for Parker Meadows. It 00:14:07.350 --> 00:14:09.470 was a lefty -lefty matchup in Meadows while he's 00:14:09.470 --> 00:14:12.070 been better since he's been back from his latest 00:14:12.070 --> 00:14:17.009 injury stint. He hasn't been great. And Jemai 00:14:17.009 --> 00:14:19.029 Jones has been scrappy. Don't get me wrong. All 00:14:19.029 --> 00:14:21.730 three of those guys, Andy Ibanez, Wensil Pres, 00:14:21.950 --> 00:14:24.230 have had their moments of scrap throughout this 00:14:24.230 --> 00:14:26.230 season. I actually don't need to see Andy Ibanez 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:28.090 anymore for the rest of the year. But the other 00:14:28.090 --> 00:14:30.230 two guys have had their moments. Couldn't agree 00:14:30.230 --> 00:14:33.049 more. And again, this goes back to the ceiling 00:14:33.049 --> 00:14:36.899 floor. and the fact that I feel that Scott Harrius 00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:41.220 and company vastly overvalued or were given instructions 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:44.799 not to spend. I don't know if the Tigers were, 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:47.100 their feelings were hurt after Alex Bregman. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.259 Could be. They gave him a great offer and he's 00:14:50.259 --> 00:14:53.960 the bat that probably would have helped a lot 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.240 in this series. He's not Jose Ramirez. And I 00:14:57.240 --> 00:14:59.340 do have to give props. I know we make fun of 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:03.480 my Stephen Kwan man crush. Jose Ramirez is the 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:07.360 pros pro and I hope he gets his shrine in Cooperstown 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:11.000 someday and he just does the little things and 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.519 you can see that team rally around him and he 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.919 is what I hope Riley Green becomes for this Tigers 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.879 team. So a couple things to throw out here. You 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.159 know, you saw Gleyber Torres ground out with 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:24.980 the two ducks on the pond there at the end. And 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:27.720 I had to start looking. Gleyber's at a 253 batting 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:30.399 average right now with a 753 OPS. That's fairly 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.639 pedestrian. Okay, that's on the season too. Which 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.820 means his second half has been a nightmare. His 00:15:36.820 --> 00:15:40.279 since August 1st. Yeah. He has literally driven 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:42.879 the car like the cliff. Flat -lined here. Yeah. 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:46.840 A man that we thought was going to command big 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.039 bucks in the offseason now looks like he's going 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:51.720 to get another one -year $15 million deal. And 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:53.860 I don't really need the Tigers to be the one 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:56.500 signing that. So we're doing a little about face 00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:59.960 on him. But he hit that hot shot rocket right 00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:02.320 at third baseman Jose Ramirez, who's fielded 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:04.440 it deftly and threw it across the diamond to 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:07.879 throw him out, which, you know, you or I might 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:09.539 have been able to throw him out. Gleyber doesn't 00:16:09.539 --> 00:16:13.490 run that fast anymore. But it's... Is what it 00:16:13.490 --> 00:16:16.090 is. I, you know, I was happy to see Scoob will 00:16:16.090 --> 00:16:18.750 get a good game in. I was really happy to see 00:16:18.750 --> 00:16:20.669 that. We sort of needed to see that after his 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.350 little injury scare there last week. Yeah, absolutely. 00:16:23.549 --> 00:16:26.990 And again, all hope is not lost. There are still 00:16:26.990 --> 00:16:30.870 no nine games left in this baseball season. Baseball 00:16:30.870 --> 00:16:32.350 is going to baseball, Bill. We're going to see 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:34.470 what's going to happen here. So the Atlanta Braves 00:16:34.470 --> 00:16:37.909 come to town for a three game set this weekend, 00:16:37.909 --> 00:16:40.330 and they're probably the most underachieving 00:16:40.330 --> 00:16:42.799 team in Major League Baseball this year. Yeah. 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:45.779 And they've been injury riddled. They do have 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:48.919 really, really quality starting pitching when 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:52.159 it pitches or they pitch to their ability. They 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:54.120 have really good position players. It's going 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.220 to be a tough test. And interestingly enough, 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:01.000 the Guardians go to the Twin Cities in Minneapolis 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:03.759 to play four. They have a double header scheduled 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.579 as well for a rain delay previously the season, 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:10.619 which is the half game game in hand that we've. 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:12.980 you know, talked about, you know, being the three 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:15.099 and a half. So looking ahead to the weekend, 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.700 you know, we'll be back with you litter box listeners 00:17:17.700 --> 00:17:22.500 to dissect that series. I do have a food segment 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:24.640 for us if you'd like it. Would you like to do 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:26.420 food? I feel like you need something to cheer 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:29.119 you up. Let's talk about food. Well, one of my 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:31.579 favorite things in this world is something you 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:34.140 want to do right now. Absolutely. OK, let's do 00:17:34.140 --> 00:17:36.799 this. Would you indulge me? Yeah, please. All 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:41.440 right. So one of the only things that Cleveland 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.240 is famous for food wise, or one of the more famous 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:48.319 things happens to be their authentic stadium 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:52.440 mustard. Quite simply known as stadium mustard 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:57.640 in air quotes. That's fabulous. It has a deep 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:00.859 and interesting background. It's delicious. I 00:18:00.859 --> 00:18:03.940 know you like no condiments on your dog, but 00:18:03.940 --> 00:18:06.599 I really would like you to try this with me at 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.039 some point. I feel like something called stadium 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.940 mustard. is something I need to try. You really 00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:17.380 should. It's like axle grease. It's just, there's 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:21.259 no branding. It's just simple. I see it. I see 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:23.859 a picture of it here. This is amazing, by the 00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:26.900 way. It's a brown mustard designed to go on whatever 00:18:26.900 --> 00:18:29.359 encased meat you're eating between a bun. Am 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.400 I looking at some sort of a spicy or is it just 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.400 a... Come on now, it's Cleveland. There's no 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.960 white wine put in their mustard, buddy. Okay. 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:39.359 Yeah, yeah. What's great about it, though... 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:42.750 is that, of course, with anything great in life, 00:18:42.789 --> 00:18:47.170 there had to be conflict. And so there are two 00:18:47.170 --> 00:18:50.470 competing companies now that serve basically 00:18:50.470 --> 00:18:54.470 the same recipe. Burtman is apparently they claim 00:18:54.470 --> 00:18:57.710 to be the originator. Davis Food Company is the 00:18:57.710 --> 00:19:01.250 one that claims, no, we have it because of whatever. 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:03.730 I'm not going to get into all that. Fascinating. 00:19:03.809 --> 00:19:05.829 Do they serve both of them at the ballpark by 00:19:05.829 --> 00:19:08.789 chance? No, they only serve one. That would be 00:19:08.789 --> 00:19:12.930 a beautiful little tiff. So if you talk to Clevelanders 00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:16.269 or Clevelanders, I don't know how they... Northern 00:19:16.269 --> 00:19:20.509 Ohio folks, there's a divisive line between Stadium 00:19:20.509 --> 00:19:22.730 Mustard and Birtmans, even though they're the 00:19:22.730 --> 00:19:26.349 same thing. So I think... So the one bottle says 00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:30.670 the authentic Stadium Mustard. Yes. A great American 00:19:30.670 --> 00:19:34.349 tradition. The other bottle. Yeah. The other 00:19:34.349 --> 00:19:39.200 bottle says... Burtman's original ballpark mustard. 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:42.480 Proud partner. And then the Cleveland Guardians 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.859 logo in the middle. Burtman has been around since 00:19:44.859 --> 00:19:49.740 1925. This is fascinating. This is good stuff, 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.940 Bill. That is what I have to cheer us all up. 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:55.339 Everybody that's a loyal listener, why don't 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:58.029 you go online, order a couple bottles. one of 00:19:58.029 --> 00:20:01.130 each and send us your comments. And Chet and 00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:03.829 I will also do a taste test. I've already ordered 00:20:03.829 --> 00:20:05.549 mine ready. I'm going to get mine. I'm going 00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:07.509 to get some of this. I'm going to find this somewhere. 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:10.309 Well, and it's Oktoberfest season. So maybe grab 00:20:10.309 --> 00:20:15.609 a party pretzel pretzel, maybe a bratwurst, maybe 00:20:15.609 --> 00:20:19.430 a you could slap it on a regular hot dog soft 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:21.769 pretzels. Go get a nice soft pretzel with some 00:20:21.769 --> 00:20:25.170 salt on it. Yeah. Drizzle a little Burtman's 00:20:25.170 --> 00:20:29.470 on there. Yeah. Anyhow, that's what I like to 00:20:29.470 --> 00:20:31.369 have mustard with, is my pretzel. So maybe that's 00:20:31.369 --> 00:20:32.970 what I would have it on that instead of a hot 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:34.869 dog. I don't know. But I'm going to give it a 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:37.670 shot. Even a bratwurst you eat plain? Oh, not 00:20:37.670 --> 00:20:41.509 usually. It depends. But usually I'll put some 00:20:41.509 --> 00:20:44.230 stuff on a brat, especially mustard. You ruined 00:20:44.230 --> 00:20:46.170 it. I was going to tease it for another episode, 00:20:46.450 --> 00:20:48.470 but it's all good. What are you teasing? What 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:50.190 do you mean? What was I going to tease? What 00:20:50.190 --> 00:20:52.869 you do put toppings on encased meat. Yeah. We 00:20:52.869 --> 00:20:54.910 could do that. I mean, we can do a whole episode. 00:20:55.009 --> 00:20:58.279 I can get you 20 minutes on that. I can easily 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.519 give you 20 minutes on that. All right, Tigers 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.779 and Tiger fans, loyal listeners to The Litterbox, 00:21:04.259 --> 00:21:07.359 your Tigers podcast. Don't lose the faith yet. 00:21:07.900 --> 00:21:10.599 Keep the faith. Three and a half games up. We 00:21:10.599 --> 00:21:12.880 got some stuff to work with here, people. We 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.619 do. And we've got stadium mustard to keep us 00:21:15.619 --> 00:21:23.210 happy until then. All right, that's gonna do 00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:25.509 it for this episode of the Litterbox, a Detroit 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:28.230 Tigers podcast. Thanks for hanging out with us. 00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:30.509 We're Bill and Chet. We'll be back soon with 00:21:30.509 --> 00:21:33.349 more Tigers Talk. If you're enjoying the show, 00:21:33.609 --> 00:21:36.589 be sure to follow or subscribe on Spotify, Apple 00:21:36.589 --> 00:21:39.470 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 00:21:39.950 --> 00:21:42.329 And hey, if you got a minute, leave us a quick 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:45.569 review. Till next time, go Tigers.