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Detroit Tigers Litterbox listeners. The sky is
officially falling in. Chicken Little was right.
And the Tigers are now only three and a half
games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians. That's
just depressing, Bill. Thank you for that start
to today's episode. It's what I needed. after
watching this debacle over the last three days.
There was nothing good to report, although the
fact remains, Chet, that the Tigers were always
in these games, save extra innings. They were
never more than a run off, but they cannot score
with runners in scoring position. It has gotten
so frustrating, Chet, that they can no longer
put it together as a team. If the pitching's
good, The bullpen's bad meaning starting pitching
if the hitting is good the pitching falls apart
Chemistry is just it's off sometimes right like
Sometimes it just feels like one leg of the tripod
decides to take a day out of the ballpark and
go shopping or something And the other two just
fall over. It's like the thing just falls over
without the leg I don't I don't really get it
except for them. It's probably more like two
legs of the tripod take the day off and it becomes
a monopod. But anyhow, it does seem like they
can't put it all together. And it's very frustrating
to watch. There were telltale signs. There were
telltale signs. And it was interesting today
to watch AJ Hinch's and Tarek Scoobel's postgame
interviews. And they both alluded to the same
thing, that they are just not putting it all
together in every phase, meaning pitching, defense,
offense, whatever else you want to say. I mean,
they've tried to be aggressive on the base paths.
However, that's actually come back to bite them
somewhat against the guardians. And it just,
I keep getting the question from listeners, family,
friends, who else is out there? What else do
we have? You know, what's, what's in the farm
system? I keep hearing, we have this great farm
system and My retort and answer is you've seen
what's there. Everybody else is in double -A.
They're not ready yet. And the triple -A guys,
especially pitching, we've seen those players
this season. And I... They just don't have a
lot of firepower down there to pull from right
now to come up and infuse energy in the team.
You're looking for like a prospect that's going
to come up. Show off a little bit show out and
these vets are gonna go man. We gotta get you
know, this guy's got us going We had a little
fire. There's nothing coming with fire No, you
know and torque was quoted the other day as basically
saying last year We had that fire. We had that
kind of we were chasing right? You're the rabbit
chasing the carrot You're trying to get to the
playoffs and do the unbelievable this year It's
like they don't have that and he kind of said
that we he goes we want to win But we just don't
have that hunger this year which is Sort of disappointing.
I don't even know if you use the word hunger,
but it was something real close I thought is
this it's not me looking for answers because
I've I know that there's nothing out there the
frustration lies and Again with the front office
thinking that this was enough to get them over
the hump and if this Evaporates and the Tigers
do not win the American League Central this season
all I can say is shame and the Tigers front office
ownership, the entire organization, because this
was a golden opportunity that has slipped through
their fingers. They were up 15 games on this
Guardians team and the Royals as recently as
the third week in July. And here we are. Being
swept by same guardians. So very much like a
horse race, right? Like the guys get out of the
gate really fast You almost discount that horse.
You're like, yeah that horse isn't winning. Everybody's
gonna catch up. This thing's too long They're
coming out real hot. They're playing above themselves,
which is what the Tigers did in the first half
I mean we had guys like, you know, look and we
loved it I loved him. We had McKinstry. We're
begging for an All -Star nod to McKinstry, and
now he's gone back to being Zach McKinstry, right?
I was gonna say, the second you said that, Chad,
the first thought bubble that popped in my head
was Zach McKinstry, in terms of her first player,
you know, outperforming his normal or career
average ability. And your dog feels the same
way. He is really, Carl is really, really, really,
really upset with Zach McKinstry. I don't blame
him. So we know what we also don't. We just don't
have like a Jose Ramirez. Every time we play
the Indians, I look at a guy like Jose Ramirez
and I'm like, this guy is feared. He comes to
the plate and it's almost like the needle on
the record scratches. Everything just stops and
the whole team locks up. Like, oh gosh, it's
Jose Ramirez. What are we going to do? We don't
really have a guy like that in our lineup, do
we? No. And that is the biggest thing that I
think was missing from the trade deadline. We
called it dumpster diving. The media called it
that in terms of relief pictures, starting pictures
that were picked up on the cheap or not trading
valuable assets. I still think, and we documented
it. via this podcast, that the big bat, the reliable
big bat was what we were missing. And unfortunately,
Riley Green's not that reliable yet. Not yet.
And there just isn't another guy. And the Guardians
have two guys. It's my obligatory love fest to
Stephen Kwan. Yes. Even though he went 0 for
5 today, he's still basically... He is your baseball
centerfold. He is my baseball centerfold. I'm
looking at him right now on the wall. Do you
I so what so let's talk about this though. I
do feel oh boy Don't get too worked up over mr.
Kwan. I do feel though like it might have been
a little bit of bad luck for the Tigers this
year because The trade deadline didn't really
have much to offer of need for them and the stuff
they needed, like 10 other teams were going after
likewise. So it wasn't like we had that big bopper
out there that you'd invest heavily in and trade
pieces. It wasn't like we had, you know, Eugenio
Suarez was the guy, and he's not that great.
I mean, we've already profiled his struggles
in the second half when he got traded over to
the Mariners, and I haven't looked up what he's
done over the last two, three weeks, but he wasn't
exactly the biggest boon for them, and I just
don't think, and Jose Ramirez doesn't pop up
all the time on the deadline, right? So it was
like, who are we going to get that was a needle
mover? There just weren't needle movers. My retort
to that would be get creative. I was about to
say, you want them to get creative. You want
them to figure it out. You want to find something.
Well, the San Francisco Giants did, and it looks
like they might not make the playoffs, so I was
wrong on that prediction. Sure. But they opened
all this, signing a disgruntled Raphael Devos.
Yeah. And figuring out a hole in their lineup,
moving Mike Yastremski to the Royals. And they
have played better in stretches. I still think,
you know, the Giants are probably a season away.
This isn't a Giants podcast, but that's - But
Devers could be great for the Giants next year.
Even though it didn't work this year. It was
the type of creativity that I felt was lacking
from this front office, because when that deal
was done, the Tigers were the best record in
Major League Baseball. You know, I'm sure people
were feeling really good about it. And you and
I have talked about when this team's clicking
all three phases, the ceiling's high when it's
not. And I look at Wensil Perez playing center
field today. I sit there and just scratch my
head at how they've won this many games. He played
in all three games this week. And he's not, he's
a great right fielder. He can play adequate left
field. He is not a major league center fielder
and he would be the first to admit that. And
it didn't bite the Tigers per se the series,
but it certainly could have. I just don't think
the organization top to bottom is as strong as
the records supported in any way shape or form
this year. I still think this team is possibly
2027, 2028. you know, provided there's no work
stoppage away from contending, contending. And
I don't think this team was as bad as the writers
had them chalked up to be at season start. You
remember everybody had us in third place in the
AL Central. That may happen fourth. Yeah, they
were like, this was a flash in the pan last year.
And look, they came out, proved everybody wrong.
They had an incredible. Incredible first half.
It was awesome. However, I saw a few things in
this past series. I had a couple of those moments
where you just sort of stare a hole in the television
while you're watching it take place. First and
foremost, it's like an accident. It's like watching
the car accident. You can't stop watching. So
in game one, we get this great ninth inning home
run to tie things up from carp, right? And I'm
feeling, man, this is what we need. This is how
you get through a series like this at the end
of the season and everybody gets going and it's
all pistons firing, right? And you get into the
10th inning and you give up four runs right off
the bat in the 10th inning. And that is the way,
in my opinion, you take all the air out of the
balloon right there. Whenever I see a team lose
that way to start a series off. or whenever my
team wins that way to start a series off. The
only thing I can think of is, man, we got the
momentum now. And momentum at this time of year,
I'll take momentum over talent at this time of
year, any day of the week. The emotion to get
you through to game 162 is extremely important.
The mojo that these teams need. And that was
a mojo killer. I saw that happen in game one
and I just went, boy, this is going to be a long
series. And it was. And that probably explains
Billy P from the D's grumpiness getting on this
pod. I was on with a few family members at the
game. Cousin Evan, we're going to give you a
shout. And when Karp hit that Karp bomb, I was
going nuts. He had his phone on speaker. You
could hear it. It was awesome, Chet. And then
to give up four runs from Will Vest, who, yeah,
I don't question. Well, no, I don't question
the decision. No, no, no. He didn't. He didn't
have it. He was the best available. He didn't
have it. And I am. And he's had a couple of rocky
outings lately. I'm 100 percent with you, Chet,
that the momentum and wind went out of the sails.
Hence the next game. Guardians win for nothing.
The Tigers bats were awful. Gone. 0 for 10 with
runners in scoring position, and then to finish
it off a 3 -1 loss today. So the second time
in this series when I stared a hole in the television,
and I was sitting there going, what happened
to our wonderful ball club? I got to watch the
treat in the latter portion of the game, and
I kind of couldn't believe that I was watching
this. The Order, I believe at the time, it was
a very strange happening the way this was, but
it was like, Wensil Perez, Andy Ibanez, and Jemai
Jones somehow came up in order at one point.
And I might be missing somebody in there, but
somebody may have gotten on base. But I remember
thinking to myself, like, you have all three
of these guys batting within a slot or two of
each other in the Order. In the most critical
part. a very critical game down a run or two
and you've got I think we had ducks on the pond
at the time I think we guys on first and second
actually which is how this happened we did and
I I sat there going you can't rely on a when
seal Perez Andy Ibanez Jemai Jones trifecta of
average with two ducks on the pond down to oh
and I know why they hit for Parker Meadows. It
was a lefty -lefty matchup in Meadows while he's
been better since he's been back from his latest
injury stint. He hasn't been great. And Jemai
Jones has been scrappy. Don't get me wrong. All
three of those guys, Andy Ibanez, Wensil Pres,
have had their moments of scrap throughout this
season. I actually don't need to see Andy Ibanez
anymore for the rest of the year. But the other
two guys have had their moments. Couldn't agree
more. And again, this goes back to the ceiling
floor. and the fact that I feel that Scott Harrius
and company vastly overvalued or were given instructions
not to spend. I don't know if the Tigers were,
their feelings were hurt after Alex Bregman.
Could be. They gave him a great offer and he's
the bat that probably would have helped a lot
in this series. He's not Jose Ramirez. And I
do have to give props. I know we make fun of
my Stephen Kwan man crush. Jose Ramirez is the
pros pro and I hope he gets his shrine in Cooperstown
someday and he just does the little things and
you can see that team rally around him and he
is what I hope Riley Green becomes for this Tigers
team. So a couple things to throw out here. You
know, you saw Gleyber Torres ground out with
the two ducks on the pond there at the end. And
I had to start looking. Gleyber's at a 253 batting
average right now with a 753 OPS. That's fairly
pedestrian. Okay, that's on the season too. Which
means his second half has been a nightmare. His
since August 1st. Yeah. He has literally driven
the car like the cliff. Flat -lined here. Yeah.
A man that we thought was going to command big
bucks in the offseason now looks like he's going
to get another one -year $15 million deal. And
I don't really need the Tigers to be the one
signing that. So we're doing a little about face
on him. But he hit that hot shot rocket right
at third baseman Jose Ramirez, who's fielded
it deftly and threw it across the diamond to
throw him out, which, you know, you or I might
have been able to throw him out. Gleyber doesn't
run that fast anymore. But it's... Is what it
is. I, you know, I was happy to see Scoob will
get a good game in. I was really happy to see
that. We sort of needed to see that after his
little injury scare there last week. Yeah, absolutely.
And again, all hope is not lost. There are still
no nine games left in this baseball season. Baseball
is going to baseball, Bill. We're going to see
what's going to happen here. So the Atlanta Braves
come to town for a three game set this weekend,
and they're probably the most underachieving
team in Major League Baseball this year. Yeah.
And they've been injury riddled. They do have
really, really quality starting pitching when
it pitches or they pitch to their ability. They
have really good position players. It's going
to be a tough test. And interestingly enough,
the Guardians go to the Twin Cities in Minneapolis
to play four. They have a double header scheduled
as well for a rain delay previously the season,
which is the half game game in hand that we've.
you know, talked about, you know, being the three
and a half. So looking ahead to the weekend,
you know, we'll be back with you litter box listeners
to dissect that series. I do have a food segment
for us if you'd like it. Would you like to do
food? I feel like you need something to cheer
you up. Let's talk about food. Well, one of my
favorite things in this world is something you
want to do right now. Absolutely. OK, let's do
this. Would you indulge me? Yeah, please. All
right. So one of the only things that Cleveland
is famous for food wise, or one of the more famous
things happens to be their authentic stadium
mustard. Quite simply known as stadium mustard
in air quotes. That's fabulous. It has a deep
and interesting background. It's delicious. I
know you like no condiments on your dog, but
I really would like you to try this with me at
some point. I feel like something called stadium
mustard. is something I need to try. You really
should. It's like axle grease. It's just, there's
no branding. It's just simple. I see it. I see
a picture of it here. This is amazing, by the
way. It's a brown mustard designed to go on whatever
encased meat you're eating between a bun. Am
I looking at some sort of a spicy or is it just
a... Come on now, it's Cleveland. There's no
white wine put in their mustard, buddy. Okay.
Yeah, yeah. What's great about it, though...
is that, of course, with anything great in life,
there had to be conflict. And so there are two
competing companies now that serve basically
the same recipe. Burtman is apparently they claim
to be the originator. Davis Food Company is the
one that claims, no, we have it because of whatever.
I'm not going to get into all that. Fascinating.
Do they serve both of them at the ballpark by
chance? No, they only serve one. That would be
a beautiful little tiff. So if you talk to Clevelanders
or Clevelanders, I don't know how they... Northern
Ohio folks, there's a divisive line between Stadium
Mustard and Birtmans, even though they're the
same thing. So I think... So the one bottle says
the authentic Stadium Mustard. Yes. A great American
tradition. The other bottle. Yeah. The other
bottle says... Burtman's original ballpark mustard.
Proud partner. And then the Cleveland Guardians
logo in the middle. Burtman has been around since
1925. This is fascinating. This is good stuff,
Bill. That is what I have to cheer us all up.
Everybody that's a loyal listener, why don't
you go online, order a couple bottles. one of
each and send us your comments. And Chet and
I will also do a taste test. I've already ordered
mine ready. I'm going to get mine. I'm going
to get some of this. I'm going to find this somewhere.
Well, and it's Oktoberfest season. So maybe grab
a party pretzel pretzel, maybe a bratwurst, maybe
a you could slap it on a regular hot dog soft
pretzels. Go get a nice soft pretzel with some
salt on it. Yeah. Drizzle a little Burtman's
on there. Yeah. Anyhow, that's what I like to
have mustard with, is my pretzel. So maybe that's
what I would have it on that instead of a hot
dog. I don't know. But I'm going to give it a
shot. Even a bratwurst you eat plain? Oh, not
usually. It depends. But usually I'll put some
stuff on a brat, especially mustard. You ruined
it. I was going to tease it for another episode,
but it's all good. What are you teasing? What
do you mean? What was I going to tease? What
you do put toppings on encased meat. Yeah. We
could do that. I mean, we can do a whole episode.
I can get you 20 minutes on that. I can easily
give you 20 minutes on that. All right, Tigers
and Tiger fans, loyal listeners to The Litterbox,
your Tigers podcast. Don't lose the faith yet.
Keep the faith. Three and a half games up. We
got some stuff to work with here, people. We
do. And we've got stadium mustard to keep us
happy until then. All right, that's gonna do
it for this episode of the Litterbox, a Detroit
Tigers podcast. Thanks for hanging out with us.
We're Bill and Chet. We'll be back soon with
more Tigers Talk. If you're enjoying the show,
be sure to follow or subscribe on Spotify, Apple
Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And hey, if you got a minute, leave us a quick
review. Till next time, go Tigers.