WEBVTT 00:00:04.710 --> 00:00:08.650 Look, we get it, Tiger fans. We know the baseball 00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:11.650 season can be a grind. Luckily, when you're ready 00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:14.929 to trade hot dogs for tailgates, we've got you 00:00:14.929 --> 00:00:18.190 covered with Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast. 00:00:18.789 --> 00:00:20.989 It's the same unfiltered Detroit sports talk 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:23.809 you get here, just with more biting kneecaps 00:00:23.809 --> 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 --> 00:00:35.729 Detroit Lions podcast, wherever you're listening 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:39.009 now, and roar with us through the NFL season. 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:51.579 Billy P from the D and Chet here. Thank you all 00:00:51.579 --> 00:00:53.740 for listening to Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:56.320 podcast. If you enjoy the show, please make sure 00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:58.100 you hit that subscribe button so that you never 00:00:58.100 --> 00:01:00.479 miss an episode. We love hearing your thoughts 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:03.399 too. Leave us a rating or just drop us a comment. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:05.540 Please let us know what you think and whatever 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:08.019 you want us to cover next. Your feedback really 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:10.560 helps us grow and keeps the Tigers talk rolling 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:20.980 all season long. Go Tigers and thank you. You're 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:23.739 listening to the Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:29.060 podcast with your hosts, Chet West and Bill Patterson. 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:33.340 Welcome back to the Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:37.680 podcast, American league division round edition. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:40.519 And boy, do we have a few things to talk about 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:44.680 that have surfaced from two very exciting games 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:49.280 in Seattle. If not lacking offense at times, 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:53.260 they think. The Tigers have sort of met their 00:01:53.260 --> 00:01:57.319 match in the department of inconsistent offensive 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.340 output. I think Seattle is a little different 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:02.840 from our Tigers, and that they rely on the power 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.980 game. Our Tigers live on the edges, as we said 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:08.379 earlier in the season, and that's when they succeed. 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:11.060 We saw it a little bit in game one. We didn't 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:14.180 see it so much in game two. Bill, what are you 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:16.659 learning from these first two games of the ALDS? 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:18.800 that maybe we didn't pick up in the wild card. 00:02:18.979 --> 00:02:22.819 Well, I think that solidly the Tigers exhaled 00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:25.439 just getting past the Guardians as we all thought 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:27.939 they would. They just, that was the worst matchup 00:02:27.939 --> 00:02:30.099 they could have had for that wild card series. 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:32.860 After playing that team six times, a hundred 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:36.520 percent losing the division. And so now you face 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.280 a Mariners team that the last time we played 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.620 against them, we being the Tigers was just before 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:44.699 the All -Star break. And before that, it was 00:02:44.699 --> 00:02:47.050 the second series of the year. So One of the 00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:49.509 things that I'm really enjoying is it's fresh. 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:53.210 And I also love that, though I wish the Tigers 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:55.830 had won game two, they won game one, three to 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:59.009 two, they lost game two, three to two. But it 00:02:59.009 --> 00:03:01.750 was so refreshing to see the Seattle fans so 00:03:01.750 --> 00:03:04.370 engaged in their first playoff win in 20 years. 00:03:04.409 --> 00:03:08.530 And it was just neat because it's not Stephen 00:03:08.530 --> 00:03:12.729 Kwan and Ramirez just again and again. It's just 00:03:12.729 --> 00:03:15.229 them burning us again and again. Somebody else 00:03:15.229 --> 00:03:19.210 this time. The teams are really built very similarly, 00:03:19.449 --> 00:03:22.050 Chet. The difference being that the Mariners 00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:25.030 were more aggressive at the trade deadline, but 00:03:25.030 --> 00:03:27.310 any team could have been more aggressive than 00:03:27.310 --> 00:03:30.509 the Tigers. So let's not punch that bag. My question 00:03:30.509 --> 00:03:34.990 to you is, why is this Tigers team allergic to 00:03:34.990 --> 00:03:37.189 advancing runners when they're in scoring position? 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:40.090 What has happened there? Because This was not 00:03:40.090 --> 00:03:43.110 the Tigers from the first half of the year. First 00:03:43.110 --> 00:03:44.969 half of the year, as we said, they lived on the 00:03:44.969 --> 00:03:46.969 edges, you know, they played the game on the 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:49.710 edges. They took the extra base. They weren't 00:03:49.710 --> 00:03:52.289 stealing. They weren't swiping bags, but they 00:03:52.289 --> 00:03:54.370 definitely would stretch a single to a double, 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:57.229 stretch a guy from first to third, get him into 00:03:57.229 --> 00:04:00.389 scoring position and thus bring him home at that 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:04.289 point. We seem to be lacking. When a guy gets 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:07.750 to second or third, it's like the hitter. presses 00:04:07.750 --> 00:04:10.110 way too much. It's almost like they know like, 00:04:10.250 --> 00:04:12.409 I got to get this guy in. It's the playoffs and 00:04:12.409 --> 00:04:16.149 I got to, are they not up to the moment? Or is 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:19.189 it bad luck? Or is it just the ebb and flow of 00:04:19.189 --> 00:04:21.050 the game? Like I was sitting here watching these 00:04:21.050 --> 00:04:22.870 guys come like, how could you do this three months 00:04:22.870 --> 00:04:26.170 ago? And you can't do it now. It's very frustrating 00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:29.829 as a fan to watch this happen. So a couple of 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:32.610 things I think are happening. Has the approach 00:04:32.610 --> 00:04:36.050 changed maybe? Well, There's a couple of things 00:04:36.050 --> 00:04:38.329 going on. Number one, this team strikes out way 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:40.930 too much. It starts with their best player, Riley 00:04:40.930 --> 00:04:44.310 Green. And, you know, if you've looked at Dylan 00:04:44.310 --> 00:04:46.970 Dingler, who still had a remarkable season, he 00:04:46.970 --> 00:04:49.970 doesn't walk. And that's a huge issue because 00:04:49.970 --> 00:04:52.730 at this level, and when you're in the divisional 00:04:52.730 --> 00:04:55.529 round of the playoffs, which is awesome, you're 00:04:55.529 --> 00:04:57.389 going to face better pitching. And if they know 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:00.810 you can't lay off some of their slop or some 00:05:00.810 --> 00:05:04.209 of their trickery, You're gonna do what Dingler 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:08.569 did yesterday, which is look hapless against 00:05:08.569 --> 00:05:12.230 some Mariner pitching. And what I can't figure 00:05:12.230 --> 00:05:16.790 out is why this team isn't hitting sacrifice 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:19.550 flies or why when there's a man on second and 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:23.610 third, they hit a grounder to the shortstop. 00:05:23.610 --> 00:05:27.250 Like why? Can they not try to at least it's it's 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:29.829 bad situational hitting to yeah, they're not 00:05:29.829 --> 00:05:32.089 hitting behind the runner Yes, they're hitting 00:05:32.089 --> 00:05:35.569 into do I so my my others the other side of this 00:05:35.569 --> 00:05:39.230 is you know, I think they're young I we do have 00:05:39.230 --> 00:05:43.149 to remember how young and how little MLB experience 00:05:43.149 --> 00:05:46.829 most of this lineup has Outside of Gleyber Torres 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:51.290 and Javier Baez whoo if I can give yeah, I'm 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:56.759 with you. Yeah I still say that Javier Baez was 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:00.160 our MVP in the wild card round from a positional 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:03.000 player. I can accept that. Scoobs was obviously 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.879 the man, you know, from a pitching standpoint. 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:08.439 The other portion of that is I think the Tigers 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:10.860 are playing better now because Torres is back 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:15.019 in the leadoff spot. Could be. Could be. Even 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:17.480 if he doesn't hit, which he doesn't, his power's 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:20.339 gone. He seems very stubborn in his approach, 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:22.740 but the one thing that Gleybar Torres has done 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:27.040 all season, he takes pitches. Yeah. Yeah. And 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.060 it's, you've seen, as the season goes on, our 00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:33.879 on -base percentage has started to dwindle. Our 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:36.279 on -base percentage, our OPS have all started 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:39.519 to drop off a little bit. They don't walk. Our 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.560 patience has left the building. I felt like we 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:45.319 started the season off with more patience. And 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:47.560 as the season's gone on, it's like they press 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.000 and they press and they press to probably keep 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.720 up with our expectations to some degree. I do 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:56.000 think they're pressing a bit and they're young. 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:59.300 So being able to identify the situation and things 00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:02.259 of that, maybe they don't have that veteran presence. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.540 Now, I was watching a game with my wife last 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:07.980 night and she goes, who is this baby faced little 00:07:07.980 --> 00:07:10.170 young guy? And I sat there, he didn't say little, 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:12.350 she said young. And I said, I was, oh, that's 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:13.889 Riley Green. He's one of the youngest players 00:07:13.889 --> 00:07:17.110 in the team, but he's also our star on the offensive 00:07:17.110 --> 00:07:20.230 side of the ball. And she was like, oh, you got, 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:22.910 she goes, he looks like he's 20 years old. I 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:26.769 got 24. I was like, but you're not far off. And 00:07:26.769 --> 00:07:28.290 she sat there and said, he strikes out a little 00:07:28.290 --> 00:07:31.230 too much. Like he didn't, he hasn't developed 00:07:31.230 --> 00:07:34.269 his plate approach in his eye to its fullest 00:07:34.269 --> 00:07:37.329 yet. You got three years till this guy's at his 00:07:37.329 --> 00:07:40.199 peak. OK, that's that's kind of an eternity if 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:42.680 you think about it. And many of the other guys, 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:44.519 Kerry Carpenter hasn't been in the majors that 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:46.939 long. He's not as young, but he's been in the 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:50.079 majors for the same duration of time that Riley 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.199 Green has been in the majors. They were basically 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:54.560 rookies same year. I think maybe one of them 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.240 got a little cup of coffee before the other. 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:00.189 But Dylan Dingler, less service time. facing 00:08:00.189 --> 00:08:02.629 major league pitching. This is his first full 00:08:02.629 --> 00:08:05.009 season in the major leagues. So you're looking 00:08:05.009 --> 00:08:07.110 at this lineup. I go down the lineup, Colt Keith, 00:08:07.290 --> 00:08:10.910 second major league season. So it's Spencer Torkelson. 00:08:10.970 --> 00:08:13.470 He's probably been on, he's probably been around 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.430 the longest by about one year. I mean, Torque's 00:08:16.430 --> 00:08:18.189 been up there for about three or four years now. 00:08:18.290 --> 00:08:21.370 So you start looking across these guys, Parker 00:08:21.370 --> 00:08:24.569 Meadows, even less time. Yes. So you gotta, you 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:28.370 gotta line up that is not Seasoned yet. We'll 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:31.189 put it that way. It's and they need more seasoning 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:33.929 in these big moments. It's not a stand It's not 00:08:33.929 --> 00:08:36.149 a finished product. It's not a finished product 00:08:36.149 --> 00:08:39.049 and I do think like you're gonna hear the excuses 00:08:39.049 --> 00:08:41.590 I think they'll be lesser now that we've made 00:08:41.590 --> 00:08:44.210 it to the division series which in and of itself 00:08:44.210 --> 00:08:47.669 seems to be somewhat of a victory for this season 00:08:47.669 --> 00:08:50.129 for this team but because it didn't look like 00:08:50.129 --> 00:08:52.250 that was gonna happen for a while to get this 00:08:52.250 --> 00:08:54.470 far, but you look at some of these guys you're 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:58.480 like man, they've They really don't have the 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:02.879 experience to fall back on. I mean, even Scoobal, 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:06.360 he's had two and a half good seasons under his 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:08.159 belt right now. Prior to two and a half years 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.059 ago, Scoobal was not the pitcher he is now. He 00:09:12.059 --> 00:09:15.480 was so young and still developing and he was 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:18.519 hurt. He had been hurt for a year or two when 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:22.870 he first came out. So there is an aspect. From 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:25.309 a fan standpoint, as hard as it is to say it, 00:09:25.330 --> 00:09:27.190 we have to have a little patience. We have to 00:09:27.190 --> 00:09:30.090 have a little grace. But it's no less infuriating 00:09:30.090 --> 00:09:31.789 to watch it happen because you just want them 00:09:31.789 --> 00:09:33.629 to do it now because they're in the playoffs. 00:09:34.309 --> 00:09:37.350 Two years in a row, Division Series. If they 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:40.210 get past the Division Series this year, I will 00:09:40.210 --> 00:09:43.110 officially call the 2025 season a success. I 00:09:43.110 --> 00:09:45.990 would as well. I think it's I think it's almost 00:09:45.990 --> 00:09:48.230 they're getting to the Division Series. At least 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:50.580 we didn't step back from last year. And I would 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:53.340 say overall on the season, we had a better season. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:55.639 We just had bad September. They can't do what 00:09:55.639 --> 00:10:00.940 they did last season, which is go up 2 -1 over 00:10:00.940 --> 00:10:03.940 the Mariners. Yeah. Which would happen if they 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:07.379 won Tuesday and then lose the series like they 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:10.080 did to the Guardians last year. They really got 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.860 to put this thing away in Detroit. If they go 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:17.340 up 2 -1, and they did in terms of they took one 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:20.580 of the two games in Seattle. You know, now they 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:22.360 have home field advantage. You're right. The 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:24.759 problem is that yesterday's game was there for 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.580 the taking and it's unrealistic to expect Scoobl 00:10:27.580 --> 00:10:30.860 to allow no earned runs every time he goes out. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:34.220 Yeah. He allowed two solo shots and they were 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.980 good hit balls when you're throwing a hundred 00:10:36.980 --> 00:10:40.500 miles an hour. Guys are if they connect it's 00:10:40.500 --> 00:10:43.139 going out of the art. It's just physics Then 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:45.840 the number one thing in the playoffs that a team 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.340 has to do is take advantage of an opportunity 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.559 when it presents itself Exactly in the playoffs 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:52.580 letting an opportunity slide by you don't know 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:53.879 when you're gonna get it again You're playing 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:56.620 good teams good pitching good offenses typically 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:01.759 you can't let it slide by in this team Let an 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:04.039 opportunity or two slide by earlier in the game 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.320 yesterday. Yeah, they were once again anemic 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.259 with runners in scoring position, just like they 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:11.460 were the previous night, but ended up pulling 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:13.919 it through towards the end of the game. You know, 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:15.679 you're seeing some battles here. I mean, you 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:19.700 got one run games, both games. I think they're 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:23.799 emptying bullpens. I mean, it's crazy. Last night 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:27.120 or in game one, the Tigers used eight pitchers 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:31.759 and the Mariners used seven. So this is a no 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:34.159 holds barred situation for both teams now. You're 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:36.899 seeing everybody gets to play. And they're throwing 00:11:36.899 --> 00:11:38.960 all sorts of things at the matchup while trying 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.820 to figure out who can get who out. It's been 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:44.659 fascinating to watch. I still don't know that 00:11:44.659 --> 00:11:47.279 we're up to it. If we make it to the ALCS, I'm 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.240 going to tip my cap to this team because I think 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.700 they will have over achieved. to a degree for 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:54.960 what they're throwing out there. Now the problem 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:57.779 everybody's basing this on is like Scubal's timeline 00:11:57.779 --> 00:12:00.500 because he's all world ace pitcher and everybody 00:12:00.500 --> 00:12:02.500 wants us to do something when we've got Scubal 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:04.600 on the squad and you only get one more season 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:07.360 to him after this and I think that's short -sighted 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.440 to a degree. There's nothing to say that Troy 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:12.820 Melton who looked quite nice in game one and 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:15.919 in other previous appearances in the season and 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:19.159 Rhys Olsen comes back healthy, let's hope, and 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.450 you know you've got a couple pictures that could 00:12:22.450 --> 00:12:24.850 come up and be the next Scoobal is what I'm saying. 00:12:25.289 --> 00:12:26.970 Not saying it's going to happen. Just saying 00:12:26.970 --> 00:12:30.070 there's some potential there. So I see you brought 00:12:30.070 --> 00:12:33.350 up a really interesting point as well for the 00:12:33.350 --> 00:12:37.350 fact that you talk about Scoobal really. It's 00:12:37.350 --> 00:12:39.690 a small sample size of how much excellence he's 00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:43.950 had. Yeah. Again, whoever signs him to this monster 00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:46.750 contract and you and I. firmly believe it will 00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:48.970 not be the Tigers. And I don't know that that's 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:51.429 a bad thing, because I don't know that what he's 00:12:51.429 --> 00:12:54.210 doing, Tarek Schubel, is sustainable long -term. 00:12:54.529 --> 00:12:57.350 And it could be a flash in the pan. History would 00:12:57.350 --> 00:13:00.470 tell you it's not sustainable. Yeah, yeah. And 00:13:00.470 --> 00:13:03.169 here's, we talk about the Tigers' young hitting. 00:13:03.629 --> 00:13:06.389 Keith Beauregard's the hitting coach. His age 00:13:06.389 --> 00:13:09.470 is 37, which makes him young for a hitting coach. 00:13:09.470 --> 00:13:12.049 I mean, young for a hitting coach. Yeah. I want 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.250 to bring another topic up here and just watching 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:16.830 Seattle, all the trades they made at the deadline 00:13:16.830 --> 00:13:20.269 this past year. I'm not seeing too many of those 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:23.769 guys show up and do anything in this series so 00:13:23.769 --> 00:13:27.769 far. Suarez would not have been a great signing 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:29.809 for us. He's doing nothing. He would have added 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:32.850 to our problems of striking out. Exactly. The 00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:35.070 guy's batting 220 -something. I get it. He's 00:13:35.070 --> 00:13:37.990 got like 49 home runs, okay? Yeah, but how many 00:13:37.990 --> 00:13:39.809 of those happened in the first half of the season? 00:13:40.549 --> 00:13:43.590 I think didn't the bulk of those happen when 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:46.570 he was a Diamondback? Yes. So, I mean, we're 00:13:46.570 --> 00:13:48.769 letting Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez beat 00:13:48.769 --> 00:13:51.529 us up right now. That's fine. They're two of 00:13:51.529 --> 00:13:54.570 the best players in the game, and it's to be 00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:57.190 expected. I mean, you know, limit their damage 00:13:57.190 --> 00:14:01.429 and go from there. So we are back at Co -America. 00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:07.559 Upcoming and we will now have three games Potentially, 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.860 hopefully it's only two How do you feel about 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:14.259 the matchup between Jack Flaherty and Gilbert 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:17.659 Logan Gilbert? That is This is a tough one. This 00:14:17.659 --> 00:14:20.580 is a tough one because Logan Gilbert's there 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:23.379 Tarek scubal. Okay. He's been lights out all 00:14:23.379 --> 00:14:25.879 season long He's and now we're getting him in 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:29.019 game three and so the planning that they put 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:32.350 into this to seed him in the middle Kinda looks 00:14:32.350 --> 00:14:35.409 genius at this point Flaherty can run with him 00:14:35.409 --> 00:14:37.730 if he's got his best stuff going and that's a 00:14:37.730 --> 00:14:40.549 big if Flaherty pitched well last time out. He's 00:14:40.549 --> 00:14:43.710 had trouble consistently doing that this season 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.320 And then for game four, it's interesting. It's 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:49.059 to be to be decided for the Mariners. And we've 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:51.399 got Casey Mize on the bump for the Tigers. So 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:53.259 as much as I would love to say the Tigers take 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:54.980 care of this at home, I think they've got their 00:14:54.980 --> 00:14:57.360 work cut out for them. I think they do. And I 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.340 think it could be a five game series, which is 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:01.980 what you initially said. I said Tigers in four, 00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:04.659 but they did take the game in Seattle. So it's 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:07.399 all there in front of them. This team plays so 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.539 much better at Comerica Park because that's truly 00:15:11.539 --> 00:15:15.460 where they can utilize their best assets in terms 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:18.220 of running the base as well. And, you know, slowing 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:21.460 the game down to their speed and not relying, 00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:24.559 because they're not built to have a big bopper 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:27.740 come up like Cal Raleigh and just clean the bases. 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:30.340 It's not what they do. What they do is they, 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:33.299 I'm doing the bones or the saw the bone saw. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.019 Yeah. They hit doubles and they hit singles and 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.580 they hit triples and Allah Torkelson last night 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:42.000 pinning one down the first baseline and driving 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:44.299 into runs. I think it was glorious Those are 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:47.019 the things that they do to to extend the game 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:49.399 to win the game. I did make one error I want 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:51.399 to take something back. I said we're letting 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:53.919 Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez beat us I forgot 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:56.679 to throw one guy in the new mr. October Jorge 00:15:56.679 --> 00:16:00.440 Polanco who apparently has scoobles number So 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:02.559 Polanco is another guy we got to throw in there. 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:04.740 They typically are in like the two, three, four 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:07.899 in the order. And it scares me a little bit that 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:10.620 he's heating up. We don't need Polanco heating 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.179 up. He's had some good postseason success in 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:16.259 the past. We need somebody on our side to step 00:16:16.259 --> 00:16:18.559 up. Kerry Carpenter could be the guy. He could 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.720 be the guy. He just seems a little all or nothing 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:25.059 at times at the plate. But maybe Dylan Dingler 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:27.960 finds his stride here in the American League. 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:31.100 Division series. What who do you want to see 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.759 heat up a little bit coming home? I think the 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.440 biggest news that the Tigers have gotten is that 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:40.580 we do have Colt Keith back And I think that could 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:43.159 be a difference. It's just another he's made 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:48.000 a difference so far solid better. Yeah, and I 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:50.639 He's a non -base percentage guy too. That is 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:53.659 my pick to click. I think I like that next two 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:56.059 games. I like that I'm going with Dingler you 00:16:56.059 --> 00:17:00.480 go with Colt And, and I think Carp's a good choice 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:04.380 as well. And it seems like these last few games, 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:07.240 Torque has seen the ball quite well. So let's 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:10.400 hope for that. So all hands on deck. Last shout 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:14.099 out I wanted to give was Brendan Hannafee has 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:17.960 been pitching great and he for whatever reason 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:22.240 gives fits to this Mariners team. So I expect 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:25.160 to see a healthy dose of him in these. the next 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:27.720 two upcoming games as well. And on the other 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.799 side of it, the Blue Jays did take both games 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.640 at the Rogers Centers from the Yankees in fairly 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:37.740 convincing fashion. What an interesting matchup 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:41.619 that could be, huh? Tigers? Tigers, Blue Jays? 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.480 Oh boy, you don't have to tell me that to get 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.980 excited. I don't want to look ahead, but boy, 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:49.220 would that be more fun than the Yankees. I can 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:52.200 tell you that much. That's like a dream come 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:55.440 true. I would take their pitching staff. I would 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.759 look forward to going up against those guys. 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:00.480 Four and a half hours separate the two cities. 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:03.720 It would be a blast. But let's not count our 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.660 chickens. No, no, no, no, no. We got to win two 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:10.240 games here in a row against Seattle. Litterbox 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:13.640 Tigers listeners, we appreciate the support. 00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:16.619 Please check out our sister podcast, the Detroit 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:25.700 Lions Litterbox and Go Tigers. That's gonna do 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:28.000 it for this episode of the Litterbox, a Detroit 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.779 Tigers podcast. Thanks for hanging out with us. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.000 We're Bill and Chet. We'll be back soon with 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.839 more Tigers Talk. If you're enjoying the show, 00:18:36.099 --> 00:18:39.079 be sure to follow or subscribe on Spotify, Apple 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:41.980 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:44.839 And hey, if you got a minute, leave us a quick 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:48.079 review. Till next time, go Tigers.