Detroit Tigers get clobbered by the A\'s

The Detroit Tigers are right in the middle of another pennant race at Comerica Park.  This is the best time of year in Major League Baseball with your local team playing games that actually mean something.  The Tigers are currently 2 games behind Central Division leading Chicago White Sox in the American League.  MLB made baseball even more interesting this season by adding another playoff team in each league with the 2nd wild card team.  So each League will have their 3 Division winners and then the next best 2 records from each league will qualify for the playoffs.  Even though it will be a one game playoff to move on.

The Oakland Athletics would provide the competition against the Tigers who were trying to sweep the A's to move one game behind the White Sox.  The A's pitching coach is Saginaw native Curt Young who has spent 28 years with the organization.  He did spend the 2011 season at the Boston Red Sox pitching coach and then returned to Oakland in 2012. 

On game day that started out with some light showers it turned out to be a perfect afternoon weather wise with plenty of sunshine and 65 degree weather down at Comerica Park.  However things did go as smoothly with the A's turning the game into a rout in the 9th inning by adding 6 runs to win the game 12-4.  The Tigers came out flat and played poorly by making some simple errors and threw to the wrong people on a couple of occasions.

Manager Jim Leyland has been very generous in some of his decisions on leaving pitchers in the game.  He is currently working on the last year of his contract and the Tigers have not offered him a contract for 2013.  My feeling is that if the Tigers do make a run and catch the Chicago White Sox to qualify for the MLB playoffs that Leyland will return in 2013.  If the Tigers don't win the Central Division outright they won't qualify because they are to far behind the wild card teams currently and Leyland will be finished. 

Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera contiunes his torrid pace towards an American League MVP season and possible Triple Crown season.  That is something that hasn't been done since 1967 in either league.  A Triple Crown winner would lead the league in Home Runs, RBI's and Batting Average.  Cabrera currently leads in two of these and only trails Texas's Josh Hamilton in home runs by one. 

There are only 6 more games at Comerica Park this season against two teams both under .500.  The Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins both come to town and then we return the favor to them.  The schedule favors Detroit with the White Sox having to play playoff contenders Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels.  With only 12 games remaining in 2012 it will be an interesting finish or the end of the road for Jim Leyland in Detroit.