Caputo: Why not the Tigers?
Seems like most times a team goes on a run in this town, a theme or moniker develops and sticks for the ages.
Say the "Bad Boys" or "Goin' to Work," and everybody knows it's about the Pistons' salad days.
Or "Hey, Hey Hockeytown" and "I Want Stanley'' are about the Red Wings' glory days.
Of course, the Tigers had "Bless You Boys" in 1984 and "Who's Your Tiger" during the Jim Leyland era. And no, sadly, "The Rally Goose" doesn't count.
But the Tigers' surge to the postseason has happened so rapidly, there simply hasn't been time for anything to stick.
The "Gritty Tigs" just isn't getting it. Maybe if it were the "Gritty Kitties" it would resonate better because at least it rhymes and this is such a young team.
There is no reason for it to stop now. While the Tigers were a mediocre club, at best, for most of the summer, that is no longer the case. Since Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene returned to health, Trey Sweeney replaced Javy Baez at shortstop and Parker Meadows was recalled from Toledo, the Tigers have been among baseball's best teams.
Ideally, the Tigers would have won one of their last two games vs. the White Sox and be facing Baltimore in the wild card round. The Orioles had losing records each of the last three months. The Tigers recently beat Baltimore four of six games. The Orioles have a young team without a playoff track record.
The Astros won the World Series in 2022 and came within a game of reaching the Fall Classic last year.They were ruled dead this season, 12-24 and already 8.5 games back in the American League West in May. They went 76-49 from that point forward and cruised to a division title.
Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in the world, but one of his four losses was to the Astros, who made surprisingly good contact against him. This is his first postseason start. Conversely, Astros' lefty Framber Valdez has 15 postseason starts, and is coming off one of his best seasons. His 2024 numbers overall are surprisingly comparable to Skubal's, and actually better in August and September. Valdez was a better pitcher at home than Skubal on the road.
Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alverez are big-time, proven players. The Astros have a top closer in Josh Hader, plenty of bullpen depth and the trade deadline acquisition of lefty Yusei Kikuchi has bolstered the rotation. It's not a good matchup for the Tigers on paper because their best hitters are left-handed.
Thing is, the MLB playoffs often defy logic. The '06 Tigers were 40 games above .500, lost 32 of their final 51 games and blew the division title. They lost the opener of a playoff series with a powerful Yankees squad, then won seven straight games, sweeping the 'Moneyball' A's in the process. Then the Tigers lost the World Series in five games to the injury-depleted Cardinals, who won only 83 regular season games. Just last season, the 84-win Diamondbacks played in the World Series after knocking off the mighty Dodgers.
For all the resources the Dodgers and Yankees have, LA has captured one World Series since 1988, while the Yankees haven't even won a pennant since 2009.
And if the Tigers can get by this series, they should have a better chance of knocking off Cleveland instead of the Yankees.
The Astros have the best recent pedigree among the AL postseason participants. If the Tigers can advance, their season will move from stunning to special.
Catchy nickname or not.
