By: Holly Horning & Kurt Snyder
Today, our writers take another look at the events of the past week and see in which direction the needle has moved.
We have just one choice as we look at the previous week through Sunday. (Monday’s trade deadline will be discussed later this week.) Was the most memorable thing we saw happen worthy of questioning, praise, observation or a warning?
Let’s find out…
HOLLY
KUDOS
The Tigers won 5 out of the 6 games played last week in stark contrast to the earlier performance when they lost 9 in a row and 20 straight to the Indians. More importantly, they have now won 3 series in a row and clawed their way back to .500.
While it is hard to believe that they can maintain this level of performance, given the rebuild progress and players’ history, it is a pleasant surprise nonetheless. I don’t believe that this stellar streak is an anomaly, but rather, it is indicative of progress.
Their play will continue to resemble a roller coaster but for the first time in at least 3 years, it now appears they have the capability of fighting back and rising to the challenge.
KURT
KUDOS
Clearly, the lead story coming out of the last week was the Tigers resurrection of themselves from what many thought was the death knell for the season – the 9-game losing streak. And I could leave it at that but I have to single out Jonathan Schoop and Victor Reyes for some recognition.
Schoop’s clutch hitting and power display have been huge in turning things around this past week and if he keeps it up for another month, the Tigers may consider extending him beyond this season.
Victor Reyes had a great week and he is continuing to emerge as a productive lead off hitter and excellent outfielder. The bin of speedy athletes is something the Tigers need to keep digging into to build their outfield defense and Reyes is certainly one of them.
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To me the most memorable thing of the week was Miggy taking a curtain call to an empty stadium after his 2,000th Tiger hit. Miggy sometimes gets heat for not being a vocal leader or speaking to the media but I think this was leading by example and showing the team it’s important to have fun.
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I’ve had such difficulty embracing anything about this crazy season. It hit me the other day that I love baseball because the season is more of a marathon than a sprint. The pretenders eventually drop out and the teams left standing are rewarded for surviving the ups and downs of the long season. This year, a lot of “sprinters” will be in the postseason. This past week was definitely a reminder that anything can happen in a short series.
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If this were the Godfather….Al Avila would play the part of Fredo.
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Or when the godfather calls Sonny over and says ‘whatsa matta with your soft brain? Never let anyone know what your thinking!’ one more example is strike three…Holly…you up?
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Jonathan Schoop is a worthy successor to Placido Polanco and Ian Kinsler. Keep him.
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The team is showing a subtle, but definite change in direction. I am not saying that they have completely turned the corner toward respectability, but they at least are beginning to move in that direction. To quote Winston Churchill “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
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