There’s an old saying that I am sure we have all heard at least once in our lifetime.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Baseball is a marathon and for the last 150 games, our Tigers have certainly treated it as such.
But with the finish line suddenly in our sights, NOBODY in Detroit has time for a marathon anymore.
This is now a sprint.
We have twelve games as of today.
One hundred and fifty down.
Twelve to go.
Now, if this were any other team in any other league, this season would be over and written off.
That being said? This is where the abyss known as the American League has been a blessing to the Tigers.
Yes, as of this column we are 71-79.
BUT? We are only 4.5 games out of the final wild card.
It’s a 12-game sprint.
And EVERY SINGLE game matters.
I know what you are thinking. This seems like a far change of pace from the last few columns. Well? You are correct.
However, after spending all summer looking like they were running in the wrong direction, the Tigers suddenly discovered the accelerator.
Before we start sipping the orange and navy-blue Kool aid again, we need to slow to navigation speed and look at the glaring fact that is staring us right in the eye.
It’s September.
And not even just September, MIDDLE September.
Mathematically there is still a chance. And I am all for hanging onto that small bit of hope for some October baseball.
At the same time? Less than two weeks away from the end of the 2026 campaign and well? We have seen this story several times this year where as soon as we show a blip of life, it’s suddenly gone.
So?
There are two arguments to be had here.
ARGUMENT #1: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?
This is the million-dollar question.
You cannot expect all Tigers fans to be full of optimism off the heels of a five-game winning streak.
Some still look at this from a realistic and logical standpoint.
Still 71-79.
Still chasing for a third Wild Card spot.
I will not even begin to think the AL Central title is still possible.
And there are only 12 games left.
Not a lot of time.
Detroit spent far too much of the season digging this hole.
And now, suddenly, the Tigers have decided they’re ready to play their best baseball of the year?
Where was this team in June?
Where was it in July?
Where was it in August?
You don’t get extra credit for finally putting everything together when there is only a dozen games left on the schedule.
A five-game winning streak is great.
But five wins don’t erase the previous 150 games.
ARGUMENT #2 IT’S NOT HOW YOU START. IT’S HOW YOU FINISH.
This is where things can get interesting.
Baseball does not award trophies for how you looked in April. Or August. Nor does it give pennants for your record prior to July 15th.
Eventually, everybody gets to the finish line.
And the Tigers are getting hot at exactly the moment when there is no tomorrow.
Five straight wins.
Young players making plays.
The offense finally showing some life.
Comeback victories.
And hey, the bullpen hasn’t been quite as terrifying lately. That’s a nice change. Because after Sunday’s Lions game, I think Detroit sports fans have used up their weekly supply of heart medication.
Suddenly, this looks like a completely different baseball team.
And maybe that’s the argument for optimism.
Maybe the Tigers weren’t supposed to peak in June.
Maybe they weren’t supposed to peak in July.
Maybe they’re supposed to peak now.
Of course, that would have been a lot more helpful about 40 games ago.
But that’s baseball.
THE 12-GAME SPRINT
This brings me back to the marathon metaphor and it really comes into play.
For 150 games, if they lost one game, there was another tomorrow.
Lost a series?
Another was coming up next week.
Bad road trip?
Come back home, collect yourselves, and start over.
Not anymore.
There is no time to wait.
Every game matters.
Every inning matters.
Every bullpen decision matters.
Every baserunner matters.
Every mistake gets magnified.
This isn’t a marathon anymore.
It’s a sprint to the finish line.
And Detroit finally has some momentum.
With that said, even if the Tigers don’t make postseason, there is still importance to this final week and a half of games.
Because now we’re getting a look at the future.
Kevin McGonigle.
Max Clark.
Dillon Dingler.
Hao-Yu Lee.
Riley Greene.
This is an opportunity to see who can handle meaningful baseball when the pressure is on.
That’s important.
Where do you stand?
Too little too late?
I can not blame you.
There’s an argument for it.
You don’t spend most of a season fighting uphill then expect a week of good luck to erase everything that came before.
Or?
It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.
I can not blame you there either.
If the Tigers really are going to finish strong, wouldn’t that be better than finishing the season the same way they’ve played for much of it?
Absolutely.
Maybe they make the playoffs.
Maybe they don’t.
Maybe this five-game winning streak is nothing more than a nice way to finish a disappointing season.
Or maybe — just maybe — we’re watching the beginning of something.
And let’s also take some sort of pride in knowing that even with this record, even with this second half of the season and how dismal it has been going, we can still sit here and talk about having a chance in middle September to get into the postseason.
That’s the beauty of baseball.
With 12 games left, we don’t know yet.
The biggest difference from July to now?
We actually want to find out.
Buckle up, Tigers fans.
The marathon is over.
Now it’s time to sprint.
The Tigers couldn’t just give us a quiet September.
They had to win five straight games and make us start doing playoff math again.
And honestly?
After the Summer, we’ve had…
I’ll take it.
Just don’t make us believe too much. We’ve been here before.
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