On Wednesday morning — back when the Detroit Tigers were inching toward .500, and everyone was happy, and the Tigers had ace Eduardo Rodriguez getting ready to pitch — radio host Mike Stone seemed to put a jinx on the Tigers.
Stone was interviewing manager A.J. Hinch on WXYT-FM (97.1) during their weekly segment, and they started talking about Rodriguez ahead of the Tigers’ afternoon game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“The way he’s been pitching this afternoon is … it’s guaranteed-win night at Comerica Park!” Stone said on the broadcast.
“Stop it,” Hinch said, laughing. “Stop right there.”
Stoney had violated a cardinal rule — it was like talking about a no-hitter, well, during a no-hitter.
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“Of course, he’ll probably get shelled because I brought it up,” Stone said.
Sure enough. …
After stringing together an astonishingly inhuman performance over his previous six games — just two earned runs allowed over a 41⅔ inning span — Rodriguez appeared mortal on Wednesday afternoon.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first three innings. Then, in the seventh inning, reliever Tyler Alexander got shelled, too, and the rout was on.
So when Hinch stepped to the podium after the game for his usual media session, he glanced at Stone.
“Thanks Stoney,” Hinch said after the Tigers lost, 8-0. “Started my day that way.”
It was funny and lighthearted.
But it also showed where this team is.
Just so dang close.
But it seems as if one small thing — like a flyball hitting off a glove in centerfield, or a bouncing ball hopping over first base in fair territory, or a trigger-happy umpire ejecting the manager, or maybe, possibly, a radio host who upsets the baseball gods — always messes things up.
And so this team is still searching for .500.
So dang close.
Need more bats
So, now that the Tigers (19-22) have reached the 40-game mark — the unofficial first quarter of the season — what are we to make of them?
For one thing, they’re far better than they seemed at first blush. The Tigers started the season 2-9, making it seem like a lost year in April.
But they have fought back and have made things interesting.
Give them credit for that.
Now, the next hurdle is reaching .500, which is proving elusive to this point.
Since that 2-9 start, the Tigers have climbed to within two games of the .500 mark on five occasions and then lost the next game each time — usually in ugly fashion.
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On April 19, the Tigers had a 7-9 record and then lost to Cleveland, 3-2.
On May 7, the Tigers were 15-17 and then lost to St. Louis, 12-6.
On May 9, the Tigers were 16-18 and then lost to Cleveland, 2-0.
On May 12, the Tigers were 17-19 and then lost to Seattle, 9-2.
And on Wednesday, the Tigers were 19-21 and got crushed by the Pirates.
“They just outplayed us,” Hinch said. “We didn’t do the things that we needed to do.”
So close.
And yet so far.
It’s like there is this barrier and they can’t quite bust through it.
More than anything, it’s a reflection of this team’s roster.
The Tigers have some pieces. The top of the lineup can be interesting when they put together Zach McKinstry, Riley Greene, Javier Báez and Spencer Torkelson.
But there are too many holes after that. Too many players just aren’t producing.
The Tigers just need more hitters. They need more time for some of the prospects — like Justyn-Henry Malloy in Triple-A, or even Colt Keith, who went 6-for-6 with two homers while hitting for the cycle on Tuesday night for Double-A Erie — to get to Detroit.
So every time the Tigers inch close to .500, it’s like the baseball gods are saying: “No. Not yet. You’ve got too many holes in that lineup. You’ve got some growing up to do. You’ve got more learning to do.”
So be it.
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Learning to become a winner
But that is looking at the 20,000-foot view. Trying to capture the entire season.
Here’s how I see it on a smaller scale: Since that horrendous start, this team is 17-13. It’s like it fell into a horrible hole, got covered with dirt, dug in, clawed up the side and has gotten so close to the opening — five times now — but can’t seem to get to fresh air.
That’s the natural progression of any young team: Going from a loser to average to a winner.
“Well, I think first off, we have a group of players who have all really bought in to everything that we’re talking about,” Hinch said on that radio show. “They put in a ton of effort.”
And yes, Hinch admits that .500 mark is important.
“Obviously, I’d love this team to get rewarded for the good play we’ve had for the last month, get to .500, get above .500 and feel like a winning team,” Hinch said. “That’s a goal, you know, short-term and it can happen as soon as this week.”
So that’s the next goal.
Get to .500.
Pop their heads into the air. Take a deep breath on the other side.
If they can do that, if they can get over that .500 mark, if they can feel like a winning team, if they can start to learn how to string wins together before the reinforcements arrive, well, that would be a tremendous season.
And not even Stoney could mess that up.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.