“I know it’s June,” I said. “I know there’s 162” games in a season.
“But?” Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said with a smile.
Yes … but.
“I know there’s a ridiculously long ways to go,” I said, before mentioning the standings in the AL Central.
At that moment on Friday afternoon, the Tigers were 4½ games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins, getting ready to play a three-game weekend series against none other than the Twins.
The opportunity to make up ground was obvious, as well as tantalizing.
“Do you want me to go on my rant about standings?” Hinch asked.
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OK, so Hinch doesn’t talk about standings.
But we sure can.
Despite a long list of injuries, this young Tigers team is in the AL Central mix. That, in itself, is interesting.
Which puts some added oomph on this series.
“Yeah, I guess I don’t look at it that way,” Hinch said. “Again, I’m not trying to single you out. I think what a team needs to feel is that every game matters and every game is there’s an incentive in general.”
Sure, I get it.
Hinch is a master at sending messages, and here is his message: He will not let this team become content. He will not let any player spend one second thinking about the standings when the focus should be on improving — just winning the next game.
But it’s a heck of a lot more fun for fans, right? Just to look at the standings in June and not be out of it.
This is a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2014 — tied for MLB’s longest postseason drought.
“I think we have so much more to do to get better before we can truthfully talk like that,” Hinch said. “We haven’t earned the right to talk that way. We just haven’t it. And so I think the more we can focus on, ‘How do we beat (Kenta) Maeda?’ ”
Then, the Tigers went out and struggled against Maeda: eight strikeouts in five innings while getting just three hits and failing to score against him, even though they had opportunities.
“Do you want to get somewhere where you matter?” Hinch asked before the Tigers went out and lost 4-1. “You want to get on a national broadcast. You want to get into the conversation where people don’t look at us and pat us on the head like we’re a nice team that is trying hard. Like, ‘Play better, beat some teams and then you’ll start to earn that, that designation.’ Until then it’s all a distraction.”
They didn’t play better on Friday night.
This game was a step backward.
Things got sloppy — Matt Vierling dropped a soft flyball to center.
Brendan White threw a wild pitch at the worst time — with a guy on third.
Jonathan Schoop had a fielding error at third.
And they just couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it.
Oh, and Joey Wentz learned an important lesson (twice): Don’t groove balls over the middle of the plate.
Because they turn into home runs.
The Tigers’ record fell to a cringeworthy 32-42.
Then again, somebody from the AL Central will get into the playoffs. And even though Minnesota won this game, it’s not exactly like the Twins are running away with it. Even with the win, it’s still just a 5½-game lead on the Tigers (and just one game up on the Cleveland Guardians).
Both things can be true: You can be dissatisfied — if not disgusted — with the Tigers’ record, and still enjoy looking at the standings.
Hinch, of course, won’t.
Chance for youngsters to grow
More than anything, this series is just an interesting opportunity.
To climb up the standings? Sure.
But it’s more than that. It’s a welcome chance for these young players to get used to this type of moment. The Tigers are playing for something that is real. Not just one of those “play each game” speeches.
“When there’s something extra, when you’re playing competitively, when you’re in the mix, which I’ll grant you, we are in the mix, that’s super-important for young players to feel that at this level, that it’s not about survival,” Hinch said. “It’s about winning today’s game and winning more games you can, the more you’re going to factor in. But that’s about the extent of it.”
Somebody has to win the AL Central
Yes, the Tigers have a bad record. So be it.
Yes, they play in a bad division. So be it.
They also have a great opportunity here.
It has been years since this team felt like it had a chance to get to the playoffs.
“You don’t want to be eliminated before the weather turns,” Hinch said. “You don’t want to get cast off as a team that playoff teams are looking forward to playing before the break. I mean, I’m just not used to bragging about being under .500 and not in first place. So I don’t want to get us too content.”
Again, I agree with him. But fighting for a playoff spot could be a good thing. A first step.
Here’s another way to view this series.
Right now, if you view this in the big picture, it’s just important for the Tigers to stay close, to stay within striking distance, until reinforcements arrive. Matt Manning could return by next week. Tarik Skubal is scheduled for at least one more outing in Toledo — I could see him pitching in Detroit in July. And Eduardo Rodriguez, Akil Baddoo, Riley Greene and Alex Faedo shouldn’t be that far off. The Tigers just need to stay in it until all these guys return.
Beating the Twins, head-to-head, is the easiest way to do that.
That’s what makes this weekend such a tremendous opportunity.
It also explains why Friday night, in a game dubbed “Beach Night,” it felt like they were just wastin’ away again in draft lottery-ville.
The Twins basically tapped the Tigers on the head and said: You are a nice little team that tries hard.
It’s time for the Tigers to end that. And be better.
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.