A lot has changed during the last month for the Detroit Tigers. Back in July, the Tigers had the best record in baseball by three games at one point, and they had a 15-game lead in the AL Central. Now, Detroit is in a bit of a slump. There was one stretch where the team was 1-12, and after showing some promising signs, the Tigers just dropped two disappointing home games in a row against the Minnesota Twins. Now, the division lead is down to six games for Detroit. President Scott Harris is taking the heat after his approach to the trade deadline.
The Tigers are a contender this season, and because of that, everyone expected them to be aggressive buyers at the trade deadline. That is what contenders do when they need to fix some things. Detroit's bullpen certainly needs some work, but Scott Harris didn't make any big splashes. Harris thinks that the future is bright for the team, and it seems like he is waiting for the future to take things seriously.
“It's not like we're waiting for future years where we can have a nine-game lead,” Harris said after the deadline, according to a post from Evan Petzold. “That's right here, but it might be in the future too. There's a chance we can be one of those powerhouse organizations. We are absolutely not there yet, but we've got a bright future.”
Needless to say, Tigers fans are not happy with Harris. The six games that have gone down since the trade deadline have perfectly illustrated the issues with this year's team, too. In fact, the first game was a bit poetic, albeit painful, for the Tigers. Detroit had a 3-0 lead late in the game, but the bullpen blew it. Then, Jhoan Duran, the big splash that the Philadelphia Phillies made before the deadline, came in to close things out. The Tigers are 2-4 since the deadline.
The Tigers didn't take their needs seriously at the deadline, and now they are going to be in a dogfight in the division down the stretch because of it.
