lordstanley

Update required.

Brought in the wrong Montero for the 6th.

Carp bomb! I tried to wait long enough before posting because I know tv is delayed.

Old school player intros.

When the U.S. customs officer asked me at the Peace Arch if I had anything to declare and what is the purpose of my visit to the States, I said “I am a fan of the Detroit Tigers and I am here to collect Bert’s six runs”.

I’m no Danielle Bruce, but I am live and on the scene. There are NO Tigers fans here, not even behind our dugout. Ratio of around 5,000 to 7 by my count so far.

Bichette, Bassitt and Scherzer are all off the Jays’ ALDS roster.

Woo hoo!

I might even get to see the Tigers’ batting practice today, or at least whatever isn’t done in cages these days. Gates are being opened 2 hours before gametime.

I'm actually feeling pretty relaxed, at least we got to the ALDS and maybe have shaken off the season-ending slump. Imagine if the Tigers had had a normal finish (8-8 instead of 3-13) and got the #2 seed. They'd still be facing Seattle, there would be the concern of rust vs rest, Skubal would be burned in home games instead of giving us a good chance in road games, the Mariners would have the same fearsome lineup, etc. There'd be the risk that a very nice regular season would end in getting knocked out in the Tigers' first playoff round. Or imagine further that the Tigers had turned it on a bit at the finish (11-5 instead of 3-13) and got the #1 seed. They'd be facing the Yankees with its 8 or so hitters with 20+ home runs. The Tigers likely still would have been considered underdogs by most and there'd be the risk that a dream regular season as top team in the AL would end in getting knocked out in the Tigers' first playoff round.

The Guardians were 10.5 games better than the Tigers the final 2 1/2 weeks of the regular season and the Tigers sent them home for the season.

The Athletic makes its LDS predictions and the staff is unanimous in picking Seattle. Fine, I don't argue with Seattle being the favorite, especially after the Tigers' collapse. But the write-ups are a little over the top, IMO, as to how lopsided this is. Keep in mind, through 150 games this season, going into the final 2 weeks of the regular season, the Tigers had a better record than the Yankees and Dodgers and were 3 games ahead of Seattle. The Mariners won 90 games this year, the Tigers won 87. The Mariners scored 8 more runs in 2025 than the Tigers. The Tigers allowed 3 fewer runs in 2025 than the Mariners. Reminds me of Dan Dickerson's comments in 2006 after the Tigers eliminated the Yankees, saying if one were to listen to the media beforehand the 95-win Tigers team was the junior varsity going up against the unstoppable 97-win Yankees.

Yeah it is not like Detroit where you have a bunch of bars and shops within a couple of blocks. Seattle’s stadium area has the odd one, but it’s not until you walk the 3/4 of a mile to the International District and Pioneer Square that you get critical mass. Given that there is a soccer game in the nearby football stadium kicking off a couple of hours before the baseball game, I might park for free 10 miles north of the city and take the cheap public transit train right to the stadium. That’s what I did when I saw the Wolverines play the Washington Huskies (different football stadium) last October. Super smooth on the way in, the problem is the station line-ups after the game.

I’ll be in this section 337, a few rows up from where this pic was taken. So pretty high up, but overall a nice enough seat. The Tigers’ dugout is on the 3rd base side. Paid US$225 for a single on StubHub, all-in after fees (exorbitant) and taxes. More than I’ve ever paid for a baseball ticket, but road playoff baseball is a rare chance.

Good point. The wins needed can only go down. However, while the losses to be eliminated can go down , that can also be re-set to a higher number at the beginning of a new series.

11 Tigers wins to a World Series title. 3 Tigers losses away from elimination. Better than 13:2 at the beginning of the wildcard round. Since '84, the Tigers got to 6 wins away from a WS title in '87, 3 in '06, 6 in '11, 4 in '12, 6 in '13 and 9 in '24.

Unless Woo was deliberately being coy to throw us off, his post-session comments and tone yesterday didn’t strike me as someone who would be ready even by then. More like Game 4 or 5 if necessary. But we will see. https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/seattle-mariners-bryan-woo-positive-throwing-session/1824127

So the remaining 8 teams are: Toronto Seattle New York Yankees Detroit Milwaukee Philadelphia Chicago Cubs LA Dodgers This to me feels like a just result, the proper eight teams taking the season as a whole.

That’s great, I hadn’t heard that. Here is the radio clip. So I didn’t recall it exactly right, but the gist. Pee Wee said that pitching coach Johnny Sain would watch Mickey’s bullpen warmup and report to Mayo Smith. If Mickey looked a little off, Pee Wee speculated the Tigers might have a reliever up and throwing right from the outset.

Interesting that in the pre-game show to Game 7 in ‘68 (available on YouTube), Ernie and Pee Wee Reese stressed that Mickey would be on a short leash but might go a few innings.

But now back to back HBPs with 1 out and the game is in the balance.

Oh wow, horrible call in Chicago right now. Padres down 2 in the 9th, 0 on 0 out, Boegarts absolutely drew a ball four on a full count pitch but it was called a strikeout.

Has that been confirmed? I was counting on him going on 4 days rest on Sunday and then again on 4 days rest on Friday for a Game 5 if necessary.