OT - Tigers Clinch Division
Tigers just closed out the game against the As and clinched the first division title in 24 years and only the second playoff berth in that span. Congrats to the team, organization and the fans. Feels great!!!
Proud to say I grew up during one of worst stretches in franchise history - possibly THE worst - in the 90s and early 2000s, and this feels fantastic. Well deserved and let's hope they can make a run at the World Series.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:42 AM ^
was great. His words came from the heart.
September 17th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^
Oh..... we're up Jimmy.
September 17th, 2011 at 9:41 AM ^
Not living in Mich anymore so I missed out on the post game festivities. Is that hat from 1988?
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September 17th, 2011 at 1:57 AM ^
posting that Diehard. Pretty cool moment.
September 17th, 2011 at 2:29 AM ^
needs to que the Detroit Tigers postseason commerical It feels good to finally clinch it and not falling short. congrats to the Tigers now lets get that world series ring.
September 17th, 2011 at 2:30 AM ^
That was such a great day, WMU homecoming my freshman year, watching the Maggs walk-off in the dorms, then seeing Alan Branch and the Michigan defense crush Morelli/every PSU QB all night.
September 17th, 2011 at 3:07 AM ^
I also grew up in during that rough stretch that bacon1431 mentioned. I'm proud to see the Tigers win their first divison title in my lifetime. Lions now it's your turn.
September 17th, 2011 at 5:17 AM ^
Apologies for threadjacking, but its a time of dire circumstances. Myself and the other members of the solar car team would like to watch the game from Australia, either at a sports bar or on a webstream, or anywhere. The hostel we're staying blocks a lot of video sites (justin.tv,espn3) so anything off the beaten path would be helpful. We are currently in Adelaide, if there are any locals who know of any good bars to watch at. Thanks guys, Go Blue!
September 17th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
This should work come game-time:
http://www.firstrowsports.tv/watch/84323/1/watch-eastern-michigan-vs-mi…
September 17th, 2011 at 5:18 AM ^
Apologies for threadjacking, but its a time of dire circumstances. Myself and the other members of the solar car team would like to watch the game from Australia, either at a sports bar or on a webstream, or anywhere. The hostel we're staying blocks a lot of video sites (justin.tv,espn3) so anything off the beaten path would be helpful. We are currently in Adelaide, if there are any locals who know of any good bars to watch at. Thanks guys, Go Blue!
September 17th, 2011 at 6:11 AM ^
I actually grew up during the Tigers' better years through the 1980s and early 1990s (save for 1989, which we thought was an aberration, not a foretelling as it turned out to be). Towards the end of high school, the Tigers' slid quite a bit, and during my time at Michigan and for several years beyond leading up to 2006, I think I maybe went to 2 or 3 games a year and watched just as many the entire way through while catching parts of the rest. Those were painful years for the baseball fan in me.
Anyhow, I did stay up for the division clincher last night, and if you see someone with toothpicks holding their eyes open just in case at the game today, that's me. GO TIGERS!
As always, GO BLUE!
September 17th, 2011 at 6:40 AM ^
Let's just hope we keep the throttle down and don't let up..We are playing so good right now I hope we stay aggressive ...GO TIGERS! !!!!
September 17th, 2011 at 7:15 AM ^
Good for them. Good luck to them in postseason play
September 17th, 2011 at 7:45 AM ^
What a pickup! He has been phenomenal since the Tigers got him and is a big reason they have a good chance in the playoffs. Go Tigers! Great trade! Great season!
September 17th, 2011 at 8:09 AM ^
It's funny how it was made with relatively little fanfare - and indeed, some skepticism - in the national press, but it has probably worked out the best of any of the trade-deadline moves made by any team in terms of the boost it gave the Tigers going into August and September.
How's Jiminez working out, Cleveland?
September 17th, 2011 at 10:02 AM ^
Fister has been such a key part of this ride. He's solidified the 2/3 pitching slot. Verlander's the obvious MVP, but Fister's the obvious late-season pitching catalyst, not to mention the bats waking up all at once after August. D. Young was also a good acquisition. Hell, Cabrera has a shot at the batting title, too!
September 17th, 2011 at 8:29 AM ^
September 17th, 2011 at 9:40 AM ^
It was a great game, but now I'm pulling for home field. We're 2 up on Texas and have a chance at catching the yanks. 3 back and they have 6 against TB and 3 against Bos. We get Bal & Cle. There's still some exciting baseball left.
GO BLUE!!! GO TIGERS!!! GO LIONS!!! I love this time of year!!!
September 17th, 2011 at 1:10 PM ^
The Tigers won't have homefield unlesss they win the conference. Texas has nothing to do with it. It should but if the wildcard and division winner come from the same division, they cannot meet in the ALDS. Unless the Tigers catch the Yanks, they will play the Yanks.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
This isn't true. The Tigers will play the Red Sox / Wild Card in the ALDS if they finish ahead of Texas / AL West winner. As they won every series against Texas, they also hold the tiebreaker. So they are effectively three games up on Texas right now.
September 17th, 2011 at 5:22 PM ^
Nope... maybe the absoluteness of my post could be questioned but MLB prohibits teams in the same division from facing each other in the Division Series. In the event that a wild-card team is in the same division as the team with the best record, the former will play the second-best team in the league while the latter will face the third-best.
Unfortunately, your opinion does not reflect the rules of baseball.
September 17th, 2011 at 6:11 PM ^
does this help?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_card_%28sports%29
A wild-card team must surrender home-field advantage the first two rounds of the playoffs. For the World Series, however, home-field advantage is determined beforehand, without reference to wild-card status. Prior to 2003, it was decided by alternating each year between the American and National Leagues. Since 2003, it has been granted to the winner of the All-Star Game. In the 2002 World Series, both the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants were wild-card teams. The World Series champions in 1997, 2003 and 2004 were also wild-card teams. In the Division Series, the wild-card team (which could be considered analogous to the fourth seed in other sports tournaments) plays the team with the best record in the league as long as the two teams are in different divisions. An MLB rule prohibits teams in the same division from facing each other in the Division Series. In the event that a wild-card team is in the same division as the team with the best record, the former will play the second-best team in the league while the latter will face the third-best. This parallels the policy of the NFL after the NFL/AFL merger, when the league opted to include a wild-card team in each conference’s playoffs. (From 1970 to 1989, NFL teams in the same division couldn't meet in the divisional playoffs. This policy ensured that the two best teams in a given league could face off in the league championship, even if both were from the same division.)
September 17th, 2011 at 11:26 PM ^
In the event that a wild-card team is in the same division as the team with the best record, the former will play the second-best team in the league while the latter will face the third-best.
So if it ends up NYY and BOS as best division winner and wild card respectively. NYY would play #3 division winner at home and #2 division winner would host Boston at home. Therefore, if DET is #2 (ahead of Texas), they get to play at home.
I am aware of the rule. I am still correct. If we stay ahead of Texas and everything else stays the same with NYY and BOS, we get home field. Link:
September 17th, 2011 at 10:19 AM ^
It's been a long wait. It also is sweeter since the Tigers are always underestimated by the "experts." Seems like the Twins and Sox are the popular pick year in and out.
September 17th, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^
It's because only 8 out of 30 teams make the playoffs, unlike the other pro sports where you have 12 and 16 teams. It still is an actual accomplishment in baseball (especially historically, when there were only 4 or 2 depending how far you want to go back)
(Edit: This was in response to Shredders comment on page 1)
September 17th, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^
September 17th, 2011 at 7:43 PM ^
Congrats to the Tigers, they really deserved this one. I think we have a legitimate shot at the world series with our lineup, and Verlander and Fister.