Just that quickly, history is gone. And, as impressed as I am with this year's Detroit Tigers, I'll be the first to admit that they don't deserve the record. Sure, they suck really bad, but so have a lot of teams through the years. The great ones go out and suck for all 162 games! The Tigers seem to have taken the last week of the season off.
You see, records are a tricky thing. Even when you do your part, fate doesn't always cooperate. We've seen this week how the dark clouds of an isolated win can quickly turn into a stormy 3-game winning streak. Once such a streak starts, it's hard to break out. You forget the formula for your failure. Suddenly your pitchers are striking guys out, and your hitters are scoring runs. Winning can become a habit if you're not careful.
All is not lost however. In their attitude toward these last three games, the Tigers can set the stage for next season. Are they afraid to be great, and instead give up while on the threshold of history, settling for good enough? Or are they a team that seizes a challenge and fights to the end?
Personally, I'd start Jeremy Bonderman. The guy has 19 losses ... 19! Is there anyone in the world that would be fighting harder for a Tiger loss and an end to this confounded win streak than Bonderman? Not likely. After that, bring on Maroth who this year is all but an automatic "L." Don't be meek and don't overthink this. Attack the record with authority.
They can still tie the record. They can still walk away from this season saying, "Yeah, there was one other team a long time ago that was as bad as us. But no one, and I mean no one is, was or will be worse than the 2003 Detroit Tigers!" Except maybe the 2004 Detroit Tigers, that is.
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