Fire from the Hip: Thoughts on Sports & Real Life

So there appears to be a new fad in baseball: play spectacular baseball from April to July, winning games at a record pace; then, coast to the finish, stumbling into the playoffs. Last year, the White Sox were the trend-setters. This year, the Tigers have topped the White Sox, having wasted their entire division lead and are tied with the Twins atop the AL Central with two games left. Not to be outdone, the St. Louis Cardinals have attempted to match the Tigers by losing 8 of 9 during the second half of September, turning their surefire division title into an interesting race with the Houston Astros in pursuit.

Spurred by an 18-7 record in June, the 2005 White Sox led the second-place Cleveland Indians by 15 games on August 1st. A 12-16 August and a blistering hot Indians team pared the comfortable division lead to two games by September 26th. Chicago's sportswriters and national media heightened the pressure, meticulously documenting the team's travails and predicting the total collapse of the team. Fiery manager Ozzy Guillen refocused the team and Chicago responded with five straight wins to end the season. Having overcome the late-season adversity, the White Sox used their season-ending surge to propel themselves through the 2005 playoffs. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, sweeping the Houston Astros for their first World Series in 88 years.

Let's take a look at this year's version of the 2005 White Sox: the Detroit Tigers. With dominant pitching and timely hitting, Detroit was even more impressive in the first half of the season than Chicago the previous year. A 20-7 June put the Tigers in the record books for one of the strongest first halfs ever: 59-28, 31 games over .500 at the All Star Break! My, how they have come crashing back to Earth. With a record of 36-37 since the All Star Break, Detroit has squandered an 8.5 game lead since mid-August. Unlike the 2005 White Sox, the Tigers have continued their freefall in the final week of the season, dropping 2 out of 3 to Toronto before losing tonight against the lowly Royals at home in extra innings. Though Detroit has clinched a playoff spot, the team's pitching has tailed off in the past month. Justin Verlander, the young ace, has worn down in his first full season in the majors, and the bullpen has been a culprit as well, giving up late inning leads during this, the final homestand. Backpedaling into the playoffs in this manner, the Tigers will have their hands full in the Division Series matchup with either Oakland or the Yankees.

I would be remiss to ignore the feats of the Tigers National League partner in crime: the St. Louis Cardinals. With five guys hitting under .200 in the month of September and closer Jason Isringhausen out for the season and playoffs, the Cardinals, like Detroit, have blown an 8.5 game lead. What symmetry. But just one moment, the Cardinals have one-upped the Tigers by blowing this lead in nine days! That's right: the Cardinals led the Houston Astros by 8.5 games on September 20 before losing eight of nine. A win earlier this evening coupled with an Astros loss can help the Cardinals breath a little easier tonight with a 1.5 game lead. However, this team has significant issues that are worth discussing. With only one solid starter (Chris Carpenter) entering the playoffs, and without their closer, how far can this team really go? The answer: as far as MVP Albert Pujols can carry them. A friend recently asked me who I had as my NL MVP and here it is: Pujols. What Ryan Howard has done this year for the Phillies is certainly comparable but the Cardinals first basemen is literally carrying the team into the playoffs. His 3-run homer on Thursday night may have saved the season for the Cardinals. I think the team holds off the Astros but I just don't think Pujols can carry them past the NLCS this year. I won't rule out a Championship Series' appearance though, thanks to Pujols and a mediocre opponent.

The art of the faux-collapse, the 2005 Chicago White Sox showed the way for the 2006 Tigers and Cardinals. Unfortunately, these teams have not responded to the adversity and are fighting for their respective divisions. Even though I believe both teams will make the playoffs, I think their struggles late in the season are a foreshadowing of the uphill battle each team will face in the postseason.