Sports

Pressure Mounts for Tigers, but Team Doesn't Freak Out Yet

June 21, 2017, 8:19 AM
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Jordan ZImmermann

Most people who stayed up late Tuesday night to watch the end of the TIgers-Mariners game on the west coast could feel that the outcome wasn't going to favor the Tigers in the bottom of the 10th. The team lost 5-4.

The truth is, the team once again really has no reliable closer. And without a good bullpen, you can't go very far. The team has lost nine of the last 12 games and is six games below. .500. All that, and the July 31 trade deadline is approaching.

The Tigers will have to decide if they still want to compete this year, or start selling off the valuable pieces.

Anthony Fenech writes that the team knows time is ticking, but the players aren't in panic mode.

“Everybody in here is trying to win baseball games every single day, regardless of if we’re in buy or sell," outfielder Justin Upton said, according to the Freep report. "Our job is to come in and win baseball games, so there’s no point in thinking about that, regardless of what (general manager) Al Avila decides to do.

“We can’t do anything about that. So we come here, we prepare for a baseball game and we try to win a baseball game, regardless of what’s being said or being written or whatever, we can’t do that. As professionals, we can’t do that.”

Jordan Zimmermann feels the same.

“I think we still have plenty of time,” he says.  “We’re not that far back. It’s not like we’re 15 games and pretty much out of it. We’re in striking distance. We’re close and do I think we’re going to be in first place by the time the deadline comes? I don’t know. I think we can get close, close enough to where we don’t need to sell and we can hang on to everybody and make a run for this team, but we gotta start playing better baseball, and I think everybody in here knows that.

“I don’t think we’re panicking by no means, we just gotta play better baseball.”


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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