{"id":356,"date":"2008-04-10T11:35:06","date_gmt":"2008-04-10T18:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/10\/fear-not-detroit-not-all-history-stacked-against-tigers\/"},"modified":"2008-04-10T11:35:06","modified_gmt":"2008-04-10T18:35:06","slug":"fear-not-detroit-not-all-history-stacked-against-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/10\/fear-not-detroit-not-all-history-stacked-against-tigers\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear Not Detroit, Not All History Stacked Against Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The sky is falling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Chicken Little<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

If Chicken Little were a fan of major league baseball in 2008, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good chance the frightened fowl would be a fan of the Detroit Tigers.\u00c2\u00a0 Even if Tigers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fans wanted to, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no escaping the ominous 0-7 start of the team many penciled in as a favorite to make the postseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Since dropping their seventh straight game to open the season, every mention of the Tigers was partnered with the historical fact that no team has ever started the season 0-7 and made the postseason.\u00c2\u00a0 Poor Chicken Little didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t panic until that loss thanks to the \u00e2\u20ac\u212274 Pirates and \u00e2\u20ac\u212295 Reds who both started 0-6 but bucked the odds and made it to the postseason.<\/p>\n

While no one envies the hole the Tigers have dug for themselves nor has it helped ease preseason concerns about their pitching, recent history contradicts the concerns many have when faced with their 0-7 start.<\/p>\n

Before tackling history, the landscape of the early American League has provided a number of surprises.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only have the Tigers limped out of the gate, the Indians, Mariners, Yankees and Red Sox have also stumbled out of the gate and have losing records.\u00c2\u00a0 In addition, the Orioles are 6-1.\u00c2\u00a0 Yes, the same Orioles who were listed by odds makers as a 100-to-1 shot to win the American League have the best record in baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 While their off to a great start, many still aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t betting on a team that hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made a postseason appearance since 1997.\u00c2\u00a0 Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the team that leads the Central, the Kansas City Royals.\u00c2\u00a0 The Royals are 6-2 but no one expects to see them come October since they haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seen the postseason in 23 years and haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had a winning record since 1992.\u00c2\u00a0 There is a long season ahead.<\/p>\n

While one tidbit of historical data tells us to prepare for a postseason without the Tigers, there are a few things recent history shows that say the demise of the Tigers is very premature.\u00c2\u00a0 Taking a look at the 2000-2007 list of teams that have made it to the postseason, there is historical precedent that says it would be silly to count out the Tigers just yet.\u00c2\u00a0 Of the 64 teams that have made it to the postseason over the last eight seasons, 22 teams have made it to the postseason while enduring a losing streak of at least seven games or have, at some point during the season, fallen at least seven games below .500.\u00c2\u00a0 Four of the last eight World Series winners have endured one or both of these pitfalls.\u00c2\u00a0 Tigers’ fans are all too familiar with one of those teams.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite enduring two eight-game losing streaks, the St. Louis Cardinals bested the Tigers in the \u00e2\u20ac\u212206 World Series.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, none of them opened the season 0-7 but the \u00e2\u20ac\u212201 Athletics lost 7 games in a row from April 8-15 and were 10 games below .500 after May 1 but finished 102-60, a whopping 42 games above .500 on their way to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

What history shows us is that most teams face adversity similar to the Tigers on their way to the postseason.\u00c2\u00a0 The Tigers are loaded with players with years of major league experience so they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been there before.\u00c2\u00a0 Manager Jim Leyland hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forgotten how to manage just because his team got off to a slow start.\u00c2\u00a0 Someone stop Chicken Little as she runs through the streets of Detroit screaming \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the sky is falling\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and tell her it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just an acorn.<\/p>\n

Teams Who Have Endured Losing Streaks Of 7 Or More And Made The Postseason (\u00e2\u20ac\u212200-\u00e2\u20ac\u212207)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

2007<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Colorado Rockies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from June 22-29 (Lost World Series)
\n<\/em>New York Yankees \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from April 20-27 (Lost ALDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2006<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>St. Louis Cardinals \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games twice from June 20-27 & July 27-August 4 (Won World Series)
\n<\/em>Oakland Athletics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from May 20-26 (Lost ALCS)
\n<\/em>Los Angeles Dodgers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from July 19-26 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2005<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Chicago White Sox \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from August 12-20 (Won World Series)<\/em>
\nHouston Astros \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from May 18-24 (Lost World Series)
\n<\/em>San Diego Padres \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from July 17-26 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2004
\n<\/u><\/strong>Los Angeles Dodgers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from May 13-21 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2003<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Minnesota Twins \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from July 5-13 (Lost ALDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2002<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>St. Louis Cardinals \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from July 31-August 7 (Lost NLCS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2001<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Houston Astros \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from May 20-29 (Lost NLDS)
\n<\/em>Oakland Athletics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from April 8-15 (Lost ALDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2000<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>New York Yankees \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 7 games from September 25-October 1 (Won World Series)<\/em>
\nSeattle Mariners \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from August 12-20 (Lost ALCS)<\/em>
\nSan Francisco Giants \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lost 8 games from May 12-20 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

Teams Who Have Been At Least 7 Games Below .500 And Made The Postseason<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

2007<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Colorado Rockies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 9 games below .500 on May 15 (Lost World Series)<\/em>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Chicago Cubs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 9 games below .500 on June 2 (Lost NLDS)
\n<\/em>New York Yankees \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 8 games below .500 on May 29 (Lost ALDS)
\n<\/em>Philadelphia Phillies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 7 games below .500 on April 20 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2006<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Los Angeles Dodgers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 8 games below .500 on July 26 (Lost NLDS)<\/em>
\nMinnesota Twins \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 8 games below .500 on June 7 (Lost ALDS)
\n<\/em>San Diego Padres \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 7 games below .500 on April 29 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2005<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Houston Astros \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 15 games below .500 on May 27 (Lost World Series)
\n<\/em>New York Yankees \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 8 games below .500 on May 6 (Lost ALDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2002<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Anaheim Angels \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 8 games below .500 on April 23 (Won World Series)<\/em><\/p>\n

2001<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/u><\/strong>Oakland Athletics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 10 games below .500 on May 1 (Lost ALDS)<\/em><\/p>\n

2000<\/u><\/strong>
\n<\/em>San Francisco Giants \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 7 games below .500 on April 20 (Lost NLDS)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The sky is falling.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Chicken Little<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}