Gavin Edwards: Tigers Must Win Two This Weekend
The Tigers must win at least one game this weekend. They have to, or the season is done. History backs me up here. The last time the Tigers lost each game of their season-opening series was 2008. The Tigers started the season with seven straight losses, including sweeps by the Royals and White Sox. That put the team in a hole it never recovered from, and the Tigers finished 2008 in dead-last place in the American League Central. And let us not forget the worst-of-the-worst: 2003. That season, the Tigers dropped nine consecutive games to open the year, 17 of their first 18 games, and went on to lose a whopping 119 games. Just one year prior, the 2002 Tigers lost their first 8 games, finishing last in the division.
The last three times the Tigers ended a season with a winning record (2006, 2007, 2009), they won at least one game of their opening series.
Now, I'm not trying to imply that winning one or two games this weekend will guarantee any kind of season success. In 2004, the Tigers won their first four games of the season and finished 72-90. What I am saying is: history has shown that when the Tigers fail to win a game in their opening series, it's a rough road to travel the rest of the season. And for a superstitious fan like me, I need to see at least one "W" when I check the standings Monday morning.
