“Young guys can let things roll off their backs.”DMITRI YOUNG
The first thing that strikes you as you walk into the Detroit clubhouse is the laughter.
It’s not hushed little chuckles, but hearty, side-splitting hysterics. Apparently all the losing in the world hasn’t gone to the Tigers’ heads, even as they fight to not finish with the worst record in baseball history.
Before last night’s game, there was a group of 15 Tigers – sprawled on couches and sitting on folding chairs turned backward – watching a DVD titled “The Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” which in no way should be confused with the season they’ve put together.
There obviously hasn’t been any collecting of belts, shoelaces or objects with sharp edges with which the Tigers can hurt themselves. They’re young, and as Dmitri Young says, “Young guys can let things roll off their backs.”
Last night they had to let a 4-2 loss to the Yankees roll off their backs, even as they sit 14 defeats from clinching the worst baseball season ever.
The 37-106 Tigers battled their opponents, forcing the Yankees to win the game in the eighth inning.
“That’s kind of a good example of the way things have gone for us all year,” Detroit manager Alan Trammell said. “We were pretty competitive.”
So now Detroit’s got to win six of its final 19 games to avoid making infamous history.
The Mets, of course, have owned the dubious distinction of being the worst team of all-time since they went 40-120 in 1962 – their first season.
No team ever lost more than the Mets’ did that year with players like Al Jackson, Choo Choo Coleman, Ed Kranepool and Marv Throneberry in uniform.
They were a loveable losers who finished 60 games behind the first-place Dodgers that year. The current edition of the Tigers is desperately trying to avoid finishing with a worse record than that Casey Stengel-led bunch.
“That would be a record nobody wants to have,” Trammell said.
The Tigers have to win an average of one game in each of their six remaining series to avoid the distinction.
After the current three-game stand at the Stadium, they face playoff hopefuls in Kansas City, Minnesota and the White Sox.
“We’ve got something to play for,” Young said of playing spoiler.
“I’m a positive guy,” Trammell said. “The fact is, I [only] know what our record is when I talk about it.”
And when they’re not talking about it, the Tigers seem to be doing a lot of laughing. And losing.
BAD TO WORSE
Here’s a look, through 142 games, at how this year’s Detroit team is faring in its race to avoid breaking 1962 Mets’ mark for worst record for 162-game schedule. Amazin’s finished season 40-120 (two games were rained out).
1962 Mets
35-107
2003 Tigers
37-105
