COLUMN

Game 163 in Minnesota encapsulated everything that the Detroit Tigers season was. All drops, twists and turns. Unexpected heroic performances, trumped by baffling lapses. They fooled you though. Because the game went 13 innings, because they ALMOST had it, you are satisfied.

For me, this season was more disaster and disappointment than surprise and satisfaction. My preseason expectation was 80 to 84 wins. They won 86. I just never would have thought that 87 would be enough to win the division. So, because Minnesota and Chicago underachieved, I should accept that the Tigers almost won the American League Central? No, not at all.

You can take the scenic route to almost and look at little breaks that went against the Tigers. But it’s obvious they had more good luck than bad in a season in which they allowed more runs than they scored. Playoff contenders typically can’t make that claim.

The Tigers were fortunate to ultimately draw a one-game playoff. Yet I still believe they underachieved.

What I look at it in their ultimate demise is the hitting. No one expected it to be good, but I never could have imagined it being this bad.

Curtis Granderson is a prime example. His .183 average against left-handed pitching unfortunately isn’t that big of a surprise. This has dogged him throughout his career. What gets me is that in 2008 he had shown improvement against lefties, bumping his average up to .259. He followed that up with a sharp decrease in average against all pitching, not just against southpaws. Granderson regressed this season.

At one point, Magglio Ordonez was only batting against left-handed pitching. Mired in the mess of his wife’s undisclosed medical problems, and debate over whether or not to allow his massive 18 million dollar option to kick in, he fell flat. Ordonez completely lost his ability to turn on a fastball making him a one-dimensional singles hitter.

Falling short of his career averages, I point at Placido Polanco as well. For the majority of the season, Polanco was hitting in the .270 range and in need of someone to pick him up. Like Magglio, Polanco regained form in the final weeks. He still came up with many big hits, but I believe the Tigers would have been better served if he were getting the consistent hits to begin rallies and wear down pitchers.

Polanco would often set up Miguel Cabrera. I really can’t dog his performance too much. His batting average increased from last season. The drop-off came slightly in home runs — 38 last season, 34 this season — but what got me was the 24 fewer RBIs. For the most part he went missing in clutch situations where you need your best hitters. The Tigers ability to score runs depends on Polanco getting on base and Cabrera driving him in. Too often this season did one or the other fail to execute.

Had these players stepped up to the level they have played at in the past, it wouldn’t had come down to a one-game playoff. The Tigers would have run away with the division. Well maybe they would have choked in an even more epic fashion, but my point remains, this team underachieved.

Did the pitching staff overachieve? Yes. Edwin Jackson and Rick Porcello far exceeded expectations for this season. Unlike in 2008, Justin Verlander met them. Going down the list of pitchers in the bullpen, you clearly see that the pitching staff as a whole was exceptional, despite being marred by injuries. I underestimated what the Tigers were capable of at the beginning of this season because of their pitching.

I’m not discrediting Jim Leyland, who did a fine job managing around the lackluster at-bats that swallowed most games. He was so desperate, he batted journeyman Don Kelly third for a short time. Had this lineup performed up to par, Don Kelly would have been nothing but a pinch runner in September, not a cry for help.

While you’re all taking the scenic route to almost, I’m going to continue taking the congested, construction-barrel laden, route that leaves you frustrated and slightly confused. That is how I feel when I hear a pleased fan or pundit say almost about the 2009 Detroit Tigers. Because ultimately almost means nothing, except that your trip is incomplete. You haven’t reached your destination.

That’s how the Tigers ended their season. The car stalled and ran out of gas with the finish line in sight.