Detroit, MI

Five key Detroit Tigers questions ahead of the postseason

Published

1 year ago

September 29, 2024

Five key Detroit Tigers questions ahead of the postseason

DETROIT — A.J. Hinch still had not gone through all the unread congratulatory texts on his phone when the Detroit Tigers’ preparation for the proverbial “hangover game” began.

After so much excitement the night before, this day was dark and dreary. “Borderline Gotham City,” Hinch said. There was a lengthy delay, and after nearly two months of adrenaline, a slow nine-inning slog.

The Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox 4-0 in the penultimate game of the regular season. Sunday is the finale. Their postseason opponent is still to be decided. They will play either the Orioles in Baltimore or the Astros in Houston.

So with the postseason now a reality, here’s a preview of the team’s biggest questions and decision points.

How many pitchers for the wild-card round?

Because the wild-card round is only three games max, there’s a strong chance the Tigers will have only 12 pitchers active for the series. Some teams have even used as few as 11 in shortened series. The Tigers already have to cut the roster from 28 to 26. Going with only 12 pitchers would allow the Tigers to retain Justyn-Henry Malloy and Jace Jung for help against left-handed pitching.

For now, the Tigers are leaning toward carrying an extra bench bat rather than an extraneous arm they’d prefer to stay away from anyway.

But a disclaimer: Never rule out a surprise with Hinch and Scott Harris making these maneuvers.

Where does Jackson Jobe fit in the puzzle?

Although he’s one of only two Tigers players with playoff experience, Kenta Maeda is the likely choice to be the first pitcher left off the roster.

But what other pitcher could miss the wild-card round? That’ll be an interesting one, and likely Detroit’s toughest decision. Casey Mize is one player at risk. He’s not going to work as a starter, and he’s only pitched once so far out of the bullpen, where his stuff did not tick up. Ty Madden, who has a 4.30 ERA and was not effective Saturday, could be an even more probable option.

The real question in all this is what the Tigers will do with Jackson Jobe. Would they really throw the rookie into a pressure-packed situation in the playoffs? Jobe has only pitched twice since his promotion, neither in a true leverage setting. He has never entered a game with runners on base. But he does have the capability to miss bats, and he did shut down the White Sox on Saturday, going three innings and allowing no hits and a walk while striking out two batters. (And for the record, Jobe did not actually have to clean up the entire Tigers clubhouse after Friday’s postgame celebration. “Everyone was just messing around,” he said.)

First Major League strikeout for Jackson Jobe! #RepDetroit @jacksonwjobe pic.twitter.com/svYdoYkL9k
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 28, 2024

The Tigers are 21-12 against left-handed starters this year, but they haven’t exactly fared well against lefties in recent days. Since the Tigers’ hot streak intensified Aug. 13, Detroit has only a .648 OPS against left-handed pitching compared with a .749 OPS against right-handed pitching.

A big part of the concern has been the slumping Andy Ibáñez. A bona fide lefty killer for the first half of the year, Ibáñez is hitting only .165 with just three extra-base hits since July 21. The Tigers hit him leadoff Thursday and Friday to get him reps and jump-start his bat. Ibáñez finally responded with a double Friday.

Despite his struggles, Ibáñez is likely a lock for the playoff roster. He still has huge upside against lefties and remains a chess piece opposing managers have to be cognizant of in late-game situations.

The Tigers just need to hope they can get Ibáñez to settle down in the box and reclaim his first-half form.

“He wants it so badly when he’s in there, and sometimes that makes him a bit over-anxious, maybe swinging too much,” Hinch said. “Nobody is more prepared than him, and no one has more energy in their at-bats than Andy.”

What will the pitching look like?

Tarik Skubal is starting Game 1 on Tuesday. Signed, sealed, delivered.

“Getting him in Game 1 is pretty awesome,” Hinch said.

But after that?

Expect more of the same pitching shenanigans we’ve witnessed each of the past two months. Reese Olson and Keider Montero are candidates to work as starters. It’s just as likely the Tigers will opt for openers and bulk relievers as they have so often in their miraculous run. Trying to map out whom the Tigers will throw is a fool’s errand. And might that be to their advantage?

“Even given my experience, I’ve never done the opener in the postseason, and we haven’t even had our full personnel meeting on how we’re going to attack whoever we play,” Hinch said. “I’m going to try to keep everybody guessing just as much as I have with you guys for the last two months.”

Can the magic continue?

The question was asked about a million times in the midst of Friday’s postgame celebration. Asked Thursday whether the Tigers’ play as of late was magic or something else, Hinch said, “I don’t know, but if so, bottle it up and keep bringing it to the ballpark. … Getting to the ballpark every day, there’s a renewed energy every single day. Whether that’s magic, whether that’s momentum, whether that’s vibe, whatever, we love it and we want more of it.”

Then Friday night came more quotes.

“Now it’s a playoff-bound team,” Hinch said. “We checkmarked that box, and now we can try to stack more and more wins to create an even more special summer.”

“I’m just excited that we got in,” Harris said. “Hopefully, we can do some damage in October.”

How far could they go?

“As far as it takes us,” Riley Greene said. “We’re gonna keep believing until it happens.”

(Photo: David Rodriguez Munoz / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

Published

48 minutes ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Red Wings blank Montreal Canadiens behind John Gibson

MONTREAL — The atmosphere at Bell Centre never disappoints, especially when two Original Six rivals meet on a Saturday night.

The Detroit Red Wings tuned out the “Go Habs, Go,” chants and turned in a fine road performance, avenging an opening night loss and evening the season series. The Wings came away from their only visit of the season to the home of the Montreal Canadiens with a 4-0 victory on Saturday, Jan. 10, in the second of three meetings.

Alex DeBrincat added a goal to his night when he was left wide-open to rip Patrick Kane’s pass into Montreal’s net 34 seconds into the third period. Andrew Copp added an empty-net goal with 1:07 to play.

The Habs, who schooled the Wings, 5-1, back in the season opener in October, were denied on 27 shots by John Gibson as he earned his third shutout since Dec. 8.

Red Wings playoff position

The two points earned lifted the Wings (27-15-4) into first place in the Atlantic Division, a point up on the Tampa Bay Lightning (who have played three fewer games). Next up, the Wings host Metropolitan Division leader Carolina on Monday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit), with the Hurricanes visiting on the night the Wings will retire Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91.

Rough stuff in Montreal

The Wings incurred some bumps along the way, especially Mason Appleton, who took one stick near the eye area and another – by teammate Elmer Söderblom – to the lips. At one point in the third period, Gibson had to check his helmet for damage after getting dinged by a puck.

But what a win.

The Wings came out with good pace, and there was a good deal of back-and-forth early on. The Habs shot wide on Gibson until more than five minutes in, when Ivan Demidov set up Oliver Kapanen just outside the crease. Kapanen’s shot slid into the paint, but Gibson was able to glove it before it crossed the goal line.

The Wings went on a power play seven minutes in, and the unit of Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, James van Riemsdyk, Lucas Raymond and DeBrincat had such control of the puck they were out the entire two minutes – but the Canadiens did a good job getting in lanes to block shots.

Another man advantage materialized around the midpoint when Brendan Gallagher high-sticked Appleton in the face, but again the Habs prevented the Wings from generating shots on net.

Putting it in the net

Ninety-one seconds into the second period, the Wings were back on a power play. Larkin forced a save from Jacob Fowler on a doorstep shot, but the game was back at even strength when they made it 1-0.

Jacob Bernard-Docker had the puck at his own goal line when he sent a pass to van Riemsdyk (who arrived at Bell Centre dressed as Batman, for his 4-year-old son) along the boards. By the time he got to the red line, van Riemsdyk had two defenders on him, so he dumped the puck deep. But instead of going around the net, as Fowler thought it would as he skated behind his net to play it, the puck bounced off the end boards and out front, where Raymond turned it into his third straight five-on-five goal in the last three games.

The Wings built on their momentum just past the midpoint of the game when they converted during their fourth power play. Seider had the point up top and found DeBrincat along the left boards. DeBrincat made a short pass to Larkin, who took advantage of van Riemsdyk getting in Fowler’s line of vision to one-time a shot that gave the Wings a 2-0 lead.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions score 4 players with AP All-Pro nods, including 2 first-timers

Published

13 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Detroit Lions score 4 players with AP All-Pro nods, including 2 first-timers

ALLEN PARK — Jack Campbell and Penei Sewell were named to the AP All-Pro first-team for the Detroit Lions.

It’s the third consecutive first-team nod for Sewell, 25, who was also named Pro Football Focus’ protector of the year earlier this week. PFF graded Sewell as the top offensive lineman, and not just tackle, in the NFL this season. He allowed only two sacks and 19 pressures across 601 pass-blocking snaps as the top-ranked pass-blocking offensive lineman.

For all the focus on the offensive line and what needs to happen this offseason, Sewell’s presence gives them a cornerstone, blue-chip piece to build around.

Campbell earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod this season, putting the bows on a true breakout campaign for the former first-round pick. The 25-year-old joins Chris Spielman and Joe Schmidt as the only Lions linebackers ever to make the All-Pro first-team.

The linebacker finished the season by playing all 17 games for the third straight season, posting career highs in tackles (176), sacks (five), forced fumbles (three), fumble recoveries (two) and tackles for loss (nine). Campbell did all this while taking over the green dot for the first time, and playing more snaps than any other teammate — offense, defense or special teams.

The third-year linebacker finished the season as PFF’s second-best overall linebacker, trailing only Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers. Campbell’s 176 tackles were the second-most in the league in 2025.

“He’s extremely valuable,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of his linebacker last month. “He’s taken more reps than anybody on this team. He plays on kickoff for us, and he’s an asset on kickoff and then everything you see on defense. He doesn’t come off the field; he’s our bell-cow, green-dot. And he does –, and the guy is smart, and he’s instinctive, and he is snap-to-whistle all-out, all the time, in practice too. And he doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off, he goes after the football, he’s a ball guy.

“So, he’s invaluable.”

Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had made the first team in consecutive years, was named to the AP’s second team this time around. St. Brown finished the season fifth in receptions (117), fifth in yards (1,401), tied for second in touchdowns (11) and seventh in yards after the catch (570).

The star wideout became the first player in league history to have at least 90 catches through a player’s first five seasons. St. Brown has at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, and has caught double-digit touchdowns in the last three.

Aidan Hutchinson joined in on the fun this year, too. Hutchinson earns his first AP All-Pro team nod, landing a second-team spot this season. Not too shabby for someone returning from a season-ending leg injury, and his return served as quite the response.

Hutchinson, who got his big extension this year, played every game and set a new career-best mark with 14.5 sacks and 35 quarterback hits. He also scored his second Pro Bowl appearance this year, as well. Since PFF started tracking pressures, there have been six players to reach the 100-pressure mark. Hutchinson is the only one on that list to have done it twice.

The pass rusher led the NFL in pressures created, finishing the campaign with a clear 100. The next closest player was Jacksonville’s Josh Hines-Allen, who had 95.

“The number of things that he’s able to do for us in the run and the pass game,” Dan Campbell said of Hutchinson earlier in the season. “Man, it takes up — he pulls a lot of slack, man. You talk about pulling your weight, he pulls his weight and then some. He requires a lot of resources offensively, which helps everybody else out. Guys like him, he’s in that rare world of man, you don’t get the easy way out. He’s got to beat the nudges, he’s got to beat the back chip, then the tackle’s on him. Or he’s got to beat the nudge, sometimes the back, the tackle, and the slide’s coming to him with the guard also.

“So, sometimes you may have to beat three, sometimes four. But if that’s the case, somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win. So, what he does is not easy, and I go back to this. He is a complete football player; he does it all. And he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor, he’s crafty, he’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s competitive. And he does it all. He does it all.”

For a full look at the AP’s All-Pro voting results, click here. Of note, longtime former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford earned the first All-Pro first-team nod of his career this year. Stafford remains in the MVP hunt, and this honor usually leads to that.

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Detroit, MI

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park

The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.

A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.

As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.

Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.

The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.

Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.

This is a developing story.

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