Look at them now

The Detroit Tigers were the surprise team one year ago. As the 2024 postseason approached, the Tigers charged past the teams that were faltering at the end and clinched a wild card spot.

While they didn't make a deep run in the playoffs, it was something to build on. For most of 2025, it looked like the Tigers had used last season's late surge as a launching point. They dominated the AL Central and were cruising to a division title.

At one point, the Tigers led the second-place Cleveland Guardians by 14 games. If you didn't already know this, that lead is gone as we sit here today.

Today

• Two very different Septembers in Detroit
• A very confusing fumbling problem out in Baltimore
• The MLB team that needs to go away

Everybody is looking this time

I was all in on the story of the Detroit Tigers and their unlikely playoff berth last season. They were a young team with n0 expectations and nothing to lose. As they racked up some wins, they played loose and got contributions from a lot of different guys.

It also didn't hurt that they have arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball in Tarik Skubal.

I took particular notice when Skubal spoke about their winning ways after a key victory. After a sweep of the Royals last September, here's what Skubal said:

"Look around this room. It comes from every single guy in this room. Look at our season. We got off to a good start then slumped in the middle and now look at us. At the trade deadline, we were sellers. Now look at us. That speaks to the guys in this room. There's no quit and it's a ton of fun. I love what we've got going on."

Now look at us. I love that, even if I'm not sure people listened.

One year later, and people are looking at the Tigers, but it's for the opposite kind of streak. In 2025, it's an unlikely losing stretch that has Detroit in a different position than they were in the summer months. Only this time, it's out of first place and potentially out of the playoffs altogether.

With a loss Wednesday night, the Tigers found themselves a full game back of the Cleveland Guardians. They lost on Tuesday, too, and that was put in motion by a forehead-smacker of an error by none other than Tarik Skubal.

The Tigers finally stopped the bleeding, at least for now, by winning a game on Thursday and avoiding the sweep. That technically ties things up atop the AL Central. Even so, it's a panic in Detroit as the final weekend of the regular season approaches.

Now look at them.

What in the world, Derrick Henry?

There are things that Derrick Henry has always done well. Being huge is one of them. Scoring near the goal line is another, closely tied to that first thing. Breaking long runs in the fourth quarter might very well be the lasting visual of his greatness, a huge man who is still faster than defensive backs once he gets going. And he could always be counted on for good ball security.

It has been jarring, then, to see Henry fumble three times in three games. Two of those fumbles were costly and played a significant role in Ravens' losses in their surprising 1-2 start.

At the very least, the Ravens won't probably trust their veteran hoss of a running back in crunch time for the next couple weeks. That's a surprising development in itself, if true. But do those fumbles indicate something more significant?

That question hadn't really crossed my mind, frankly, until I saw this clip with Mike Tanier and Matt Lombardo.

Is the "washed monster" coming in the form of fumbles? I've still seen Derrick Henry get a head of steam and out-run defenders for huge touchdowns this season. That seems more like the kind of skill that would dwindle over time, taken over by the "washed monster." We would see Henry slow down or stop running people over as signs of declining physical skills.

Fumbles seem more random to me. Take, for example, Henry's disastrous fumble against the Detroit Lions last Monday night. He thinks Aidan Hutchinson is behind him. Maybe a lot of defenders who aren't Aidan Hutchinson stay behind him, because they aren't as aware or as athletically gifted.

Instead, Hutchinson caught back up and made a great play to punch the ball out. Granted, Henry doesn't appear to be holding the ball in the best spot. But it still strikes me as a Hutchinson feat before a Henry falter.

Maybe these fumbles do actually point to declining skills, where other parts of Henry's game are costing him when it comes to holding onto the ball. But maybe it's just sports stuff happening, and sometime around week 16 we'll look back and giggle at those random Derrick Henry fumbles.

I'm inclined to think it's the latter.

Just go away

The current iteration of the Houston Astros is mostly removed from the cheating team of a few years ago. But they still have Jose Altuve, and then Carlos Correa returned at the trade deadline. Those two were franchise players on the cheating team that won the World Series.

Just from watching an Astros home game on TV in the last month, I get the sense that Correa got something of a hero's welcome. If that's the case, this is a reunion tour I have no interest in. I might be fascinated by the difference between the Tigers last September and this September, but I still very much want them to make the playoffs ahead of the Astros.

Go Tigers. Go Guardians. Go away, Astros.

Odds and ends

• The weekend of the Ryder Cup can be a whole lot of fun. Unfortunately, the USA team will need to dig out of a big hole to make it competitive this weekend at Bethpage Black, because Europe dominated the action today. That comeback probably needs to start with Scottie Scheffler (USA Today Sports).
• With the final weekend of the MLB season upon us, Ben Clemens wrote about the best and worst players in September. I am absolutely sharing this to pile on Jose Altuve as part of Houston's late-season stumbles (FanGraphs).
• It's only been three weeks, and maybe the outstanding play of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones will be as short-lived as Derrick Henry's fumble problems. But for now, he's one of the headline stories of the 2025 NFL season (The Ringer).

For a fun video heading into the weekend, I'm starting to think about NBA season and how excited I am for this year's Denver Nuggets. Here's some Nikola Jokić highlights.