Detroit Tigers: Path Set Up for Home Field in the Playoffs

As I was checking out the Detroit Tigers schedule this morning and watching a little Dan Patrick at the beginning of a nice day off, I was struck by one thing.

No, not the fact that the Tigers have a fairly easy remaining set, with only the Cleveland Indians standing out as a bona fide challenger. And no, I wasn't just basking in a nearly flawless Michigan sports fan's weekend. And no, it wasn't even that Patrick was pleading with anyone who will listen that Justin Verlander needs to be considered in the Most Valuable Player discussion.

It was that the New York Yankees, once nearly untouchable for the Tigers to catch, are now ripe for the pickings.

That's right, the Tigers are set up to win overall home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Just a month ago, the Tigers were the best of the worst division in baseball. Now, they are only two wins behind the Yankees in the race for home field throughout the playoffs.

Now, of course, the playoffs are a different beast altogether from the regular season. And home field doesn't technically make as much of an advantage in baseball as it does in basketball.

But it does fire up the home team, and this Tigers team plays energized at home.

So why does it appear that the Tigers are set up well heading for the postseason?

First, our best player, Verlander, is right in line to start the beginning of the playoffs as the No. 1 starter. He will have one more regular-season start, likely on the 24th against Baltimore in a game that could mean the most wins for a starter since Bob Welch had 27 in 1990.

Sure, the Orioles have been Tiger killers lately, but Verlander likely should be set for a nice home game and likely no more than six or seven innings pitched.

This will allow Tigers skipper Jim Leyland a chance to figure out his rotation, rest his relievers and give his starters a chance to rest. It also will allow Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer an opportunity to prove to Leyland that he needs a four-man rotation and they both should be in it.

Secondly, take a gander at who the Tigers' biggest obstacles to home-field advantage have left on their slates.

The Yankees are playing everyday with no days off and a double-header. Of their remaining 11 games, all but one is against the Red Sox or Tampa Bay Rays, two teams in the middle of a furious battle for the Wild Card.

Therefore, they will be throwing everything that they have at the Bronx Bombers.

The other two teams that have a shot at winning the overall first seed in the American League, Texas and Los Angeles, have easier roads ahead, but not by a ton. Both have a three-game set against one another the last weekend of the season, meaning that their top pitchers will likely be needed right before the playoffs.

Lastly, the Tigers have a lot less pressure on them right now. College and pro football are roping in a lot of the metro Detroit fans due to the exciting starts to the respective seasons, and the Tigers can skate under the radar somewhat. This means that they can relax and get to work on the fine-tuning of their team without nearly as intense of a gaze from the fans and Monday morning prognosticators like myself.

This all shapes up for the very strong likelihood that the Tigers will be the home team for much of their playoff run this year.