MLB Playoffs: Regardless of Outcome vs. Yankees, Tigers Can Hang Heads High

If the Detroit Tigers playoff run ends Thursday night in New York, the team has nothing to be ashamed of.

While the ALDS is tied 2-2 and far from over, regardless of the outcome the Tigers have had a tremendously successful season and should be a formidable opponent for years to come.

Coming into the season, we all had aspirations of perhaps edging out the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox for the Division Crown.  With the powerhouse Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers there was little else to expect.

But we saw a franchise grow right in front of our eyes.

Justin Verlander became the leagues best pitcher, Miguel Cabrera squashed off-season personal issue to have another MVP caliber season, Victor Martinez was the cement for a lineup in pieces in 2010 and Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit are as solid a backend bullpen duo as there is in baseball.

Max Scherzer, despite struggling at times, showed some major flashes and Rick Porcello made moderate improvements and is proving to be a decent backend rotation guy.

Also this year we saw Alex Avila mature into one of the league's top catchers.  Going into the season we were all wondering how long until Martinez supplanted him as the everyday catcher.  Never happened.

Jhonny Peralta moved from short term fill in to a potentially long-term answer at shortstop, a blessing for an organization woefully thin at prospects at that position.

Brennan Boesch, before his season ending thumb injury, was rejuvenated after a roller-coaster rookie season and has become a vital part of the lineup.

Austin Jackson took a step back at the plate, but a huge step up defensively and gained a year of vital experience.

Add in Doug Fister and Delmon Young, if resigned, and you have an organization not in the beginnings of building a contender, but right on the cusp.

And probably most importantly, the two most criticized members of the organization, Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland, each shook stigmas that have haunted them.  Dombrowski made a couple of major deadline deals that helped wrap up the division and Leyland ended the second half collapse string—something few thought would happen.

The roster holes heading into the season were too many to count—possibly heading out, you can count them on one hand. 

Third base, second base, a bullpen arm and starter.  With third base prospect Nick Castellanos and starter Jacob Turner about ready to make a run at full-time spots on the big league roster, they might just need a mild tweak in the offseason.

We all suspected a Minnesota-Twins-like playoff appearance before the season, but expectations grew as we realized this was a better team than we thought and that the New York Yankees were actually beatable.

So while they may lose their first-round matchup, they gave the Yankees something the Twins never could—a challenge—and proved that they deserve to be mentioned with the top teams in the American League.

Despite Tuesday's ugly outcome, don't expect this to be the end.  I'm sure the rest of the country is counting the Tigers out, Texas has their New York hotels reserved and flight booked, but we know better. 

This Tiger team's roar is for real.