Is the Future Now?

The first half of the season is in the books. And too many fan’s peculiar surprise, the Detroit Tigers are the best team in MLB. They've consistently won with remarkable starting pitching, boasting a league leading team ERA. Run support has been there when needed. In addition, timely comebacks have put wind under the sails of this high energy team. Lastly, all those 1 run losses the Tigers piled up in 2005 appear to be reversing trend. The Tigers are on pace to win 100+ games and would need a breakdown of significant proportions to fall out of the playoff race.

So all this is great news for the long suffering Tigers fan, right?

Well it depends how you view it and the delicate task Dave Dombrowski has ahead of him. How could he not go for it all with the way the team has been playing of late? But at what cost? Get this MLB fans, the Tigers are no fluke. What I mean is aside from this year the Tigers are going to be around for years to come. The farm system is loaded with talent, which begs the question -is now the time?

The knee jerk reaction is to go for it all, but when you've suffered through so much and finally have an outstanding foundation built, should you start to put cracks in it? Or, do you strategically add a low cost part here and there and prepare for an even more dominate future when key prospects are ready? It is the delicate question Dombrowski gets to answer this month.

While the Tigers may be over stockpiled in certain positions, they must make sure any trade done does not mortgage the future for a short-term answer. It is human tendency to want things now, but the potential longevity of the future looks compelling, too.

Maybe Tigers fans can have both.

DP