Sweepvil in the D

I can't stand to look either
The worst sports weekend in Detroit in recent memory.

An ugly sweep by the Cleveland Indians over the Tigers, and two gut-punch playoff losses to the Sharks. It's hard to say which was uglier to watch, but I'd have to give the edge to the Red Wings just due to the added playoff importance.

Now, I don't want to sell the Tigers short. They lost the first game on a walk-off Grand Salami. They led almost the entire game but couldn't add the insurance runs to put it away. Cleveland cut into the 3-run lead and eventually punched a hole in the Benoit 2010 armor with the Grand Slam. Last night, Cleveland again won on a walk-off, this time in the 13th inning. The Tigers' bullpen at least pitched a handful of shutout innings before they blew it. The bats decided to take the evening off.

Same thing today. Weak hitting but even weaker pitching by Benoit. After the Tigers take a late one-run lead (courtesy of a SACRIFICE FLY!!!), Benoit implodes once again to grant Cleveland the win. Heck, at least it wasn't a walk-off!

The season is still young, but these are some ugly, no-fun losses. I take solace in the fact that Rick Porcello and Phil Coke pitched well. Porcello is a key cog to the future of the franchise. To have him develop into a competent starter is more important than a win for a team going nowhere.

As for the Wings, it's hard to see many positives. Yes, the team overall is fine, and it's great to be one of the 8 teams still playing. I just don't know what happened to the team that dismantled Phoenix. From a player-to-player perspective the Red Wings should be neck-and-neck with San Jose. Perhaps San Jose is just hungrier? It's hard to say. I do know they're playing smarter. The Wings took a ton of bone-headed penalties in both games. And it cost them.

The one consolation is that the Wings are a veteran team. They won't wilt after losing the first two. San Jose is a strong side, but, with a little luck, the Wings can win both at home. They'll need to avoid the penalty box, though. No reason to give San Jose any more reason to feel good about themselves.

A lot of Wings' fans are down right now, but the fact is that these were both one-goal losses. It's just too close to call one team significantly better than the other. The playoffs are about luck as much as skill. Time to create some luck.