The season is over...But I'm not talking about the Red Wings

I'm here not to praise the Detroit Tigers, but to bury their sorry asses.

Be honest, you know it's true...

I was going to wait for the end of this 10 game homestand before I made any decision about the Tigers' chances for salvaging something, anything, from the 2008 season. It's entirely possible they could run off a long winning streak. Anything's possible, right?

Even after last night, another game where the Tigers' offense was M.I.A., giving Justin Verlander no support in losing to the Tribe, dropping to 10 gamers back in the division, and 12 games under .500, I was going to withhold judgment for at least another week. Despite how bad they may be playing, there's no sense of being overly rash on June 7th, 2008. I wasn't going to write the Tigers off with 4 months left in the season.

Then I saw the following headline from Billfer pop up in my Twitter feed...

Jeremy Bonderman out for season

Jeremy Bonderman is officially out for the season due to circulatory problems in his shoulder.

Bonderman was examined yesterday at the Detroit Medical Center and it was determined he has a blood clot of the axillary vein due to thoracic outlet compression syndrome. Bonderman underwent a thromblysis last night, followed by an angioplasty this morning at the Detroit Medical Center, performed by Dr. Monte Harvill under the supervision of team physician Dr. Stephen Lemos. He will undergo further examination of his condition at a later date.

This is devastating news for a team that has been pretty much devastating.

Devastating, indeed. The number 2 starter is out for the season with what could have been a life threatening injury.

Well, that's all, folks. A bad season, a nightmare season, just got that much worse. If this isn't the last nail in the Tigers' coffin, there sure as Hell can't be many more left.

Between a suddenly looking aged, badly under performing offense, a shaky bullpen besieged by injuries to their 2 best set up men, and a rotation that has BOTH underperformed and been besieged by injuries, can we seriously expect this team to recover enough to make a run at the playoffs?

Let's put it this way. The following scenarios have a better chance of occurring than the Tigers have at winning the Central.

• Hilary Clinton has a better chance at becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.

• The Detroit Lions have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl.

• Matt Millen has a better chance at joining MENSA.

• A Pistons head coach has a better chance of lasting more than 3 seasons.

• There's a better chance of Sidney Crosby and Michel Therrien admitting the Red Wings outplayed the Penguins.

• Mike Ilitch has a better chance of making an edible Little Ceasers pizza.

• There's a better chance Jim Leyland would give up smoking.

• There's a better chance Pudge Rodriguez has a 2 walk game before he retires.

• There's a better chance of Placido Polanco's head shrinking.

• Whomever ends up as the QB of the Lions has a better chance of making the Pro Bowl.

• O.J. Simpson has a better chance of finding the killer of his wife.

• Paul Pierce has a better chance of winning an Oscar...Oh, wait...

I think you get my point. The odds are damn long, and getting longer by the day, of the Tigers making the playoffs. Even having a .500 record is becoming more of a reach at this point. They've gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in less than 3 months.

I held out at least of semblance of hope the Tigers could turn their season around, irrational as that thought might have been. But Bonderman going down, the 2nd pitcher in 2 years to develop a blood clot in his pitching shoulder (And just what were the odds of that happening?), was my breaking point.

I'm waving the white flag, throwing in the towel, tapping out. It's time to admit the playoffs aren't in the cards for the Detroit Tigers in 2008.

Before the start of the season, I would have bet the proverbial farm the Tigers would have remained in contention till September, let alone up to the All-Star break. Yet here we are, the 2008 season over, and it's not even close to the 4th of July.

Without the Red Wings and Pistons to divert our attention from the ongoing carnage happening nightly at Comerica Park...

It's going to be one God damn ugly summer.