The Detroit Tigers Got Swept. The Playoff Dream Isn't Dead Yet.

There was a real opportunity sitting in front of the Detroit Tigers this weekend. After putting together one of their better stretches of baseball in weeks, Detroit welcomed the first-place Chicago White Sox to Comerica Park with a chance to make the AL Central race even more interesting.

Instead, the Tigers got swept.

And yeah, it hurts.

Chicago won all three games, including Sunday's 7-5 devistating loss, with the White Sox pushing its division lead over Detroit to 5.5 games.

For a team that had just won eight of their previous 10 games, this was about as poorly time as a series loss can get. But I'm not ready to slam the door on the Tigers' season.

This Was A Brutal Weekend

Let's be honest about what happened. Detroit didn't simply lose three games to a better team. The Tigers had opportunities in all three games and couldn't finish the job.

The opener was a 9-5 loss. Jackson Jobe struggled, giving up six runs and nine hits in just 3.2 innings. On Saturday, Detroit fell 4-3 in another close game. Then on Sunday, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-1 lead before Chicago eventually tied the game and took control late.

That's the frustrating part.

This wasn't a three-game series where the Tigers looked completely overmatched from the first pitch. The Tigers had chances, they just didn't capitalize on enough of them.

And when you're chasing a division leader this late in the season, missed opportunities become expensive very quickly.

The Playoff Odds Took A Hit

Before the series, Detroit's playoff picture was looking considerably more encouraging.

FanGraphs had the Tigers at a 30.5% chance of making the playoffs and a 20.4% chance of winning the AL Central heading into the biggest series of the season.

Now?

Those odds are going to take a hit after losing all three games to the team that they're trying to catch.

The Tigers sit at 60-64 following the sweep, while Chicago improved to 65-58 and now owns a 5.5 game advantage in the division.

That's a significant hole, but not an impossible one.

There are still enough games remaining for this thing to get weird, and we've seen this franchise get weird before.

Why I'm Still Somewhat Optimistic

Here's where I differ from the "it's over" crowd.

The Tigers have already shown they can make a run. Just five days ago, Detroit had won eight of their previous 10 games and was suddenly right back in the playoff conversation.

That didn't happen because everything magically became perfect. It happened because some young players started making plays, the pitching showed flashes, and the team started finding ways to win close games.

That's still in there.

Colt Keith homered Sunday. Brett Callahan tripled in two runs in his MLB debut. The Tigers have gotten contributions from young players throughout this recent stretch. That's the reason I'm not completely ready to pack away the playoff calculator.

This team doesn't need to become a juggernaut. It needs to get hot at the right time.

But The Margin For Errors Is Shrinking

That's the part that should concern Tigers fans.

You can't keep giving away series against teams you're chasing and expect the math to work itself out. Chicago just created separation.

Detroit also has other teams competing for those Wild Card spots, which means the Tigers aren't simply racing the White Sox. They're racing the entire group of American League contenders.

At 60-64, there isn't much room left for another extended losing streak. The Tigers probably need to play significantly better than .500 baseball the rest of the way if they want to seriously enter the playoff picture.

That's a tall order.

But it's not an unreasonable one considering what we've watched this team do over the past couple of weeks.

Don't Panic. But Don't Ignore It Either

That's probably the most honest way I can describe where I am with this team.

I'm disappointed.

Getting swept by the White Sox at home, in the biggest series of the season, is unacceptable if this team genuinely believes it can make the postseason.

But I'm not hopeless.

The season isn't over because of one bad weekend. The Tigers have shown enough recently to make me believe there's still a run in this team. The problem is that the road just got considerably harder.

Now Detroit has to respond. No excuses. No scoreboard watching. No waiting for somebody else to collapse. Just win baseball games. The Detroit Tigers still have a pulse. It's just getting harder to find.