Just so everybody knows, Tigers manager AJ Hinch isn't handing out participation trophies and spirit awards here. And while there have been incredible gains made this season, coming off a run of 345 losses in 3½ years of rebuilding, his team still sits seven games under .500 and all but mathematically eliminated from the players.
"I don't want five, six, seven games under .500 and just competing hard to be the end-all, be-all," Hinch said before the Tigers were beaten by the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1, on Sunday at Comerica Park. "It's a good step. It's a needed step.