Brent's Sports Blog

Four games, four losses. It's still early but the 2008 Tigers are now being compared to other teams who started a season 0-4. According to Elias Sports Bureau, no team has ever won the World Series after starting a season 0-4, with all four games at home. In fact, few teams have even made the playoffs after starting a season 0-4. None have done it since the 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks. Of the ten teams that have started 0-4 since the '99 D'backs, nine of them finished with losing records.

Here's a compilation several teams who started 0-4, thanks to Danny Knobler at Booth Newspapers:

In the division play era, which began in 1969, there have been just six:

• The 1999 Arizona Diamondbacks lost their first four games, three in extra innings. They were in first place by May 15 with a 21-16 record, and they won the National League West before losing in the playoffs.

• The 1995 Cincinnati Reds lost their first six games, in a season that began late because of a lockout. The Reds got to first place by May 30 with a 19-11 record, then lost in the National League Championship Series to Atlanta.

• The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals (featuring Tigers first-base coach Andy Van Slyke) lost their first four games, two in extra innings. They were in first place by June 21 at 37-27, and went on to win the World Series.

• The 1977 Philadelphia Phillies started 0-4, at home, just as the Tigers have done. They didn't make it to first place until August, but they won the National League East and then lost to Los Angeles in the playoffs.

• The 1974 Pittsburgh Pirates lost their first six games, three in extra innings. They didn't get to .500 until Aug. 12, and didn't get to first place until Aug. 25. They lost to Los Angeles in the playoffs.

• The 1969 Minnesota Twins lost their first four games, including one that went 17 innings. They were in first place a week later, at 5-4, and led most of the season before losing to Baltimore in the playoffs.

Is it time to press the panic button? If they don't stop the bleeding soon, yes. Baseball is not a game where you can just decide to win 12 straight games and hope the team you're chasing in the standings responds by losing 12 straight. If the Tigers are to climb out of this early hole, it may be August before they claim first place in the A.L. Central. Let's hope they start winning today or we'll be pulling stats tomorrow about teams who made it to the World Series after they started a season 0-5. I would be there aren't too many.