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It doesn’t seem possible, but the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians have met 11 times this season, and the Tigers are still searching for victory number one. The game of baseball almost never goes quite like that.
Divisional opponents meet so often during the regular season that eventually, every handful of games, one squad gets a great pitching performance or a big day at the plate, and they win a ballgame. Maybe one club beats the other five times in a row, seven or eight if things get crazy. But this is Cleveland 11, Detroit 0, with many of the victories coming in blowout fashion.
As if it wasn’t enough that the Cavaliers are now the darlings of the NBA, the baseball field has become Cleveland’s haven as well. The Tigers will try their darnedest to put an end to the madness this afternoon, sending their most reliable hurler, Michael Fulmer, to the hill.
But it’s not the only Detroit-related mismatch we’ve seen in recent years. There have been similar instances in other sports that no matter what happens, the hometown club cannot seem to get over the hump.
You’ve been forewarned...this won’t be pretty.
Pistons vs. Jazz
There have been more celebrated NBA franchises than the Utah Jazz, but for whatever reason, they have always been kryptonite to the Detroit Pistons. By percentage, the Pistons have been worst against the Boston Celtics. That makes sense considering at different stages, the C’s have lorded over the entire league.
But the next most difficult opponent for the Detroiters has been the Jazz. 92 games played in this head-to-head history and just 35 wins. And if you are just talking about the games played in the Jazz’ current digs, the numbers get downright scary.
The Jazz started playing ball in the Delta Center in 1991. Since that time, the name changed a couple of times, most recently to the super corporate-sounding Vivint Smart Home Arena; but the results for the Pistons have not fluctuated in the least. There have been 24 meetings in this building, and the Pistons have emerged victorious on a scant four of those occasions.
Next time you’re considering a little vacation to go watch the Pistons play somewhere on the road, fight the urge to visit the great state of Utah. You won’t be going home happy.
Lions vs. Packers (especially in Wisconsin)
It’s obviously not difficult to find an unfavorable head-to-head history when referring to the Detroit Lions. Of the 31 other franchises in the NFL, the Lions have a better-than-.500 record against only six of them.
Similar to Pistons vs. Jazz, the Lions-Packers ledger has always been lopsided, but becomes impossibly one-sided when strictly talking about games on the road. Before the Lions somehow managed to escape Lambeau this past November with a strange 18-16 victory, they had been defeated in their last 24 trips to the state of Wisconsin.
Oh, and let’s not forget that Thursday night last-second debacle from this past season. With the Lions leading and the Packers needing a whopping 61 yards on the final play, Jim Caldwell readied his team for a “hook and ladder” routine when it was clear to the 60,000 other people at Ford Field that a Hail Mary was fast approaching. Rodgers dropped back, lofted one to the end zone, and Richard Rodgers basically caught the pass with little to no interruption. It was one of the cleaner 60+ yard heaves you will ever see.
Michigan vs. Ohio State (post John Cooper era)
For a long time, this was a rivalry dominated by the Wolverines. Ohio State would triumph here and there, but for the most part, Michigan would break up the little streak and get back to their winning ways. That is, until Jim Tressel came along.
In 2000, the Buckeyes gave Wolverine whipping boy John Cooper the boot. The replacement was a little-known coach from Youngstown State, but Tressel made a name for himself quickly. He’d go on to roam the sidelines for ten Michigan-Ohio State battles and lose just once. Nine wins to one defeat in what is widely considered the fiercest rivalry in all of sports; even taking into account that Tressel’s program was discovered to be a little dirty, it is shocking that there hasn’t been a head coaching job for him since.
Things have been just as blue for the Maize & Blue since Tressel departed. Michigan grabbed a wild 40-34 W in the first post-Tressel year. Unfortunately, Urban Meyer came aboard in 2012 and it’s been all OSU since; four games played, four Buckeye wins, which means Michigan is a horrific 2-13 in this rivalry since Punching Bag Cooper was shown the door. Any way to get that guy back in the fold??
