Tigers P Jack Flaherty Called Out By Detroit Legend Amid Rough Start Wednesday
The Detroit Tigers recently fell behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the race for MLB's best record heading into the All-Star Break, a situation that many felt was inevitable considering the rash of injuries that has hit manager AJ Hinch's team.
Advertisement
The Tigers took Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday behind two home runs from Riley Greene including a three-run shot that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
On Wednesday night, Tigers starter Jack Flaherty's start to Game 2 of the double header elicited a reaction from a well known Detroit area radio broadcaster.
Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers. © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
"Flaherty a little sketchy these days," Mark Champion, the longtime Detroit Lions and Pistons radio voice, said on his X account Wednesday as Flaherty gave up two runs to the Nationals in the first inning.
Champion, the voice of the world famous Disney World commercial played after Super Bowls are completed, pointed out a sentiment that has been on the minds of hundreds of thousands of Tigers fans in recent weeks.
Advertisement
Flaherty's earned-run average was 4.80 coming into the game and could balloon even higher if he doesn't get things turned around in a hurry.
Flaherty pitched for both the Tigers and Dodgers last season, proving himself as a big game pitcher with the ability to lead his team to a World Series Championship.
The question now is whether Flaherty has enough gas left in the tank to recover his prior form as the Tigers continue to scratch and claw their way toward what they hope will be an American League Central Division pennant.
Related: Tigers Make Big Justyn Henry-Malloy Move After Nationals Game Wednesday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
José Ramírez's three-run homer (15)
Trea Turner gets the party started with his 10th home run of the season! After two-hour and twenty minute rain delay, Trea Turner starts the firework show with a solo home run in the second inning!Trea Turner gets the party started with his 10th home run of the season! originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Despite Detroit's Off-Season Moves, Red Wings Look Primed For Another Mediocre Season
Not all that long ago, the Detroit Red Wings were the gold standard of NHL teams. For an incredible 25 years, the Red Wings were in the Stanley Cup playoffs – and on four occasions from 1997-2008, the Wings won the Cup. In the modern era, you couldn't ask for more from a franchise. And all that success makes it especially painful for Red Wings fans to struggle through what they're currently struggling through – a whopping nine straight years without a post-season appearance. Advertisement In those nine years, the Wings have finished in seventh or eighth place in their division five times. And this past year, they finished sixth in the Atlantic Division. For the most part, the Red Wings' efforts have been nowhere close to good enough, and the increasing degree of fan frustration has never been more evident than it is right now. Of course, things would be different if Detroit GM Steve Yzerman came away from the NHL's recent ffree-agent frenzy with at least a couple of veteran talents to carry them across the finish line and make the playoffs next year. Instead, Yzerman added a goalie in former Anaheim Ducks starter John Gibson – admittedly, an upgrade on what the Wings had in goal – and after that…well, he traded non-factor winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Minnesota Wild, and signed third-line winger Mason Appleton, journeyman winger James van Riemsdyk, and third-pair defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker. Are you impressed by those changes? If you are, you're in the minority. And if you're a Wings fan, you can't help but be pessimistic about this Detroit team's chances of getting back into the post-season next year. Advertisement There are definitely some NHL GMs out there who are feeling the pressure to have their team produce positive results in 2025-26, but Yzerman is probably right at the top of the list of the GMs facing the most pressure. He's been on the job running things in the Motor City since April of 2019, and he has nothing tangible to show for it. Yzerman's incredible playing career has given him a long runway to try and stick the landing as Wings GM, but even hockey icons only get so much time to turn things around before they are added to the list of people who couldn't get the job done as managers. And that's where Yzerman is now in Detroit. Yzerman can point to youngsters in the organization who he believes will step up and help the Red Wings make it to the playoffs next year, but here's a better metric of sorts – which Detroit youngster is truly a generational talent? Defenseman Moritz Seider qualifies in the minds of some observers, so let's be generous and say Seider makes the cut. After that, what current Wings talent is top-10 in the league in any regard? Detroit doesn't have those truly elite, high-end players. And when you miss the playoffs for that many years, you should've been able to draft and develop a couple of top talents. That may be Yzerman's biggest sin as Wings GM – not tanking for top players, which is the most proven way to land the foundational talent needed to compete for Cups over the long haul. Yzerman might've drafted Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard if he'd done that. He may have wound up with San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini if he'd done that. He might've landed New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer if he'd done that. Instead, it's been nothing but mediocrity for the Red Wings, Advertisement From this writer's perspective, if you're not good enough to be a playoff team, you should be doing everything in your power to land a top draft spot. And it has never felt like Yzerman and Co. have been willing to do that. There have been excuses left and right, and as things have unfolded not in Detroit's favor, Yzerman has grown testy with the media and unable to lay out a specific plan Wings fans can look to for comfort. And he also can't point to season-after-season improvement in the win column. And now, the Red Wings are entering a season in which no one will be projecting them to make the playoffs. The defending Cup champion Florida Panthers will be a playoff team next year. The regular-season Atlantic champion Toronto Maple Leafs will also be a playoff team, as will the Tampa Bay Lightning. And after that, the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins will be in a ferocious battle for one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. You can lump the Wings into that latter group, but the reality remains – making the playoffs will be an extremely tall order for Detroit. And if things pan out the way we think they'll pan out and the Red Wings fail to make the playoffs once again, Yzerman will almost assuredly be out of a job, and the process of rebuilding will start over in earnest. That's why this coming season already looks and feels like a wasted year. Detroit ownership has entrusted Yzerman with another season to try and accomplish something positive, but unless he pulls off a minor miracle, Yzerman is going to come away with his hands stuck out and nothing in them. Steve Yzerman (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images) Maybe Yzerman will prove the doubters wrong, and the Wings will sneak into a playoff spot. Even then, does anyone feel like Detroit will be anything other than first-round roadkill? This Red Wings team simply doesn't have the horses to run with the legitimate Cup frontrunners, and just getting into the playoffs can't be the sole goal for Wings management. Advertisement All in all, it feels like it's going to be another long season for the Red Wings, and another year of excuses and frustration is in store for Detroit. And this could be Yzerman's final kick at the can. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Steven Kwan's RBI single deflects off Colton Gordon
Schwarber's RBI double ties it up against the Reds Kyle Schwarber's RBI double in the 5th inning scored Brandon Marsh and got the Phillies on the board against the RBI double ties it up against the Reds originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
