The Tigers have clinched

The Tigers have clinched!

They came on like gangbusters in Aug-Sept, and actually clinched their division before the Phillies did! (The Phillies have clinched a tie.)

The Tigers are probably not as good as you think, or as good as their record would indicate (as of now they have a better W-L record than the Red Sox). They ran up a great record in a very weak division, but were just 42-42 against non-division opponents. In comparison, the Blue Jays are hopelessly out of the playoffs in their killer division, yet have a 45-38 record against non-division opponents.

However, the Tigers have Verlander, who will start twice in a five-game series, and that guy is smokin'! That alone makes them mighty tough against anyone in the first round of the AL post-season. At this point the playoff picture is unclear. If the season ended today, the Tigers would have the home-field advantage against Boston, but everything could change with just a couple of wins or losses here and there. The Tigers can't relax now that they've clinched. Assuming that the Yankees will win and the Red Sox will get the wild card, the Tigers have to get more wins than the winner of the West. Between those two teams, the one with more wins will get home field advantage against the Red Sox, while the other will have to start the post-season as a visitor at Yankee Stadium.