The Detroit Tigers have been out of playoff contention for quite some time. But if they need some extra incentive to pull out a win on what’s shaken out to be an all-important final day of the regular season, Joe Maddon is willing to provide some.
“I was going to offer up my RV for at least two months,” the Cubs skipper joked when asked if he reached out to Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire prior to Detroit’s Game 162 matchup with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs and Brewers entered the season’s final day tied atop the National League Central standings, and the games at Wrigley Field and Miller Park will determine which team wins the division title — or if there’s a one-game playoff Monday on the North Side.
The Cubs probably won’t get any favors from the rival St. Louis Cardinals, and even a win doesn’t guarantee anything but a 163rd game Monday. But perhaps a joking attempt at buttering up the Tigers could make the difference between the Cubs playing Monday or waiting until Thursday, the start of the NLDS.
Maddon and Gardenhire go back, of course, both managerial veterans of Florida-based spring trainings. And Maddon relayed that Gardenhire helped him in his own recreational-vehicle evolution, which explained why two months in what Maddon calls the “Cousin Eddie” is such a enticing offer.
“Gardy’s a big RV’er, also,” Maddon said. “He and I used to talk all the time in spring training. He’s the one who really gave me the nerve to step up to that 40-, 45-foot RV because I was still in the 30-foot range at that point, I was a novice.
“And we actually talked about going pink slips on 75 (that’s I-75, which runs down the Gulf Coast of Florida) just to see who had the faster RV. He’s such a good fellow. But I’d be happy to offer up two months of the ‘Cousin Eddie’ for a win today.”
MLB
So what do you say, Tigers? Any interest in that offer?
Facetious offers aside, the Cubs would appreciate the boys from the Motor City raining on the Brewers’ parade.