Are Tigers Fans Proud to Watch Skubal in the Playoffs?

We are well into October, and so far, the MLB postseason has played out pretty much exactly as the Detroit Tigers expected it would a few months ago when they opted to trade away Tarik Skubal.

The trade itself was jarring. Anytime a team trades away a two-time Cy Young Award winner and arguably the best pitcher in baseball instead of doing everything it can to retain him, things get dicey for that organization and its fans.

In Detroit's case, though, many fans understood that the organization was not going to be able to re-sign Skubal. That left general manager Scott Harris with one option: trade him away and get as much value as possible in return.

The Tigers did just that, sending Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a package headlined by top-tier prospects.

Now, fast-forward a few months.

The Dodgers are facing the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS while the Tigers sit at home, on vacation in Cancun or, hopefully, in the batting cages at a training facility working on their craft. Whatever they are doing, it is not postseason baseball.

For the first time in three years, the Tigers are watching October from the outside after finishing 10 games under .500.

And now Tigers fans are doing something all too familiar: watching an ex-Tiger chase history.

Except this isn't just any former Tiger.

This is an amazing pitcher who defined an era in Detroit and could ultimately go down as a Tigers legend. Now, he is wearing another uniform and chasing the one thing he never got in Detroit: a World Series championship.

Tigers fans went through something similar about a decade ago when two of their most beloved pitchers, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, departed for different teams and eventually helped those teams win World Series titles.

Now, Tigers fans are being forced to watch Skubal and the Dodgers chase another championship.

And if the Dodgers win, it would be their third consecutive World Series title.

Are the Dodgers truly defying the odds? Not really. Their payroll is absurd, and, honestly, it is part of a larger problem that is ruining baseball.

But perhaps that is exactly why some Tigers fans should be hoping the Dodgers win. Maybe it finally forces Major League Baseball to have a serious conversation about competitive balance, regardless of what that conversation ultimately means for the future of the sport.

But that is a topic for another day.

Right now, the question is much simpler: Are Tigers fans actually excited to watch Skubal dominate the playoffs?

Skubal dominated in his first NLDS appearance, going six strong innings while allowing just two hits and one run and striking out seven batters. He now owns a 1.50 ERA throughout the postseason and continues to look like the true ace he has been for years.

With the Dodgers looking like a legitimate threat to reach a third consecutive World Series, Tigers fans are once again watching a former star chase a championship somewhere else.

And I don't think Tigers fans are necessarily cheering for Skubal this time around.

Detroit sports fans as a whole have lived through this.

Matthew Stafford spent more than a decade with the Lions before being traded to the Los Angeles Rams, only to win a Super Bowl shortly afterward.

So when does the question become bigger than just one player?

Why does this keep happening to Detroit?

Why does the organization refuse to pay what it takes to keep the best pitcher in baseball in town?

Is it financial constraints? Is it ownership refusing to spend what it should in a sport without a salary cap? Is it an inability to properly value a player like Skubal? Or is there simply a fear of returning to the dark days the Tigers experienced after the Dave Dombrowski and Mike Ilitch era?

There is an answer somewhere.

And maybe Tigers fans don't actually want to know what it is, because finding out might make watching Skubal win somewhere else hurt even more.

So, Tigers fans, what do you think?

Are you happy for Tarik Skubal and rooting for him to win a World Series, or are you tired of watching Detroit's best players leave and win championships somewhere else?