As observers of Major League Baseball final scores, standings, and generalized fan anxiety are probably aware -- acutely aware, in some cases -- the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets are presently enduring collapses of varying degrees.

The "greatest" of these is of course the Tigers. As recently as July 9, they held a 14-game lead in the American League Central. The Cleveland Guardians , though, have whittled away at that once-massive deficit, and of late they've made up serious ground. That's because the Guards going into Tuesday's full slate of games are 16-4 in September. At the same time, the Tigers are just 5-13 this month. In large measure because of those dueling recent trends, that 14-game lead is down to one . There are collapses, and then there are core-reactor meltdown

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