DETROIT – In honor of the late, great Joe Falls, it's a Fish Fry Friday.

Rejoice, if you want to.

But the loss of Tigers' closer Joe Nathan for the season is no reason to celebrate.

Nathan, MLB's active save leader, will have season-ending Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with tears of his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor pronator on Thursday.

Nathan said he's not going to retire, but instead will have his second reconstructive elbow procedure.

"Obviously, it's not good for Joe or us," Tigers' manager Brad Ausmus said about Nathan, who hadn't pitched for the Tigers since Opening Day and had 377 career saves, seventh all-time.

It's a huge loss that could ultimately kill the Tigers' chances to win a first World Series since 1984.

Before you say Nathan was no good in Motown and Joakim Soria is the man - he's been perfect in save chances since taking over for Nathan - the Tigers were expecting both of these guys to solidify the back end of the bullpen.

They needed both, not one. The Tigers are now short in the pen.

Take a look at the New York Yankees' back end of the bullpen. It's scary good.

It's why the Yankees won three straight from the Tigers, including Thursday's 2-1 victory at Comerica Park.

Set-up man Dellin Betances retired four straight after coming in with two on and two out in the seventh. And Andrew Miller, the Yanks' closer, went through the heart of the Tigers' lineup with ease in the bottom of the ninth, getting out Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez on just seven pitches to pick up the save.

Yankees' manager Joe Girardi knows it's a big loss for the Tigers, calling Nathan a winner.

"The thing you can say about Joe Nathan is that he was really tested, because he was on a ton of playoff teams and had a ton of success," he said.

Face it. That's why GM Dave Dombrowski signed Nathan to that two-year, $20-million pact. He thought Nathan was the missing piece and would solve the Tigers' bullpen issues that had plagued them recently in the postseason.

Nathan's departure makes things worse than fans might think. Sure, he had a rocky 2014 when fans gave him the nickname "Sloppy Joe."

But the Tigers honestly hoped he'd bounce back this season and be the rock that he had been most of his career.

It's a huge loss fans don't realize yet because they are too busy celebrating.

Tigers' Warts

The Tigers' 11-2 start was definitely impressive. Everything was working - hitting, great defense, stellar pitching and little use for the bullpen.

But all of that has changed in the last two series against the White Sox and Yankees. In fact, the Tigers have now lost three straight and four of their last six.

They open a three-game set against the Cleveland Indians, starting tonight at Comerica Park.

Granted, no one expected the Tigers to win at the clip they started at. Still, many are surprised that despite winning 11 of their first 13 games, they aren't even in first place in the division.

That's because the division isn't as easy as it once was when the Tigers won the last four AL Central titles.

Plus, the Tigers have plenty of flaws that you didn't see during the hot start.

The hitting has disappeared, scoring just nine runs in the four-game series against the Yankees. The pitching isn't lights out, either.

The Tigers are a long way from clinching a playoff spot.

Wings' Loss Epic

Sure, the best-of-seven playoff series against the Wings and Tampa Bay is tied at 2-2.

But if you're honest, it certainly felt as if the series was over after the Wings blew a 2-0 lead in the third period and lost 3-2 quickly in overtime.

Instead of taking a commanding 3-1 lead, they are now heading to Tampa and the Lightning have all the momentum after stealing Game 4 at the Joe.

Some will try to convince themselves it's OK since the Wings stole Game 1 in Tampa, but it's not the same.

Game 5 is Saturday in Tampa.

"There's no time to hang your heads," Drew Miller told the media after the game.

When the series is over and the Wings are ousted from the playoffs in the first round, they will look back at Thursday night's game and realize it sealed their fate.