1984Echoes

Lee's suggestion is a good one for the OF: Jung Hoo Lee. Good Outfielder, high contact rates/ very high OBP/ controls the strike zone (a Harris requirement), a bit of speed and a bit of power. How that translates into MLB? Dunno. Won't be a monster power guy. But could be good at everything else.

They SHOULD be nitpicked to death. Otherwise, the team makes a STUPID signing like Jordan Zimmerman, or Javier Baez. I'm not interested in the team making more stupid signings. You are? In fact, I am hoping that Harris is a guy that avoids dumb decisions like that.

This. But on this part... While it's not their "job"... It IS their opportunity...

This is the point I've been making the past two days. Republicans in districts won by Biden/ in Blue states... WANT to separate themselves from MAGA. The HAVE to... they have to show themselves as moderate Republicans/ willing to work bipartisan. This is their chance. A dozen? Two dozen? 40 or so moderate Republican Representatives (I believe it's around 40 or so) combined with Dems gets the deal that the Dems want, as well as getting what the moderate Republicans want, the Speaker that moderate Republicans want, as well as discrediting the fascist wing of the party,

So VACATE him. I don't trust him either. Not for one second.

MAGA Representatives do not have the votes. It's why Dems should make a deal with Problem Solvers Republicans and vote to elect a moderate Republican Speaker. Voting ONLY for Jefferies is asinine. The only thing better than working with Republicans willing to go bipartisan, is getting concessions from McCarthy to keep his Speakership. Like G2 said, start with the Hastert Rule... but don't stop there.

I wanna see two things from Jaymo: on the same page with Goff on timing and such; and catching multiple passes per game. The rest will take care of itself IMO.

PS: THIS, I've noticed... 😉

PS: Yes. But there will still be holes to fix as I noted above. Think Steve Kemp traded for Chet Lemon.

Probably...

The key to this IMO is how effective a pitcher is going through a lineup multiple times (at least twice, thrice is better... but it has to be at least 2 times...); if a pitcher can face a lineup more than once in a game and be effective then that guy deserves to be a starter. I look at Faedo and think he'd be a great multiple inning reliever, but not as good as a starter. Although G2 mentioned blister problems so if that is fixed, and was holding him back or killing his effectiveness by the time he faces a lineup a 2nd time.... maybe he still has hope as a starter? TBD I think. Either way, we have a lot of rotation candidates and a lot of multiple inning guys and Hinch & Harris are going to have to sort them all out.

Filling in key spots or acquiring a skillset that we are missing.

The 70's ruined me. Of COURSE every Tiger prospect is going to be great! I already SEEN it HAPPEN!!!

1977. Steve Kemp, Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell all broke into MLB in 1977. Although only Kemp produced that year. The other 3 were Sept. callups I believe that ramped up in 1978. Oh... Tim Corcoran in 1977 too... 😉

The 2nd one. Gaetz gets burned in the second scenario as well.

I don't want barely average guys. I think our competitiveness will ramp up VERY quickly. Even if we hit only 85-ish wins next year... IMO, this team is going to have a very large growth curve from 2024-2027... we'll see how high we can get with that... Which means I don't want barely average guys. I'm looking at the top of the market, for any position player or pitcher - starter or reliever - add Harris can swing. If someone is not any better than Manning Mize or Olson, why even look at them? Same with Lange. Same with Keith/ Malloy/ Jung. Same with Carpenter. If we're not looking at guys who are improvements on any of those guys... than why are we even looking? So.. starters: Yamamoto or Snell. Closer: Hader. OF'er: Jung Hoo Lee, or Soto or Tatis. 3B'man? Maybe Westburg is an ace fielder there and we can wrangle him away from the Orioles without a crazy cost, and he'd be better at 3B (and provide just enough offense) than anyone else we could put there. That makes it a sensible move I believe. Hader is a HUGE improvement over ANYONE that we currently have in the BP. He makes everyone better by putting them in a position to succeed rather than having to overreach their abilities. He's a sensible signing. IMO.

Also, maybe it will just take a little while for Campbell to diagnose NFL plays faster and until then he's slower to the ball. I believe it took Barnes 2-3 years before he started diagnosing plays faster...?

Alternatively, because I don't think the Orioles will let go of their 20-something IF'ers that are already in Baltimore... I would look at AAA for a blocked IF'er... That would be Coby Mayo, who plays 3B (and also 1B), is RH'ed with power. I don't know if he's that great of a fielding 3B'man.... but I think the only way you pull a Westburg out of Baltimore is for them to have a better 2B option... Or for them to like Mayo better than Westburg and move Gunnar from 3B to 2B (he's played SS so I'm just guessing that he could handle 2B without any issues...); making Westburg available.

ZINGGGG!!!! 😉

PS: On Soto or Tatis... I'm signing Bellinger and sticking him at 1B; and then trading Tork, Carpenter, and whatever else is required for Tatis. Let the Padres take a chance on Tork's (potential) further development and I'll take Bellinger and Tatis. Just a thought...

So that means if Eduardo opts out, and maybe even if he doesn't, then it's: Yamamoto first priority. Blake Snell second priority. Everybody else is a weak move. I'm still Yamamoto and Hader or bust.

Oh wait... I think I got you... Is it really that bad (without looking...)?

This guy? https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/uriasju01.shtml I'm not getting your point. The guy I am referencing (per BB-Ref above), is 27 and a FA pitcher this offseason if I have that correct. 1.1 career WHIP as a starter for the Dodgers, 9 K's/9 and 2.4 BB's/9 for a 3.7 K-BB ratio... sounds EXACTLY like a Harris type of starter. Who are you referencing that's pitched his last inning in MLB?

If you're trying to win 95+ games, and not 85-ish... I believe he is a necessary component. Not the ONLY component to go from 85 to 95... but IMO, a necessary one.

A few more thoughts on Hader: 1) Career numbers = 0.95 WHIP, 15 K's/ 9, 4.9 hits per 9. 2) But I'm not really signing him for his career numbers, at least not exclusively. I'm signing him for wins. I'm not looking for my first sign to be a Boyd or Lorenzen-type (not to misdirect, but I'm going to go through a rotation signing philosophy to illustrate using the same philosophy that I want in a Bullpen signing). I'm looking at Urias or Yamamoto, a potential top of the rotation starter (#1 or 2, whatever works with Skubal). Julio Urias is 27, but how do you get him away from the Dodgers? Yamamoto is 25 and the Tigers only need to win the Posting amount, and then pay a contract to him. To me, the money doesn't factor in this decision. Only potential wins; and Urias/ Yamamoto are best bets for adding wins by starting pitching, AND ALSO "SETTLING" the rotation (conceivably... all the best laid plans of mice and men and such...). Or at least helping to settle it. The SAME thing goes for Hader. He doesn't have to be Rivera. I don't care if he costs $20 mill/ year for 3 or 4 years... he will get this team WINS by being shut-down in the 9th, and, this is important... he will SETTLE the bullpen and be a leader there. IMO. 3) Does being a leader mean showing the rest of the guys a special pitch/ or grip he has that improves everyone? I don't know anything about that so maybe yes maybe no. But I think he ends up at least a leader by just being there because it means that no one with lesser "stuff" or make-up ends up out of place as the "closer". It means set up guys can be set up guys, rather than putting Lange there by default. The trickle down effect improves the BP overall. And gets us more wins. I'm hunting 95+ wins. I'm NOT looking for half-measures. Again, I could care less about Chris Ilitch's money, and he's said he will spend it... so... the time is now Chris. 4) There is one other oddball point I want to call out for in favor of Hader. Again from a leadership point of view. We have a kid in AA who is mowing down guys at 13 K's/9, sometimes he's up to 15 K's/9, giving up 6 hits per 9. I'd like to see him make it to MLB mid-to-late 2024, or maybe in 2025. Tyler Mattison. I'd like to see him in set up. I'd like to see Hader take him under his wing and groom the kid for us, for the future. This is obviously just a personal want. But there you have it. I have my reasons for wanting Hader. Most of those reasons revolve around winning more games. The cost of his contract is meaningless to me. And I have other reasons for wanting him as I've outlined above. My mantra this offseason is: Yamamoto and Hader or bust. If we get them, anything else we do on TOP of that is just gravy to me... If we don't get them, and make weaker moves: then I'll call it out as exactly what I think those moves are: weak.