1984Echoes

It's a long list of broken Tigers that are coming back from injury or need to have their bat/ approach fixed: Meadows Rogers Turnbull Mize (2024) Faedo Skubal (s/b 2023 mid-season?) Kreidler (partial) Eduardo (partial) Greene (partial) Baddoo (broken bat) Torkelson (broken bat) Baez (partial broken bat) Schoop (broken bat). I'm sure there are several others I haven't mentioned. Of all of these candidates, I think only Baez and Schoop are actual regression to the mean candidates. All the others are recoveries from lost time or, too new to the league to actually have an established mean (Baddoo/ Tork). That's why I would call this the Year of Fixing Broken Players. As for Baez, I think he already healed himself the second half of last season, to a degree... and I think the emphasis on approach by the new regime will also help him. So I expect some significant improvement on his part. Schoop I think can regress to the mean both at bat (getting better) and in the field (getting worse)... and he's both getting too old for where this team is at, and is at the end of his contract so I don't really care much about him as a player for the Tigers. Not in a mean way, I'm just ready to move on. Same with Miggy... who has no mean left to regress to. He's just playing out the last year of his career... whatever that amounts to. Probably not a whole lot. And there is also a long list of newbies too new to actually know what their mean is... and I would rather liken them to growth curve newbies trying to establish their mean level... I think Greene can get substantially better and establish a high-level mean, as can Tork! Not certain about other guys like Kreidler/ Baddoo/ Wentz/ Brieske/ Lange/ can amount to. Or how much growth they have left. Haase I think, he is what he has shown himself to be. So no learning curve from him. He has already established, and performed to his mean. Is that the same with Maton & Vierling? Have they shown/ performed exactly who they are at this point...? The Learning Curve Growth Candidates (a mean not yet established) to me are: Greene Tork! Manning (How much better can he get? Can he get better? Has he established his mean or is there still room for growth?) Kreidler Baddoo Carpenter Wentz Brieske Lange (maybe a little bit?) Donny Sands (whatever MLB time he's able to earn this year) Wenceel Perez (whatever MLB time he's able to earn this year) Justyn-Henry Malloy (whatever MLB time he's able to earn this year) Tyler Nevin (whatever MLB time he's able to earn this year) Reese Olson (whatever MLB time he's able to earn this year) I don't even want to get into the bullpen, that will be crazy. Except for Lange and only in the sense that I don't know if he has still some room to grow, or not.

I'm going to go with 2023 Tigers MVP: Fixed all the broken Tigers.

In 1973 Topps style.

Darn... I just caught up with the rest of the thread... Poor word choice on my part.

Actuary... One of my choices in college as I thought what to do with my mathematics background... Actuarial headwinds are a bitch...

I believe they are already in possession of the 12 Challengers and in training with them...?

No, I don't think that's it. I think it's the other old people issue (and I'm getting really close to that I think...): Likes, dislikes, hatreds and animosities ossify.

Can't wait to see what Malloy looks like at 3rd and against MLB pitching... Might be July-ish for that though...

Metaphorically speaking... that is.

I don't know about rope-adope... They're coming in large waves... I think they (the Russian invading hordes) are being sprayed with insect killer.

I think Noel gets moved. I am 99% certain. The question is: does 1 of Bey/ Burks/ Bojan get moved? I don't think it will be more than one. But will it even be one? I think yes... but only 50% certain on this...

Oh... Is he?

Guys (positions) I'd like to get in the top 2 or 3 rounds: Pass-Rushing DT (3-technique like Carter, or a DE who could swing inside on passing downs, like Murphy or Wilson or Andre Carter II). OG (either for depth behind Vaitai or as a replacement starter...) Starting quality CB Coverage or sideline-to-sideline LB'er. Eventual starter quality if not immediate. Primary backup RB. I don't care if it's Bijan, Jahmyr, or a Charbonnet/ Tank Bigsly type... I'll let Holmes sort that out.... I just want one more high end guy for our RB stable. Safety. Could become eventual starter or primary backup... but I'd like another high end talent in that room for depth. A QB if Holmes decides he likes a guy and we spend a pick on one. If he doesn't, I'll just move on. If he expends a pick on a QB in the 1st 3 rounds... I'll get on the bandwagon. We (Holmes) will be easily able to utilize extra high round picks if the Panthers do indeed panic and trade up into our spot... IMO.

I want the Panthers to panic for a QB and give us a boatload of picks to drop from #6 to #9.

NOW!!!

But that apparently is just me. Don't care.

Nope. I'm thinking Hendon Hooker falls to the 2nd or 3rd round. I'm thinking Hendon Hooker will turn into a Jalen Hurts. If Holmes selects him... I'm on board. If we miss out or choose different players, I move on.

I thought her cleverness reigned supreme...!

And everyone was on board with it too! Except one person... I loved how Anya Taylor-Joy (as the Escort who didn't belong there) thought her way through the situation...

Huh? What? I would have no issue whatsoever if we drafted Jalen Hurts, Jimmy Garoppolo, Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, Geno Smith (even as he ends up a backup), and maybe even Henne (who would definitely end up as a backup). Geno probably could have turned into a much better, earlier better, starting QB if he hadn't gone to the Jets, who F'd him big-time. And as for team building... I trust in Holmes.

I had a fever dream that 3 defenders and 2 QB's went in the top 5... And Carolina, desperate, traded their 1st, two 2nds, and 3rd rounder in 2023 to move up from #10 to #6 so they could select Will Levis. I woke up in a sweat...

Ned's playing better down in GR with a .921 Save %-age. Vrana scored 2 goals tonight. Zadina scored 1. Soderblom with an assist and a SO winning score. Johansson and Edvinsson with an assist each.

I think someone is going to take a shot in the 2nd or 3rd round with him. I certainly don't believe he falls all the way to the 5th. I'm not certain about CB's... there will be a heavy run on them in the 1st and early 2nd. Safeties, LB'ers and RB's... yes. But I'm tossing in Hooker as, I think he is the one guy who can develop into a more than competent backup, and possibly even into a Jalen Hurts type. I don't care that he's 25, and I don't care that he basically will take a redshirt year next year. Fine, he can learn behind Goff and whatever veteran we sign to be #2 behind Goff in 2023. He takes over as backup by the end of next season, or if not, in 2024. If he pushes Goff out of a job (2024/2025?) more power to him, and if he doesn't, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there... But I'm not opposed to drafting him. And if Holmes agrees... then I'm not going to squawk and... I'll hope for the best.

Who was discussing Hendon Hooker earlier? I'm warming to him with one of our 2nd round picks...

If Anderson & Carter go in the top 5, as they should based on talent alone... Then the choice is between Murphy, Wilson, Christian Gonzalez (if he's the best CB), or Bijan Robinson (again, based on talent alone). So... how do we rank those 4? And to answer your question: I think yes on the 3 QB's. But that still doesn't change the fact that Carter & Anderson are top 5 guys, and the others are the "best of the rest". If only two QB's are taken in the top 5, then there is still the choice of whoever falls to us. But at least at this point, I highly doubt either of those two slip out of the top 5. On the other hand...: If it's Carter, I'm with buddha and thinking Campbell/ Holmes and Co. will have taken him off the Lions Board if he doesn't love the game enough and won't even consider him... although maybe that means a trade down opportunity. If it's Anderson... well, I have EXTREME difficulty in believing that he'll be the guy who falls, even if 3 QB's are in the top 5. But if it is him, well... no-brainer.