sabretooth

I just responded to this directly above.

Yes, hitting was a much bigger problem this year....I wasnt trying to hone in on the most likely position to fix, I was just using Pham as an example of the kind of player they might get....most importantly, he will not be an impact hitter, which we clearly need, likely several of them. But I really think that their starting pitching is going to be a bigger problem, and they are more likely to have decent hitting than decent starting pitching, especially if they cant keep guys healthy. There's something about all of these injuries to their starting pitchers that worries me. For as good as Fetters is at getting the most out of guys when they're pitching, there has been an incredible number of injuries. At a certain point you have to wonder if it's not just bad luck.

yeah, thats a very realistic scenario.

The bottom line is I think they're ceiling is probably 500 or so, and maybe they get lucky and win a little more, shop at the ASB, and eek into the playoffs. I give that 10:1 odds against, but its the best theyve got with a crummy owner.

It pains me to say this but I think the greatest likelihood of success, relatively speaking, next year and the year after that, are for the Tigers to basically stay the course. I want Avila gone, and he should be gone, but I have no confidence that Chris I would hire a new GM that would be significantly better than Avila even though I'm confident that Avila sucks. I don't have much confidence in our assemblage of players in the organization, but whether its Avila or someone else, they are not likely to get markedly better players. My guess is that Chris has maxed out his payroll, and theres not enough being freed up from Grossman to make a splash in 2023. They will likely get some OF like Tommy Pham or something, which is OK, but the so-so starting pitching is going to hold them back from being a playoff team, and I dont see them fixing that with this owner/FO combination.

yes

Yes. And of course that is what Billy Beane has always done (I'm not claiming that you said otherwise, BTW). What Billy Beane has NEVER done is to build "tanking" teams as a strategy with the specific intention of maximizing losing year after year after year after year in order to amass top picks. And I will wager that he's not doing that here and now, either (again, not claiming that you and I disagree on this, though if you do, feel free to argue the case of course).

Yep

Billy Beane is not cool with it.

hahahaahahahahahaaaa

Oh my!!!

Soto: certified tradeable.

Yeah, why the hell not?

Since the middle of June, the only two guys on the Tigers with a Hard Hit % over 30% are: - Haase 34.4 - Greene 31.8 Everybody else, including Baez, is below 30% over that period. The only guys with LD% over 19%: - Harold (33% vs. 25% Hard Hits) - Robbie (25 v 29) - Schoop (25 v 22) - Greene (24 v 32) - Willi (23 v 25) - Miggy (21 v 18) Everybody else is below 19% LD and below 30% Hard Hits. I have never seen anything like this. Last year, ALL of the regulars were above 19% LD and only Robbie was below 30% Hard Hits. Just incredible.

How does Harold factor into that play?

How the hell is Lou not in the Hall

Cmon! BOTH of our middle infielders are asleep on the same play!

Yeah, he'd better

😲😲 Whoa! Barnhart!!!

pfft like fun competitive baseball means anything, dude. Give me a ring or give me 115 losses and the top pick. Everything else is a waste of time baby. /kl2

Confused looking at-bat for Baddoo. Takes two balls, swings late on the breaking ball, whiffs on a high fastball, takes a called 3rd strike.

That's like a grandslam for Barnhart.

Yeah, I never understood the enthusiasm for him. I get that he was considered to be plus defensively, but with his offense he would be an OK catcher, *maybe* a good one, but nothing to get excited about, even at his best.

I never liked this acquisition. I didn't think he would be THIS bad, but when you factor in his age, the NL/AL league switch, the new deader baseballs, he just went from being bad to being invisible offensively. His LD% actually was always good, in the mid-20's...this year, it's at an impossible 12.9%, something I've never seen from a regular player. His FBs have cratered to 30%, and now he's hitting over 55% GB. His Hard% is at 20%! How is this possible? And he's gotten WORSE in July, with an RC+ of 27! There is simply no way that his defense could ever be worth starting him again. He's fine as a defensive backup, but he should never hit.

I think this is the right take. His hitting has rebounded to normal in the last 6 weeks while his fielding seems to have slipped. My fear going forward is that his dreadful start to 2022 (which I think has been caused by a combination of the change in baseballs, the league switch, and probably a 1st contract year letdown, rather than a skill decline, as evidenced by his rebound to normal hitting) will certainly result in a crummy overall 2022 stat line, and if his skills do decline somewhat next year, as he reaches 30 years of age, he will decide that the grass is greener $$-wise here and we will be stuck with his huge contract and mediocre or worse production through 2027....and if the team is not competing, he will have more "lost weekend" lapses in play.