Tiger337

I see #1 in the AL Central. That's gets them into the playoffs. Once that happens, anything is possible.

The best part of this arbitration discussion is that it demonstrates that there are posters here that are even nerdier than me. 😉

I didn't think the thread was about arbitration.

No player has ever won an arbitation salary of more than 20 million. However, based on performance the 32 million dollar seems very reasonable to me. I know the arbitation scolds will scold me for that.

Three closers, but still no dominant reliever. That's OK, but I wouldn't say that their bullpen is a real strength. On the other hand, give Hinch some reliever depth and he can take it a long way.

Dombrowski would not have traded McGonigle for a 37 year-old closer. He would have traded Max Anderson for him. He would have traded McGonigle for a young star hitter close to free agency like he did for Cabrera. I don't want that kind of GM. I kind of want a GM with Harris's analytic and patient approach but with some of Dombrowski's boldness on occasion. Maybe, we'll see that eventually with Harris.

I think a lot of time when people mock minor league or waiver acquisitions, they are just being humorous and not being critical.

Complaining about stuff is good for the forum. I think once the season starts, it's best to accept the roster and enjoy the season. Then start complaining again at the deadline!

I don't remember Chas defending the acquistions of Paddack and Morton. He usually defends non-moves rather than moves.

I have one fantasy league that I've been in for about 20 years. Everybody puts in $200 at the beginning of the season. The money is divided among the top 3 in the league at the end of the season. It makes the season more fun, but that's the extent of my gambling activities. I agree it's good to stay out of professional gambling. It is designed to screw you and it feeds off addictions.

Hits like Hornsby. Hustles like Eckstein.

Here, it's mostly just ATF who wants that.

"pitching and three-run homers"

They aren't minimal. They are pervasive. It downgrades the viewing experience for me.

Short sighted maybe, but what part of that is that loony?

I think the long drought and two playoff appearances make it even more likely that fans would complain. They are eager for a winner and they have seen that those opportunities have not been all that common for the Tigers over the years. Fans might not see the Tigers as a team on their way up with the best pitcher in baseball leaving after next year. Some fans might see the Tigers as being there already rather than up and coming. They can win a championship this year and with Skubal leaving we don't know that their chances are necessarily going to better in 2 or 3 years. The future is now.

Tigers fans are pretty bad, but Red Sox fans are worse.

I think every sports forum on the internet has fans that want the GM or manager or both fired.

To an extent, that's probably true, but I think Harris's effect is pretty limited. Hinch/Fetter were quite good at managing the bullpen even before Harris came aboard.

What else were they going to do though? They had injuries and then Harris traded two of their best remaining pitchers at the deadline (and I don't blame Harris for that). They had no choice but to go to bullpen games. The genius was not in the plan but how it was executed. I have to give most of the credit to day to day management and to the pitchers.

Minor league contract for Dugan Darnell. 🔥🔥🔥 https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2026/01/06/detroit-tigers-dugan-darnell-free-agency/87941082007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z115125p119650c119650u113725d00----v115125&gca-ft=226&gca-ds=sophi

The best I can see from him is a Jahmai Jones type season (and that did have value) but that's going to hard for Jones to repeat.

Someone with an OPS of .840 could play most of the time at DH. Rooker and Ozuna had OPS significantly lower than that, played mostly DH and had value. The problem is I don't see Malloy hitting .370/.470 over enough plate appearances to be valuable.

That would be quite valuable if he could do it. So far, he has not been close.

I think that was a good cheap move by Tampa. They can see if they are able to pull more out of his one strong tool. I doubt they can, but it's worth a shot.