gehringer_2

the easiest way to cover a lot of faults is for the goal tending to take a big step up when Cossa joins the team and he and a regularly rested Lyon make a stronger pair than they have had in a long time. That's a wish cast, Cossa's NHL game may not match his AHL game, and Lyon might not recapture his January form even with less work; but it is one of few possible chances the Wings have to be significantly better next season.

there are a couple of things with Spencer this year where I'd like to see him adjust. One is that everyone is pitching him away. He has excellent opposite side power, he needs to start tagging some of those pitches to right and get pitchers off that. He did that at one point last season, not sure why so reluctant to go the other way so far this year. The other is just be more aggressive in the strike zone, but I think in this series he has already started doing that a bit.

Physicality is decreasing across the game - I'm sure at least in part because everyone is all too aware of concussion protocols and why they are there.

especially that draft. As per BR, Spencer has out homered anyone else from that 1st (or 2nd) round by a factor of 2x+. Jordan Walker, who went 21st, and was called up last year, has 16 with StL. A couple of the pitchers are doing OK, but not much in the way of hitters from the top of the 2020 draft.

I've said before that I think Seider could play a more dominant overall role but Wings keep him tied down by scheme, which is a complaint about Lalonde. In Lalonde's defense, when you have a group of forwards who are as weak as defenders as this team, it's a lot easier to keep your big horse at home in front of the net than worry about 9 or 10 guys without the hockey sense (or ability really) to understand when to be ready and willing to rotate back so Seider can be more involved across 200 ft.

Skies are a little cloudy for Langford. 2 XBH (0 HR) in 55 AB not likely what a championship team wants in a production position like LF. I'd call it 50/50 which of he or Meadows get sent down 1st. Langford has the "we are not going to admit we were wrong" aspect going for him, Parker has the great D going for him. Still will be neck and neck I think. 🐎🏇

(?) Riley had a 600 OBP at lead off today.

7 hits, 6 bb and 2 bombs is good output day for this team. They just didn't catch the ball well enough today - though of the errors the one on Keith looked more like a bad hop.

piss poor

too many misplays today

Torkelson turning in Mr Stone Hands

you betcha!

Baez ties the game.

Tigers getting zero BaBIP luck

a little smile from the baseball gods that would have put that over throw in the camera well would have been nice....

Please no more headshots featuring Natalie's chewing gum.

forecast has it gone by 6;45. 7:20 to get the tarp off. Would they wait that long to finish it?

teams do get into cap hell, those are about the only waters to fish.

LOL! As he hit the ground ball I was typing "stranded a leadoff triple yesterday and leadoff double today... but they threw it away before I finished!

Just to yank your chain a little, I will argue that my whole approach is that it's statistics that argues that a team that consistently finishes years hitting better than they start them has some forcing function at work early in the season (a roster full of Tony Clarks would truly be an anomaly!). It's easy to just say these hitters are all bad, but they were not bad for significant segments of last year, it's not valid to wish away their previous success in defense of the status quo either. But again, that is why the strength of the evidence turns to a degree on what happens over the next month or so. The possible whys are speculative. Finding causation is usually harder than finding correlation.

Tiger making some loud outs but so far just one run.

exactly - Yzerman talks about the guys you'd like to get never being available. But that still argues that maybe you don't spend the cap just to spend it unless you can keep things to one year so that if somebody you want does become available next year you have the option to move. Rienhart would be interesting - He not playing center but he is listed as one. Better wing than center or Panthers just short of RH sticks?

Save the replay of Canha making a nice running catch in LF for Lee.

busting Parker inside but he almost gets a hold of one anyway.

that's why I'm not focusing on the analytic aspect because there is no particular reason to suppose it's that per se, it may be more the idea of what the 'control the zone' mantra ends up meaning to hitters - do they take it to the point of paralysis instead of a point of practical value? There are any number of things beside scouting that go into how the players do prep/film/work, batting practice, approach their AB. My issue is does the org recognize they may have a problem or are they in denial? You can't fix something if you won't recognize something isn't working. After three years of poor hitting starts out of the box, I think there is a growing rebuttable presumption they need to look at their prep work - again, depending on how this group actually plays out.