gehringer_2

yeah - we are still waiting this FO to come up with their Hershell Walker trade. 🔥

I go back to what I always maintain, you can't really rely on increasing you roster value in trades. Trades are only really useful when you have guys that are blocked whose value you can't utilize, otherwise you will on average give up as much as you get. The idea that you trade yourself into being better is an arm-chair GM fantasy for a team like the Tigers that is resource poor to begin with. You can only do what Dombrowski did, which was keep adding $$ in your trades - buying roster value in each trade. That can certainly work...for a while.

You have those two issues with a 1b though. One is plays on batted balls, one is fielding throws. In his current state Tork is much better at the latter than the former but you *have* to have the latter if Baez remains your shortstop. Put an Alan Trammell over there and it's absolutely a different overall defensive calculation. Javy is terribly undisciplined in his throws and he gets a pass because he is otherworldly with the glove, but it all relates; you can't get the value of Javy's glove without a 1B who is above average at managing his throws.

and you can see how Harbaugh was the perfect foil for this. While he's not full out delusional, Harbaugh is definitely a guy that entertains a skewed perspective of many things. He's exactly the kind of person that would really believe he was right about something most other people would look at, shake their heads and say "Jim, I think you're wrong"

OTOH, they could fall back if they don't come up with equal or greater pitching replacements for ERod and Lorenzen and doing that is not a sure thing. Right now too much the in house pitching depth is trending toward back of the rotation - Faedo, Olsen, Wentz, Manning and I'm also getting the feeling Turnbull is damaged goods.

Weird to be talking about 6 more weeks of AAA in late August.

Can I give all my likes to one post?

The roller under the glove was a bad play - just lack of concentration making sure his glove was all the way down. The dropped throw was at least a much Baez. Lesson one for MIFs should be "don't throw the ball at the 1B's feet. I'm beginning to understand why Tony Rizzo won 4 gold gloves and why Baez would have been moved to 2b a long time ago if he hadn't had the good fortune to play with such a superlative 1b. Also why Hinch never gives Torkelson a day off. Playing a part time 1B opposite javy would be cruel and unusual punishment. Look up "loose cannon" in the dictionary and you're going to see Javy's right arm. I'm not sure I've ever seen a SS who can NEVER just make a decent chest high throw. He's like Brandon Inge x 10. At least Inge usually only made a tough throw after making a tough catch like a hard dive. Javy actually throws better after the tough plays, it's his routine catches theat generate so many of his tough dig outs at 1B.

/..Checks calendar -- says Tuesday../ You nailed it

Michigan is pleading guilty to a cheeseburger and daring the NCAA to actually prove anything more. It's a strategy that could work.

this is an interesting question. On one side is the argument that you just tell him to go back to doing what he knows how to do and stop worrying about K's. Javy would certainly not be the 1st hitter who put up a better OPS with he stopped worrying about trying to be a 'good' hitter. OTOH, the story from the Tigers is that Javy has to change anyway because the way he hit when he was 22 doesn't work even from a physical standpoint for a 30 old so they are trying coach toward a different approach. You can either believe they are right or believe 30 yr ball players seldom have success trying to go away from what got them to the majors in the 1st place. Javy will eventually be adding some evidence to that argument on one side or the other, the question is which?

IDK which pitch it was but he was arm side high a lot on one- wasn't finishing it. If he could get that one issue under control his strike percentage would take a nice jump.

If we don't get some kind of automated K zone by next season I'm going to go crazy. Torres was a complete joke tonight.

Hanshin?

I think Harris is full of it. They gave JHM an extended audition at 3B and the decision was pretty clear they wanted no part of continuing it.

Chariot isn't that old that he should be losing his legs that badly. Hopefully he had something slowing him down last year and he will bound back a little or you'd like to believe if the Wings thought he was getting slow put they him on a custom conditioning program. Hockey isn't like hitting the fastball, 33 isn't that old for a D man.

I think so. The only thing in Maton's favor is that he is younger, but he's still not young enough that he's that much of a prospect to suddenly improve much or become part of the team 'future'.

The thing that I think is very hard to women in American politics is to hit is that perfect note on disposition. Whitmer is almost Reaganesque in her ability to be Sunny yet Serious. Hillary I think aspired to get to 'Happy Warrior' but still came across to too many as a cold. We don't really know if she has the all around skills to go national but there is definitely some unique talent there.

LOL - 25 yrs and the references still work.

seem like it has to be either Ibanez or Maton. Since Parker is another LHB, that one thing tipping the scales toward keeping Ibanez.

2 would be good. Between off season moves and 3 high potential guys at AAA there is some hope.

Riley played left to Parker in CF when they were in the minors together. Riley has talked up Parker as the best OF in the system. I don't think it will be a issue.

If Harris brings Sands to Detroit for any kind of regular role he will prove he is no smarter than Avila.

Tigers milestones today: Back to within 10 games of 500; negative run differential under 100.

If you saw the play he did make coming in, it actually showed some more of the limitation of his glove work. The ball was sinking and instead of reversing his wrist to get his pocket down, he locked into an unnecessarily hard catch with his glove facing down on a sinking ball below his waist. You see this a lot - guys relying on athleticism to make plays that would require less if they had developed more technique.