gehringer_2

OTOH, he has nearly a 1000 OPS off that 394 BaBIP. Let that come down to a more reasonable 325 and you *may* still have a reasonably productive bat for a defense first position. A SS that is also a #3 hitter is a wonderful luxury, and I'm not going to complain one bit if Ilitch ponies up the cash to get one, but OTOH, I think you can certainly win a division with a 700-750 OPS shortstop if he is giving you solid defense. My take is that none of the guys in my list above can even do that - with the possible exception of Kreidler and even that possibility isn't proven by any means. Agreed there is not much chance Kreidler is that #3 hitting SS, but for now he's making a case to get a chance to prove he may at least be that 700 OPS guy you can live with, as opposed to the current cast I am tired of living with! Of course if he crashes to earth next ST then end of story.

Did we? Funny you say "uber alles' because I would think philosophical absolutism of all kinds is more down the German line. We got Locke and Hobbes from England which is consent of the governed and social contract - which imply mutual obligation - the concept in such short supply in US discourse today.

4 under 500. Is the first time ince April we have finally gotten closer than 5 under?

I know there are lots of things in Victor's numbers to complain about, but the guy always seems to be doing something positive.

Palehose remind me of the Tiger teams of a few years ago - all kinds of talent but a lot of sloppy play.

TBF, it had been several years since there was anything untoward going on in the college forums on the old site.

two runners cut down at the plate today. not good. Didn't mind that one so much but Keuchel has not been pitching well. 2nd and 3rd with no-one out would have been fine against him earlier.

Anderson did make quite a play to get the throw off so quickly, but that is who he is. Not sure you needed to send him there since Grossman was going to get 2nd anyway but Schoop made it closer than I thought it would be.

to review the in house options: Niki Groodrum: good arm, mediocre hands, plays back on balls too much to key many DPs. Has power but bat has become black hole, esp from left side. Under control until 2024, Also has options left but only for next season as he would be a 5 yr vet at the end of 22. Isaac Paredes: Can play SS, decent arm, but probably doesn't have the range to be any kind of good there. Hitting as a major leaguer is still total unknown but skepticism is high in many quarters despite his progress in raising his AAA OPS. Zach Short: pretty uniform opinion that he is an above average defender. Close to zero chance he can hit enough to be viable. Ryan Kreilder: Toledo staff say his glove is ML quality. He is currently hitting well beyond expectations for his projections. Can he do it at ML? Again - skepticism remains high but he is doing his best to go out and refute it. Willi Castro: No, No, and No. Unreliable arm, slow pivot, low baseball IQ and general situational awareness. And a bat that flashed in the short season but has also now disappeared-- though at least in his case he is young enough that he could find it again, as opposed to Niko who looks like he is just already on the downside of his career as a hitter. I won't say there is NO hope for Willi, but he needs a lot of work *in the minors* to figure out how to play competent ML middle IF. Harold Castro: Harold is a nice utility level guy, which is where he needs to stay. Bottom line is that I would rate the chances as still being greater than even money that none of those guys pan out so I'm good with pursuing a FA. You can always find a place for a bat if one of the other guys forces himself into playing time.

as a QB, but as a ball handler, at the oft quoted cost of 4pts each, the 2 TO's negated half of the 2 TD drives he engineered. The guy needs to secure the football.

I've always read it as the difference between losses and wins. You are 2 games "under 500" if you lose one more game than you win*. Ergo - If the Tigers win 5 of the remaining 11, they're 78-84 = 6 under. 5-12 = 7 under, looks like all this Lions team can aspire to - esp having lost 2 QB from an already weak secondary and their 2nd best OL won't be back for a couple more weeks. *it can be defined the other way but at least in my experience, I've seldom seen anyone other than people arguing on the internet use the other definition. If you are 50-52, you need to win 2 games to even - so you are 2 back. There is no way to get your past losses back.

3 TO for Goff. yeah - GB is just going to eat the clock

The only question left is 42 or 49. But the answer is always 42 isn't it?

Lions will be more games under 500 than the Tigers.

Of course, that no sooner said than Goff coughs up the FB!

This D makes the endless arguments over the QB position pretty irrelevant.

at this point I care less about the record than the chance to catch Cleveland. Tied in the win column, 2 back in the loss column.

It's like all the bad bullpen pitcher Karma from all of the Tiger's history is all paying back this season - no matter who they run out there now they are managing to get wins.

fudge

gotta score this run before a delay!

yes

I'd like to see Manning pitch inside off the plate with the fastball against the lefthanders. Too easy for Grandal to reach over the plate and punch that to LF when he doesn't have to be ready for hard in.

BTW - that was Cabrera's 1800th RBI

Can't we just clone Schoop and have him play 2B and SS?

OK, he couldn't have turned that one, but did you notice that Willi didn't know Paredes wasn't going to be there and he wasted several milliseconds realizing he had to go to 2nd himself. That hesitation was not the difference but could have been.