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Carpenter may be our best hitter, but he is being platooned. And his splits show that it has been justified, at least based on the small sample size of 38 PAs against LH pitchers this year. Are we getting the best production we can by continuing to platoon him? Would we benefit if we gave him more of more of a chance to establish himself against LHers.

Today's players are so much better than the past. Stronger, faster and most importantly, more finely tuned. In the past, pitchers could ease up with off speed stuff, keeping hitters off balance and giving themselves a break. Today the off speed stuff has a focus on optimizing spin and that too is taxing on the arm. No break.

KC is looking for a 2nd baseman. Could they be considering Jung?

Any idea as to what caused the fall-off? Seems like the league figured him out and he couldn't adjust

I couldn't readily find his stats, but it's good to remember Chris Shelton was the league's MVP in 2004. I wasn't able to watch many games back then so I don't have a good sense of why Shelton failed after his historic start. What the heck happened to one of the hottest rookie starts in Tigers history?

Possibly the career peak for all but Flowers and Blalock. Age and OPS distinguish Briceno, but it is far from making him a likely star. It's nice to see.

Amid all the excitement it is good to remember that after the Tiger WS run in 2006 the Tigers did not make it back into the post season for 5 years.

There's a lot going on with Baez. Perhaps his back did affect his ability to protect the outside of the plate. Maybe he had to commit earlier. I'm sure he will be on a short leash but there is the possibility that the surgery corrected that problem.

This comment is going to get a lot of ptooeys, and it all depends on whether the back surgery fixed what was ailing him for the last few years. He has been a horrifically bat batter getting beat by the same set of pitches repeatedly. Baez played a lot of positions his first few years with the Cubs. If he could reestablish his bat, he could fit in well with the Hinch concept of multi utility playing. His spits don't show a particular advantage against left handers, which is an argument against this, but a weak side platoon with Sweeney - who might be too much of a glove first ss - might be useful, and then using him as a right-handed option at the other three infield positions. Granted we have Ibanez doing the same thing. My guess is that the Tigers are giving him a short leash next year. At least I hope they are. I do see the possibility of him fitting in well with the team if he solves his bat problem.

Wasn't Jung getting accolades for his D at 2nd at one point. The transition to third has been a disappointment. Jace maybe on Harris' list of touchable prospects. A left-handed bat with power at second would appeal to some teams and we might do better with a right-handed infielder. Colt is a tremendous worker which probably was a big factor in his extension. He is running better than projected and his range is significantly better than projected. He'll keep at it at and become a plus defensive second baseman.

I wonder if there is a regimen for strengthening the ability to hit shapes.

At one time Keith was a potential pitching prospect. His arm rated out as plus at 60 and he started out as a 3rd baseman in part because of the arm and partly because of a perceived lack of range in the middle. Now Baseball Savant rates his arm strength at the 10th percentile and his range at the 64th. With a 10th percentile arm he's not going to see the left side of the infield. His defensive value is at the 59th percentile so he is a plus at second. I hope his arm is still in recovery.

If Liranzo and Briceno continue to develop along the same path we could possibly have two star c-1b and that could be particularly valuable. Not sure if anyone has had two regulars equally share the catching duties before. Starting catchers these days such as Contreras and Rutschman get in about 110-120 games games behind the plate and DH another 30-35 games if they can hit. If Liranzo and Briceno each get about 80 games behind the plate and roughly the same at 1b, they both could get in full seasons at the plate and prolong their catching careers. And the team frees up a roster spot because there is no reserve catcher sitting on the bench. That spot can go to a player with a more useful skill set.

Tork playing in his Aug 2023 form would be huge for this team. He certainly would get his chances against lefties hitting among Keith, Greene and Carpenter. Grabbing a right-handed third baseman who could fill the void at 1st if Tork is moved would be an option.

Totally agree. And their trajectories are in opposite directions. That 1.2 difference in WAR probably will be less of a difference in 2025 and even moreso in 2026. Seems emphasis is on 3b but the least productive spot is 1b. It's being held for Tork for the time being but it would be ideal to get a right handed hitter with power and the ability to get from 1st to 3rd who can play multiple positions including 1st if Tork can't pull it together. That sounds more like a trade than FA.

Amazon is getting there fast. They have really gotten into pushing what they want you to buy and from whom, instead of presenting all the options and letting the customer choosing the best deal.

I am so wary of a long-term contract. Miggy hurt the team for years and it was only during the last season that they started to take him down from his pedestal. It really seemed like we would not be able to win as long as Miggy was on the roster. I am also wary of a seasoned vet coming in and showing everyone how to "win". This team is figuring it out from their perspective and they are creating it together. Worried that some experienced winner might put a damper on that. A Bregman might influence them with the Houston way or something like that. That said, Harris did talk about one of the values of Vierling's flexibility is that he would have a position if they brought in someone at 3b. That indicated to me that he was thinking of upgrading the position. I'd rather see them get someone who could upgrade the team but be vulnerable to someone pushing their way up. With a great farm system you can trade productive ML players for good prospects because another prospect is coming up, reloading the system. You can also obtain a star player for giving up prospects but I suspect that Harris would be looking for someone with more future than past. DD was in the habit of emptying the system to pull in top players to keep the team in contention and he has produced results everywhere doing that but he also had huge downsides. Harris seems to be more organic, grow the system, control the players coming into the game. It is notable that we had no FAs on the playoff rosters. Not sure when the last time that occurred.

I use ChatGPT instead of Google for most searches. Answers my questions directly, doesn't give me a bunch of ads to filter through or links that are out of context, provides the sources for its answers, and I can ask followup questions. And it seems to be reliable.

This is what the internet has given us. Hammer was involved with the USSR during the cold war principally in oil exploration. He brought much of the technology that the Soviets would need to develop their industry. He also had a pencil factory there, oddly enough one of the few businesses owned privately at the time. He was a huge diplomatic force at the time. He also owned Hammer Galleries in NYC and was involved in the discovery of a huge cache of Cezanne paintings. His collection is now in the Hammer Museum in LA. He really was one of the most colorful CEOs of the century.

This is what the internet has given us. Hammer was involved with the USSR during the cold war principally in oil exploration. He brought much of the technology that the Soviets would need to develop their industry. He also had a pencil factory there, oddly enough one of the few businesses owned privately at the time. He was a huge diplomatic force at the time. He also owned Hammer Galleries in NYC and was involved in the discovery of a huge cache of Cezanne paintings. His collection is now in the Hammer Museum in LA. He really was one of the most colorful CEOs of the century.

Scott Harris inviting Tram to be a part of this is a class act. Proud to be a Tiger fan.

I bet there never has been a playoff win without a single pitcher going 2 innings. Probably not a loss either. This has to be the first. What a brilliant strategy. This is going to revolutionize the game. Also, considering the Tigers had a 0.2 chance of making the playoffs. That is the equivalent of a once-in-a-500 year event. Winning the wildcard round, sweeping the wildcard round, makes that what, an once-in-an-800 year event? I think Fangraphs had their odds a little understated, but jeez, wow.

The League should give catchers an extra year or two of service for the pension.

If they could extend spring training until August, Tigers would be a playoff team. Those 1st four months have killed.

Repeat last year's offseason. I think it turned out great.