Jump to content

05/24/2023 7:40pm EDT Detroit Tigers vs Kansas City Royals


casimir

Recommended Posts

I don't think so.

I don't think they're ready for Malloy just yet (actually, it's that he is not yet ready for MLB...); I was just throwing that out there as a who would replace Schoop. My vote would be for Malloy.

But I don't think they want to rush Keith either. I firmly believe if it's a race between those two, Malloy will be ready for MLB before Keith is. IMO, Malloy gets the first call-up between those two... although I don't know when that really is... September/ or after Schoop gets DFA'd? Or Ibanez returned to the minors?

Or does Nevin get one more chance to try and impress in MLB...?

So many questions...

If I had a real guess on who replaces Schoop or Ibanez when the time comes... I think, right now and until something changes, it's:

1) Nevin

2) Malloy

3) Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also not buying when I hear "it's fine to have Miggy taking a roster spot, he's not blocking anyone!"...I call bull**** on that at this point. Miggy is literally one of the worst hitters in mlb right now...cant convince me someone like Malloy brought in to DH in the bigs would be any worse.  Miggy is blocking somone who could easily be better.  And who goes when Carpenter comes back?  This team needs all the offensive help it can get...the only way you keep the roster as is with Schoop, Miggy, and looks like Ibanez at this point, is if you've already given up on the season.  Has Harris and AJ already given up on the season?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its fun to be in a "pennant race".  But I'm not interested in rushing players up before they're ready.  I'd rather complain about Nevin/Ibanez/Schoop/Maton/Cabrera this season than complain this/next/nextnext year that Malloy/Keith/whoever were rushed up too soon.  The AL Central is usually up for grabs for any decent team historically.  Allow the Tigers to build up the few prospects they have to be decent players in the future so that maybe they can be integral pieces of the next playoff team.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other thing with Malloy/Keith is they probably have a certain trade value as prospects right now.  If they are called up prematurely and it shows, they might lose that trade value.  Considering they both primarily play the same position, it isn't out of the question that they may ultimately have to trade one of them.  They're both at levels where they are successful and age appropriate or advanced.  It isn't a situation where they're running out of time and they need to sink or swim at the MLB level.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, casimir said:

I realize that rolling out Cabrera and Ibanez and Maton as the DH is not exactly optimal.  But I'm just not sure Knapp as a DH is an upgrade.

No doubt. I am just grasping for anyone. Knapp is hitting RHP well; hot April; decent May. Aaron Hicks? LOL. There are very few choices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

No doubt. I am just grasping for anyone. Knapp is hitting RHP well; hot April; decent May. Aaron Hicks? LOL. There are very few choices.

If Haase were hitting and he could be deployed full time as an OF/DH and have Knapp/Rogers be a workable C platoon, I think it makes some sense.  But Haase isn't hitting, Rogers isn't hitting, and Knapp is Knapp.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Dtrain72 said:

I'm also not buying when I hear "it's fine to have Miggy taking a roster spot, he's not blocking anyone!"...I call bull**** on that at this point. Miggy is literally one of the worst hitters in mlb right now...cant convince me someone like Malloy brought in to DH in the bigs would be any worse.  Miggy is blocking somone who could easily be better.  And who goes when Carpenter comes back?  This team needs all the offensive help it can get...the only way you keep the roster as is with Schoop, Miggy, and looks like Ibanez at this point, is if you've already given up on the season.  Has Harris and AJ already given up on the season?

Miggy is in his farewell tour and isn't going anywhere. But yeah, he's just a shell of his former self. Kinda sad to watch, it reminds me of old video of Babe Ruth playing for the St Louis Browns, or whoever.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Miggy is in his farewell tour and isn't going anywhere. But yeah, he's just a shell of his former self. Kinda sad to watch, it reminds me of old video of Babe Ruth playing for the St Louis Browns, or whoever.....

Ruth had a 119 OPS+ with the Browns which very bad for him, but more like Greene than Cabrera.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my ideal world, Miggy goes to the DL, Carpenter is back at DH, Schoop goes away and Nevin is given another shot, with Kreidler an option when he’s healthy. Keith and Malloy get more time in the minors and benefit from it. Miggy gets a chance to return later for a send off.

No, I don’t expect that to all happen. 😕

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, casimir said:

Its fun to be in a "pennant race".  But I'm not interested in rushing players up before they're ready.  I'd rather complain about Nevin/Ibanez/Schoop/Maton/Cabrera this season than complain this/next/nextnext year that Malloy/Keith/whoever were rushed up too soon.  The AL Central is usually up for grabs for any decent team historically.  Allow the Tigers to build up the few prospects they have to be decent players in the future so that maybe they can be integral pieces of the next playoff team.

Thank you for putting "pennant race" in quotes.

I want to win and play in the playoffs as much as the next guy, but despite that we are in second place and only 2-1/2 games out, we are still just 22-25. That's substantially below .500. Not only that, but our pythag record, an estimated winning percentage based on runs scored versus runs allowed, is 18-29. That's equivalent to a .383 winning percentage.

We are 29th in runs scored, and that's not due to being unlucky, because we are also 27th in on base, 29th in slugging, 29th in wOBA, 27th in wRC+, and 29th in base-running runs. We come by our offensive futility honestly.

Our run prevention is only marginally better. We are 20th in ERA, 21st in FIP, 22nd in xFIP. We can't strike guys out (25th) and we can't keep the ball in the ballpark (24th in HR/9). The one thing we can do is pound the zone (9th among teams in that) and not walk guys (4th lowest rate), but that mainly tells me how much worse the run prevention would be if our walk rates were even league average.

In short, we are not ready to be a playoff team. Not close.

I'm frustrated with the past seven years, too, just like everyone else. But what would frustrate me more is if this front office were to make moves now to trade future assets for marginal players as rentals in a quixotic bid to squeeze into the playoffs with a barely .500 record as the third division-winner, only to get smoked in the wild card round. (I get that the playoffs are a crapshoot yada yada, but come on, let's be real: we would get smoked by the AL East 3rd-place team in the wild card round.) And the the rental leaves in the winter and we are out not only him, but also whatever prospects we would have traded to get him. I do not want to mortgage the best of what little future we currently have in-house in order to Dombrowski our way into the postseason at all costs. That's partly what got us where we are in the first place!

I won't speak for anyone else here, but I am happier with our situation knowing that we are not yet a playoff team, despite our current relative standing in the division. We are a still a rebuilding team—in fact, a rebuilding organization. If we can make the playoffs by sticking with the Harris-Hinch plan and without making any trades to get there, I would be beyond thrilled. But that's so unlikely that I'm not even hoping for it, and that's OK. It's a beautiful dream, but that's not the goal for this team this year, which is why I am not all in on winning this year. It's simply not our time yet.

In the meantime, I'm not going to get too attached to the Kreidlers and the Wentzes and the Nevins and the Workmans and the Lipciuses and the Shorts and all those guys similar to them that are littering our system today. Most of them will be gone in 2024, perhaps all of them in 2025. This organization is going to look vastly different by the time 2026 rolls around, and by then our top prospects will be names we don't even know today. That's the day I'm really looking forward to. And if Harris does it right, we'll be looking back at 2023, remembering how much faith we put in guys like those I listed above, and we'll be asking ourselves, "Jesus, what was I on?"

Edited by chasfh
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, chasfh said:

let's be real: we would get smoked by the AL East 3rd-place team in the wild card round.)

The wildcard round is best of three.  The Tigers would probably have about a 45% chance to win that series.  It's pretty much a crap shoot.

I do agree they are not good and probably won't make the playoffs.  If they did make the playoffs with, let's say, a 80-82 record and proceeded to win the World Series, it would be entertaining but it would be a hollow championship.  There would be no comparison to 1984 or 1968.  I'd rather see them be a good team for 162 games and lose the World Series than win that way. 

I don't want to see them trading young players for a one-year run at the playoffs and I don't see anyone suggesting that.  They are in a weak division though, so they don't need to go on another five-year plan.  I would not mind if they traded young prospects for young about to get expensive young players in the majors with some cheap team that doesn't want to pay them.  Another possibility, If Rodriguez is still strong in late July would be to extend enough to get him to not opt out.  

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

Ruth had a 119 OPS+ with the Browns which very bad for him, but more like Greene than Cabrera.  

Maybe so but those old videos of an old Ruth makes it look like an old shell of himself. Sad looking, like Cabrera looks. Hall of Fame players going out like that is sad. Look how Ortiz and Pujols went out. Left good memories for the fans. Miggy is just here for the $$, which he should already have plenty of. Pride? I guess not so much?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...