05/25/2023 6:40 pm EDT Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers

[casimir]

50 minutes ago, chasfh said:

  

Not bad for an 8th SP.

[chasfh]

3 minutes ago, Jim Cowan said:

I think that the time is up for Ibanez.  There isn't anyone at Toledo really, but I'd rather give Nevin another shot at this point.

Sure, why not? They're not prospects but we need a body in there today, and neither of them are going to be around next year, anyway.

[Tiger337]

With the Tigers closing in on first place, I don't think Harris is going to allow the weak spots to just keep playing.  I can see him making a minor trade for a Kerry Carpenter type (preferably right-handed) who isn't going to be a long-term regular, but can play a role.  Or maybe there is another McKinstry out there  

Edited May 26, 2023 by Tiger337

[Sports_Freak]

9 minutes ago, casimir said:

Not bad for an 8th SP.

Surprised JV or Max aren't on that list. Tigers pitching today; 13 strikeouts and zero walks. Just about as perfect a game as they've played all season.

[Tenacious D]

16 minutes ago, Jim Cowan said:

I think that the time is up for Ibanez.  There isn't anyone at Toledo really, but I'd rather give Nevin another shot at this point.

I think Lipcius should be next—seems to be hitting better lately after a slow start. Nevin = Ibanez.  Great AAA hitters.

[Jim Cowan]

I wouldn't send Ibanez back to Toledo, I would just cut him, promote Nevin, and promote someone from Erie to Toledo.  None of the professional evaluators seems to like Wenceel Perez at all, but I think he has shown that he can succeed in Double A and has earned a move up.

[Sports_Freak]

7 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

With the Tigers closing in on first place, I don't think Harris is going to allow the weak spots to just keep playing.  I can see him making a minor trade for a Kerry Carpenter type who isn't going to be a long-term regular, but can play a role. 

How about McKinstry as our regular 3rd baseman, Short at 2nd base and Haase and Baddoo platooning in LF? We still have Carpenter to find a place for. (DH?). I guess we could use a RH OF bat....but Miggy needs to go on the IL, Schoop needs to be released and Ibanez sent down. 

[Sports_Freak]

54 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I generally like Jason Benetti, but I wanna slap him for saying TORK! should have used two hands to catch that popup. First of all, it was back of him over his shoulder, so no way he’s getting a right hand over to his glove to catch that ball “with two hands”. But the larger point is ballplayers haven’t needed two hands to catch a fly ball in decades. Back in the early 1900s, maybe you needed two hands because gloves were exactly hand sized. Now they’re way bigger with roomy webs. A first baseman's glove is 13”, for cry eye. So you don’t need a second hand to catch the ball. Much of the time a second hand just gets in the way.

The big mitt is why he didn't catch it. It hit the long flap of the 1st baseman glove 

[Sports_Freak]

33 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

Plus McKinstry and Tork. Obviously Greene's been red hot. The bullpen has been lights out and some good starts here and there. Things were a bit doom and gloom in April but they are showing flashes. Also can't forget to mention the solid defense this season.

Shep said the Tigers were near the top in MLB in defensive runs saved. But I guess we've had an easier schedule than we did when we had an AL East heavy schedule?

[Sports_Freak]

35 minutes ago, Jim Cowan said:

I think that the time is up for Ibanez.  There isn't anyone at Toledo really, but I'd rather give Nevin another shot at this point.

Not Navin. Look for someone outside the system. 

[chasfh]

7 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

The big mitt is why he didn't catch it. It hit the long flap of the 1st baseman glove 

I might counter that his generally poor ability to catch foul pop flys is the bigger reason he didn't catch it.

[Sports_Freak]

5 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I might counter that his generally poor ability to catch foul pop flys is the bigger reason he didn't catch it.

And...he's actually improved. He still has room to grow, his defense on short hop throws appears about average. At least, in the eye test.

[RandyMarsh]

8 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Shep said the Tigers were near the top in MLB in defensive runs saved. But I guess we've had an easier schedule than we did when we had an AL East heavy schedule?

Everybody loves to give Javy crap about his throws but currently he is tied for 5th for all positions in Outs above average and tied for 6th in runs prevented so he's been a big reason why the run prevention has been so much better. 

[Sports_Freak]

1 minute ago, RandyMarsh said:

Everybody loves to give Javy crap about his throws but currently he is tied for 5th for all positions in Outs above average and tied for 6th in runs prevented so he's been a big reason why the run prevention has been so much better. 

And Torkelson has saved him multiple errors on his throws. Tork seems like a huge target at 1st base.

[Tigeraholic1]

7 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

And Torkelson has saved him multiple errors on his throws. Tork seems like a huge target at 1st base.

Very true, add that to what he has done with the bat lately. 

[gehringer_2]

39 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

The big mitt is why he didn't catch it. It hit the long flap of the 1st baseman glove 

I'd say he didn't catch it mostly because it was a hard catch. they are all hard running away from the diamond. A catch some guys would make, but no-one else the Tigers have played there any time recently. Well,  Jeimer being a transplanted 3b was good in foul ground but he wasn't otherwise a good 1b. The footwork never got natural for him and he didn't scoop throws anything like Torkelson can.

[KL2]

4 hours ago, Tenacious D said:

I think Lipcius should be next—seems to be hitting better lately after a slow start. Nevin = Ibanez.  Great AAA hitters.

.708 OPS at AAA in 40 games. Maybe we shouldn't call him up. 

[Scottwood]

I'd expect Short to get more at bats in the immediate future and they'll give him an opportunity to shore up an infield spot. McKinstry was a great find and the kind of move the Rays make all the time, so that is highly encouraging for the future. I think the Tigers are several position players short for this specific season, but Harris has done a lot of good things so far given what he inherited.

 

[casimir]

7 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

The big mitt is why he didn't catch it. It hit the long flap of the 1st baseman glove 

A good craftsman never blames his tools.

[casimir]

7 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

And Torkelson has saved him multiple errors on his throws. Tork seems like a huge target at 1st base.

He has.  He also scooped that Ibanez throw to end the 7th (or 8th?) which was really impressive.

It seems he is good at saving throws.  It seems the pop up into foul territory where he has to backtrack a bit is an issue.  I'll take that trade off.  Saving throws is turning into outs or at least preventing extra bases.  The foul pops, which some of the clanks have not necessarily been easy plays, fall as strikes with no action on the bases.

[Jim Cowan]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

He has.  He also scooped that Ibanez throw to end the 7th (or 8th?) which was really impressive.

It seems he is good at saving throws.  It seems the pop up into foul territory where he has to backtrack a bit is an issue.  I'll take that trade off.  Saving throws is turning into outs or at least preventing extra bases.  The foul pops, which some of the clanks have not necessarily been easy plays, fall as strikes with no action on the bases.

Definitely yes, I will take the first baseman who saves throws.  That happens every single game.  The over-the-shoulder popups that are muffed occur occasionally.  It is a net positive.

[chasfh]

Tork has been botching foul popups for a couple of years now. It’s a component of his terrible range at first in general and also part of what makes him a below-average defender. I don’t know yet how much of that is teachable (learning to read the ball off the bat better and getting to the right place) and how much is not (naturally bad jump; speed to getting to the spot). Any ball in play that makes him move to go get it, especially to his right, is going to be iffy.

But Tork has a sure glove. If the batter hits the ball right at him or to his glove side, he’ll snag it and make the out. He’s also very good at scooping throws, and he is surprisingly good at stretching and doing splits to retrieve them. That’s a core skill that shows up as much in other guys’ numbers as in his own.

Edited May 26, 2023 by chasfh

[Tigeraholic1]

I would prefer Tork! to pick all those balls out of the dirt and miss a handful of foul balls.

[Edman85]

11 hours ago, casimir said:

Take a bow.  You really spoke highly of the McKinstry pick up.

No bow, but he has always been on my radar (helped somewhat by the fact he was a COVID OOTP pickup of mine who produced). He popped up on an offseason "out of options" list I put together. People were over emphasizing a small sample of MLB stats as well as meaningless spring training stats. I did think his AAA numbers needed to be park/league adjusted, but knew there was something there and the vitriol and the "why not keep Harold" talk was hilarious at the time and moreso now two months later.

[gehringer_2]

4 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

No bow, but he has always been on my radar

So far at least - McKinstry is looking like our 'Donnie Kelley V2.0'. Old school player with a high baseball IQ, a wide skillset,  may not be great but never hurts you either. Like him a lot so far.