gehringer_2 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 1 hour ago, Tigermojo said: Steve Sparks. There's a blast from the past. Ah yes, remembering more bad old days when a marginal knuckleballer was the ace of the staff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermojo Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Houston 1.5 games behind the Tigers in the wild card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 44 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said: You got the Astros swinging at the first and second pitches trying to do damage meanwhile the Tigers are sitting there taking pitches, "working the count" and trying to "go up the middle". I just don't agree with that approach in this day and age for a number of reasons most notably that in today's game even if you get ahead in the count pitchers don't throw "get me over pitches" anymore when behind so you're not going to get a cookie, you're going to get just as tough of pitch to hit. Also starters don't pitch as long anymore so no need to try to make them work and get to the middle relief since you're likely going to get there anyway. Good points. Like players that have to make adjustments to succeed, management and game plans have to do so as well. If you do not then you are to easily strategized against. I agree 'controlling' the zone has some merit - but it does not mean each and every time. Too many times are players are behind in the count. We still swing the least amount from what I heard tonight at the first pitch of any team in the league - what is it getting us? You can say it is the players, but... Some players are not built for that. Yet, working the zone could help players over time as well. IMHO, if a player wants to swing at a certain pitch and sees it on the first or second delivery - put 'working the count' aside and rake. Again, IMHO, that approach is not for everyone if the FO is ONLY looking for that type of player, then they are really restricting themselves, and that is not good. Just look at how many players who had talent through the games history who 'would not fit in' - we should be looking for players who have talent, whether they work the count or not. I am for several that do - but not a whole lineup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermojo Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Baez received an injection in his back. Could be back sooner than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gehringer_2 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) 30 minutes ago, alex said: I agree 'controlling' the zone has some merit Yes - I think what gets lost in discussion is that to actually 'control' the zone it has to go both ways - it must not only mean not swinging at balls, it has to also mean not giving pitchers too many free strikes -- or else it's a policy for failure. It's no different than the fact that controlling the zone for a pitcher means more than just throwing every pitch down the middle. A pitcher tries to throw as many hard to hit pitches in the zone as he can, in turn a hitter has to try to convert as many of those pitches into hittable as he can. That's where the whole game lies. Teams with batters waiting for cookies will never do more than win on days they are lucky enough to face sub-replacement pitching. Now on the plus side, they have talked about trying to make Torkelson "more athletic' in the box - and I have to assume this means to enable him to reach more pitches, but the roster in Detroit is deep enough into being passive hitters it's going to take a broader effort to dig out, even if the coaching will is there. Edited June 15 by gehringer_2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoBert Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 I keep feeling like Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath: fleeing to a land of white picket fences where we think we’ll be safe and when we get there, it ain’t what we expected. It feels like we’ve crossed the whole damn continent in the last few years and we still haven’t got to where we want to be. It’s galling to think how teams like Baltimore and KC have fallen so low then rebounded beyond us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gehringer_2 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 BTW, on the topic of Torkelson hitting fastballs, he did hit a couple of 95mph pitches decently tonight - a 106mph GB to 3rd for an out, and 320 ft 95mph fly ball he got under too much (32 deg LA). Nothing to show but at least he was getting around on some velo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerNation Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) 1 hour ago, IdahoBert said: I keep feeling like Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath: fleeing to a land of white picket fences where we think we’ll be safe and when we get there, it ain’t what we expected. It feels like we’ve crossed the whole damn continent in the last few years and we still haven’t got to where we want to be. It’s galling to think how teams like Baltimore and KC have fallen so low then rebounded beyond us. The Royals are really just having a fluke year. They have Bobby Witt and a terrible farm system. Their prospects as a team going forward is nothing to be jealous of. Edited June 15 by TigerNation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddwert Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 7 hours ago, gehringer_2 said: Petry and Dan hitting the connection again that the Tigers take the most 1st pitches of any team by far in a context clearly implying the connection to the inept offense, a point also having been made by Monroe and Gibson, none of that, let alone multiple years of terrible results, appears to be motivating this coaching staff to reconsider its assumptions. yeah first Pitch strikes were always a thing Dan and Jim always highlighted by other pitchers and it would make sense that Dan would hate that we were just giving them away as hitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 8 hours ago, gehringer_2 said: BTW, on the topic of Torkelson hitting fastballs, he did hit a couple of 95mph pitches decently tonight - a 106mph GB to 3rd for an out, and 320 ft 95mph fly ball he got under too much (32 deg LA). Nothing to show but at least he was getting around on some velo. Baby steps - but in the right direction. You got to believe the ability is there. Tork does, which is a good thing. The team hopefully can get some points through (yet, he has his ways it seems). He has to be able to make some adjustments - and this seems to be a constant in the game of baseball, he has to understand/see this throughout his career. This is harder for some to do. To be able to believe in his own ability not only to hit/field but ALSO to make some adjustments (based on perhaps some other observations as well). Maybe a little less IPad, techno, etc. and more 'play ball and enjoy'. I have heard A.J. mention before (paraphrasing) 'he needs to get his head out of the IPad.' Another positive, he seemed quite frank and humbled during his Toledo interview. This has happened to others before. Some come back better and stronger from it while others do not have the overall capacity to get back. Those Paul Konerko comparisons look pretty good now, lol. Yet, Tork is Tork and I am sure most here would quite happily settle for even a little less than a Konerko-like career 😉 Go Tigs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoBert Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 7 hours ago, TigerNation said: The Royals are really just having a fluke year. They have Bobby Witt and a terrible farm system. Their prospects as a team going forward is nothing to be jealous of. That’s good to hear, but I’m not jealous. I am seething with petty infantile anger. That’s worse than jealousy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casimir Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 16 hours ago, tiger2022 said: I think they should let Urshela play 3rd every night. The dude has a glove. I believe he had around 43 assists last night. My math might be off slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasfh Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 17 hours ago, gehringer_2 said: Petry and Dan hitting the connection again that the Tigers take the most 1st pitches of any team by far in a context clearly implying the connection to the inept offense, a point also having been made by Monroe and Gibson, none of that, let alone multiple years of terrible results, appears to be motivating this coaching staff to reconsider its assumptions. Is it that the approach is strategically bankrupt in general, or is it that we don’t have good enough hitters on the team that can execute it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerNation Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 55 minutes ago, chasfh said: Is it that the approach is strategically bankrupt in general, or is it that we don’t have good enough hitters on the team that can execute it? Brewers have the second lowest first pitch swing rate and it seems to be working just fine for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casimir Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 3 hours ago, TigerNation said: Brewers have the second lowest first pitch swing rate and it seems to be working just fine for them. I don’t know if their series vs Detroit was a microcosm of their season, but I like the brand of “put the ball in play and create havoc on the base paths” that they played in Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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