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Haase appears to be one of those guys who, if you give him 250 at bats throughout a season, you can get a lot of value from him, but if you make him an everyday player, you consistently see all the things he can't do.

The Lolich/Freehan battery holds the most games started in MLB at 324. With Wainwright and Molina signing on for one more year there is a good chance that the record might be broken. I believe the Wainwright/Molina combination is 304-305? I know they were at 300 the first week of September.

Pitchers (over 30 IP) Tyler Alexander B He always seems to find his way into the rotation and he's a valuable and versatile piece to have Matthew Boyd B-. He was fairly effective when he was healthy Jose Cisnero B - Solid overall but when he had a bad inning it was a BAD inning Buck Farmer F - We endured this for 8 seasons. How in the world did that happen? Michael Fulmer A- Has embraced his new role as a late bullpen arm and the velocity has returned. Adding a wicked curveball too Kyle Funkhouser B+ The proof what what a great pitching coach can do. They fixed the flaws Bryan Garcia F Mr. Meltdown. Relievers who can't or won't throw strikes don't belong in MLB Derek Holland C- Brutal Start, but settled in and ate up innings when we needed them Joe Jimenez F - He's got a good arm, but he has never put it together when it counts Alex Lange C - Hard to do much with this grade but maybe I should have bumped him up for plunking Abreu Casey Mize A- After adjustments were made in late April he had a 3.47 ERA. Really consistent Daniel Norris F - After all-too-rare flashes it was time to go. Wily Peralta B- A very pleasant surprise. Worth re-signing. Matt Manning B- His numbers don't blow you away but he had some very good starts. Hopefully he develops like Casey & Tarik in year 2 Tairk Skubal B+ Had a very solid season. Tends to give up a lot of home runs, but he also strikes out a ton. Bright future Gregory Soto A- Became an effective closer which is a role he should have for years with this team (no more catching a ball with pitching hand) Spencer Turnbull A Tough year with COVID and injuries but he gave us the highlight of the season when we desperately needed something. Jose Urena D He is what he is - Destined to be a journeyman. We seem to sign one every year Catchers Grayson Greiner C-. He's a #3 or #4 catcher, what do you want from him? Dustin Darneau C Gave us a little pop and stabilized the position when there were injuries. Team could upgrade next year Eric Haase B+ A very pleasant surprise and hje helped spark the team. Too many stretches of hit vacancies. I doubt he repeats this year Wilson Ramos D He had the league lead in home runs for a weak. Terrible defensive catcher and the team vastly improved when he left Jake Rogers B He actually showed some hitting ability, more than we need from him. Is great with the pitchers and will be missed in 2022 Infielders Miguel Cabrera C We are enjoying watching the milestones topple but he wasn't very good for much of this season. No fountain of youth steroids anymore in baseball. Jeimer Candelario B Has become a very steady player on this team. A doubles machine who may start hitting HRs soon. Great defensive player too. Sign him. Harold Castro B Okay, he won't walk, but he also won't strikeout a ton. He can play almost everywhere, which AJ Hinch loves Willi Castro D After last year's impressive hitting he fell flat on his face this year and he didn't really grab an opportunity to stay in the lineup Niko Goodrum D A guy who was easy to forget. Like Willi, a man without a position and doesn't hit enough to force you to play him daily Isaac Paredes C He's got a promising bat, but we haven't seen enough to say he's an everyday guy. He'll be in a battle with 4 or 5 guys to stay around Jonathan Schoop B+ Can't discount that horrible first month but became a steady bat day after day. Glad he's re signed Zack Short D We like guys who play hard, but we've got plenty of those around. He just can't hit enough. Outfielders Akil Baddo B- The numbers on their own don't floor you but he's an exciting player who seems to be very coachable. Hope it continues Daz Cameron D+ Daz had a couple clutch hits late, but with a glut of young OFs in this organization he's going to prove himself with his next shot, might be his last here. Robbie Grossman B+ Ignore the batting average, his OBP remains over .350, he plays great in the field and has a knack for big moments. A team leader Derek Hill C - Fun guy to watch. As far as injury-prone, he gets hurt playing hard and you can't fault that. Will be given an opportunity next year to state his case JaCoby Jones F Speed, power, defense, and could never put it all together. It's over. Nomar Mazara F Why does it feel like he's an old guy, he's only 26? He was blocking the kids, no need for him to have stayed. Wish him luck. Victor Reyes C+ Was electric in the last 2 months but you have to do it all season, at least a little. We've already had Ryan Raburn, we don't need another. Still a high ceiling and could be a major wild card in the OF mix next year Managers & Coaches A+. They got the most out of an unimpressive-looking lineup. They find little things that guys need to fix and they fix them and make the whole team better. Kevin Cash will get AL Manager of the Year and you can't argue with that, but AJ Hinch should get some votes (being part of the Astros scandal will lose him votes). Getting 77 wins out of a season that started 9-24 is extremely impressive and you only wonder what they might be able to do with more talent. The future is bright with these coaches. Best in my lifetime. I think there is a good chance we lose George Lombard, who should be in the mix for a few managers jobs. Overall Grade B- 77-85 should not get you over a C, but the way this team fought back from that horrible start and gave good teams headaches was something to smile about. They lost a lot of 1-run games and lost a lot of games due to our old friend the bullpen implosion. They somehow made this a fun and interesting season. They'll have some expectations next year and I hope we get a full season, but I am not optimistic about the labor issue in baseball.

I sold MotownSports in June of 2020 after 20 years of ownership. The new owner has apparently stopped paying attention to the site and forums, which are malfunctioning. These forums were setup early in 2021 to support my other websites, such as MotownPistons.com. Users from MotownSports have found there way over here during the most recent malfunction at MTS and have begun to use these forums. Glad you finally stopped by Betrayer!

I was really pulling for the chaos of the four way tie. At a minimum though I wanted one of Yankees/Red Sox knocked out of the wild card, so that was highly disappointing. As long as neither of them win, I'm happy. Best case to me though is Brewers vs Rays.

I’ll give you one as well. Feeling generous

Ah, you mean I would have gotten a like from @CMRivdogs if I had announced my ignore add? Ah, lost opportunity ...

You are defending Trump on this very page. And Trump is a shameless liar, something that is also well-documented across four-plus decades. Anytime anyone presents what he says at face value as evidence, they are either being willfully ignorant, or being truly ignorant, and neither one of those is a good look. And be assured, we see you.

I'd rather see the money go to SS. Outs not converted by Tiger shortstops have dragged down the whole pitching staff - running pitch counts, shortening outings, taxed the BP. Or, put another way, I'd rather have Correa and a 2nd tier guy than Scherzer with Niko and Willi back.

If I understood Dan Dickerson correctly when he was going through off-season needs in the 8th inning today, he does expect that the Tigers will sign a Tier 1 pitcher.

And the Parkinsons will really slow down Kirk Gibson in left.

Position players needed: 1. SS; 2. Catcher; and (maybe) 3. someone to bounce between 1b/OF/DH until Tork and Greene arrive, but clearly they are both going to be in Detroit early if not Opening Day. Mark Cahna on low end / Schwarber on high end DH – Miggy – not yet, but soon, he will be in the way of a better player. C – Haase; add Tucker Barnhart as starter, a LH bat on a one year deal. Then Rogers and Dingler join Haase in 2023. 1b – Tork will finish season here; until then Miggy/HCastro/Niko/Canha?/Schwarber?/Rodriguez? 2b – Schoop, where he belongs SS – Semien or Story or Correa 3b – Candy Paredes, Clemens, Kreidler at Toledo; it will be a good problem to have to try to get looks at all of them (maybe Short as needed too), especially if they keep both Niko and HCastro. OF – Baddoo/Victor/Hill/Grossman until Greene comes up, then: Grossman in RF, Greene in CF, with Baddoo in LF, Hill or Daz as 4th OF. Victor will hang around some. WCastro in LF at Toledo? Not sure why they just do not cut the cord. JaCoby and Stewart will depart as MiLB FAs as well. Pitching: Tier 1: no one yet Tier 2: Mize, Skubal, Manning Tier 3: Alexander, WPeralta, FREE AGENT Tier 4 (unknowns): Wentz, Faedo, Shore, Garcia Bullpen: Fulmer, Cisnero, Funk, Lange, Soto is a nice start. An elite BP might be easier to build than an elite rotation (see Brewers). If so, add Raisel Igelsias and Andrew Chafin (LHR).

If Verlander rejoined the Tigers there’s a good chance I would cry.

I'm excited for some NBA ball, as usual. Definitely want to watch the youngsters grow, but I agree that they will be pretty bad. It's easy to get excited, but when you look at the other teams in the league and thing objectively about it, 25-30 wins is about right. That's ok, Casey said as much during preseason. They're looking to grow with this core for one more year and then make some big noise in free agency next year to begin the real push. (side note: Is this the new forum for us MotownSports folks who've been on that forum for a decade? What happened to the other one? I'm old and confused, lol)

Brewers always had a special place in my heart since my tee ball and first couple little league teams were the Brewers. As a 5 or 6 year old I felt it was my duty to root for the Major League Brewers team since I was part of the little league Brewers.lol so stupid.

they're not going to be good this year. theyre a very unathletic team and are going to have a hard time competing with some of the league's high fliers. i do like stewart. killian has to learn how to shoot. i wish they would have sold high on grant while they had the chance. cade looks like he can do the most important thing in the nba right now: shoot. he'll get stronger. he'll get better with the ball. hopefully he turns into doncic or tatum. we shall see.

yeah - some friends have a 2000 sq ft place on a lake up north with one old log cabin wall because of that. But more recently my BIL who has a lakefront cottage that they were considering rebuilding into a 12 month home last year told me they've now done away with the old one wall rules. ☹️

Or maybe this is Cory's theme song

Stan thread

I would really enjoy it if JV ended his career a Tiger.

It seems like they have talked pretty openly on the broadcasts about impact signings this off-season, so I will be sorely disappointed if we don't end up with Correa AND a top pitcher (Verlander).

At least a SS they have some options if they can't sign someone - even if they are poor options. It's catcher I worry more about because Haase will not due as a regular catcher for any extended period.

Still time. that CMRivdogs like is valuable.

Hey, i just added my first "ignored" user. Learn how to spell and start using critical thinking skills and I might let you back into my feed.

I’m gonna say this just once, Bunker: you have no idea who “my guy” is, or what “my political party” is. You know nothing about me. After all, you’re new to this group. Aren’t you? So how can you know? You obviously need to pigeonhole people here into the democrat operative box for your weak, lazy, ad hominem-based narrative, because that’s the only defense you can muster for Trump in the face of the overwhelming incontrovertible evidence of just how truly terrible a human being, never mind president, that he was. He has wreaked incalculable damage to our country which we are going to spend the rest of my and your lifetime cleaning up—if we’re lucky. Since you have no interest discussion any of this in terms reasonable people do, I have no interest in engaging in any gainsaying games. I’m done with this.

According to the hard science/Engineering types in my family it means they are homos or bi curious or have deep seated problems. At a minimum you should be wary of any woman whose hair is a bit curly, bordering on frizzy who wears fishnets at work, who has a psych degree. You will be robbing liquor stores for her as she sits back in her lair laughing at what she got you to do for her.

I almost bought a used copy of that but I’m actually wondering if this is something I want to relive in detail. it was painful. That was the year I coined the phrase “Where’s my six runs?” because there were such high hopes and every baseball publication chose the Tigers to win the World Series. Some thought the Tigers win score 1000 runs. But it was last place. Last place.

The Tigers would have to watch Verlander's innings if they signed him, since he's coming off TJ. I would try to sneak Max in, but if he's not interested, then I'd go to Verlander and tell him he was my #1 all the time. It really sounds like the ocean is parting for the Tigers to make a deal with Correa. I would also be fine with Haase/Gardeau at catcher. They have been excellent.

Reading the 2008 season "expose" Tiger Confidential by Andy Van Slyke is instructive in the effects of suddenly adding players without regard to chemistry. Gary Sheffield always seemed to be annoyed to be there. Dontrelle Willis had his anxiety issues. Miggy may well have not been focused due to demon rum. I hope the Ryan Garko signing which points to an understanding of psychology in team-building portends better results for our sudden influx of new and expensive talent.

I think the Tigers sign Correa and Verlander. Depending on how the new CBA looks in regards to service time manipulation, Greene and Tork could start on opening day. In terms of attainable goals, maybe a winning record in 2022 and playoffs in 2023. Next year is kind of an odd year because they are definitely trying to win at this point, but they are also going to start two rookies and they will give Manning a long leash too. OTOH, when we were contenders under DD, Manning is the type of guy he probably would have moved for an established player.

penn state, iowa, michigan state, byu, coastal carolina. all more overrated than michigan.

I can see myself completely ignoring the whole thing.

Baddoo is the next Ricky Henderson.

Yeah, I can see the Dodgers winning the WC game. But with Hershiser out, I don't see them advancing. And anytime Boston and New York play, anything can happen. Look for a 4 to 4.5 hour game.

The Yankees vs. the Dodgers is about as appealing to me as a Ron Jeremy special on A&E Biography.

Its the immediate assumption I have of anyone who propagates sedition and insurrection.

She had no reason for an appearance this weekend, but popping in to say hi before she flies south for the winter. Will return for even more sweeps next season.

Is it spring training yet?

This feels like the worst game of the season. The previous three games they seemed to get better but this one feels like a dud. Four trips down inside the 10 and zero points.

This is nuts. Nothing about Trump is peaceful or patriotic. He is all about creating chaos and undermining America. His voluminous record on this account speaks for itself. And every reasonable person can easily see that Trump worked as hard as his imagination would allow him to destroy the peaceful transfer of power. So get out of here with this garbage. We’re not a Facebook group here.

I just looked at his historical stats and you do have a point. Over the last five years, he has consistently hit much better with runners on base. So, here's the solution: make him a pinch hitter who bats once a game always in a key spot. Yeah, I know he needs to have three crappy at bats to keep his mind in the game for his one good at bat!

Cabrera has a .386 slugging percentage. His RBI total is purely a function of opportunity. If his name was anything other than "Miguel Cabrera", he would not get that opportunity.

Re: Cabrera. All bets are off after the new CBA. That is to say, the cost isn't sunk until there are games next year.

I always wanted his name before the team name in the box scores. "Neifi Perez and the Detroit Tigers".

I would like to say that Scoot is my personal hero, and thank you for the new site!

Thanks a million. I was pretty confused, especially considering I hadn't been on MTS in a few months!

@MotownWebGuythanks for bringing it back man.