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It stands to reason that one consideration when comparing the two in terms of WAR is that Tampa has been generally been drafting much lower in the first round versus the Tigers, who have spent the last 5 years at the top of the draft.

the point I was making about the Pudge and Ordonez signings was that they had very limited options at the time, as I believe Correa will too (for different reasons). I hope that isn't lost on anyone--don't make me unleash the full wrath of Jim Cowan on all of you.

I share a lot of indie country, Americana, and singer-songwriter stuff on here and if you dig that kind of music you should give a listen to Charles Wesley Godwin and his 2019 album Seneca. Seneca Creek (song below) and Strawberry Queen are my two clear favorite tracks from the album.

I think a lot of the success with a draft can be attributed to the development team, especially the later picks. It would explain why the Dodgers can find four nice prospects in one draft and the Tigers are lucky to have one high pick pan out.

This is not only a bad team right now, they aren't even fun to watch. Also, Cade can show up to the season anytime now. His numbers aren't THAT bad but the eye test paints a very different picture. He seems completely uninterested as if something personal is going in with him. No reason to panic but this is about as ugly a start to the season as can be. The only bright spots are a 33 year old who is likely gone at the deadline, Duren and Ivey in moments. Everything else is shit right now. Oh and I know the design this season is to tank for another high draft pick and Casey is the perfect coach for a tank team but at some point, developing THIS group of players has to be a priority (and not the next new shiny toy) and Casey is running this thing right into the ground with his idiotic rotations and garbage ISO, no ball movement, offense. Don't get me started on the switching defense that clearly doesn't work. I guess there's no point in firing him now because, tank, but they're going to need a coach that can get the most out of these players at some point or we're going to see young player stagnation to the point of no return.

Sure, the MLB draft can be a crapshoot, no question. When you were looking at the best player picked, are you looking at the best player of a particular team or the best player of the draft? Keep in mind, the Tigers have been drafting early. So, OK, Brendan Rogers might have been the Rockies first pick (3rd overall), there are 9 other 1st rounders that were picked after him with higher career WAR, including Andrew Benintendi, Walker Buehler, Kyle Tucker, Austin Riley,... If the plan is to bottom out and gather up high draft picks, those picks better pan out. Otherwise, what are we even doing here?

If he wasn't a lottery pick just 3 years ago, he would not be in the NBA.

Yep. That's what I've been saying as well. Get Duren in the starting lineup. I don't care if he's young and not that great at team defense yet. They need the rebounding, size, and verticality. You also don't want Duren and Bagley together off the bench because the spacing will be terrible. So it's a win-win. You can either start Stewart next to Duren and send Bey or Bojan to the bench unit, or simply send Stewart to the bench unit as you suggested, where he'll play alongside Marvin once he returns. Any way you slice it, it's better size and athleticism for the starting unit and better spacing for a bench unit that sorely needs it. And while we're at it, can we PLEASE get Casey to leave one of Ivey or Cade in the game at all times. This 5-man bench platoon garbage needs to end immediately. Nearly every other coach in the league staggers their two best players - it's not that hard.

I met Metzler 10 or so years ago when Baseball Prospectus held and event and Q+A with members of the Rays front office at the Trop. Nothing more to add, but this is an upgrade on Chadd.

Atlanta Hawks vs Detroit Pistons

I really miss the Notre Dame game.

I'd like to get him into some game action this year, just to get his feet wet, but the timetable should be as slow as he needs. Kid has the potential to be the best player we have had since Calvin, no need to f- that up by rushing him onto a losing team.

Insert meme of Richard Jordan berating Joss Ackland from Hunt for Red October "You mean you've had another abortion?"

Development is less assigning players to levels, more teaching them the right things. Avila/Littlefield/Chadd appeared to be stuck in their ways. I recommend reading the MVP Machine. Ironically, I believe there was a picture of that book in Avila's office, but it shows what teams like the Dodgers and Astros were doing way before the Tigers played catch-up.

I’m cool with this just because I want a Lions Hooker jersey.

this thread should come with a trigger warning.

There has been a bit of hyperbole about the Avila drafts in the sense that it often overstates the success that other teams have with respect to their own drafts; even the good teams draft plenty of players that don't pan out. Where the criticism is valid imo comes down to where they have drafted; for all the high draft picks, they haven't had much to show for it thus far. Maybe that changes as Tork/Greene get more experience, Manning progresses, Mize gets healthy, but they have been abjectly disappointing in this regard.

I’m sure it factors in, unless you meant for Jim Cowan to respond.

to clarify, Jim Cowan always speaks for me. He has my unconditional proxy on all of my personal affairs, including responding here. I do believe that Correa will/would sign with the Tigers if given the most attractive contract offer. I also believe we are one of a few teams in a position to provide that to him, and have the need. Most of the traditional big spenders don't have a need at SS. Now, if any of the teams with free agent SS's (i.e., Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves), prefer Correa and pivot to him, I think we would be in the mix for the displaced SS (i.e., Swanson, Turner, Boegarts). I also believe that no one, including Correa, would be short-sighted enough to get hung up on last season's performance. A savvy agent and/or player would recognize that this is a team trying to win--we increased our payroll last season and made some very progressive hires at manager and in the front office. Further, anyone with any reasonable intelligence would look at the Tigers and recognize that the team had a ton of bad luck in '22. All bets are off, though, if a player prefers a different geography. Given that Correa signed in Minneapolis, which has a similar climate to Detroit, it shouldn't be an issue, though it was clear he had no other viable options last offseason. My point is that geography and/or perceptions of the market might factor in, but I don't think our W-L record last season will matter.

Didn't there used to be a thing about Jeff Tedford QBs which caused Aaron Rodgers to slide in the draft? Is there even a school known for producing NFL QBs?

Fact Check: True Statement