casimir

Went 8 good before the final one was wrong. It’s a better feeling than whiffing on the first, but, damn, to be so close.

With Harris as a legit 3 point shooter off of the bench, that probably makes sense for the position. I guess the question is will there be enough outside shooting on the team to keep teams honest enough from collapsing inside the arc.

I see two SPs there. Mize will be returning from injury, so concern there is warranted. Manning's peripherals are more of a concern to me than his health. Bringing in 2 SPs fits well to begin the season. Faedo should be in the bullpen. Wentz can be in the Detroit bullpen or Toledo (I don't know his option scenario). Olson and Gipson-Long can be in Toledo biding their time. I wouldn't count on Turnbull returning. Brieske is a bit of a wildcard, but at worst he can be a long man out of the bullpen that could be stretched out? So maybe the wish list is an upper tier arm for one slot, and maybe the other slot is a bit dependent upon the health progression of Mize?

I agree with you, they need another proven position player, and really maybe two. Definitely an IF, probably 3B. I really hadn't looked at the free agent pitching. I think they need another two rotation arms (Rodriguez is opting out) and maybe another relief arm or two. There's never enough pitching. But I think that the pitching staff for the Tigers is a strength, and hopefully they can leverage that as a significant asset to the arms.

Sure, Harris is going to have to fill that role in the rotation. But does it have to be via free agency? A lot of (fan) hopes are pinned on Carpenter/Malloy/Keith/Jung. There's some questionable defense there. Maybe it makes sense to move one or two of those for other players.

It will be interesting to see what kind of contract terms Rodriguez can get this offseason. I wonder what other teams' perception of Rodriguez is.

Ain't deep enough.

Killian Hayes once he's traded.

I think if one of the issues occurred, it might be reconcilable. But I don't expect the Tigers to pursue an extension after both things occurred. He's opting out. He will go his way, and the Tigers will go their way.

No Urban Meyer rumors yet?

Well, so that begs the question, at what point are the players docked pay? Because this isn't all on the teams unless they are simply saddled with being complicit.

Its a step in the right direction. I don't know if it will be effective enough, but doing nothing won't be effective.

Well, OK, maybe the only way to truly test the versatility thing is to go acquire Ha-Seong Kim, put him at the top of the lineup, and see how he is deployed defensively.

Getting the first guess wrong on immaculate grid is so demoralizing.

They do that for Romano in Toronto. We were there for a game last season and they dropped the stadium lighting in favor of some red lighting and the music and all of that, and I’m thinking to myself, all of this for a piece of cheese?

Rarity of 4? Dude….

Phillips & Zobrist & 2023 Betts are the exception, not the rule. I can understand to a point why Hinch is trying the versatility this season. They've got a bad roster, including a part time DH that cannot contribute anything to the field. So, I get having a few set starters and then trying to mix & match elsewhere. It probably is a bit overblown at times, but along with the lack of talent, they're trying to see if anything clicks with any of the guys that they have. Now, hopefully that calms down next season. Hopefully there are a few more quality players on the roster that are worthy of being the primary player at one single position. I think @gehringer_2 mentioned that there is probably a tipping point between defensive versatility and defensive confusion/inefficiency. There have certainly been times this season where you wonder if they've gotten past that point.

Cincinnati Reds vs Detroit Tigers Watch: Tigers - Bally Sports Detroit, Reds - Bally Sports Ohio Listen: Tigers - 97.1 The Ticket, Reds - WLW 700

People like this drive me crazy. They are good at multiple endeavors, and I'm still struggling to find one thing for myself.

You know, one thing just occurred to me. Over the past few decades, the proportion of the active roster seems to have gotten higher on the noticed side and lower on the position player side. I think back to 1984 when active rosters were I think only 24 players. But the Tigers used only something like 13 or 14 pitchers on the season. Granted, they won the World Series on a good roster. The game has definitely evolved over time. I’m not sure it’s evolved in a great way. I know several around here have talked about deadening the baseball in the hopes of getting more pitching rather than throwing. It’d be interesting to see that alternate reality to see how that would affect game play, pitching injuries, roster composition, etc, etc.

That’s certainly possible. Time will tell. I’d imagine he’s not likely an option for Detroit next season, so we’ll see how he fares in Toledo next season.

You were good at it, no question. Then you wrote the mathball book, and you got all of the royalties from that like you signed a 10 year $25M per type deal, and then you lost your drive and your Troll+ index dropped from the 120s to around sports forum average. In a few years, you’re going to resemble the last seven years of Cabrera. Some folks here will still want to read your posts and wax poetically about your earlier work. Others will complain that your posts just don’t have the same effect as in yesteryears.

I would probably take a little exception with what was mentioned about position players. I don't think we'll see additional roster spots and/or reduced games anytime soon. That's added cost and/or reduced revenue. Ain't happening. I understand what you are saying with the day-to-day lineup and position players. But the Tigers might actually be closer to what used to be than we think. First, I would throw out C as a discussion point. Its too much of a daily grind, day game after night game, more concern about head injuries, etc, etc. Unless a team has top tier catcher, its too much to ask for 150 starts. Its such an outlier, its almost like extra credit is a team has a Rutschman or someone like that. So now we're talking essentially 8 offensive spots, 7 defensive spots from 11 nonC nonP roster spots. OK, well, barring any unforeseen catastrophic injuries or unlikely transactions, the Tigers are looking at beginning next season with everyday contributions from Greene, Carpenter, Torkelson, and Baez. That leaves 4 offensive spots left to deal with from among 7 nonC nonP roster spots. With Cabrera leaving, that opens up a bit more DH time for that group (sans Baez because if he's getting a day off from the field, there's no need to keep the bat in the lineup) to get the occasional day off. Greene's health and the fielding of Carpenter and Torkelson might mean more DH time for these guys than I think it will. But I think more often than not we'll see all 3 starting games in the field. The Tigers need offense, no question about it. I think Malloy gets a shot beginning next season to supply a bat. How he is deployed defensively, I don't know. Sparingly might be the best answer. But with Cabrera gone and with 4 of the aforementioned players donning horsehide more often than not, there shouldn't be a reason Malloy cannot be the starting DH. And even when one of the aforementioned 3 of 4 are at DH, is it going to be often enough that it pushes Malloy to the bench rather than starting a game out at 3B/OF? I don't know. My gut tells me Malloy sits more than he starts in games where one of Greene/Carpenter/Torkelson DH. I guess I wonder how often that will actually occur, but I suspect Harris/Hinch has that possible plan in place for next season. If that balancing act can work, now we're talking everyday players at DH, 1B, SS, LF, RF. I think it covers the top half of the lineup (Malloy is probably at the top somewhere with his OBP) with Baez dropping toward the bottom. It also allows Harris to seek one everyday player via trade (or a free agent like 3B Matt Chapman) to fill a spot elsewhere. DH Malloy LF Greene 1B Torkelson RF Carpenter 3B Chapman (sure, its a dream, but let's spend money that ain't ours) 2B SS Baez CF Meadows / Vierling C Rogers / ?? Is this too much a stretch for next season? Sure, Chapman probably is. But can Harris find an everyday 2B or 3B that can handle the defense and add depth to the lineup? I think from the offensive side, that's his biggest offseason task. I think that kind of a lineup pushes guys like McKinstry, Short, Maton, to the bench where they should be. And who knows, maybe they feel Keith is far enough along to fill one of those holes, but I kind of question that to begin for next season. But towards the end of next season, maybe he is the 2B in the lineup.

I would expect Ibanez to be gone. In fact, I would be disappointed if he returned. If Meadows is in Detroit to stay, that probably means Baddoo is a candidate to not return. If McKinstry and Short return, it has to be as bench roles or a in a platoon with each other at 2B.

Yes, he'll be 23 by Opening Day. He's been playing mostly SS in Toledo. .330/.414/.606 with 15 BB to 22 SO in 128 PA. But that batting line, especially the BB to SO, is a bit out of line for the rest of his career. I don't know, maybe he made an adjustment as soon as he landed in Toledo? If so, is it sustainable?