Tenacious D

Who are your (4) choices that belong on the Tigers all-time Mount Rushmore?

Dombrowski moves to 2-3 in World Series. Impressive, though, that he’s made it there with four separate teams.

Shades of Dean Palmer!

I don’t think Correa’s market will be much better, unless one of the Dodgers, Red Sox or Braves decide he is a better option than their own impending free agent SS. Cubs could be a wild card, though.

Probably the Yankees. Better team and ballpark to hit in, which would help net a better long term deal. $2M is negligible in the grand scheme of things.

Who are our tradable relievers? Lange? Maybe, Jimenez, but I have to believe he was dangled at the trade deadline. Soto could be a non-tender given his late season collapse. I don’t see much that would yield anything of value. Teams typically sign relievers in the offseason and trade for them at the deadline.

Here’s the 2023 opening day lineup I’d like to see: LF Brandon Nimmo CF Riley Greene SS Carlos Correa 2B Javier Baez RF Austin Meadows DH Miguel Cabrera 1B Spencer Torkelson 3B Jonathan Schoop C Eric Haase/J. Rogers I’d be OK subbing Candy for Schoop, but really don’t want both guys next year.

I see that Nick isn’t the only combative personality in the Castellanos household. Telling the Phillies fans that they suck is in the first year of a long-term contract is going to be rough.

F the Astros. I want the Phillie Phanatic to get a ring this year.

Did we screw up the Jung pick? Is it possible that the guy who can’t field, also won’t hit very well?

I always think this is interesting—how does this work during the season? Players don’t get enough time off to travel home—is it so it’s more convenient for their family to visit them during homestands?

Yeah, Cleveland should pick him up. He's still solid and cost-effective, as many failed starters are.

2022 added Carlos Rodon and Joc Pederson, so not the same team.

definitely didn't have anyone else in mind--not close enough to other team's front office personnel. and don't have any objections to his style/type. just asking the question, because if I were a Giants fans, I'd be discouraged with what took place last year. And we hired the architect of that team. not being negative, just seeking other perspectives. this was a popular hire and I'm genuinely curious about what inspired that excitement.

that's fair, but I'm going by his limited track record. It's hard for me to point to any of his specific accomplishments. For the record, I'm optimistic that he'll be successful, but the faith that everyone has put in him seems a bit blind. And fashionable.

agree--the reactions varied from we had fleeced Tampa Bay to Paredes didn't have a role, and Meadows filled a need. No one could have predicted Candy's demise or Meadows physical and mental challenges. I still don't think it's a lost trade--no reason to think that Meadows can't be a contributor next year.

anyone concerned with the Harris hire? I feel that Tigers Twitter got physically aroused when this was announced, because he's 1) young 2) analytics guy and 3) not Avila. Seemed like a lot of group-think taking place, but if you look at his performance objectively, it's hit or miss. Clearly, SF had an amazing season in 2021, but that team seemed to overachieve and they fell significantly last season. Red flag? Someone had posted the SF transactions during his tenure and they seemed a bit underwhelming. Doesn't seem like they've had a ton of success via the draft. I hope I'm wrong, but I wish he had a more definitive track record of success--open to other perspectives. Perhaps I've missed something critical, but I fear this has the potential to be similar to Dan Quinn with the Lions, when everyone was excited because he came from the Patriots, but was a failure when asked to replicate that type of success with another organization.

They showed a graphic in yesterday’s WS game that the Astros had four pitchers, who were key contributors, signed as international free agents (for $10K each).

I categorize it as they weren't trying to lose, but also weren't driven to win. As you mention, they bought into a philosophy of building a team could be a sustainable winner, but failed at executing this (and had some shitty luck along the way).

There is some talent in the org--it's not barren, just unproven and snake-bit. Way too early to give up on the likes of Mize, Skubal, Manning, Turnbull, Tork and Greene, who've all seen the majors. Javy Baez, Austin Meadows and ERod could all snap back. And I think there could be more help on the way, especially with an improved development approach, in the form of Colt Keith, Dillon Dingler, Wenceel Perez, Parker Meadows, Josh Jung, Peyton Graham, Ty Madden, Brant Hurter, Dylan Smith, Jackson Jobe, etc. Unfortunately, we aren't on the cusp (unless Harris can pull together an amazing Hail Mary this offseason) and will have to be patient for a few more years.

Big game for JV. Beyond the obvious for his team. It would help his own reputation/legacy to change the narrative around his career performance in the World Series.

Avila had convinced him that signing expensive free agents was not sustainable and that the team needed to be built via the draft. This differentiated himself from Dombrowski’s approach, where we routinely sacrificed draft picks when signing veterans. I have a buddy who knows Chris—he told him the plan was to build a foundation through draft (basically tanking), and spend when the time was right. Apparently both Al and Chris believed that the progress made in 2021 warranted last offseason’s free agent investments. I’m cautiously optimistic. Won’t be a bunch of impulse purchases, like signing Fielder long-term because V-Mart got hurt, but that’s probably a good thing.

Why argue this point now? We’ll know within a few months time if ownership is interested in increasing payroll.

Agree, but nothing to get excited about. Striking gold (i.e., JD Martinez) is rare. I don’t think Harris was successful doing that in SF.

I’m not as confident in a lot of transactions—Harris’ hands are a bit tied, similar to what Dombrowski inherited. Too many injuries, underperformers and bad contracts.