Tenacious D

He’s ahead of Mr. Tiger. He’s in the top 20 in almost every key offensive category.

Hader doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. He could help lengthen the bullpen, but he’s not necessary. I think ERod is coming back, unless the Tigers are frustrated with how he handled the Dodgers trade. Sounds like he wants back, or open to it, and will use his opt-out to improve his contract. If he’s back, that’s your free agent starter. Upgrades will come from trades. We actually have some good trade capital. If the Padres are in financial disarray due to their local TV deal, I’d figure out how to get either Soto or Tatis. And I’d start with Jobe and Keith. We need our new Cabrera (the peak version).

Some pre-game images…

Where was Chris Ilitch? His absence was conspicuous.

I was disappointed that we didn’t sign Mitch Haniger last offseason. And this is reason #1,302 why I should never be a GM

I really think that Faedo, Wentz, Gipson-Long, Brieske and maybe even Olsen, will end up in the pen and a few will be successful at it. Also, don’t be surprised if we see some combination oh Hurter, Flores and Madden next season. That might not be a good thing, though, as it probably would be out of need (I.e. injuries or poor performance). Reese was called up that way—he wasn’t pitching well in AAA, but we had a need. And he has developed nicely. Add Mize and Turnbull into the mix, and I’m not very concerned with our pitching depth. Keeping or replacing ERod would be nice.

Didn’t hurt Kirk, Bo or Deion

Yes. Improvements should come by just reducing or replacing the AB’s that McKinstry, Ibanez, Baddoo and Miggy have accumulated.

That’s going to help, but it will all come down to lineup improvements. Can everyone improve and can the rookies contribute? I think it’s possible, but with great risk for ‘24.

Probably depends on your assessment of where Tork, Greene, Carpenter, Rogers and Baez. Collectively, I would expect better offensive production from this group, but also a bit risky.

I’m on board with letting Keith, Jung, Malloy and Meadows get regular time in the majors next season. Could be boom or bust, but all have demonstrated that they are ready for this opportunity.

Regarding of how we value our players, I hope we can all agree that our division is up for grabs. I’ll be disappointed if Harris and co. do not capitalize on this. I’m not saying they should take a Dombrowski approach to live in the moment and let the future be damned, but there are moves that could be made to make us sustainably competitive much sooner.

I’m aligned. The only exception for me is if you can acquire an upgrade or complement to Rogers. Dingler looks a bit redundant to him. Agree we should apply resources to the pitching staff to make it elite, or provide the depth to trade from later.

There’s the rub. We need him, but he’s also our best trade asset to fix an offense that was one of the worst in the majors.

Look at his numbers this season. How many LHP hit 97 and have two other wipeout pitches? He was elite this season, and has a reasonable contract. I get the injury concerns, but there should be none around his performance.

I don’t remember anything about Kaline’s playing career—my fandom started in 1976. Glad I was spared from his decline. I remember him most on the Tiger telecasts with George. And having batteries named after him. Im probably more forgiving of Miggy because of the debilitating injuries he has has encountered. He’s not been able to use his legs to hit for sometime, which sapped his power. Without this, he is easily a top-10 all-time hitter in many categories.

? He’s probably a top-25 pitcher in the MLB. He’s not a mid-back of rotation guy for almost any team. I think you’re selling him short.

I think we’ve been pretty solid in bullpen games this season. Wentz going 3 innings probably doesn’t help the cause tomorrow.

Why? What’s the rush? He doesn’t strike me as the type to let it affect his play this season.

Carpenter looks lost. He’s swinging from a knee. Hope it’s a just a slump.

I can think of something worse.

So, this is the game we’re not trying to win this weekend?

Why? He was one of our better hitters this season. For all of the consternation that everyone seemed to have at the beginning of the season, my AAT was pretty good. Not HOF good, but he had some key hits playing part time. I’m glad he was on the team.