I agree with this. It seems a lot of people turned on him based on the article by Rosenthal. I am still not clear on the timing of events there. I don't know exactly what happened last year either.
Nothing has really happened to him. He is still leading a life of luxury, still scamming people, still very popular and polling no worse than before, still getting all the attention he craves. America can not quit Trump.
Stacked with pitching? How many of those will make it through the end of next year without getting hurt? They seem to do a good job with pitchers but their overall run prevention is still 21st in MLB.
I would also like to see them concentrate on position players, but the free agent market looker thinner in that area this off-season. So, their best effort to try to be more competive next season is to add a pitcher.
The players only broadcast this weekend sounds like a **** show - Monroe, Jones, Gibson , Rozema. At least Gibson and Rozema might have some good stories.
I believe it's just a fluke as he had a normal split last year. However, righties don't typically have as much trouble with same handed pitchers as lefties do, so I don't know that he'll need to be platooned. I think the question with him will be whether he hits enough to compensate for his lack of fielding skill.
Maybe his personal problem was more serious than other people's personal problems. Or maybe he is just entitled and lazy. He was physically able to pitch, but maybe he was mentally unable to pitch. Some people don't perfom well when they are dealing with mental issues. Either way he's not helping the team when he's not playing just like he was injured.
What do you think of **** Allen? He seems like a comparable person, with all his personal problems and contract squabbles. Would you not want him on your team?
It is a factor, but pitchers are so fragile that I almost expect them to miss some time during the season now. A "flake out" is no different from an injury for me. He is a talented pitcher, but not especially durable.
I want them to have at least one good veteran pitcher next year. If extending him is ther best way to get one, then I have no problem with it. Right now, his remaining contract is 3 years/48 million which would likely be a bargain in the open market. 4 years/68 million would be reasonable. There are some good free agents (maybe including Rodriguez) available which might be better and also might be more costly. I hope they get one of them.
I remember that well. I laughed because he knew the emory board was in there and he deliberately tossed it pretending that he had no idea it was in there. His excuse was that he needed to file his finger nails in order to throw the knuckleball properly.
I feel like Martinez never got as much appreciation as he deserved. The top Tigers in OPS+ in at at least 1,500 PA:
Cobb 171
Greenberg 161
Heilmann 149
JD Martinez 147
Crawford 145
Cabrera 141
Cash 139
Tettleton 135
Cullenbine 135
Kaline 134
https://stathead.com/baseball/player-batting-season-finder.cgi?request=1&match=player_season_combined&order_by=b_onbase_plus_slugging_plus&ccomp[1]=gt&cstat[1]=b_onbase_plus_slugging_plus&ccomp[2]=gt&cval[2]=1500&cstat[2]=b_pa&team_id=DET&comp_id[]=AL
All I want is a consistent winner. If they do it with a bunch of cooperative guys or like the 1970s Athletics it is not important. to me. Chances are they'll get along better in their good years than in their bad years regardless of who is on the team.
That sounds like bull**** that management people say all the time. I am hoping they are better at it than the previous administration, but I think those are the kind of things that all management people want. They'll make exceptions if a **** like Doyle Alexander is unbeatable for two months.
When it comes to building a team culture, I leave that totally up to the team. I don't think that is something fans really know about. The players may very well like Rodriguez and be sympathetic to whatever his problems are.
The Tigers have a history of malcontents, who were important parts of some great teams. Two notable examples are Ty Cobb and Denny McLain.