Tiger337

Let's get this thread back on track:

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

Or fall flat on their faces. Because, you know, Red Sox.

You sound like a Red Sox fan.  Please don't take that as a slur!  They used to be that way, but they have won more championships than any team this century.  

4 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

As Dean Palmer I would have wanted him.

Especially for only two years.

Heck, even as Rob Deer.

 

Deer was better.  They both spent their age 30-32 seasons with the Tigers.  Deer accumulated 6.1 WAR during that time.  Palmer accumulated 3.6.  I was always amused at how fans praised Palmer and ridiculed Deer when they were basically the same player offensively.  Deer was a little better defensively.  

28 minutes ago, buddha said:

murakawi signs with the white sox.  seems like the japanese rob deer.  was there any interest for him from detroit?

Dean Palmer

48 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Something had to have happened with the guy. You don’t go from being projected at 8/158 from a Big Six team to 2/28 from one of the worst franchises in baseball because of swing and miss and defensive liabilities. Those had to have been already baked in to the projection. Something else is up. 

Maybe the guys who made the projection just overestimated his value.  The article said that he got some longer term offers, but hde settled on a short-term deal so he could prove himself in the Marors and do better after free agency.  

5 minutes ago, Tigermojo said:

Tigers Re-Sign Kyle Finnegan - MLB Trade Rumors

JHM DFA for Finnegan.

I liked Malloy's ability to get on base vs LHP, but I don't think he'll ever hit enough to compensate for his lack of defense.  Somebody will give him a shot.  

38 minutes ago, oblong said:

It is a compliment.  What possible thing could I learn from a beat writer or columnist  that I couldn’t learn from this group?  I don’t post often in the wings or pistons threads but I read every day. I don’t watch the pistons that often but I do see nearly every wings game.  I don’t post because I have nothing to offer that hasn’t been said. 

Beat writers can regularly get quotes from players and managers which is something I don't think anybody here can do.  Most quotes are manufactured and uninteresting, but it is still good to have that access.  

31 minutes ago, papalawrence said:

Skubal throwing t-shirts at MSU game today. 8/350. Get it done

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CjgP72TM1/

Hope he doesn't hurt himself throwing tee shirts.  

9 hours ago, Shinzaki said:

My problem with Waldon is her lack of objectivity...comes off as more of a fan than an observer.  I also question her status as a minor league baseball writer when she offers little in the way of analysis of player development.

Seems like a pleasant enough person though

Right, if she was a random blogger, there would be no problem.  Baseball America giving a job to someone with no qualifications just seems odd to me.  I had a subscription to BA for a long time, but dropped it when she became the Tigers minor league writer.  I am not going to pay for that when I can get better analysis for free.  

Michael King signs with Padres - 3/75 with opt outs.  

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/padres-to-re-sign-michael-king.html

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

IDK about that. Outside of Stavenhagen and Jason Beck I'm hard pressed to think of any Det baseball writer that hasn't doesn't get savaged here. Back in the day I think Tom Kowalski was pretty widely liked, but that's been about it.

I get a kick out of Beck because he's been around for three decades and still looks like he's in college.  It's amazing how long he's been around without pissing people off too.  He doesn't really do anything except calmly confirm any important Tigers news.  When he talks, you know it's true.  

22 minutes ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

I never understood that hate shown for her. It must be the fact she is a woman. They don't rail on any other writers quite the same way.

I would argue that a lot of people are nice to Waldon because she's a woman which makes some posters push back.  They rail on Lynn Henning and Chris McCosky (Hackosky) all the time.  There is a whole thread here dedicated to making fun of McCosky.  Jerry Green was another one.  

32 minutes ago, chasfh said:

And yet I see Ed's point in that the memory of it can activate in the subconscious and still lead people to intellectually acknowledge Emily's shortcomings in prospect evaluation but still have the feeling prospects fail at a much higher rate than they actually do.

 

I guess I am fortunate not to have Emily Waldon living in my subconscious.  Fans of all teams pump up their prospects way too much.  In reality, the Tigers have had ****ty prospects for most of the last 40 years.  I am glad they finally have some legitimate ones.  

17 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

This is kinda where the Emily's of the world blowing smoke up people's butts about Dixon Machado or Brock Deathrage leads people to think all prospects fail. McGonigle is generational and the best Tigers position prospect of my lifetime. Could he fail? Yes. But lumping him in because others before him took some lumps is overly simplistic. McGonigle is on another level, and I don't think that is emphasized enough.

I think most people here know that Emily doesn't really know anything about the potential of prospects.  

3 hours ago, chasfh said:

That amount would be one, and it wasn't even this past year. Obviously, Harris's terrible deadline moves lost Riley three wins versus 2024. That cost us winning the division!

So, was he a bad draft pick by Avila or not developed properly by Harris?  

9 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

You know who else were top prospects? Jace Jung, Justyn Henry Malloy, and Trey Sweeney. Kinda scary counting on prospects, even if they're considered "can't miss" types.

I am always skeptical of prospects, but none of those guys were regarded to be in the same class as McGonigle and Clark.  

41 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

I’m fearful that our heralded “top prospects“ could end up being different versions of Colt Keith. 

Most of them probably will be that or worse...But I am hoping a couple will become above average major leaguers.  I am also hoping for a steady flow of new prospects for several years.  

Just now, chasfh said:

Yes, why couldn't Harris have replicated the brilliant trade deadline moves that won us the division in 2024?

I am really hoping this is a joke.

1 minute ago, Sports_Freak said:

Comparing our current GM to our GM from 3 years ago?

There is no comparison.  The question is not who is better but how much Harris has contributed to last season's success.   

16 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Not sure where the discussion is currently but just want to go on the record that Al Avila deserves basically zero credit for anything good that has happened to the tigers over the past few years. He’s terrible and no amount of 3 WAR seasons from Riley Greene is going to change that. 

I do agree that Avila was terrible, but I don't think Harris deserves much credit for them making the playoffs the last two years. I give that credit to players plus Hinch and Fetter who were already in place before Harris took over.   I don't see any remarkable contributions from Harris to those teams.  And that's not really a knock against Harris since I know he's trying to develop from within which takes time.  I think we'll see big contributions from Harris in coming years.  Even if Harris turns out to be a cookie cutter analytic GM, he'll still be a lot better than Avila and most of the other GMs they have had in my lifetime.   

20 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

I mean, the same is true of me, and we are about the same age, but Harris's gray hair situation has really accelerated.

There's a common thread between him saying that the same players doesn't mean the same team, and me pushing back on the lazy "who acquired them" analysis in the Avila arguments last week, though. I just don't think people fully grasp, for whatever reason, the role that development plays on today's game. If you want to take a shot at the staff, you can point to how the offense regressed down the stretch.

Development is very important, but players can players can develop in different ways.  Sometimes, they improve organically through experience or by watching or listening to teammates or even players on other teams.  Some people have an innate ability to self teach and are able to learn from mistakes.  Then there is the scientific or analytical development which I think is what people are talking about when they stress organizational development.  And some players can't develop because their potential is too limited.  I think it's impossible to accurtately divide the credit between organic and organizational development especially with young players and I think just looking at the final win/loss record is as lazy as stopping at player acquisition.   

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

this is almost like a parody of Harris you would see posted here. yikes.

Harris said the team is counting on returning players to develop during the offseason.

"Just because a lot of the names are the same, doesn't mean the team is the same," Harris said.

I don't want him to depend on it, but I don't think what he said was wrong.  There is a good chance we'll see a lot of internal improvement.  

What does it mean that Horn was "activated"?

2 hours ago, RatkoVarda said:

Keller, Weaver, Houser all sign for 2/22M

So, Keller is not going to start for the Tigers?

23 hours ago, SoCalTiger said:

Super post. bang on. If I may add dominant "Villain " teams are actually good for the league overall. Fans love the drama and passion they bring. It's why the Yankees and Dodgers sell out their away games as well. It's not going to change because even the cheap owners benefit from it and the League sure as heck is not killing their golden goose and getting fired for it.

I agree with this.   Dynasties and villain teams are great for sports.  There is nothing more fun than having your favorite team beat one of them.