Tiger337

2 hours ago, romad1 said:

We aren’t mad enough

The only thing that will make people mad is an economic crisis.  A third of the country doesn't even care.  They don't even vote.    

23 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Is the batting average and cutting down on strikeouts by Greene acceptable if it takes away some of his HR total? The guy is red hot and I hope it continues but what about the tradeoff? Less power for less strikeouts? (NOT complaining)

Greene's slugging average is the same as last year and is OBP is 120 points higher.  I will take that trade off! I do think he'll end up somewhere in the middle with lower batting average and more power than he has right now.  

On 5/15/2026 at 10:00 PM, tiger2022 said:

Will anyone on the roster get to 20 HRs by the end of the season?  It seems like Dingler will 

I'm starting to think only Dingler, Carpenter, Torkelson, and Greene will even get to 10.

Greene and Torkelson will hit 20 home runs.  Carpeneter will make it if he is healthy.  Dingler will make it if he doesn't wear down.  

Just now, gehringer_2 said:

and nobody yet on rehab....

I am kind of tuning out at this point - just listening on the radio as I do other stuff.  

3 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Tigers sent the following OPS hitters to the plate tonight: 278, 470, 480, 577, 592

OPS of players who could be in line-up if not injured: .750 .716 .678 .641

6 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

So ignore the hitting problem because pitchers may get injured. Try to win low scoring games. In that case, we also had the problem with our defense. 

They didn't ignore the hitting problem.  They added McGonigle.    Their offense was not great, but it was fine in April.  Then the injuries started.  You still haven't said who else you think they should have added.  You could make a case that they should have added some hitting instead of Verlander and Anderson, but what great hitter would they get for that money?    

36 minutes ago, tiger2022 said:

Because a home run gives you instant scoring.  You don't need to rely on stringing two or three hits together by punch and judy hitters.  

I understand that but other teams are able to score runs without a high home run total.  Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Miami have fewer homers than the Tigers, but they rank in the top half of MLB in runs scored.  The difference is the get on base more often than the Tigers.  

26 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Ugh...first off, they signed Valdez BEFORE they had pitching injuries. Olson was still being counted on, so was an effective Flaherty. As well as Melton. So current injuries, while predictable, arent the reason they signed Valdez. But hitting WAS a known problem and that problem was ignored. You cant say McGonigle was their answer to our hitting because nobody knew he was even going to be on the team. Its like....one strawman argument after another.

So, they just should have assumed that there would be no pitching injuries?  Olson was not healthy at any point in the off-season and Melton was somewhat of an unknown.  You need at least 7 starters on your roster going into the season.  

5 minutes ago, tiger2022 said:

McGonigle is a nice little hitter but isn't going to provide any power.  He's on pace for 7 home runs.  He's not going to be a game changer, especially with a bunch of guys who can't hit around him.

The only reason I didn't like the Valdez signing is He's an average guy who relies on ground balls coming to a team with very limited range and defensive ability in the infield.

I don't understand the obsession with home runs.  I think he is a game changer...but he can't do it by himself.  Trout never could either and he hits plenty of home runs.  

Just now, Sports_Freak said:

Again, it's not the fact that they use advanced stats to help them make decisions. Its the incorrect use of them thats the problem. It was really, really obvious last season that our offense needed serious help. We had an off-season to sign or trade for needed help. We didn't sign or trade for anyone. That's a failure...whether they used some secret formula or whatever. Luckily, there's still plenty of season left. We need to get Javy and Carp back. Short and Perez are worse than black holes. They're hopeless.

They needed hitting, but they also needed pitching and they had a limited budget.  Maybe they did pursue a hitter and they couldn't find one that wanted to sign for what they were able to offer.  Or maybe they tried to get one in a trade, but teams did not have a reasonable asking price.  Or maybe they decided that Valdez and Jansen would improve their run prevention more than the best available hitter would improve their offense.  I was pretty happy with the team going into the season.  I was still happy after April, but then the injuries piled up.  

You should know that I am not a Harris slappy, and I was pretty unhappy with the off-season before they got Valdez.  I thought he would make a big difference and he still might.  I still don't know what hitter you think they could have gotten that would have changed everyting.  

2 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

I'm not a GM. I don't make trades. Same as Harris...he doesnt make trades. But yeah. You're right, everything is fine and wonderful because everyone uses analytics.

I didn't say everything was fine and wonderful.  What I am saying is that they would be a worse organization without analytics.  If other teams are using it better than them (I don't know if they are), that would be a problem though.  

11 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

this of course is the crux, it's not what you know, it's how you use it, and whether in the end you are better on the field. The Tigers' analytics dept may be every bit as good as Cleveland's, and Hinch may be a more analytically well versed manager than whoever has sat in that chair in Cleveland, but for some reason they keep having as much or more success rotating in effective players over time. Or TL,DR version - just because you use analytics is no guarantee you are going to make the most optimal choices. I think in the main the failure in this org is still its lack of success finding players in Latin America. Something like 30-40 of all MLB talent originates outside the US and the Tigers seem to still be missing the boat there completely.That means the development end is playing with one hand tied behind its back.

Yes, that is why I said I was happy that the Tigers had finally embraced analytics, but I wasn't sure whether or not Harris (and company) was a good GM compared to other analytic GMs.  

The lack of international talent is a problem.  I am not sure if that is left over from the previous administration or whether it's an ongoing problem.  

9 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

I dont know, I'm not a baseball executive studying analytics. People in charge of the team are responsible for success or failures of the team. The last couple of years were pretty successful but that is NO reason to try to improve. And again....hitting and scoring runs were a problem heading into the off-season. That problem wasn't addressed.

They adressed it with McGonigle.  

2 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

You dont seem to understand. Its not the use of stats that bothers me. Its the misuse of them. What possible analytic looked at the Detroit offense from last season and said we didnt need more and better hitters to consistency score more runs? Whoever looked at this team and decided we needed pitching was....wrong. spending millions of dollars on Valdez? We would have been better off signing a corner outfielder and a DH type. But yeah, losing that argument only means we have a team thats soon to be 10 games out of 1st place. Maybe when Javy, Carp and Torres get back, we'll make a run? Or...maybe not?

Which star outfielder did you want them to buy at the outfielder store?  You don't think the Tigers don't know that a great hitter would improve their team?  They probably looked at the players available and determined that improving their pitching would be easier to do given their budget.  Again, how can you say that they didn't need pitching given all the injuries they have had?  They were in pretty good shape before all the injuries hit both the offense and pitching.  

5 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

The off-season. We needed hitting and spent, overspent, on pitching. We. Needed. Hitting. We. Signed. Pitching. Doesn't analytics say a team needs to score runs? Kinda basic baseball, no?

You can never ever have too much pitching! Their strategy was to win with great pitching and an average offense which is a defensible strategy.  It was working pretty well until everybody got hurt. 

How can you say they didn't need pitching when a couple of weeks ago (before Mize came back) they didn't have enough pitchers to get through a series?  Which batter did you realistically want them to get?  Was it Suarez again?  Because he sucks this year too.  

4 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

They need a field manager because that's who you blame when a team goes south. NOT that I want Hinch fired but managers in general. They're hired to be fired, eventually. The buck stops with the skipper. You can't, fire 25 guys (26), as the old expression goes. A managers main job is the lineup card and pitching changes. 

I agree with that.  

7 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Short term, huh? What did the Tigers have? A 15 game lead last August? Yeah, there were pretty obvious hitting (and scoring runs) problems. So we went out and signed...pitching and ignored the most obvious and bigger needs....because....analytics? I guess we can see who lost that argument....the fans. But it's OK...we'll win the division because....again...analytics say so. Stay the course and keep running out the same guys every day. Un-huh.

And BTW? Who said anything about firing Hinch or Harris? We made the playoffs 2 years in a row and even won a couple of series. But making the team better is a goal that many would like to see.

Not sure what any of that has to do with analytics.  Most teams are heavily using analytics now, because they can no longer survive without it.  You lost that argument a long time ago and I don't know why it's still a debate.  

Teams ALWAYS need pitching and there was more pitching available at the deadline than hitting.  I don't think analytics told them to sign Morton and Paddack.  Those guys were signed because they were cheap and would give them innings.  By the way, you were begging them to sign Suarez and he sucked after the deadline. Your gut failed you.  

5 hours ago, chasfh said:

I do think it’s fair to question Hinch’s recent inability to keep the team from playing like the walking dead.

I think Hinch is a good tactical manager.  I am too much of an introvert to understand why professional athletes need a manager to get them fired up, but I am open to the possibility that the Tigers don't respond well when things are not going well.  Then again, things were going just as bad in 2024 and they performed miraculously.  

5 hours ago, chasfh said:

Carpenter and Gleyber had good Aprils, we are not getting similar performances from them in Mays, and that’s a factor in the team’s poor numbers this month. Not sure what you think I’m not seeing.

Small sample sizes.  You can find plenty of 8 game periods where Carpenter has not hit in his career.  

1 minute ago, tiger2022 said:

I am of the mindset that players win games amd managers lose them.  Just look at last year's game 7 in the world series where Schneider overmanaged  his team into a loss.  I know Hinch and Harris want to win with a bunch of fringe and role players to prove how they are next level genius, but it's not happening.  Talent is the key factor in winning.

In general, I think players win and lose games, but there are exceptions.  Hinch's management in 2024 was brilliant.  

23 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

I’m mostly Harris positive, but my opinion of him as GM will be HIGHLY affected by how he handles this trade deadline and then the offseason (depending on lockout)

I am very happy that Harris turned them into an analytic organization.  That is a huge step.  Whether or not he is just a run of the mill analytic GM or whether he is a really good analytic GM remains to be seen.  

I am not sure there is much he can do at the deadline, but, in general, I am waiting see how creative and aggressive he gets in the future.  

3 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

Who? Javy? Carpenter? The problem is mostly scoring runs, our pitching has kept us in most games. I agree, it's not on Hinch. We need a RH power hitting RF or DH. We didnt address our September drop-off in the winter and it seems to have carried over.

Edit; oh, and it's time for Tork to make a Toledo visit.

They were hitting fine as a team before all the injuries, so bringing back Torres, Carpenter and Baez would surely help.  bringing back Meadows and Baez would also help their abysmal defense.  None of them are great players, but they are better than Short, Perez, Lee and Jung.  Losing Skubal kind of hurts too.  

1 hour ago, SoCalTiger said:

Just don't turn him into Colt Keith . An infielder that can slug , run and play defense is mucho valuable. Yes 44% is crazy but 30% is ok with me if he slug 50 %. The Tigers have become too focused on OBP. It's important but IF you can Slug then let it rip. Leave the OBP to those without power.

If he can hit like Keith and be a great defensive shortstop, then he will be very valuable.  

14 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Not saying anything new here at all, but just to come back to the point that anything the Human organism doesn't keep working atrophies. I can't think of a single reason to think that won't be as true of brain function as it is of everything else.

That is already known to be true.  Lack of brain function contributes to dementia.  

28 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Analytics arent working. Maybe theyll win an occasional game or so but long term? Playing the platoon of using Short and an ineffective Tork will get basically the same results as the last 60 games or so. We are we, about 40 games under .500 since last fall? How much data is needed?

Analytics is exactly what you want to use long term.  You lost that argument a long time ago.  I guess short-term, you could try different things, but there aren't a hell of a lot of options right now.

Or they could fire Hinch and Harris and bring in some old school guys that will shake things up and play the hunches?