RatkoVarda

Harris was a common name for openings and he did not have to take this job; if the Tigers did not hire him, he would have gotten other opportunities, this winter or next; one of the questions he had to have for Ilitch should have been, what level of payroll can you consistently support in this market? that question needed to be asked in some form; hopefully it was and was answered to Harris' satisfaction. a $180M payroll in 2024 will be 76% of the first luxury tax tier (or $56M below limit in total dollars)

good thread here about how the right effortlessly creates its own reality (Gertz works for Media Matters)

Pipeline has the Tigers getting #32 (C-Ven), #44 (SS-Ven) and #48 (OF-DR) for 2023 international signings. They are using "interested" now, rather than "expected to sign" https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2023/international/cristian-perez-807008

Lawler injured again. You can imagine the negativity if Avila had picked him over Jobe.

SR has 9 infielders (had 10 but Jordan Lawler left); someone is sitting every day; Keith is getting 2b and 3b starts; maybe the Tigers asked for that; and asked for caution regarding workload.

both. they took a guy with a high floor who could play SS in the majors and had some power. then worked on his hit tool. It seems more often than not, prospects who play shortstop in college have to move to another position when they begin their pro careers. Pena is an exception to that rule as an infielder who definitely can stick at the premium position. How much a team believes he'll hit will ultimately determine his Draft status. A product of the Providence, Rhode Island high school ranks who went on to the University of Maine, Pena profiles as a solid to plus defender who can play shortstop at any level. He has good speed that leads to excellent range and possesses the strong arm and footwork necessary to excel at the demanding position. At the plate, Pena does have some strength and raw power, enough where some see 15 homers annually as a reasonable projection. But that's only if he makes enough consistent contact to reach that power. There's length to his right-handed swing, which leads to some swing and miss issues that can result in an overly aggressive approach. Some of the mechanics issues can be corrected once he gets to pro ball, and shortening him up will likely be a primary objective for whatever team drafts him. With his defensive profile, being able to unlock a more consistent bat could produce an everyday big league shortstop.

Metzler took over the draft in 2016 and first 2 years are blah. Rays have so much churn of both major and minor leaguers, hard to follow the threads of player acquisition. 2016 Tigers take Manning (1) and Funk (4); no 2 or 3; B Garcia (6); Schreiber (15) breaks out with Bos Rays take Josh Lowe 4 picks after Manning; Frailey (2) traded to Seattle (Zunio); Nate Lowe (13) breaks out after trade to Tex; draft but do not sign Z Thompson (11) 2017 Tigers take Faedo (1); failures! abound; Vest (12); D Carlton (34) Rays – 4th overall McKay (1) always injured; Rasmussen (1) does not sign; Walls (3) 2018 Tigers take Mize (1/1) and Skubal (9); Meadows (2), Clemens (3) and Hill (26) Rays - Liberatore (1) traded for Randy A; McClanahan (1); Ryan (7) traded to Twins for 2 months of N Cruz, breaks out with MN; Bradley (5) is their #1 prospect 2019 Tigers take Greene (1); Kreidler (4); Carpenter (19); Brieske (27); and Hess (7), Bergner (9) and White (26) all could get a shot in 2023. Rays take G Jones (1), Goss (1), and Johnson (1). Doxakis (2), White (6), Wisely (15) Murray (23) are popping up on top prospects lists. 2020, 21, 22 – too early (Rays took Ryan Cermak @ 71 in 2022 with traded pick) So the Rays have fared better, but the huge difference is that the draft (and J2) provides the fuel for all their incredible trades.

Rays don't appear to have drafted significantly better than the Tigers over the last 7 years, but they make trades and win a lot of trades

any reasonable offer to Judge in terms of AAV or years will not even earn a reply NYY, LAD and SFG are going to drive his price through the roof. I thought 10 years was unlikely, but certainly possible. I'll say 10/375

was still under contract? he cannot be making enough to matter, so I guess they thought he will have some value in Lakeland

I think this is significant

I think this is true only if you do NOT go to a hearing before arbitrator; so players have more incentive to settle

DD great at building winner, which is whole point of sports; effing plaques from Baseball America are just not the same Hard to believe (not!) that Avila picked the one pitcher in the Astros system in 2017 who did not turn into a solid player Yankee have been half-assing it for years under Cashman; outside of Cole, they have refused to spend huge on FAs or make big trade, content to be good enough Playoffs have been great; one of the best recent non-Tigers years

Newsmax says she's too crazy for them. Unclear how much of this can be traced back to her assault. Hopefully she gets the help she clearly needs.

link to Tiger only chat; basically rehash of what we geniuses already discuss here https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/10/offseason-chat-detroit-tigers.html

the EU would IMO tell them to eff off. Because in 10-15 years, another referendum would lead to them re-exiting.

she was a 60 Minutes reporter for years, and now is fully Q

judge rules no atty-client protection for Eastman-Trump plan to steal GA. Case was filed only to provide cover to claims that they knew were false.

Mike was a VERY bad Tigers owner for a long time. Until there was a competent person in place (DD) it really did not matter much what Mike did. Perhaps the same will be true of Chris. He obviously waited way too long to replace Avila, who he inherited from his dad. Hard to see how Avila could have kept snowing him under, unless Chris was hearing what he wanted to hear. When asked to spend, he did last winter. (Maybe he told Avila "no" in earlier years.) Really what I want from an owner is to stay out of the way until he is needed; patience but not too much; and a $180MM payroll.

Phils win 2-0; DD working toward another pennant

i can usually follow the bread crumbs on any conspiracy theory, but what Durham was supposed to be doing per MAGAs to take down the cabal, was beyond me

Red Sox have been doing lots of talking about how important Bogaerts is; this after offering him a laughable one year extension for $30M in Spring Training; Boras obviously wants to take him into the free agent open market; they have Story as a built in replacement; so maybe this:

more GOP election fraud. this is literally what Bush v Gore was about - the unequal treatment of different FL residents depending on the county they lived in

is he even competent to sign the contracts? I'm sure the current owners will be happy to take pennies on the dollar to get out, but hard to see how someone so clearly mentally ill can enter into a binding agreement.