mtutiger

I still think that people underestimate how much Candy's lack of versatility around the diamond impacts the thinking here. People are free to disagree with it or how it may have led to the decision, but I really do think that if they are going to countenance having a placeholder 3B, Harris and AJ both seem to prefer one who can move around the diamond and play multiple positions. Even beyond Maton, you can see that in who they have brought in since (ie. McKinstry, Ibanez, etc.)

Yeah, this is the nuance that I think largely elides the conversation. And it makes one wonder if they did end up with a better option than what they have had (be it Maton performing better than he has to-date for the balance of the season or, assuming they had made other attempts to land a 3B, found someone else who came in and performed well) whether people would still view it as a mistake. That tends to be why I push back on this topic in particular - it's not as if they had the option to tender Candelario after seeing the free agent market or trade market develop a bit.... they had to do it before the entire thing got off the ground. Risk was inherent, but it was understandable. And I just suspect that some of the folks who deem it a mistake now, frankly, wouldn't feel that way if things had played out differently for everything that followed in the 2022/23 offseason.

JV might be the reason the Tigers haven't traded yet, for sure.

It's entirely possible that Harris didn't think he was "done done" but, when looking at his profile as a player, decided he wasn't a fit for what he wants to do here. We've talked about his defensive versatility before; the guy doesn't move around the diamond. Harris (and AJ) seem to value guys that can. So combining that with an overall poor performance in 2022, they made a calculated risk to move on and see if they could get production from someone else at that position. We know how it played out in the end, but while people can disagree, the decision when it was made had logic to it.

Somehow it's memory-holed, but the discourse going into the election and how the election played out was such a misfire by the people who do the stuff for a living. Like, outright dismissive to the point of being mocking of the idea that Roe v. Wade repeal would matter much or that election denialism would matter at all. And yeah, all these same folks are back for 2024 to provide the framing for this upcoming election. Just worth keeping in mind IMO

That's fair, but the other counterpoint is the 2022 Midterms.... the assumptions going in largely did not bear out either. It's fine to be concerned, but it's still 16 months out, the GOP still hasn't had any debates and Americans largely aren't thinking about the 2024 Election right now. And Trump, despite being in the news for his legal troubles, isn't necessarily on camera every day reminding the majority of Americans why they can't stand the guy, which will change this time next year.

Fair enough, but I think the MSM framing, if anything, probably oversells it a bit at the moment. Which is sort of what I'm speaking to.

I'm going to highlight this point because, again, I think the decision to move on from Candelario was the first "calculated risk" that Harris took.... aside from whatever misgivings he had with Candelario's style of play, I think he did it with the idea that he could get equal or better value to replace his position in the field. I think what came after Candy is fair game.... Maton has been underwhelming, although has looked somewhat better since coming back up. But it was a decision that had to be made at the very beginning of last offseason, before anything else had happened, and overall decision to move on was fine.... one that most execs in that situation probably would have made even. Lastly, I think the conversation on Candelario really absolves Candy of any responsibility for his role in being non-tendered. He really did earn his way out of Detroit in 2022 and was a major factor in the teams record last year. He shouldn't be let off the hook for that.

Despite G2's framing or the framing that the race generally gets in the MSM, I doubt there are many people who think "Trump Can't Win"

Its no different than when he was the first guy off the market at $5mil this offseason. And it surprised some folks, including around here. He has had seasons, including this one, where he has had some nice baseball card stats, but ultimately there's a lot of evidence that execs around the league don't value his skills in the same way as Detroit beat writers do. This trade is a good example as well - sure, he returned a couple of warm bodies, but they are scratch off lotto tickets in the grand scheme of things. And if Scott Harris made that trade if Candy were here and putting up similar numbers, I suspect he'd be getting raked over the coals for not getting enough value back

I didn't look at the tabs (I dont subscribe to the Times anymore), but the most overlooked part of Biden's disapproval gemerally is that it really is kind of a soft disapproval that is driven primarily by his age. And often is coming from inside the tent from people who would never consider a vote for Trump. Really, I would like one pollster to ask a follow up question of the disapprovers: If you answered disapprove and had to choose between Donald Trump, Joe Biden or neither, who would you vote for? Biden wouldn't end up with a majority obviously, but I suspect it would be some ~20% minority chunk that, added to his approval, probably puts him above Trump more often than not.

Yikes... You cannot fix this

The Nats return is honestly the position player equivalent of the Michael Fulmer trade last year... Just not worth getting angry over. Or for beat writers to shift into armchair GMs over.

I always mark my calenders for when the Tigers face their natural NL rivals lol

I mostly don't care either way.

I mean, it was a pretty underwhelming return, but it says a lot for the valuation that teams around baseball put on him despite his baseball card stats.

I couldn't help myself, ended up engaging him on it. The moves to replace Candy are fair game, but the decision to move on was fine. And as Ed suggests, the return would have been more minimal at $7mil even.

Maybe Evan Woodbury should be GM lol

I honestly didn't realize that Gene Simmons was still alive lol

I take everything Morosi says with a grain of salt, but this is right. And probably explains why it's taking a little more time to develop. If it's 2 PM CDT tomorrow and nothing has happened, maybe then I'll start asking questions.

Yeah, beggars can't be choosers. And tbh, the Tigers have shown a better ability to develop pitching and to sell the place to free agents (see Lorenzen), so I think they could manage even if they don't add to those ranks in trades.

Sure, but overall talent wise, they really should be in "best player available" mode over just emphasizing pitching

This comes across more like speculation than anything concrete

Admittedly I tolerate the guy, but the *****ing about Harris not having made moves when there's been very little movement thus far? Like, can we at least wait until Monday? lol

lol, you just cannot win with some people