mtutiger

Omg a lead

Lol, seems like McKinstry is always up when there are multiple guys on

Good AB by TORK

The Rays lucked out, Tigers and Nats back 2 back lol

I've seen enough of LaGuardia from the inside... not sure why I'd want to see overhead shots of it for hours on end haha

I do think the author is correct though in that fans act like this hell that we are living through is something novel in the history of this franchise though. I wasn't around for any of the good that happened in the 1980s.... for some of us, the introduction to this ballclub was the mid to late 1990s. Basically all I knew until 2006 was **** baseball. Mike ended up getting the right guy and we got to see a very successful run, but if we are being completely honest with ourselves, he was a pretty lousy owner during those earlier years. That's not really an excuse for Chris I, if anything he should learned from the mistakes of his father. But I do think the full bio of the father isn't complete without acknowledging how piss poor they were prior finding success in 2006. It shouldn't have taken that long. And while I wouldn't say there's a "moratorium" on talking about the bad times under Mike I, they sure do get glossed over a lot.

Brian's long lost brother?

So Tyler Nevin (who raked in his three games in Toledo this weekend) comes off of the injured list this week.... Do they really send Ryan Kreidler down instead of firing Zach McKinstry into the sun?

This may be the point that you are trying to make, but with the exception of Miguel who is way past his sell-by date, each of these guys *are* those sorts of vet players that are supposed to be taking the heat off of the young players. Adding another Wil Myers isn't gonna magically take the pressure off Riley Greene or Tork if these guys aren't doing their job.

This is why I don't get the comments in other settings on the internet (shoutout to MTS, there may be disagreements, but it's more grounded here) about how Hinch is preparing to take the express out of town. Literally nothing about his comments after games this weekend or body language really showed that, but people tend to read whatever they want onto anything he says or does. No different than last year when people were saying the same stuff before Lynn Henning was outed for having misreported (invented?) AJ Hinch's optout. My position hasn't changed on him, he's not above criticism even if the talent isn't where it needs to be. But realistically, no, I don't think he's on the hot seat, and I don't think he's leaving and am pretty sure he had an idea of how 2023 would go entering this season.

Just in general, the focus on tanking for draft picks that Avila pursued just papered over the need for an org to just produce players from the more rank and file prospects as well Think Cleveland or St. Louis.... sure, they've had some high draft picks come in (Jordan Walker this year for St. Louis), but they also are good because they are able to develop guys who aren't Top 100 guys and have them come onto their team and produce. At the moment, we are kinda left hoping that some of the reclamation projects and hangers on from the Avila days (ie. Meadows, Lipcius, Wenceel Perez) can fill that role. And there's plenty of reason to be cynical about that until we see them produce in the big leagues and until the new regime can insert more pieces into the system.

I don't know how much Hinch was involved in the search process in finding Harris or not, I suspect that it was somewhat independent because the team wouldn't have wanted the appearance of Hinch getting one of his guys / tail wagging the dog, nor should they have tbh. (EDIT: Chas' post kinda confirms this, forgot Cody's reporting above) Having said that, while I know that both Hinch/Harris are likely both circumspect people and know how to talk to the press, there hasn't been even an inkling of suggestion of dissent between the two of them. They appear to be more of a partnership to me that Hinch/Avila ever were, which is probably a good thing in the grand scheme of things. The issue that we are dealing with here is that the foundation of this franchise is shaky, and it will take time to fix that. It wasn't going to be fixed in one offseason. One imagines that both Hinch and Harris are clear eyed on that; I don't think Hinch came into 2023 thinking this would be an easy job.

Yeah, I'm with you in that I don't think AJ is leaving or that he'll be fired. I don't see any indication of friction between him or Harris.

Pitching is definitely the exception.... I guess I'm talking more about the hitting.

My comment really wasn't meant to say that AJ should be on the hot seat or anything but rather that the Tigers problems, as a whole, have as much or more to do with deep-seated cultural and organizational issues than they do purely on talent imo. And that's where the new regime needs to be given more time, signing free agents cannot fix flaws in the culture of an organization.

Don't know whether the Tigers were in on Brandon Drury, but he said after he signed that he signed for less with the Angels because he's from the West Coast and wanted to stay out there. It's not like going to the store and buying a loaf of bread, for sure.

Incidentally, Chafin was also the only player they added last offseason that I didn't see our fanbase complain about not living up to their contract. Which, again, demonstrates how much free agency isn't a sure thing and how it tends to be utilized more by teams trying to make up those last 5-10 games in the standings over teams on the bottom who don't have a good foundation to build on.

Putting this in this particular thread over the game thread given that the discussion has turned toward bigger picture. We all agree that the first three games were unacceptable, that much I think we can acknowledge. But one big question I see regarding this team going forward, and perhaps where there is disagreement, and with the caveat being that we are only through three games against a very good opponent, is how much of what we saw in St. Petersburg is cultural and how much of it is talent, or if it's a mix of both to varying degrees. PECOTA had this team at 66 wins, Fangraphs had them at 71 wins. An average of the two seems reasonable on paper for the talent they have - this isn't the 2003 Detroit Tigers that was trotting out Gene Kingsale and Nate Cornejo and the like, so no, I don't see them competing with them. So I see there being cultural and mental issues facing this team on top of whatever issues with talent they have. You would think that is fixable, particularly bringing better approaches to the plate, but IDK. And that also raises questions about coaching as well.

Those K rates are scary, but he can draw a walk and still has upside... Another LHH OF, which isn't ideal either. Not sure who you DFA to get a rid of him... Would have to be an infielder like McKinstry or Short. But overall the kinda guy the Tigers should be looking at on the wire

I thought one of the beat writers suggested they did check in or try on Wil Myers, but I could be wrong. Jean Segura I know was one they were in on. As far as signing any of these guys is concerned, I would have been fine with it. It's not that I am against signing free agents entirely, but if I am being honest with myself, I am not going to delude myself into thinking they have a better chance of being competitive shopping in the 1 WAR bargain bin. The significant advances toward improvement have always had to come from within.

It isnt so much that those guys could turn into solid adds more than I dont understand how shopping at the 1 WAR bargain bin for the Wil Myers or Brandon Drury types is that much better. Other than it gives the fanbase someone new to complain about when they fail to live up to their contract (see Jonathan Schoop)

Will Myers wouldn't have given me any more faint hope. And I doubt he would given the fan base anymore hope either. Regarding your second point, we will see tons of churn this year regardless.

I hear you, but then again, we are working with a 3 game sample size so far this season... I need to see more of the finished product and what it produces before I'm convinced that Wil Myers would have changed their trajectory. As an aside, outside of the offseason, this is the absolute worst time of the year as a baseball fan... this isn't really the sport to make broad sweeping pronouncements after three games, but every year, fans do it regardless. Sparky said 40, but I'd even take 20 at this point.

The other piece part of the inflated prices isn't $$$, it's length of contract. When Haniger, coming off of missing most of last year got 3 years, that's nuts. Hell, Tucker Barnhart, who everyone in this board wanted to fire into the sun last season, got 2 years. My guess is that free agency being deprioritized in this first offseason has a lot to do with contract lengths as much as it did finances.

I just asked a simple question about which free agents would have affected a different outcome in the last series. With the overall point being that bringing up free agents is sort of a red herring given how terrible they were in this one particular series IMO. I understand your argument in the bigger picture, I see the pros and cons to both ways of thinking. As this season wears on we will probably see the stats bear out that certain free agents could have theoretically helped them a game or two in W/L if they had the chance to sign them. Again, just stating that, given how they played this weekend, I just don't see how signing Wil Myers or Brandon Drury would have affected a different outcome in these three games.