mtutiger

I actually like Asa Hutchinson, he'd be the most acceptable GOP candidate (even above Sununu), but unfortunately his brand of conservatism isn't going to fly with today's GOP primary voter.

Don't the players have some agency in all of this? AJ isn't out there taking ABs....

I get the bigger picture stuff. But in the micro, even with them being bad, that was a winnable game and they didn't get it done.

Hinch doesn't get a free pass. I just don't think this is the biggest reason why they lost tonight's game. It is unrealistic and unsustainable to ask your pitching staff day in and day out to hold teams to less than 4 runs. It's not an excuse for Shreve or Hinch, but this offense walked more than 10 times and had the bases loaded with less than two outs on three occasions tonight... and walked away with four runs to show for it. No matter how you cut it, that is unacceptable. Better teams would have cashed in on those opportunities and had kept the game competitive, if not won it, despite the failure of the bullpen or management of it.

Probably a good thing the NFL Draft is on to distract folks, because this has to be the most infuriating loss of the season, at least it is for me. It's probably more common than I realize in the moment, but taking over 10 walks in a game and losing has to be very uncommon. But totally achievable for this crew lol

Just cannot do it and expect to win. Like, you can point the finger at AJ or Chasen Shreve all you want, but a better offense scores more than seven runs tonight.

36 LOB... 36

Oh I know, but **** happens in baseball. It all gets some blame. My only point is that you can't score less than 4 runs a game and expect to win consistently. Particularly against good teams

People will put a lot of heat on AJ for leaving Shreve out there, but don't forget the offense.... a better offense has at least 6 runs right now with how this has played out, not 4

The Orioles announcers comparing Torkelson's struggles to Ryan Mountcastle

Man, Zach Mckinstry is really growing on me... just a real gamer

That 2nd inning looms large... happy they have some cushion, but they needed more than just one run last inning

Jeez, finally!

Would it kill them to drive in a run here?

That's probably where I am as well. Not even saying that the hypothetical happens, I doubt it.... but I do think this division is pretty bad, so it adds a level of uncertainty to the mix.

lol

I know people are discounting the possibility because the entire fanbase is jaded about this team and it's prospects, but given the tire fire that the division largely is, what happens if this team manages to find itself within shouting distance of first place approaching the deadline? Like, <5 games out? E-Rod should be traded in any circumstance, imo, but that's an interesting counterfactual. And I dont know that it's entirely out of the realm of possibility, especially if Tork and/or Greene start producing as we want them to.

Should be noted that Brady Singer has been pretty awful this year, fwiw.

This is exactly right.... fans wring their hands (understandably) about Tigers 1st Round Picks specifically dating back to when Avila first started, both in terms of how they have panned out and in terms of who was selected (ie. Jackson Jobe). But it only tells part of the story. But the bigger, more fundamental problem comes down to the fact that they haven't found much past the first round either.... the Cleveland Guardians are an excellent example of an organization that hasn't had much success picking in the first round yet has had success identifying and developing ML talent; you have to go back to Triston McKenzie in 2015 to find a player who has had success up to this point in the major leagues. But they have also found and developed talent past Round 1 that has come to the big leagues and performed.... the Tigers have not. Hopefully Harris along with the other PD/scouting hires help change that culture.

Aside from the ****tyness of it all, it's yet another piece of evidence that it's just bad politics.

This is a really interesting thread and kinda mirrors a little bit of how I've been thinking about our situation as a family.... On the whole, Texas has been good to me and in many ways isn't the stereotype that people make it out to be.... OTOH, the politics of this place was a lot more reasonable when I first moved here in 2012 than it is now, where, like other red states, culture war is King. It was easier to ignore and not think about as much back then, nowadays politicians here pass more and more draconian bills that wouldn't have gotten a hearing 10 years ago. All of this despite the state being closer electorally than it was in the past as well. Politics would never be the primary reason to consider relocating, but at the moment, it definitely isn't helping the argument to stick around either.

Chicago White Sox... Are they really this bad?

On another note, two weeks ago, people wanted to shoot Scott Harris into the sun for presumably not kicking the tires on Michael Fulmer. Today? If Michael Fulmer were in this bullpen, he would have by far the highest ERA of anyone currently in there. Interesting how things change.

I won't beat a horse dead, but I'll just say that AJ's interview on 97.1 last week provides a pretty good summation of how we should approach Tork and Greene. But when fans are involved, that's easier said than done.

Not that it would be for Malloy, more likely Kreidler, but one could see him being sent down in the next few days. Just hasn't done much