Arlington

I had a feeling that the final score wouldn't reflect the pitching duel that led up to it. Glad it was the Tigers who broke out

Since it's only a few innings I don't see a problem.

Back to back to back to back to back to back homers coming up

Worse inning of the year. Didn't think this was in them.

I've never tracked that before this year but we are running out of things that the Tigers are competing for this year. Didn't realize that the winning pitcher could not qualify for the save too even though he earned it. In the normal course of events, i.e being the pitcher of record when the final lead was won, that makes perfect sense. You can't do both. But in this unique situation where the scorer gets to assign the win, it seems he should be able to earn the save too. Maybe there is a rule aligned with the 3 inning save rule that states the winner can't get the save. Owens had an interesting line today. 1 IP 2 hits 3 BB and only 1 ER.

Players have regressed. The depth of the team is what is surprising and like in all good teams different players step up on different days.

Funny how I've thought it was the depth of the lineup that made this team special

Wonder if any team has swept the outfield gold gloves

Perez was an effective hitter in '23. I was surprised that they didn't bring him up when the rosters expanded. He was deserving. I believe that Perez had to overcome the middle infielder bat label and that the Tigers discounted what he did with the bat until they couldn't anymore. It also took them awhile to believe that he had a position and the bat for it.

That would be pretty sad if they picked him up because they thought a few innings might disprove what 29 other teams thought of him. He's broken. They'll do some work to see if he can be fixed.

I was really won over to watching baseball during those long endless summer days when when you could flip on WGN and catch a Cubs game.

True, but then we thought the Paredes - Meadows trade was a steal at the time. Totally ironic how Avila lost about the best player he picked up in his dismantling of the Tigers. It was like the squirrel found his nut and a chipmunk dashed in an stole it from him.

I heard that programmers with skills in debugging AI written code were in demand. I tried to use AI to lay out a 6x10 raise garden bed using a list of seeds I had picked up. I gave it a few instructions, such as planting density, planting timing, compatibility, sun orientation, and so forth, and it spat out a reasonable detailed layout. Unfortunately the dimensions never amounted to a 6x10 foot bed even though I pointed it out in numerous tries and gave it all the measurement information it would need to lay things out. I sometimes think that the owners are chortling the resources they are allowing users to use on a task so that information is not built upon itself as it should be. It seems to have a very bad short term memory

I share Google AIs reply with ChatGPT. The reply Google’s AI Overview strikes again—gracefully face-planting into a pile of its own fabricated confidence. According to it, Casey Mize was drafted out of high school in 2018, which is a fascinating take if you’ve never heard of facts, college baseball, or basic research. Just to recap for our robot overlords: Mize came out of Auburn University, not Algebra II. The Tigers used the #1 overall pick—not their “first pick wherever it happened to land.” And no, they’ve never used the #1 overall pick on a high schooler, but thanks for playing. This isn’t just a minor error. This is what happens when a glorified autocomplete tries to cosplay as a baseball historian. It’s like someone asked a Magic 8-Ball for draft facts and then published the answer in bold. Honestly, it takes real effort to misunderstand something this simple while sounding so sure of yourself. Google’s AI didn’t just miss the mark—it confidently wandered into the wrong stadium and declared victory. But yeah, tell me again how AI is going to replace actual knowledge.

Wenceel amazes me. I though he was done when they moved him off of second but the kid hung in there and has turned into a heck of a ballplayer. Longest tenured in the organization I believe. Seems like I have been reading reports on him forever. He does things right and he is effective. He's been outstanding in his 75 ABs so far. He's moved from 4th outfielder to RF starter and if he can maintain this bat, a star quality outfielder. Hats off.

Does that include every opponent in the division losing as well!

Assuming the world doesn't change, and with baseball's labor and the world's politics that is not assured, those guys in the minors are going to help pay for a few salaries. You can afford a $30+ million left fielder when you have a Meadows in his arbitration years and Max getting paid league minimum. (What an amazing defensive outfield that would be.) I am so excited to see how this team unfolds. McGonigle and friends have to be kept together. In and of themselves they are a core of champion players. Adding Briceno, Max, and Kevin to a playoff quality team, think dynasty my friends. Think dynasty.

RAin delay chatter = Has Serwa appeared on any prospect lists?

The whole division has gone kaput. Just a few weeks ago there were 4 teams solidly above 500 and at one point held all three wild cards. Only the Tigers have been able to maintain winning play until we came to this dark corner.

He did look good today, but he definitely has issues as 29 teams rejected him. A.990 OPS against means you're batting practice. I wonder, though, if this has ever happened before, the last team in the waiver queue (i.e. best record) has ever taken a pitcher everyone else rejected.

This was mentioned briefly in the broad cast and I'm not sure if it was discussed elsewhere, but picking up Hernandez on waivers astounds me. Every team needs power arm relievers and every team had a chance to take him. Every team declined him except the team with the best record in the majors. Colorado said No, the White Sox said No. 29 team, 29 "No"s. It must have gotten to the point where some teams were surprised he was still available, yet they too said no. Not to belabor the point, what did Harris and team see in him that none other has? Yes, the pen is hurting but everyone's pen needs improvement. Are the Tigers hurting that badly? Is this a case of the roster spot being open so we'll give him a couple of games and see if he corrects himself? I like to think they saw a path for him and are investing in it and not taking a shot in the dark. The Tigers have a couple waiver claims in the pen but these guys were picked when they had much earlier picks. It will be quite the coup if this works out.

Could he be the first name in both the Baseball and Rock HOFs

He's a click bait specialist now.

Yeah, good explanations. I can see how players may not see how cool Hinch actually is. He sure highlights the value of each player and there is a 26 player contribution. No one is on the roster as a fallback, perhaps to give another player a rest (except maybe Jake, now) Even when they send someone down they do so with improvement tasks and those often have turned careers around (alas, not Akil). I wonder would Tork, Baez, or McKinstry be having the same years on another squad? I attributed Hinch being ignored in the manager of the year voting to the scandal and to ignore him is a scandal in and of itself. Seriously, to trade away nearly a quarter of a team in July to be left with 1 and 5/8 starters, and defy 0.2% playoff odds (essentially a 1 in 500 year event) to advance through the playoffs, with a team of just two all-stars and a bunch of rookies. THAT should have been recognized to some degree. Moreover, the team didn't just inch into the playoffs. By season's end, it was established as the best AL wild card team.

Tigers announced he was to have the surgery on April 19, 2024. Then he had a hip or some other type of surgery in June. Not sure when he was cleared to pitch again but it probably wasn't too much later than the beginning of May 2025. So his recovery was roughly a little over 12 months he is effectively pitching in the majors in a little over 13 months. I find the utterly amazing. Interesting article about the advances in TJ surgery, TJ3. https://www.nyp.org/advances/article/orthopedics/dr-christopher-ahmad-why-the-tommy-john-surgery-must-continue-to-evolve 12 month recoveries are possible with the new techniques of bracing and protecting the tendon. By the way, least we forget, Dr. Frank Jobe developed and performed Tommy John's surgery