2025 Detroit Tigers General Discussion Thread

[Toddwert]

On 8/2/2025 at 1:41 PM, Edman85 said:

Tyler Owens released. Very likely procedural and he'll be re-signed. He's injured, so they couldn't outright him.

Roger and Chris of the Tigers minor League Report kind of hinted on their last show  that there is something going on off the field with Owens

[Edman85]

4 minutes ago, Toddwert said:

Roger and Chris of the Tigers minor League Report kind of hinted on their last show  that there is something going on off the field with Owens

He re-signed.

[tiger2022]

Only 6 games ahead of Cleveland.  

Is it time to worry yet? 

If the Tigers go 23-23, the guardians will need to play 30-18 to catch them.  That's tough to do.  But playing .500 seems tough to do with the Tigers pitching.  

If they blow the division and miss the playoffs at least they still have all those prospects...that's the important thing, right? 

  

[Edman85]

2 hours ago, tiger2022 said:

Only 6 games ahead of Cleveland.  

Is it time to worry yet? 

If the Tigers go 23-23, the guardians will need to play 30-18 to catch them.  That's tough to do.  But playing .500 seems tough to do with the Tigers pitching.  

If they blow the division and miss the playoffs at least they still have all those prospects...that's the important thing, right? 

  

If they blow the division and miss the playoffs, probably would have done that if they gave up prospects for a higher priced reliever anyways.

Edited August 6 by Edman85

[Tiger337]

I don't go on Twitter much now, but I was just there.  So many fans want Harris fired which is ridiculous.  Lot's of ignorant fans out there.  There are times when I'd like to see him be less cautious, but he's got the big picture right.  He is doing great things for the organization. 

[lordstanley]

39 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I don't go on Twitter much now, but I was just there.  So many fans want Harris fired which is ridiculous.  Lot's of ignorant fans out there.  There are times when I'd like to see him be less cautious, but he's got the big picture right.  He is doing great things for the organization. 

I remember a quip from a hockey GM once about how negative some fans will be no matter what: "His favourite team could win the Stanley Cup and he'd still complain that the Cup parade didn't go right past his house".  

 

[papalawrence]

47 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I don't go on Twitter much now, but I was just there.  So many fans want Harris fired which is ridiculous.  Lot's of ignorant fans out there.  There are times when I'd like to see him be less cautious, but he's got the big picture right.  He is doing great things for the organization. 

I agree. If Illitch did fire Harris, several teams would be in line to snatch him up. He has built a solid system

[romad1]

Huge relief to see Carlos M essay about how we should panic 

Bet the Tigers winning the division now. 

[chasfh]

10 hours ago, lordstanley said:

I remember a quip from a hockey GM once about how negative some fans will be no matter what: "His favourite team could win the Stanley Cup and he'd still complain that the Cup parade didn't go right past his house".  

 

And then if it did go right past his house, he’d complain about the noise.

[tiger2022]

2 hours ago, romad1 said:

Huge relief to see Carlos M essay about how we should panic 

Bet the Tigers winning the division now. 

You would get terrible odds on them.  

[romad1]

Just now, tiger2022 said:

You would get terrible odds on them.  

Depending on if the betting parlor was within earshot of Detroit radio. 

[Tiger337]

15 minutes ago, tiger2022 said:

You would get terrible odds on them.  

Not that I care about betting odds, but they are still very heavy favorites to win the division.

[kdog]

They need a functional Parker Meadows back..even just for the defense.

[casimir]

44 minutes ago, kdog said:

They need a functional Parker Meadows back.

I thought it was his hamstring?

[tiger2022]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

Not that I care about betting odds, but they are still very heavy favorites to win the division.

Thay's why you would get terrible odds.  I just looked, it's -7000.

You would need to risk $7k to win $100.

One of the worst bets I could imagine.  They are just one star player injury away from a potential 5 or 6 game losing streak.

[Tiger337]

9 minutes ago, tiger2022 said:

Thay's why you would get terrible odds.  I just looked, it's -7000.

You would need to risk $7k to win $100.

One of the worst bets I could imagine.  They are just one star player injury away from a potential 5 or 6 game losing streak.

I don't bet regardless, but you are probably right about the risk/reward part.   The Tigers are not uniquely vulnerable though.  All of their opponents are just as vulnerable to injuries and slumps.  We are more in tune with the Tigers warts because we watch them every day.  

As an aside, No team is ever one star player getting injured of a 5-6 game losing streak.  A star player is typically worth 5-6 wins over an entire season, not one week.  

Edited August 7 by Tiger337

[tiger2022]

The Guardians are +4000.  That would be a much better bet from a risk/reward aspect, but 6 games is really tough to make up in 48 games, and they would actually have to make up 7 games to overtake the Tigers.  I have no idea how tie-breakers work in mlb.

 

[romad1]

13 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

I don't bet regardless, but you are probably right about the risk/reward part.   The Tigers are not uniquely vulnerable though.  All of their opponents are just as vulnerable to injuries and slumps.  We are more in tune with the Tigers warts because we watch them every day.  

As an aside, No team is ever one star player getting injured of a 5-6 game losing streak.  A star player is typically worth 5-6 wins over an entire season, not one week.  

Sure wish we had another 5 WAR player though. 

[tiger2022]

11 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

 

As an aside, No team is ever one star player getting injured of a 5-6 game losing streak.  A star player is typically worth 5-6 wins over an entire season, not one week.  

True, but sending out Skubal sure gives you a lot more confidence to end a losing streak than hoping Flaherty, Mize, Paddock, or Morton can throw a somewhat competent game.

[alex]

19 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

As an aside, No team is ever one star player getting injured of a 5-6 game losing streak.  A star player is typically worth 5-6 wins over an entire season, not one week.  

I am not sure there is a way to quantify that - at least yet.

A star player lose, even at 5-6 WAR, is huge. There is also team psychology involved as well.

Look at Garrett Cole with NYY. IF he had been around I would say the NYY might have 5-6 more W's at this time. When they lost Judge recently they fell again. When Cleveland lost JRamirez, and if were again - it is devastating. 

If Detroit lost Skubal, most here would say it is over - and that would hold merit and only be for 50 games or so and with a 6 game lead, let alone an entire season. 

You are correct in WAR, for sure - but IMHO, there is more to it than just that. I am not sure if it is measurable.

Edited August 7 by alex

[Tiger337]

15 minutes ago, alex said:

I am not sure there is a way to quantify that - at least yet.

A star player lose, even at 5-6 WAR, is huge. There is also team psychology involved as well.

Look at Garrett Cole with NYY. IF he had been around I would say the NYY might have 5-6 more W's at this time. When they lost Judge recently they fell again. When Cleveland lost JRamirez, and if were again - it is devastating. 

If Detroit lost Skubal, most here would say it is over - and that would hold merit and only be for 50 games or so and with a 6 game lead, let alone an entire season. 

You are correct in WAR, for sure - but IMHO, there is more to it than just that. I am not sure if it is measurable.

There is always uncertainty.  Sometimes teams thrive when star players get injured.  Look at what happened to the Tigers last year with every good player was either traded or injured.  WAR tells you how many games a team loses on average if a player gets hurt.  Sometimes they'll lose more and sometimes they'll do better depending on circumstances.  

Edited August 7 by Tiger337

[romad1]

The Tigers had more psychotic energy in that final push in 2024 than they have shown in July and August.   That could be anything though. 

[papalawrence]

Greene is going to get hot again. He's been incredibly hot and cold all year. That will help. Now the bulllpen, that's another story. Maybe pitching chaos over time takes a toll? I miss senior smoke and Guillermo. 

[Tiger337]

8 minutes ago, papalawrence said:

Greene is going to get hot again. He's been incredibly hot and cold all year. That will help. Now the bulllpen, that's another story. Maybe pitching chaos over time takes a toll? I miss senior smoke and Guillermo. 

Greene and Tork will never be hot at the same time though!

[lordstanley]

I may be overreacting to a) yesterday's loss; and b) the Guardians sweeping the Mets in NY. After Monday night's win, the Tigers had won 6 of 8 and had an 8.5 game lead and it looked like the Mets were about to get a walkoff win over Cleveland. If the Tigers had held onto yesterday's 4-3 lead and the Mets won 2 of 3 in their series like I would have expected going in, I'd be feeling more comfortable. All to say, if the Tigers sweep the Angels this weekend I'll relax a bit again.