2025 Detroit Tigers General Discussion Thread

[AlaskanTigersFan]

12 minutes ago, Edman85 said:

Funny that over the offseason people said the same about Baez too. All the more reason to kick the tires on Maeda for a bit and see if there is something there.

Baez has a .349 BABIP. I expect him to end around .280 for the year like he has been for the last few years. I don't think his resurgence is real. Man, I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I am. If a SS gets injured somewhere, I'd try and flip him for a RP right away. 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Edman85 said:

Funny that over the offseason people said the same about Baez too. All the more reason to kick the tires on Maeda for a bit and see if there is something there.

I could take other side on that debate though. Kenta looked like he was on an ordinary age related decline, Javy was coming back from a fairly major surgical repair. I think it's a fair argument that you did have more reason to see what Javy had than Kenta. The counter point  - Kenta is a pitcher, and if a pitcher has a pulse, they get a look.

[Tigermojo]

They also asked Maeda to prepare differently in the offseason and he did that. His velocity was up in the spring.

[papalawrence]

2 hours ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

Baez has a .349 BABIP. I expect him to end around .280 for the year like he has been for the last few years. I don't think his resurgence is real. Man, I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I am. If a SS gets injured somewhere, I'd try and flip him for a RP right away. 

I think that's part of it, but I also see less chasing. The numbers are likely inflated, but I believe he can contribute

[Sports_Freak]

18 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

One difference is that JV got to his 117th game two years earlier.

Yeah. JV is a future hall of famer. (Maybe). Skubal need 5 or 6 more successful seasons. 

[Tiger337]

6 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Yeah. JV is a future hall of famer. (Maybe). Skubal need 5 or 6 more successful seasons. 

There is no maybe...

unless he fails a PED test, gambles on a game he is pitching in or has relations with an underage girl.  

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

There is no maybe...

unless he fails a PED test, gambles on a game he is pitching in or has relations with an underage girl.  

You just never know with the sportswriters voting. Look at Lou Whitaker. I still haven't found any good argument or reasons why he's not in. JV lost out on a deserved Cy Young award one year when one of these clowns totally left him off the ballot.

[Tiger337]

22 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

You just never know with the sportswriters voting. Look at Lou Whitaker. I still haven't found any good argument or reasons why he's not in. JV lost out on a deserved Cy Young award one year when one of these clowns totally left him off the ballot.

As much as I love Whitaker, he is not in the same class as Verlander.  Whitaker should be in the Hall of Fame based on having been very good for so long, but he never had an MVP type season.  Verlander has longevity and he also had multiple years where he was the best pitcher in baseball.  

[Arlington]

5 hours ago, AlaskanTigersFan said:

Baez has a .349 BABIP. I expect him to end around .280 for the year like he has been for the last few years. I don't think his resurgence is real. Man, I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I am. If a SS gets injured somewhere, I'd try and flip him for a RP right away. 

Javy's BABIP is similar to his BABIPs during his Cub years.  https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/javier-baez-595879?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb 

[ben9753]

JV is first ballot no doubt HOF. He’ll sail in. He has the peak, the longevity and the hardware. Him Scherzer and Kershaw are the defining faces of pitching for almost 20 years. They’ll all go in first ballot. 

Edited May 29 by ben9753

[gehringer_2]

On 5/27/2025 at 4:26 PM, papalawrence said:

Vierling back to IL with shoulder inflammation 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/tigers-place-matt-vierling-on-injured-list.html

Gives Malloy another shot to do something. Today was a good start.

Edited May 29 by gehringer_2

[gehringer_2]

IIRC Parker was eligible to return May 26. So far with the Hens in 19 AB he's had a HR, 3B, 2B, SB, 4 BB, 12 TB. Sounds pretty ready to me.

[papalawrence]

Tigers are 70-33 in their last 103 regular season games. This week Steve Phillips said he is not convinced they are for real. He's usually pro Detroit. Go figure. He's wrong 

[romad1]

There are no AL Central games today.  

[IdahoBert]

7 hours ago, papalawrence said:

Tigers are 70-33 in their last 103 regular season games. This week Steve Phillips said he is not convinced they are for real. He's usually pro Detroit. Go figure. He's wrong 

103 games is quite a while to continually cheat “fate.” Of course we have yet to hit one of those stretches where even really good teams will inexplicably lose eight out of nine games.

Perhaps going with the odds in critical situations actually works. It’s not like the Tigers have rubbed two sticks together and created an atomic bomb. It’s more like a series of micro decisions made within contingent circumstances and motivating the human element to buy into it. 

[romad1]

1 minute ago, IdahoBert said:

103 games is quite a while to continually cheat “fate.” Of course we have yet to hit one of those stretches where even really good teams will inexplicably lose eight out of nine games.

Perhaps going with the odds in critical situations actually works. It’s not like the Tigers have rubbed two sticks together and created an atomic bomb. It’s more like a series of micro decisions made within contingent circumstances and motivating the human element to buy into it. 

Philips is talking now about them with his partner.  His partner is saying tigers to world series 

[IdahoBert]

57 minutes ago, romad1 said:

There are no AL Central games today.  

There are only five games total in all of MLB today and one of them is due to a rain out yesterday so otherwise there would be only four. 

[Motor City Sonics]

13 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

There is no maybe...

unless he fails a PED test, gambles on a game he is pitching in or has relations with an underage girl.  

Well, maybe the gambling on a game isn't a deal-breaker anymore.     Maybe the underage girl thing too.    Just as long as JV plays the victim enough.     #peterosestillaintgettingin

 

Edited May 29 by Motor City Sonics

[oblong]

Going back last year to Aug 11 when the Tigers were 55-63, these are their "bad" stretches. My criteria was to exclude 2 game losing streaks unless they lost 3 of 4.

They lost 3 of 4 in early Sep 2024.

They lost 3 straight to the Dodgers to start 2025

They lost 3 of 4 in mid April.

They lost 3 straight to Cleveland last week.

During that stretch they lost 2 or more in a row only 6 times.

It's not a fluke.

 

 

[romad1]

16 minutes ago, romad1 said:

Philips is talking now about them with his partner.  His partner is saying tigers to world series 

His partner is Eduardo Perez.  I was searching my memory banks before I posted that before but the data could not be retained. 

[romad1]

Steve Phillips says he enjoys watching them but they lack the stars of the Yankees.  Welp.  If only Riley Greene suddenly went Dennis Rodman...

[romad1]

I hope they put the groundskeeper flipping off the crowd on our World Series program cover. 

[oblong]

32 minutes ago, romad1 said:

Steve Phillips says he enjoys watching them but they lack the stars of the Yankees.  Welp.  If only Riley Greene suddenly went Dennis Rodman...

The 2010, 2012, 2014 Giants say hello.

Those are what this current iteration of the Tigers remind me of. Stud pitcher followed by a bunch of quality players who can run, play defense, will not wow you offensively, but somehwere as that lineup turns over, they will get the hit you need.

 

 

[romad1]

6 minutes ago, oblong said:

The 2010, 2012, 2014 Giants say hello.

Those are what this current iteration of the Tigers remind me of. Stud pitcher followed by a bunch of quality players who can run, play defense, will not wow you offensively, but somehwere as that lineup turns over, they will get the hit you need.

 

 

Meanwhile the 2025 version of the Giants seem fragile and not a sum-of-its-parts team.   Heard multiple comments about lack of focus and lack of aggression from multiple observers.  Contrasted nicely with our current team.  

[IdahoBert]

A team full of stars can be a mere assemblage. This is what people who are impressed by swagger enjoy. This is what executives who are selling a spectacle want to present  

Then there are teams with an organic synergy which is more than the sum of its parts. The Tigers do have stars. No doubt about it. But the Tigers are a team and not a mere assemblage of parts so they have a greater momentum that carries them over rough spots where other teams stumble.

The Tigers certainly play the numbers,  but they also access the human element in a way that is truly exciting, where role players get to be the star of the day.