08/09/2026 4:05p EDT Detroit Tigers vs San Francisco Giants

[gehringer_2]

3 hours ago, kdog said:

I view this as a reversion win...The opponent doesn't matter. In the 7th or 8th, Finnegan and/or Sommers blows the game if it's in June. They didnt' necessarily pitch well.  Jansen was better and Holton regained form.

Big test against the low event kings this week.

Did I hear Dan say something about Jansen having had an otherwise unreported hand injury earlier in the season?

[Tiger337]

13 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

Dude, have you SEEN Mikie Mahtook play?  Stud.

GRITTY too!

[monkeytargets39]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

GRITTY too!

Jordy Mercer will stabilize our infield

[chasfh]

16 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Finegan was fine, but so was Sommers.

Sommers has been our best blow-em-away reliever during the past couple weeks.

[monkeytargets39]

For the record, I didn’t mean that Finnegan and Sommers haven’t been effective lately as much as I mean that they have a tendency to allow baserunners moreso than what I’d like to see from setup/shutdown relievers 

[chasfh]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

I for one never lost hope because the slide occurred with the injuries.  And having experiencing what we saw in '24 and '25 with the Tiger and other teams I knew things can rapidly change.  There's no need to concede the playoffs to 3 or 4 other teams when are, at best, just a few games over .500.  This is not a team like those in the 2010's that were over the hill with bloated contracts that had to rebuild.  This team has the future on its roster.  Go for it...

 

I hadn't either although my toes were over the edge of the cliff for a short period of time. That nadir was May 31 when the Tigers got swept out of Chicago after I had to watch Miguel Vargas jack a walkoff bomb off Drew Anderson, who had the lead, and in front of friends of ours who are White Sox fans. Just galling. But by mid-June I knew we could still make a decent run at it if we just got some guys aback and played up to our ability.

[chasfh]

2 minutes ago, monkeytargets39 said:

For the record, I didn’t mean that Finnegan and Sommers haven’t been effective lately as much as I mean that they have a tendency to allow baserunners moreso than what I’d like to see from setup/shutdown relievers 

Finnegan's appearance yesterday was his biggest leverage situation since July 23 against the Royals, and the second biggest since June 3 against the Mariners. A.J.'s been keeping him out of those for the most part since May, although he can't keep him out of them all the time. He's on the roster, so he's gonna be used.

[IdahoBert]

2 hours ago, oblong said:

I for one never lost hope because the slide occurred with the injuries.  

I will admit to losing hope. I’m not a particularly rational observer and I feel most things before I think about them. And for me, the feeling of doom was so long lasting that my rational part gave up. I knew it could happen that they could turn things around, but it seemed remote.

I’m glad we discarded our two top pitchers - everything surrounding them was a distraction - and now that the team is back closer to full strength and we’re seeing what the youth movement can do, I have lots of hope. And instead of it happening in the future it’s happening right now! It’s amazing what it takes to tip the seesaw. Maybe I’ll remember this during other dark periods. And not be such a dweeb about it. 

[lordstanley]

I was prepared to write off the season, but what distressed me on June 1 was the concern that perhaps the Tigers had become the Orioles, with promising 86-87 win seasons being a blip. Given that the Tigers’ record from last year’s All Star Game until this year’s May 31 was bottom 5 in baseball. Now, regardless of whether or not the Tigers make the playoffs or not (I expect they will), the future again appears bright. 

[SeattleMike]

20 minutes ago, lordstanley said:

I was prepared to write off the season, but what distressed me on June 1 was the concern that perhaps the Tigers had become the Orioles, with promising 86-87 win seasons being a blip. Given that the Tigers’ record from last year’s All Star Game until this year’s May 31 was bottom 5 in baseball. Now, regardless of whether or not the Tigers make the playoffs or not (I expect they will), the future again appears bright. 

I always thought they'd play better once healthy. I had few expectations about getting back into the playoff hunt, although by June it was obvious the AL stunk. At this point, I'm just enjoying watching them play pretty good baseball and setting themselves up well for the future. I will be rooting for a playoff spot, of course; however, if they fall short but continue to play even modestly well I'll be content. 

[casimir]

6 hours ago, monkeytargets39 said:

Jordy Mercer will stabilize our infield

We were all so young and innocent back then….

[IdahoBert]

2 hours ago, lordstanley said:

I was prepared to write off the season, but what distressed me on June 1 was the concern that perhaps the Tigers had become the Orioles, with promising 86-87 win seasons being a blip. Given that the Tigers’ record from last year’s All Star Game until this year’s May 31 was bottom 5 in baseball. Now, regardless of whether or not the Tigers make the playoffs or not (I expect they will), the future again appears bright. 

 

1 hour ago, SeattleMike said:

I always thought they'd play better once healthy. I had few expectations about getting back into the playoff hunt, although by June it was obvious the AL stunk. At this point, I'm just enjoying watching them play pretty good baseball and setting themselves up well for the future. I will be rooting for a playoff spot, of course; however, if they fall short but continue to play even modestly well I'll be content. 

Good posts and reasoning by both of you.

[gehringer_2]

On 8/9/2026 at 4:44 PM, Tiger337 said:

Dickerson and Dirks are talking about Torkelson's defense.  They think he's a good defender and that the metrics are not working for him.  They may a point.  I have never felt too confident in the evaluation of first base defense.  If it's not working, then it kills his WAR too.  

want to circle back on this. There is another reason I think there is probably something to this, which is the that the Tigers supposedly are now a high quality analytics org. Guess who has played more games this season than anyone else? Torkelson. It's not like they couldn't sit him if they wanted to, McKinstry has played 1st, Keith was suppose to become a 1B at one point, Jake could have probably have filled in there, they could have called up Anderson. And given that he did slump with the bat a few times early in the season (though he has hit pretty well since July) he wasn't always in there for the hot bat.  If this org didn't believe he was bringing something they could measure to the table that looked better than negative WAR, I just don't think he would at the top of their games played list.

Edited August 11 by gehringer_2

[Tenacious D]

I watch most games and rarely see a Tork misplay.  Conversely, I see him make good plays—he can scoop anything, has an accurate throwing arm when starting a DP or feeding a pitcher cover.  Should his OPS be closer to .800+? Yes, but I don’t think his D is the problem.

[lordstanley]

1 hour ago, IdahoBert said:

 

Good posts and reasoning by both of you.

Trying to jot down any reasonably logical thought that comes into my mind before wildfire smoke comes back and clogs my mind, waters my eyes and curtails my breathing. 

[chasfh]

Tork’s main problem is the plays he doesn’t make because he has no range, and it’s a problem because they always end up as extra base hits. Plus I’ve seen my share of glove clanks from him, including lately.

I do see he’s seventh in baseball in scoops, which is not nothing, but I’m not sure how important a metric that is in overall first base defense. It looks good when we see it so we attach great visual importance to it, but I’m not sure how important a determinant it is of overall first base defense.

When it comes down to it, I think the Tigers play Tork every single day at first mainly because we don’t have a better everyday alternative. When we find someone better, which frankly shouldn’t take a whole lot, Tork will be gone.

[oblong]

yeah that's how I see it.  Yes it should be easy but it's not a priority at the moment.  The scoops look nice but to some the one he missed that went over the bag is not...

[1984Echoes]

19 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

want to circle back on this. There is another reason I think there is probably something to this, which is the that the Tigers supposedly are now a high quality analytics org. Guess who has played more games this season than anyone else? Torkelson. It's not like they couldn't sit him if they wanted to, McKinstry has played 1st, Keith was suppose to become a 1B at one point, Jake could have probably have filled in there, they could have called up Anderson. And given that he did slump with the bat a few times early in the season (though he has hit pretty well since July) he wasn't always in there for the hot bat.  If this org didn't believe he was bringing something they could measure to the table that looked better than negative WAR, I just don't think he would at the top of their games played list.

I still think Tork is going to lose his 1B job to Josue Briceno, as early as next year Opening Day.

Briceno may even get a cup in September. He's already been called up to Toledo a day or two ago. If Valencia can also play 1B decently... you have a Lefty/ Righty combo right there.

[1984Echoes]

PS: Just on a WAG: Tork is getting traded this winter. To a small market team. For an A-Ball pitcher with good stuff but a little bit of trouble finding the plate.

IMO.

 

 

Edited August 11 by 1984Echoes

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

PS: Just on a WAG: Tork is getting traded this winter. To a small market team. For an A-Ball pitcher with good stuff but a little bit of trouble finding the plate.

IMO.

 

 

Josue putting up some impressive numbers. If he keeps it up at AAA he should get an invite to ST.

[NorthWoods]

5 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Josue putting up some impressive numbers. If he keeps it up at AAA he should get an invite to ST.

........or September.

[chasfh]

If all this transpired it might be fine, although I would hate seeing us sell so low on Tork. But if we have to move him this winter, it can’t be helped. I think I’d be surprised if the Tiger dump Tork this winter in favor of a kid who likely will not have even debuted.

[oblong]

Tork is nothing special. Any org should be able to develop that kind of production.

and I don't think anybody would give up much value to obtain him.

[gehringer_2]

9 minutes ago, chasfh said:

If all this transpired it might be fine, although I would hate seeing us sell so low on Tork. But if we have to move him this winter, it can’t be helped. I think I’d be surprised if the Tiger dump Tork this winter in favor of a kid who likely will not have even debuted.

and of course just because we're talking about him, Tork is having one of the better stretches of his career, with a 400 OBP/900 OPS over the last couple of weeks.

[chasfh]

24 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

and of course just because we're talking about him, Tork is having one of the better stretches of his career, with a 400 OBP/900 OPS over the last couple of weeks.

That's why I think I'd be surprised to see him moved. His skills are tantalizing but never quite fully present. I would think he'd end up with a team that values narrative over analytics. Who among the Angels, Nationals, Rockies, or Marlins wouldn't leap at the chance to bring a former 1-1 aboard?