ChrisHannum
- 566 comments
- 3 likes given
- 12 likes received
Bio not provided
From what I have read, the Tigers do tend to sign a lot of international free agents - it's just that they don't often seem to be in on the "blue chip" 16-year-olds that get the big bonuses.
I have the feeling that Wilk's next cup of coffee is going to be for another organization... Just too many jacks. Casali is definitely a guy I'll be following.
@DetroitDale To be frank, I DO think it's unlikely that the Angels will deal anybody else from their major league roster during the season despite the stiff competition for playing time. I don't think Hunter is going anywhere, nor do I think that Vernon Wells is going anywhere - right now. The team is just too hot for that. That doesn't mean that the Angels don't have players that the Tigers or other teams might desperately want.
@Turks Teeth I know Tigers, not Angels, so I appreciate your input. Brantly isn't ready, but Conger might seem a nice addition to Detroit. I would be inclined to take the last deal you mention - but that would be due to very real concerns over Alex Avila's knees and the kind of workload he'll be able to sustain over the next 3 years. Most I think most Tigers fans would see such a deal as a baffling white flag, though - Avila for a catching prospect and a couple of throw ins (based solely on Bourjos and Izturis offensive numbers in 2012). Elite defenders appeal far more to fans of the team that watch them play than to fans of other teams that look at their back-of-the-baseball-card stats. By your own admission, though, it doesn't sound like Avila is a fit for the Angels - he is not a good defensive catcher by any means and sometimes opposing teams seem to more or less steal at will. I suppose that wouldn't be relevant anyway - it's impossible to imagine Captain Nepotism being dealt away by his own Dad (Assistant GM & team VP Al Avila).
@Inside Pitch So... what you're saying is that Coke, Valverde and Worth are terrible and "under no circumstances would the Angels ever agree to such a deal"? It's quite probable that they wouldn't. But bear in mind that most Tigers fans would say the same about the 31-year-old rental utility man and leadoff hitter with the sub-.300 on-base percentage.
And the one and only source for the idea that the Angels actually want relievers IS Stark, which I believe I did mention above - it may be completely inaccurate. You can't argue with Frieri's zero runs allowed, but I could imagine somebody worried about his walks. But, then I certainly wouldn't say that they have any other clear needs. Mainly what I try to argue is that Bourjos could be a better fit for the Tigers' actual needs than players typically discussed as trade possibilities should he, in fact, be available at a price the Tigers could afford to pay.
Too late. The Orioles landed him for a couple of mediocre A-ball prospects. A catcher with a .622 OPS and a 2-8 starter.
How do you feel about trading a player on the major league roster for an outfielder with several years of team control remaining? The thought had crossed my mind that the Angels might conceivably be willing to do such a deal for a reliever.
@JAYRC_MCB He IS 41, but he's also a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. He had an .838 OPS last year and has an .854 OPS in limited playing time this year... what's so horrifying about Jim Thome?
@JAYRC_MCB ???
@finsfan13 Basically... yes. The Tigers as a team aren't meeting expectations because of individual players who aren't meeting expectations - and what was expected from Cabrera was an MVP bat not just an above average bat. In effect what I'm saying is that if you blame Brennan Boesch but not Miguel Cabrera, you're holding the two of them to the same standard when that really isn't fair to do.
@DoctorDaveT Perhaps. I brought up Brantly only because Lynn Henning keeps talking about what a great trade chip he will be.
I think the only reasons that we are seeing Berry batting second is that Leyland gets to keep is alternating-sides lineup and that Berry is filling in for the #2 guy while he's on the DL. (Just like we used to see Kelly fill Ordonez' lineup spot). The difference between Berry and Jackson is that Jackson is more likely to get an extra base hit while Berry is more likely to steal a base. I'd rather see Jackson trying to drive in Berry than the other way around.
This team will not go 53-35 down the stretch unless guys like Boesch, Young and Avila start raking and Valverde stops blowing saves. But maybe they don't actually have to. Do you expect the White Sox to go 49-39 from here on out? I don't. That's what it would take to put them at 88 wins. If they go an equally plausible 45-43, they only win 84. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see 85 wins take this division, like the NL Central in 2006. You're right in one respect, though: you definitely like the Tigers chances to win the division with 89 victories... you're a lot less comfortable about their chances as an 85 win team (that goes 49-39 from here on out) but it seems more likely that that is the scenario we may see play out.
Maybe Young and Peralta are the ones who should flip in the order. Leyland likes that L-R-L-R thing for the most part.
I would have figured that idle speculation was our job, not Nick Cafardo's. Anyway, I don't think Lowrie is going to keep hitting home runs at this pace - but he'd probably be able to help the team this year and for the next few even without that kind of pop.
@opus132 I am becoming more and more convinced that the Tigers can and should be satisfied with a pretty poor defensive infield, but they must make up for that with a good defensive outfield - and I'm talking range and not arms.
@BrettWalker I like Berry as a pinch-runner, but as a defensive replacement I'd much rather go with Don Kelly - who is better at every position as well as being more versatile.
@DoctorDaveT If you get A-ball prospects, clearly you run the risk of losing now in order to win later. If you get major-league ready AAA prospects you can potentially improve the team now in the process of improving the team later - you're just putting your chips on a different number. Any gamble makes you risk the agony of regret.