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I still think he is a year away. Maybe a September call up. He is a good player but as you know it is still a huge leap to go from Lakeland to Detroit within a year. Will be interesting to see how he plays in Spring Training. I am just wondering if they are going to gapfill with Santiago and Hollimon, or whether they just resign Renteria if they can get him back real cheap on a one year deal. If the Tigers are serious about upgrading their defense, then I don't see how they can bring Renteria back though. I am also curious to see if they try to get Porcello up to the show next season. They seem to be staying patient with him though since they kept him in Lakeland all last year which I like. But if he has another good spring he may beat out some other pitchers that will be competing for a starting or bullpen spot and find his way on the roster. I still think he starts out at Erie or Toledo and then may be someone that gets a call up mid-season depending on injuries and how he is pitching in the minors. I am also hoping DD can pull another rabbit out of a hat and get another good Rule V pick that we can add to the rotation or bullpen.
Too true, unfortunately. Rodney will be doing something, Verlander's going to be a #1 or #2, Galarraga's going to fit in somewhere, and that's all that's been decided. Oof. So many holes and the team is cutting payroll, work your magic Dom...
They aren't necessarily cutting payroll, Illitch backed away from that stance. They won't be adding too much though....
You're going to have A LOT of wild pitches
They are going to put a net there with a rectangle box which should drastically reduce the passed balls and wild pitches.
Pitch to contactThey are going to put a net there with a rectangle box which should drastically reduce the passed balls and wild pitches.
Still a better hitter than Inge.Doctor Detroit said:They are going to put a net there with a rectangle box which should drastically reduce the passed balls and wild pitches.Tremendous Upside said:
I wouldn't mind Rick Knapp. At least he would have the pitchers take the approach of throwing more strikes -- less walks is always a good thing. I don't know why the Tigers wouldn't at least try to interview Mazzone. Although he had a bad year in Baltimore (I think the only decent pitcher he had to work with that year was Bedard who is a headcase anyway), he did wonders for the young Atlanta staff so I would think his approach would be suitable for the Tigers given that they have a bunch of young starters (Bondo, Verlander, Galaragga, and Willis) for him to work with. I recall hearing about a study once where all pitchers who have pitched at least one year under Mazzone and one year under a different pitching coach. The study found that Mazzone lowered the ERA of pitchers by an average of .64 points, and that after leaving Mazzone, pitchers' ERA increased by an average of .78 points. If that's the case, I don't know why you want to look into having him coach your pitchers. Even though he is 60 that shouldn't matter considering Leyland is no spring chicken either.
This would make Mazzone "The Anti-Chuck".
Knapp tapped to trap opposing batsYeah I forgot to include him but he was definitely on the short list and IMO this is an outstanding hire. Offseason starts pretty well, let's see this continue.
It does bring up some bad memories but that regular season ALDS and ALCS were something special.
When I looked at the field in Phila tonight I thought of Granderson slipping in the OF in game 4. That was the end right there, if he doesn't slip I think they would have won that game. Late Oct baseball in northern cities sucks, I wish they'd shorten the season by 8 games and finish by Oct 20th at the latest.SofaKings said:
They will never shorten the season & lose cash. Best one can hope is that the union will allow more day/night doubleheaders so they can squeeze 162 into a shorter timeframe.
It was difficult watching them lose the WS but I was far more upset with HOW they lost the WS. The sloppy fielding errors by the pitchers was ridiculous. When that season ended, it was tough for it to end that way but I eventually calmed myself down by thinking to myself that no one ever expected them to get there in the first place. I was really pulling for Tampa this year. It looks like they may keep up the similarities with the 2006 Tigers by coming from nowhere to make the World Series only to fall short. I was really thinking TB would benefit from Philly having such a long lay off as the Tigers did in 2006 but that is obviously not the case. Does FA start the day after the WS ends, or is there a designated date for the first day?
I think that's the only similarity. The Rays are ahead of the Tigers and will stay there for some time probably due to their young depth and their farm system.Any good Tiger rumours? Doctor Detroit won't return my pm's.
I think he's been too busy picking fights in the political threads lately
The only rumor I hear right now is that Boras is trying to convince the Tigers to sign Varitek. I highly doubt that they will do so (and would be upset if they did). I am sure Boras is trying to communicate with a bunch of teams right now that need a catcher, including the Tigers, in order to maximize Varitek's value on the open market.
He is.
As a back-up yes, as the everyday guy hell no. Pretty sure Keerock is a better catcher than Varitek at the moment.
But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!
IIRC if he signs after the FA period ends and the Red Sox don't offer him arbitration, there is no compensation required.But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!
Sig worthy #### right there.
Sig worthy #### right there.As a back-up yes, as the everyday guy hell no. Pretty sure Keerock is a better catcher than Varitek at the moment.
If that's the case, then I'd be ok with that.As a side, what's the story on Vance? Last I heard he was still trying to come back.IIRC if he signs after the FA period ends and the Red Sox don't offer him arbitration, there is no compensation required.But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!
He filed for free agencywhoknew said:If that's the case, then I'd be ok with that.As a side, what's the story on Vance? Last I heard he was still trying to come back.Doctor Detroit said:IIRC if he signs after the FA period ends and the Red Sox don't offer him arbitration, there is no compensation required.whoknew said:But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!Doctor Detroit said:As a back-up yes, as the everyday guy hell no. Pretty sure Keerock is a better catcher than Varitek at the moment.
If he were healthy, I think a Ryan/VW platoon would be fine. But it doesn't seem like we'll know if VW is healthy enough before spring.He filed for free agencywhoknew said:If that's the case, then I'd be ok with that.As a side, what's the story on Vance? Last I heard he was still trying to come back.Doctor Detroit said:IIRC if he signs after the FA period ends and the Red Sox don't offer him arbitration, there is no compensation required.whoknew said:But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!Doctor Detroit said:As a back-up yes, as the everyday guy hell no. Pretty sure Keerock is a better catcher than Varitek at the moment.
Please refrain from using "VW" in this threa. tiaIf he were healthy, I think a Ryan/VW platoon would be fine. But it doesn't seem like we'll know if VW is healthy enough before spring.He filed for free agencyIf that's the case, then I'd be ok with that.As a side, what's the story on Vance? Last I heard he was still trying to come back.IIRC if he signs after the FA period ends and the Red Sox don't offer him arbitration, there is no compensation required.But why sign a type A FA as a backup? Just say no!!As a back-up yes, as the everyday guy hell no. Pretty sure Keerock is a better catcher than Varitek at the moment.
He won't be cheap, he should get the second highest contract on the relief pitcher market, which I would think would be significantly more than Todd Jones last year ($7 mil, right?). That's going to eat into a lot of a pretty thin free agent budget, not sure if it is worth it.skillz said:
It's their biggest need so I have no problem going big for a good closer.
Shortstop and catcher are bigger needs and more rare commodities, if we;re going to over spend for anything I'd rather we go at one (or both) of those positions. It's easier to find good, cheap bullpen help than good, cheap catchers and shortstops.
I hope it's as easy as you say, last year it didn't look that way.
http://baseballmusings.com/Go to the Probabilistic Model of Range Table a few blog entries down on Nov 4th, a good (short) read. Improve the defense behind the pitching and I think you'll see improvement from the pitching staff's production...just need to stop adding guys prone to giving up the long ball (*cough*KYLEFREAKINFARNSWORTH*coughcough*).I hope it's as easy as you say, last year it didn't look that way.
I agree. Closer should be the top priority. They blew so many saves last year that if they had a solid closer they would have been right in the pennant race even with subpar to average SS and C play. I think if they get those games closed, the Tigers aren't mailing it in at the end of the year and the team is right up there with Chicago and Minnesota down the stretch. If they have limited money to spend it should be on a closer first and foremost.If they don't get Fuentes, is Hoffman even an option? I am thinking he is over the hill, but maybe they can get a year or two out of him if the price is right.
