2019 MLB Regular Season running thread

Why are you so stuck on average? And if doing it over a long period of time is so simple why don’t more players do it?

 

Reggie Jackson only hit .262. What a piece of shit.

 

To be fair, Harper has been disappointing. Maybe the OPS below .900 is a better indicator of that than his batting average, but to this point his MVP season in 2015 is looking more like an outlier than anything. On the other hand, he is only 26, so maybe he still has a great run in him.

 

He is a piece of shit. He tried to kill the Queen of England.

 

Announced before tonight's game vs. Dave Dombrowski's Red Sox

Tigers GM Al Avila given multi-year contract extension

 

Irrelevant; all it means is the multi billion dollar Illitch family will have to pay off Avila for another couple of years when they shift from the "teardown" mode to "talent acquisition" about 2022.

Rumor is the Tigers aren't too happy with Gardenhire, either, or vice versa.

 

People forget how good he was when he played with the A’s

 

Gardenhire is this generation's Ralph Houk
Houk's job was to teach Whitaker, Trammell, Parrish, etc. how to play the game
Gardy hasn't gotten the kids he is supposed to teach yet
That's going to take at least another year

 

The Tigers got rid of snoozy old Houk as soon as Whitaker, Trammell, Morris and Parrish arrived.

Gardenhire is a gutty grizzled old timer hanging around for another season or two of paychecks. His job is to pump up the AAAA talent on the roster to the point somebody will trade a bag of balls for them.

 

Gardenhire vocalized during the offseason what all Tigers fans have known for years: There's too little "development" going on in Toledo, Erie, Lakeland, West Michigan and Connecticut. The players who eventually reach Comerica Park are deficient in fundamentals and ill-equipped for the majors. With the exception of Mize and Manning (who still doesn't have a third pitch to compliment his fastball and curve), the top prospects Avila's acquired in the teardown -- particularly for Verlander and J.D. Martinez -- have stalled. Franklin Perez can't stay healthy, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers are struggling, and Willi Castro lacks focus.

No. 1 pick Riley Greene aside, there's not a single "breakout All-Star" player in the group to declare Avila has a handle on the rebuild. Plus, the Twins and White Sox are already either in their window of contention or one year away. The Tigers think 2021 is the turnaround year. I think they're delusional.

The 1968 Tigers had a core of very good homegrown players: Lolich, Horton, Freehan, Wert, Northrup and Stanley.

The 1984 Tigers had Trammell, Whitaker, Gibson, Parrish, Morris and Petry.

I'm not seeing enough quality to assume they'll return to the World Series again in my lifetime. But I didn't see 2006 happening after 119 losses in 2003, either.

 

You forgot Dawel Lugo, the “prize” of the JD Martinez trade
Avila has been lucky in some respects
Sometimes the gem in a prospect trade isn’t the main target
Matthew Boyd has made up for the injuries to Michael Fulmer and the disappointment of Daniel Norris
Between Boyd and Shane Greene the Tigers should get some quality prospects, especially if they package them to a team like the Brewers or Phillies
I’ll reserve judgement on Avila until then but the signings of Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton while Mike Ilitch was alive set everything back at least two years

 

They gotta flip Boyd and Greene for three or four decent prospects. Most of all they have to draft better.