Running 2017 MLB regular season thread

The Tigers got shackled to all these old players with terrible contracts because Mike Ilitch was doing everything he could to win a title before he died. Once he passed away last winter, it was only a matter of time before they started tearing it down.

But as I always say when these monster contract extensions/free agent deals are announced — it's not the money, it's the years. You get locked into guys who become unplayable 2 years after signing their contracts (sometimes less). We've seen it with Ryan Howard, Matt Kemp, Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols (among others), and now we're seeing it with Miguel Cabrera.

But ownership has no choice. Players want security, and you risk alienating your fanbase if you don't sign them to the big extension while they're in their prime. The Cardinals winning the World Series the year after Pujols left was very fortuitous in that regard.

 

Hey, @outofplace, the Pirates did do something really stupid that you can rip them for:

Pirates issue a candid statement about puzzling Juan Nicasio release

 

I saw that. But hey, they saved $600,000, which is all that matters.

In all seriousness, I do understand the logic. They had to know they were just going to end up losing Nicasio for nothing. My understanding is he will be a free agent after the season and the argument is they wanted to use guys who are part of the organization's future the rest of the way.

That's all fine and good, but the optic of cutting loose the team's second-best relief pitcher to save a relatively small amount of money does not help. Ownership keeps trotting out crappy attendance as an excuse, but refuses to take its share of the responsibility. The Pirates built a contender for the first time in over 20 years, then fell right back to its losing ways at least in part due to their penny-pinching approach. That sounds to me like a very good reason for fans to stay away.

That's what some people don't understand. It isn't just the losing. It is the lack of commitment, the impression that the organization isn't trying hard enough. It's what turned me off in the early '90s and it is at least part of the reason attendance to decline again now. There was some logic to dumping Nicasio, but it looks bad and the organization either didn't realize it or didn't care.

The Pirates had some things go right this year, such as the development of Josh Bell. They even had the performance of Felipe Rivero, which demonstrated a clear benefit of a salary-dumping trade from last year (Melancon). But Jung Ho Kang's legal troubles and Marte's PED suspension doomed this team from the start. Wouldn't it make sense to avoid giving the fans the middle finger right now?

 

Not a bad deal at all, especially given the criticism the Astros were taking for not doing enough at the trade deadline. Of course, it didn't help that they lost Carlos Correa in July, though he should be back soon. There was an impression that they were wasting a great opportunity.

 

Ho w would you suggest they improve themselves going forward?

 

As a former recipient of the Nutting family's 'largesse' via Ogden Newspapers Inc., none of these stories about the Pirates management surprises me.

 

I enjoy when baseball teams are going through rebuilding phases. Not so much in other sports. For me, it's unique to baseball.The careers are too short in football to do it that way. In baseball, being a consistent winner with cornerstone players kinda gets bizarrely tedious. I grew up watching the Cleveland Indians and I sort of enjoyed the 1991-1994 period of time as all those players worked their way up and emerged as stars more than the 1995-2001 years. The unknown of whether they'll be any good and how they develop is fun for me. The finished product is also fun , but sometimes it's more rewarding to root for a group of young players with the pressure of contention for a little while — as long as the team doesn't stay in the wilderness for decades at time, which is always the danger in those situations.

 

Why wouldn't they get draft pick compensation if he left as a FA?

 

Seriously??? Sabathia is upset about a bunt in the 1st inning?

Eduardo Nunez, Red Sox need not apologize for bunting on CC Sabathia

Its part of the game; how about field your position? You're too old to field your position?? Retire then. Man that's a clown act by someone I thought was a good guy. It smacks of "get off my lawn!"

"Hey quit throwing slow curves, be a man, throw heat!"

 

Supposedly, Cy Young retired when he did because he teams were bunting him to death. He was 44 years old, but still essentially a league-average pitcher.

 

To receive a compensation pick they would need to make him a qualifying offer which the player needs to reject and then sign with another team. The QO threshold is expected to be approximately $18 million this off-season. Juan Nicasio would not turn down a $18 million qualifying offer as he's not worth anywhere near than number.

 

I won't speak for Chip, but as a third-generation Detroiter who saw my first game at Tiger Stadium in 1965, I'll add my opinion (as useless as it is).

1. Stop trading for, signing or drafting Rob Deers, Tony Clarks and Ray Oylers. Your dumb-ass general manager thrice-removed built the complete opposite of Tiger Stadium: in essence, a palace for pitching, defense and speed. And yet your dearly departed owner dug the long ball to the detriment of everything else. We've seen nearly 20 years of station-to-station baseball with guys who run slower than snails and have the defensive range of a fire hydrant. Steven Moya, really?

Cabrera and V. Martinez are sunk costs. Stop continuing to pound a square peg in a round hole, year after year.

Wouldn't it be fun to see someone in the olde English D go from first to third on a single?

2. Your organization needs a complete overhaul. First, create a plan on how to develop players, from Connecticut to Toledo, and stick with it. There should be a "Tiger way" of doing things that every manager, coach, scout and executive buys into.

The last homegrown player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame? Al Kaline, who played his first game in 1953. That's an incredible run of mediocrity for close to 65 years. (Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker are excused from this conversation.)

Your farm system gets a F for two reasons. It hasn't produced an everyday all-star position player in decades. And the few who have reached the majors are fundamentally flawed. Nick Castellanos is a daily disaster on the base paths. When Mikie Mathook, Jim Adduci and John Hicks are better options than what's come up through your minor league system, you suck at your job.

3. Stop drafting for potential and start drafting for immediate needs. I'm tired of seeing guys deemed "projects" and "experiments." And stop drafting 30 pitchers every year. TINSTAAPP.

4. Use 2018 as an audition because it's time to cull the herd. I don't care that Bruce Rondon can hit 100 mph on the gun. He's had more than his share of chances. Boyd, Norris, Farmer, VerHagen -- show me something or I'll show you the door. You're going to lose 100 games for the next three years. Who wants to be a part of the next team that wins 100?

5. Brad Ausmus couldn't motivate a $200 million roster. There's no reason to think he'll be any better with prospects and kids. Lance Parrish is ready at Erie. Let him continue to develop these guys.