Detroit Tigers Ongoing 2014 Thread

[MiamiVice]

Tigers pen was not the reason they didn't win the world series last year... outside of the obvious runs given up.... they didn't win in a seven game series because the offense went stale and could not produce runs outside of a hr. Manufacturing runs will be easier the way this team is built. Bullpen arms can be added in the season if needed.

 

[MiamiVice]

Chance ruffin will NEVER be half the player fister was....

Chance Ruffin is a bullpen prospect that has the ceiling of a closer... he is 25... I would not be the slightest bit surprised if he ended up a closer in the next few years...

 

[jalopy]

Last trade deadline, a team heading into the playoffs in need of a starter might of gave up something good for him...but i agree nobody will give anything for him this year....a trade last yr would of guaranteed a playoff run with max and a whole yr of max this yr....that was the talk by a few in here last trade deadline...since most of us figured we couldnt afford him anyways because we still had fielder at the time.

A team desperate for a starter who was heading into the playoffs might had....plus they would of had him this yr....

Grandy couldnt hit lefties and wasnt a leadoff hitter...thats why he was traded...i was very upset but i knew the tigers had gotten better due to that trade...i just loved grandy...scherzer reminded me of homer bailey now...he had the talent but couldnt be consistant. Wasnt like scherzer was an unknown...plus i never cared for e jackson...thought he was a bum in TB...he did do ok for us tho but i never trusted him.

HUH???????

I am going to miss figuring out if even you have a clue of what you are talking about Cleaves.

 

[Cleaves2000]

Rondon is 23...

Lighting does strike in Detroit... Remember Zumaya... Remember Albquerque's season from 2012... I completely expect a guy or two like Putkonen or Reed to have solid years. The problem with most fans is that they don't even see a bullpen guys solid year unless he is a closer or a starter prospect that the media guys hype.

The Tigers have two seriously legit bullpen prospects in Melvin Mercedes and Corey Knebel. At some point this year one or both will be up... and I also expect them to be lights out. Not to mention guys like Crosby or other fringe prospects that can come up and give a few solid innings. Its March... complaining about the bullpen now is a joke. You have a handful of capable guys that can eat some innings. All you are going off of is what a guy in his early and mid twenties did last year or the year before... they get better.. not worse in their twenties.

Rondon might only be 23 but the article i just read said when he comes back next year his fastball will be in the 90-92 range....

Prospects prospects prospects.....now u sound like a royals fan...

Sorry once i read crosbys name i stopped...

 

[Cleaves2000]

Nobody says you have to agree. I think Joba sucks... but its not like they overpaid for him... and its not like he is the closer or even the setup man... he is a piece in the pen... I still think he is shaky.. but he does have a high ceiling... always has.

See thats my problem....i dont care if a guy is over paid or under paid.....if they do their job i could care less....joba sucks but i heard he will now be in the running to be the 8th inning guy....nobody was asking for flashy BP signings....we lost smyly veras and benoit.....and added nathan pretty much....we didnt improve our one weakness now that speed and defense was taken care of.....its funny how any scouting report or season outlook has detroits middle relief as their weakness...i mean pretty much everyone i have read....

 

[Cleaves2000]

Tigers pen was not the reason they didn't win the world series last year... outside of the obvious runs given up.... they didn't win in a seven game series because the offense went stale and could not produce runs outside of a hr. Manufacturing runs will be easier the way this team is built. Bullpen arms can be added in the season if needed.

I beg to differ...the BP was handed a 5-1 lead late in game 2....they win that game boston goes to detroit down 0-2....wouldve been a crushing moral blow to a team that couldnt hit detroits pitching until late into game 2 off the BP....not to mention they woke up the giant called ortiz....

But yeah, its always easy to blame prince....thats what fans do....i cant wait to see all these runs were gonna score this year since last yr we were towards the top.....should set some records this year eh? Just hate to see us scrape up 3 runs to take a 3-2 lead late only to blow it in the 8th because we cant get the ball to nathan.

 

[Cleaves2000]

Chance Ruffin is a bullpen prospect that has the ceiling of a closer... he is 25... I would not be the slightest bit surprised if he ended up a closer in the next few years...

As i said....chance ruffin isnt half the ball player fister is,.....and never will be.....

 

[Cleaves2000]

HUH???????

I am going to miss figuring out if even you have a clue of what you are talking about Cleaves.

I guess it would help if you told me what u cant figure out.....that a team wouldnt had considered trading for max LAST YEAR BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE? A team like texas? The yankees? Red sox? Considering they would get him for last years run down the stretch....run in the playoffs....then having him for 2014.....is that so hard to figure out? If so maybe you should step back from the cpu.....that situation was already talked about in here around last july or august

 

[Cleaves2000]

Whats so confusing about the grandy trade comment? He was traded because he couldnt hit lefties...he wasnt a true leadoff hitter the tigers needed...so they werent gonna pay him what he was gonna get...

I stated i was upset when trade happened cuz grandy was one of my all time favs...but i thought the trade made the tigers better...i always thought max was gonna be good....the same with homer bailey....i think within the next 2-3 yrs bailey will be a very good pitcher....when max was a dback he was very inconsistent...same with bailey....one great start 3-4 horrible to avg ones....

I never liked edwin jackson...i thought he was a bum in tampa bay.....he had a decent year for us but i still didnt trust him...and he has never been good since. Cubs fans hate him...

So i hope i cleared up whatever had you "huh" ....next time maybe explain what u didnt understand and ill talk s-l-o-w-e-r.....

 

[Cleaves2000]

Man im so done with the blind homer fans...i dont want other good posters who im cool with to think im negative iffy or something.....i said the few things that worry me about this team....and a month later its the same thing over and over....in all truth nobody is going to change my mind BUT the tigers themselves....not that they care....but for the few homer fans....im just gonna agree with everything tiger being Greeeeeeaaaaaat!!!!!

Phil coke is awesome

Man danny worth is such a great SS, why go get gonzalez?

Smyly is the next mark langston

Rajai davis is fast...

Cant wait for all our top end bullpen prospects to come up sometime this year and moe the league down...

Im so happy the tigers are finally gonna win it all....junior high was a long time ago...i wanna drink to this WS....

 

[MiamiVice]

I would have to say that myself and jalopy are not even close to homers... Just because I have the patience to wait out and see if Dombrowski's gambles work before ripping them apart??? I guess I have a little more faith in the guy that took a team from a basement dweller to a perennial title contender .. and I can almost promise I know more about the tigers farm than anyone else here outside of maybe one or two guys. I don't get the negativity Cleaves. I understand not agreeing with the moves made this off season.. but my point is simple.. you are judging the team before it even plays a game. I am letting the season start before I make a judgement... call that being a homer.. but I don't think that falls anywhere near the definition of being a homer fan.

Best bullpens last year... please take a look Cleaves... see how many of them were built from the farm system of the team and see how many were the result of trades or off season acquisitions. Tigers have plenty of guys that can step up... I will be sure to point it out in a few months.

 

[MiamiVice]

Rondon might only be 23 but the article i just read said when he comes back next year his fastball will be in the 90-92 range....

Prospects prospects prospects.....now u sound like a royals fan...

Sorry once i read crosbys name i stopped...

LOL... because some article has any idea of how Rondon's elbow will heal. If you actually look at the studies... within 18 months of the surgery most players are within .8 mph of where they were... Rebecca Fishbein presented a report at the 2013 Sabermetrics meeting in Boston. She analyzed the average velocity of 44 MLB pitchers before and after undergoing Tommy John surgery between 2007 and 2011.

She reported no significant difference with velocity after surgery (she actually found a mild 0.875 mph decrease in velocity, though this was not significant).

 

[jalopy]

Cleaves, there is a saying that I believe applies here; "you can't seem to see the forest for the trees".

You are so busy trying to sift through the minutiae that you are missing the big picture. Stop the extensive comparisons between the bottom 3 roster spots and concentrate on what matters. The Tigers have the best starting 5 in the AL and quite possibly the best closer in the AL. How many times did JV and Max remain in the game in the 9th due to an unreliable closer? Too many. When JV implodes in the 9th, I would consider that a blown save.

The Tigers have one of the best lineups in the AL. It might not be on par with the '13 version of this team but they will have the ability to manufacture runs. Last year, a 1 run deficit might as well have been 3 because the team relied solely on the long ball. Now, team speed will help. They also have the top ROY candidate.

I would hardly consider myself a homer. I just like the direction the team has taken in their philosophy. Defense, speed and pitching. That is how baseball should be played. Did I suddenly become a homer in the off-season? Last year I was accused of being in love with the West Coast teams because I live out here.

The injuries hurt, no doubt about it.

 

[jalopy]

So i hope i cleared up whatever had you "huh" ....next time maybe explain what u didnt understand and ill talk s-l-o-w-e-r.....

Your 20/20 vision on Grandy is spectacular. The fact is, DD loved Grandy but he didn't feel he was worth what he was going to have to pay him when he became a FA. DD would have loved to have kept him, he just didn't want to pay him.

 

[jalopy]

Cleaves, I'm not trying to be an ass. You are just using bogus stats to bolster your point of view.

Do me a favor, rank the Tiger in the following categories:

(AL Only)
Offense (Runs scored)
Defense (this will be somewhat subjective)
Starting Pitching
Bullpen (ERA+ Blown Saves)

Where is the weakness in this club?

 

[jalopy]

.....and while you are weeping about all that offense we sent away this Winter, consider what the Rangers (your new favorite team, Cleaves) are going through. It looks like Yu Darvish is headed for the DL. All the offense in the world won't help that team in that division if they don't get some starting pitching. Prince might hit 50HR's, he might hit .325 with 150 RBI's and win a MVP. What he won't do is sniff the WS.

 

[themuzzer]

bullpen is the weakest followed by defense follwed by offense and starting pitching is still the tops.

 

[jalopy]

bullpen is the weakest followed by defense follwed by offense and starting pitching is still the tops.

The top closer in the league and the bullpen is the weakest in the league? C'mon fuzzy. I now the loss of Rondon hurts but if Nathan saves games at a 90% clip, the bullpen is top 5 in the league.

 

[MiamiVice]

The Tigers bullpen will not be the worst.. nor will it be the best.. but I think that saying it is going to be a major issue before the games start is a little overboard. I am sure the tigers will be in it deep in the season.. where moves can be made to improve the pen.. be it from call ups or mid season trades... I am not worried at all about the team. I am more worried about SS than I am about the pen... but once again... I don't think it will keep them from being within reach of the division or leading it until the mid season trades come... we all know there will be moves made... so why overreact now. Teams that make major moves at this point are going to over pay...

 

[MiamiVice]

I really am going to laugh when putkonen has a stellar year and so does reed. Both were very solid last year.... and both are legit mlb bullpen guys. Tigers will be fine.