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Post by ChrisBrown on Jan 7, 2016 17:04:01 GMT -5
The sanctimony of the average 50+ year old baseball writer is the biggest reason. Ahh, well, yes there is a huge element of self seriousness among the baseball writers. I will say that the Hall did a good thing by stripping away voting privileges from the old-timers who don't regularly cover baseball anymore. That's a big reason guys like Bonds and Clemens saw big jumps this year...younger writers either don't care as much about PEDs or feel slightly complicit.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Jan 7, 2016 11:09:54 GMT -5
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 17, 2015 11:33:42 GMT -5
Hope the above is true. Sounds like a bit of a stretch to say the bullpen has gone from a weakness to a strength, but I'll take a serviceable to slightly above average bullpen. Yeah, I touched on this in the first segment of last night's show...the bullpen seems much improved, but if you base it strictly on projected WAR from Fangraphs for next year, it still ranks 28th in all of baseball. Projection systems can be very strange, and WAR isn't a terribly effective tool when analyzing bullpen performance, but I'm hesitant to call the remade bullpen a strength.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 14, 2015 10:17:26 GMT -5
Cespedes I believe is out the Tigers price range and they need to sign JD to a big contract. The free agents they signed this year do not get me excite for this up coming season. I only saw Zimmerman once last year and he was ok, so this isn't a solid evaluation of him. His fast-ball (velocity good) was 93, but as the commentator said it was flat and no movement. Hopefully the man has a great season for them and has many quality starts. Maybin is better than Gose, but that's not saying much. Chris was right, they need to sign more relief pitching. Also CB I have listen to 2 shows, doing a pretty good job. Thanks! Would love suggestions to get better, or questions about topics that you'd like the hear more about. I love the Wilson trade. The Tigers gave up two guys who, if they end up having a MLB role at all, are likely 7th-inning relievers at best. Wilson has a really live arm, and he's just as good at getting right-handed hitters out as he is against lefties. Wouldn't be shocked if he becomes the primary setup man by July...and they have him for three more years. Very nicely done by Avila.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 7, 2015 11:15:04 GMT -5
I'll believe this when I see it. Think relief pitching is still the bigger need, and I don't think they have the money for those two.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 3, 2015 17:17:02 GMT -5
Love the logo. Thanks! My wife came up with the name, and a friend made the logo at my request.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 3, 2015 9:45:25 GMT -5
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Post by ChrisBrown on Dec 2, 2015 9:51:03 GMT -5
Everything that I've read about it is that it's pretty much market from him and the world does end in Bean Town if they finish in the cellar again next year. Yep, people need to adjust to the new market. MLB is like a $9 billion industry right now, so player salaries are going to continue to go up and up. Greinke is expected to get a 5- or 6-year deal worth about $32 million a season. Bryce Harper will probably get $40 million a year in a few seasons. I even read that Price's deal may actually be a $25 million bargain.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 30, 2015 18:01:26 GMT -5
Haha, sorry guys. There is an element of me not wanting spoil what I might say on the radio show, but there are two big reasons I don't write as much: my office moved to an open floorplan, so my boss can now stare right at my screen, and my son is almost two and he doesn't stop getting into shit from 5 AM to 8 PM every day, so when I do have free time at home I tend to spend it doing absolutely nothing. Now, I think I mentioned earlier that I preferred Jeff Samardzija be the top-of-the-rotation arm the Tigers targeted. I didn't think the team would have the money to target the top 4 starters (Price, Greinke, Cueto, Zimmermann), and I thought Shark was the best of the next bunch. I'm pleasantly surprised with the length and dollar amount in this deal. Zimmermann figures to give the Tigers about 190-200 innings for each of the next three years, and an ERA in the 3.75-4.25 range. That's a solid #3 starter, and guys like that are getting $20+ million a year now. The salary comparison most people throw out is Rick Porcello, who isn't as good as Zimm, and was signed for 4/$82.5. I am concerned about his injury history. The general thinking is that guys who get Tommy John surgery, which Zimmermann got in 2009, can go about a decade before they need to get the surgery again. The probability of him missing a season will grow with each season he's here. That said, he has fewer pitches on his arm than all of the other big FA pitchers, save for Samardzija and Leake: Name | Age | IP
| Pitches | ERA
| David Price
| 30
| 1441.2
| 22,725
| 3.09
| Zack Greinke
| 32
| 2094.2
| 33,193
| 3.35
| Johnny Cueto
| 30
| 1420.1
| 22,785
| 3.30
| Zimmermann
| 29
| 1094
| 16,794
| 3.32
| Samardzija
| 31
| 991.2
| 15,907
| 4.09
| Wei-Yen Chen
| 30
| 1357.1*
| NA
| 3.72
| Hisashi Iwakuma
| 34
| 2184.2*
| NA
| 3.17
| Yovani Gallardo
| 30
| 1473.2
| 24,992
| 3.66
| Scott Kazmir
| 32
| 1553.1
| 26,835
| 3.96
| Mike Leake
| 28
| 1083.2
| 16,277
| 3.88
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I am also slightly concerned about Zimmermann's fastball velocity dropping about 1 MPH on average last year, and his home runs spiking. A 93-mph is plenty good, though, so we'll see if those HR issues continue this year. He's a kind of pitcher the Tigers haven't had in recent years -- he doesn't get a lot of strikeouts and he gives up a fair amount of hits, but he doesn't walk anyone. In that regard he's a bit like Fister, but Zimmermann is a flyball pitcher, while Fister was a GB guy. The only other note I think is interesting, is that Zimmermann doesn't really throw a changeup. He throws a lot of fastballs, a good amount of sliders, and then uses his curveball as a change-of-pace pitch. That hadn't really hurt him against lefties throughout his career - until last season. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers and Rich Dubee work with him on a more traditional offspeed offering.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 23, 2015 15:35:22 GMT -5
I believe Avila said Maybin's ultimate role will be determined in spring training, but I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up being the regular center fielder. Fangraphs had a small article with lots of different topics, and within it was this quote:
I don't find that terribly shocking. It wouldn't surprise me if this trade was made in least in part to be a a wakeup call for Gose, or to provide insurance in the event Gose completely checks out. Maybin is the better player anyway, though Gose did show some promising signs in the second half, at least against righties.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 19, 2015 15:10:27 GMT -5
Sweet Jesus.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 19, 2015 13:10:26 GMT -5
The Tigers need a front-of-the-rotation type, and a back-end guy. Fister could easily fit the bill as that back-end guy, and if he can somehow bounce back to his 2013-14 form, he could end up being the #3 starter they need. Would be a very nice buy low option. Also, we talked more about the K-Rod deal on the radio show last night, if you want to listen. badhopradio.podomatic.com/entry/2015-11-18T21_06_37-08_00
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 18, 2015 12:45:15 GMT -5
Was busy writing a very long post looking at potential landing spots for Kinsler, Iglesias, and J.D. Martinez, so of course the Tigers trade for K-Rod. Somewhere (p)Rick From Fowler(ville) is smiling.
Rodriguez is of course an established closer who has never had a season in which he struck out fewer than a batter an inning. He's not light's out like he used to be, but he figures to post an ERA in the 2.5-3.5 range and give the team a steady presence at the back of the bullpen.
The Tigers gave up 20-year-old second baseman Javier Betancourt, and a PTBNL. Betancourt is a solid prospect, but one who gets by on skills more than tools. He can put the bat on the ball pretty well, but he doesn't have much pop, and he figures to be a solid defender at second. I had him as one of the most improved prospects in the system last season, but it was a pretty relative thing, because the system sucks and he basically hit .260 in high-A. The PTBNL could be a 2015 draft pick, or the Tigers may have made a handful of players available and the Brewers want to evaluate further.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 18, 2015 8:47:53 GMT -5
Yeah, still need more bench help and more consistency from their starting back court, but this should be a playoff team.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 17, 2015 12:12:05 GMT -5
I don't see it for Rudock, though I think his arm strength is good enough to play in the pros. Watching Stafford has taught me that arm strength is nice, but accuracy is much, much nicer. He actually uncorked a pass on Saturday that I didn't think he could...like 55 yards in the air to Darboh. Right on the money too, but he couldn't hold on. I don't know, maybe he'd work in a West Coast offense...if anyone still runs those. Could be like a poor man's Chad Pennington. I don't envision him being drafted, but I bet he'll get a look from someone.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 9, 2015 10:59:53 GMT -5
That game was so much fun to watch. Portland looked like Golden State for three quarters, and then the Pistons just told them to fuck off. It helps that the Blazers opted out of playing defense, but I absolutely love that this team is capable of stepping up defensively like that. My main concern for this team is that second unit and a lack of scoring, and for Andre Drummond's health. He might die of a rebound overdose.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 5, 2015 13:36:59 GMT -5
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 4, 2015 14:54:52 GMT -5
Nothing in Walker's film screams five-star to me. Reminds me a lot of Derrick Green's film, actually. It looks like he has a solid mix of size and speed, but it doesn't look like a game-changing talent. The guy I'd love to see UM land is TE Isaac Nauta...that dude looks like a monster.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Nov 4, 2015 12:46:43 GMT -5
UM secondary is terrible. Don't let the games against BYU, Maryland, and NU fool you. There is a reason why the defense have given 850 yards in the last two games This is a patently absurd hot take. That's because UM plays tons of man coverage that can be benificial until you play a Qb that can adjust and put the ball in spots that will beat man coverage 8 out of 10 times. Look at Cook and the success he has against UM's man coverage. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to play the sort of man coverage UM has been employing all year. Yes, the defense is vulnerable to QBs who can consistently make NFL level throws, but that's exactly the point. Cook is almost certainly the best QB they'll play all year, and while he did put up 328 yards, he was just 18-for-39, and the defense stopped him when it mattered most. They basically turned him into Matt Stafford. The D did more than enough to win that game, and they'll be more than enough to win most games, because few college QBs have the ability to make the proper reads and throw quickly and accurately enough to deal with this scheme. Last Saturday's game was more troubling, but Mitch Leidner had the game of his life, got remarkably lucky like 5 times, and still completed just 16 of 33 passes. The first big passing play was for 31 yards and was absolutely ridiculous...Leidner threw it up for grabs, there were two Gopher receivers and three Michigan DBs in the same little box, but the ball was severely underthrown and landed in the chest of the Minnesota WR who had already fallen down. The 52-yard TD pass was a throw so short and so terrible that it somehow worked. There was that 40-yarder that Dymonte Thomas got both hands on and should have intercepted, and another 40-yarder on a wheel route, but that was all on Desmond Morgan. The 17-yard 3rd down conversion was also on the linebackers. That's 180 passing yards on the linebackers and horseshit luck. As far as the rest of the season goes, I think the Penn State game is probably a push, and barring some sort of miraculous offensive performance from Rudock, they'll lose the Ohio State game. I came in thinking 8-4, so things are right on track.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 28, 2015 11:32:54 GMT -5
I don't quite know what to make of that game last night. The Hawks are almost certainly one of the top 4 teams in the East, and the Pistons ran away and hid last night. Not sure if it was just an off night for Atlanta, or Detroit is a bad matchup for them, or...could the Pistons could be decent?
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 21, 2015 14:06:29 GMT -5
Doing the show again tonight, if anyone has any burning questions.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 20, 2015 12:50:14 GMT -5
I approve of Harbaugh's philosophy of taking ALL the quarterbacks he can. Can't think of a better position to have tons of guys competing.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 20, 2015 10:50:29 GMT -5
Was a big fan of Drew & Mike back in the day, and was hoping for better from Drew on 105.1...but he's sort of a product of a bygone era now. Talking about classic rock biographies and making fun of gays, minorities, and old people doesn't really register anymore. And he was pretty brutal when talking about sports.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 20, 2015 10:42:42 GMT -5
Our QB situation is why UM isn't/won't be more than a good team this year. We will end up with 8 or 9 wins heading to a decent bowl. I'm ok with that year 1. Absolutely, and I'm okay with it too, though it's also a damn shame to waste a D this strong. If they have a legit QB who can push the ball down field with accuracy, the running game opens a bit, and this becomes a playoff-worthy team. The QB recruiting under Hoke was atrocious...Bellomy, Morris, nobody, Speight, Malzone. Ugh.
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Post by ChrisBrown on Oct 20, 2015 10:09:10 GMT -5
I can't argue with MSU being the better team - mostly because at the most important position on the field they have a guy who might get drafted in the first round, and Michigan has a guy who will be pursuing a career in microbiology.
One thing I wonder, and this is probably unlikely, but maybe O'Neill had the option to pass on that? If he catches it cleanly, it's an easy toss to a WIDE open receiver.
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