Transmogrified Tiger

how in the world did PCA even make contact with that

It was further inside, and on 2-0 probably read it as a 4 seamer instead of a cutter which would've been a pitch to drive. Perfect world you take it for a ball, but that's not a bad process.

Cruz's splitter is basically impossible to pick up if the last year plus is any consideration. Morel was reading based on location, the knee high ball as a chase split on 2-2 and was right, and the 3-2 belt high as a high/sailing fastball and was wrong.

Please stop praising Candelario for handling a weird hop that made the play easier

Seiya pls

I see you starting to get Ks in Iowa, Carl

love that for Seiya

gonna have to have a real conversation about Suzuki playing the field soon

In the last week they've averaged over 4 runs per game, scored 6+ runs 3 times, and scored less than 3 runs once.

Probably the conditions/delay, but Greene is 3 mph below his norm with the fastball, he's not good enough to survive that if it continues

He's 41, has lost a tick off his fastball this year, and has a 4.46 playoff ERA since the pandemic. The version of Verlander you associate with postseason dominance doesn't exist anymore.

Welcome!

Sharing this not because I thought Madrigal was the right call there(I think you've gotta give Wisdom a chance to slug given the circumstances), but because I am genuinely shocked that these are the numbers for this year

I think it may have caught his hand simultaneous to the bat, but not enough to overturn I'm guessing

Steele and Brown have not, Assad, Taillon, Shoto, and Wicks have

that...didn't look close to a swing from Happ either? Same with the 2nd one????

what are we doing here he was obviously out in real time

2-0 pitch has to be called a strike, probably cost them the run

Awfully smug reaction from Benson when you're hitting as bad as him and you couldn't get the ball out of the shallowest alleys in the game

I'm hopeful for Happ to get back to the top of the lineup pretty soon in his stead, though to an extent I understand Tauchman fitting better at the top than 5/6 given PCA is at the bottom and you want to stagger LHH

The throws have gotten more consistent, if not perfect, which is good because that's been the most persistent problem. The other issue that's shown up more recently for me is just not fielding balls within his physical footprint, I've seen several (hard hit) ground balls he tries to react to but ended up between his feet and arms. These aren't 1 star plays by any stretch, but more underscores that there's probably not any one thing defensively he does *well*, which makes it really hard to get to average if he has stretches of struggling with throws.

Of all the criticisms to lob Jed's way, bemoaning a couple fringe relievers getting hot for 2 months as a systemic failure is not high on the list. This is a thing that happens to every team and is the nature of relievers, especially in our current pitching dev environment. You won't bat 1.000, seen through the fact that both Megill and Hudson had other stops at progressive/successful orgs that didn't unlock them before the Brewers, and the same way that the Cubs have successes of their own via this avenue.

Trevor Megill was 27 when he was let go by the Cubs, had a 5.14 ERA in 14 AAA IP and 8.37 ERA in 23 MLB IP. Then he went to Minnesota, gained 2 mph on his fastball, and was bad (though unlucky) for them in 45 MLB IP, *then* he came to Milwaukee and has had 14 excellent innings. Crystal ball indeed. Estrada there can be a little bit more hand wringing about, but across 39 AAA and MLB innings last year, he walked 39 batters and gave up 12 home runs. The relievers that were rostered in his stead were Arias and Hodge, both who have plenty of stuff themselves. Sometimes a reliever goes to another org and gets hot, or learns a new pitch, or both in Estrada's case.

I'm still thinking through how I feel about the likely catching options. Jansen can absolutely hit and seems a decent framer, but would be more of the same in the running game. Diaz can definitely help with the running game, but his ZiPS ROS is basically the same as Amaya(which admittedly may be optimistic) and his framing has been horrific over his career. The goldilocks option I'm keeping an eye on is Jake Rogers in Detroit. Pop times like Diaz, a positive framer, and I'd estimate his bat is the best bet outside Jansen to be league average. Might not be available, especially if he catches fire with the bat, but he is a 30 year old C in arb and the Tigers have a Top 10 org prospect at AAA so I can hold out a little hope.

By any reasonable definition of 'tanking', the only player on a multi-year deal that would qualify at the moment is Swanson, and he also has battled injury and has a long track record of consistency while only being 30. If the team plays like they have for the last several weeks indefinitely, they'll be quite bad and be in an uncomfortable place. There's no indication that's likely though. They've earned their full-season record to date, though there's reason to think that's below their true talent level. At this stage in the season, the difference between a 75 win pace and a 90 win pace is a handful of games that randomness is going to play a large role in influencing. I don't want to imply there's zero things to worry about though, while I don't at all believe the team is screwed for the near term, these are the things I'm concerned about: The Catching position, today aside I'm not worried about Amaya as a receiver, but the bat and running game control haven't been good enough, especially since he's had to carry Gomes being a large negative everywhere but game calling. The options on the market aren't ideal, and making a change at that position carries a risk for the pitching staff's success in the way that other positions don't. Morel. He doesn't look like an MLB 3B, and while I'm not concerned about his current batting line, the team is likely to look to upgrade the offense, and if they're adding players who push other good hitters to DH, I'd be concerned about the whole being less than the sum of the parts in terms of how that lineup can be deployed. (or maybe injuries make us appreciate that depth if we get it?) The in-house pen options. Alzolay's arm exploding, along with none of Palencia, Little, Cuas, and Thompson taking a step forward, really puts pressure on the more proven arms. If Wicks comes back strong maybe Brown helps with that, and supplementing at the trade deadline is among the easier changes you can make, but now is the time for someone already in the org to stake their claim by throwing enough strikes(looking at you: Palencia/Little/Hodge) so we aren't trying to juggle 3 relievers in the circle of trust all year.