Michigan4Life

April 21st, 2014 at 9:47 AM ^

Grilli have the stuff but he added a pitch after he left Detroit which made him a dangerous RP.

Rodney always have the stuff. You know he has the ability to strike 3 hitters out with ease, but he has confidence issue. Change of scenary have done him good.  His change-up may be arguably the best in the league.

bronxblue

April 20th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

It's an area of weakness, but with the hitters on this team I'd be fine with them signing a decent defender and putting him at the bottom of the order.  Worth is a stop-gap, but hopefully around the trade deadline someone will become available for cheap.

French West Indian

April 20th, 2014 at 4:12 PM ^

Year to year, relief pitchers are always a crapshoot.  That's really what the trading deadline is for.  Come July the contenders can vulture the "hot" relievers from the rebuilding teams.  Until then, I'm not going to sweat and will continue to trust in Dombrowski.

In reply to by French West Indian

bronxblue

April 20th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^

I agree.  I actually don't ever worry about relievers because guys are inevitably available.  Position players a bit less, but something should shake out, especially if all you need is a defensive guy.  Hitters are harder to come by, but this team should be fine with a hole or two in the lineup.

Scout96

April 20th, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^

If by the trade deadline, they can't sign Scherzer they should just trade him for best they can get. They can still try to get him as a free agent in the offseason. This might damage this season, but would be better long term.

WMUgoblue

April 20th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^

There's no way they trade him if they're in the middle of a pennant hunt. Whether that's good for the long term or not there's no way to justify trading your 2nd best pitcher when you're trying to win a championship. If you can't re-sign him in the offseason just get the draft pick compensation and move on.

NoMoPincherBug

April 20th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^

They are not looking long term...they want to win now.  The team is supposedly built to win now.  If the kid had not gotten the shin splints at SS, there would be no panic now...but unfortunately the injuries have already hurt the team.

I doubt they trade Max, unless the package includes some players of value that can help now.  Also, it would  have to be a team that could negotiate with Max and potentially sign him next year, which narrows the field of prospective buyers.  My guess is they keep Max, hope they can plug the issue at SS, and pray that Avila can get some hits.

UMMAN83

April 20th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

The bullpen, catcher, etc. have been a weakness for a few years. No improvement. Dave needs to go. Seems like Fieldercould have brought more than a 2Basemen. Infante was ok vs. improving areas of need.

Mitch Cumstein

April 20th, 2014 at 3:20 PM ^

Time will tell on the Fister trade, but right now it looks bad. I also question the renteria trade a few years back and a couple others.



Again, not saying he is doing a poor job, but people talk like he's never made a mistake and he alone is the reason the tigers are good. We outspend everyone in the division and had a pretty solid manager in Leyland for many years.

Knight

April 20th, 2014 at 5:00 PM ^

How does the Fister trade look bad right now? Fister is hurt and has not pitched for Washington yet. Lombardozzi didn't work out but the Tigers got an ok lefty reliever in Krol and a solid prospect in Robbie Ray. If Fister comes back and pitches like he used to then you can say it was a bad trade, but he is still out a few more weeks.

Like you said, time will tell on that trade, but the Tigers are "winners" of that deal as of now.

JamieH

April 21st, 2014 at 1:28 AM ^

Because he traded a guy who statistically is the quality of a #2 starter for a marginal prospect, a garbage utility man, and a mediocre reliever.   The odds of Robby Ray ever being as good as Doug Fister are about 5%. Dave has made mostly good moves, but he's made a few total stinkers.  The Renteria deal was an obvious stinker from day 1, and the Fister deal looks like a pretty terrible move too.  The fact that Fister has a minor injury right now doesn't change that.

rainingmaize

April 20th, 2014 at 5:09 PM ^

Every GM makes a bad decision here and there, even the best ones. Fortunatly, Dave D's worst decisions haven't really hurt us that much. 



Also, Dave D was the one that hired Leyland after everyone thought he was done and washed up. He also stuck with him and gave him an extension when many thought his job could be in trouble.

93Grad

April 20th, 2014 at 4:18 PM ^

Over the last few years is failing to better shore up the bullpen. The bullpen has hurt us for years. In his defense they are also the hardest thing to predict year over year. But that to me is why we should have spent more every year to add another high quality late inning guy. You can't have enough depth there.

I agree that the Fister trade seems odd but I am willing to wait and see how Krol and Ray turn out. The Gonzalez trade was a rare brain fart made out of desperation so I'll let that one slide.

coldnjl

April 20th, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^

I don't agree with you here and it appears you don't know what you are talking about, but the Fister for Lambardozzi trade appears bad. They traded Lombardozzi for Gonzalez who everyone thought would be released. He was, but by our team, while Lombardozzi is hitting .286 (I know, sample size). Just looks like a string of irrational decisions by Dombrowski triggered by being caught ill-prepared with the Iglesias injury. 

Prince Lover

April 20th, 2014 at 4:37 PM ^

I would agree, it does appear bad. But since Tigers also got Krol who has been one of the steadiet reliever, and a decently rated prospect for an injured Fister, I would say the trade doesn't appear too terrible at the moment.
In a month or so I may change my tune, but so far so good.

French West Indian

April 20th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^

...exactly how good were the Tigers before Dombrowski arrived?  Illitch had owned the team for more than a decade and hadn't accomplished shit before Dombrowski came to Detroit.

French West Indian

April 20th, 2014 at 5:54 PM ^

...Avila a "bum" is a bit harsh.  I'll concede that his hitting is abysmal these days but a catcher plays a big role beyond just hitting.  He's (perhaps arguably) half the equation in the performance of the pitching staff.  And given the success of Detroit pitching in recent years (especially the starting pitching), it's hard to fault Avila on that end of his job.

Would I like a better hitting catcher on the Tigers?  Yes, of course.  But where exactly do you find this perfect catcher?  Of the 30 MLB catchers (presumably the 30 best in the world), who exactly do the Tigers acquire to take over this role tomorrow?  If you look at it objectively then the pickings are pretty slim.

ppudge

April 20th, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^

Catchers are overrated when it comes to this. The Tiger starters have enough talent that Almost anyone back at catcher who can't hit would be given this compliment: "well, at least he calls a good game for this staff - he handles the pitchers very well." Amazing how our bullpen still sucks when Avila catches. It's because it's 99% the pitcher. And Avila can't throw out runners either.

LSAClassOf2000

April 20th, 2014 at 4:21 PM ^

I would have to think that, at 37 years old, this move probably is the end or near the end for Alex Gonzalez in the pros. It was a move that I wasn't sure about only because it has been a few years since Gonzalez has had a really attractive OPS and as I recall, he had not played much at shortstop in recent years.

I am inclined to believe that a Romine / Worth platoon might be an offensive and defensive upgrade at the present, though I could be wrong there. I know Ausmus insisted publicly that Gonzalez still could handle things at SS, and maybe he saw something no one else did, but in the end, obviously Gonzalez was not the answer. 

Argyle

April 20th, 2014 at 6:15 PM ^

Meanwhile, Lombardozzi is tearing it up in Baltimore. I really thought Lombo was a solid part of the Fister deal, now that deal makes even less sense.

expatriate

April 20th, 2014 at 7:26 PM ^

You're absolutely right. As an Orioles fan (Tigers are my second-favorite team but I'm from Baltimore) Lombardozzi for Gonzalez was considered a real coup, he is a great addition for this team so far. Honestly I am not sure what the Tigers were thinking at the time- Lombardozzi is still a young player with defensive versatility. Gonzalez was never considered a long-term part of the O's future, but fans are excited about Lombardozzi as a role player for them.

umchicago

April 21st, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^

i still don't get that trade.  Lombo could have platooned at SS a bit.  At worst he's a solid utility for the next several years.  Instead DD trades him for a recently released old washed up SS.  Can't imagine what he was thinking on that one.