What Went Wrong for the 2024 Detroit Tigers?

4 comments

1. ultimately the offense let the pitching down

2. Just now learned how poorly Tork did with RISP in 2024, stunningly bad especially with 2 out. Pitchers bear down with their best stuff in those key situations. One theory i had on Tork early in 2024 is that he may have trained wrong and got a bit stiff losing batspeed. How else could I reconcile a good last half of 2023 then we get this. Tork did make some key mechanical changes midseason- this explains how he did better in MLB after the callup than he did in Toledo.He did not deserve the callup based on Toledo hitting but actually did better in MLB. Its possible this offseason he changes his body type to a more wiry quicker frame. Also look for more mechanical changes because what de was doing wasnt good enuff. I predicted utter failure for Tork from the beginning of his Tiger career- I felt he couldnt hit 95 without guessing 95 but after seeing mechanical changes I thought he would do well and its still possible. In my view Tigers hitting coaching is subpar-if Tork went to NYY ,Dodgers, Padres and others they would do more with Tork. Baddoo goes to another team and gets greatly improved and quickly. Jung,Malloy and Keith would too. Baddoo started holding the bat oddly -it didnt work-and he didnt change it.Manning is the one player on the 40 man that in my view lacks humility and maturity and is in the doghouse..

3. Great show Scott! I’d like to say I’m actually pretty excited about the offense going into next season. Starting with the outfield we have Greene, Meadows, & Carpenter maybe our 3 best players offensively with Perez as the 4th OF’er. None of those guys has entered their primes yet so imo their best years could be ahead of them.

   While the infield is not as established I think there should be reason for optimism. We’re SO young across the board. Keith, Jung, Sweeney, & Tork are all right around 25.. Throw in Malloy’s potential DH’ing and you have another sub 25 year old poised to take a step forward next season.

   I do understand the defensive roles are yet to be fully determined but at this stage I’m more concerned with their hitting progress than their gloves. Though Tork did seem to play better defense after his call up and Sweeney was actually a little better than I thought he would be and while Keith was not a rock at 2nd he was serviceable, especially if he can continue to improve on his hitting.

   Vierling and i guess Javy do add some veteran depth and decent gloves if not much else. If we could actually hit on a few of our FA signings it could make a world of difference. We don’t have to add a stud either, a few guys as good as Vierling or even Wenceel would really help in my view.

   In today’s game I think we’re good with Rogers at catcher for now. Even if him and Dingler hit around .200 their defense is top notch and I like the way they handle the pitching staff too.

   I’m an eternal optimist so forgive me if this seems illogical. But I honestly think we have the makings of a very good core for atleast the next few seasons. I know Clarke & McGonigle are still a few years away but it’s nonetheless exciting knowing they are waiting in the wings as well.

   All in all barring injuries I think we should be very excited for the potential we have here. We will probably never be an offensive juggernaut but let’s be real we are built around pitching first and foremost. Heck our stadium is a pitchers park and we have the best pitcher in the world so it makes sense. Kinda reminds me of the Braves back when they had their awesome staff, they were always trying to get just a little better offensively, despite having such great pitching. We might find ourselves in the same dilemma I worry but I also think maybe that’s not such a bad thing either.

   Thanks again and Go Tigers!

4. It’s spelled “signings” not singings. Your show needs to be more polished. You don’t really add insight other than surface level observations. You could go into how bad the hitting coaches are, how arrogant AJ is, how Vierling is way overvalued, etc.