It’s actually good to know his contract was up after this year. I thought we were stuck with him for much longer
What's the alternative you're looking for here? Should we not want him to be healthy? Should I want him to suck when he plays?
No need to root for it, they will suck for at least the next 3 on their own. And if Avila is retained after this season, they’ll suck for the next 5.
I could be way off. But I think you start rebuilding after this season. There is enough talent in the system (at least after this seasons draft and trades for prospects). Don’t need to tank for half a decade to get there.
They are still a long ways off. Farm system is ranked in middle of half in majors, behind rival division teams. They only have maybe two or three positional prospects with a chance of making the show in the next two years. Of the 3 or 4 top pitching prospects, you figure 2 will end up being busts ( probably Faedo and Perez) Just look at their current roster, there is basically no good young talent on the 25 man roster. You have maybe Candelario, Fulmer, Jimenez, and Castellanos, who will be gone after this season. There is nobody else after those three. Stewart could be serviceable, but he’s a DH guy. Also their GM sucks. So maybe if they replace him after the season, we will be on the right track.
You're not way off. If they're tanking for the next 5 years, they're going to be in the same spot as the Pistons are now in terms of fan interest and attendance.
Did you see their tv ratings last year? And only averaged 23k a game. Fan interest is way down. Fans will show up once they’re good again. It’s a bandwagon sport.
They're all bandwagon sports. The longer you're bad, the longer it takes to get fans back because they're not going to invest until you're legitimately competing for titles again. Look at Houston. The went to the playoffs in 2015, and still didn't come close to matching their pre-tanking attendance numbers until the year after they won the WS. That's why tanking, in general, isn't as great as people think.
I would feel better about the rebuild if we had more than two position players worth a damn in the system.
I think there's a decent chance for more than that, but it's going to take some time to get there. Even then, if guys like Willi Castro and Jake Rogers are simply league average starters, that's a valuable thing.
And that team won 95+ games and went to the WS. If that team was on pace to win 85 games and didn't make the playoffs, the fans wouldn't have shown up. That's the point. If you're going to tank or suck for a long time, fans aren't going to come back until you're contending for a title. From a business perspective, that's not ideal.
Is he the one reporter that’s worried? Or is he telling us another reporter is worried? I’m so confused
MLBN did their 30 in 30 on the Tigers today. Not much to report, but thought it was interesting that both Norris and Greene were asked about young pitchers who impressed them, and the question was kind of worded in a way to talk about guys likely to be in the big leagues. Both guys said Mize, and said his stuff and attitude were great. Not sure if that's bad for the young guys who might be on the roster (probably), but thought it was interesting to hear them talk about him.
Also, with Fulmer probably out to start the year, I wouldn't be shocked if Spencer Turnbull gets that spot in the rotation over Norris. Gardenhire has had some quotes talking about how much he really likes him as a starter, and he's supposedly been pretty impressive. He should make the team as a reliever, IMO, but it doesn't seem like they'll go that direction.
Not his decision alone, but this FO has signed Matt Moore and Francisco Liriano to basically take Norris' place in the rotation the last couple years. I doubt he would have to fight that one too hard if he wanted it to happen.
I've read some reports from people on the minor league fields the last few days. Sounds like Manning could really break out this year. Saw one report he was consistently hitting 96-97 with a much improved change-up yesterday, although that guy also questioned the breaking ball a bit. Cameron has been getting really good reviews for much of the spring. I think he'll be in the big leagues by the end of June unless JaCoby hits much better than expected. Willi Castro also seems to be getting a lot of nice recognition. Faedo also reportedly throwing 91-92 the other day with better secondary stuff. Velo still not back to where it was, but better than last year.
If I were commissioner I would start games 3/15. Send four teams to a warm weather country to play two three game series. Each team loses the same amount of home games. Do this for every team in the league. Fuck the logistics. You grow the game internationally. Blah blah blah.