Traded for Austin Meadows. Lineup looks definitely better this year.

If their young pitchers can come along they could be a surprise team this year that contends for a wildcard spot.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The lineup does superficially look better, but the brought on players with lots of holes in their game. There will be days where they look great but they have the type of players where winning will be inconsistent and prone to a long losing streak

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

So pretty much like every other team that contends for the wild card.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Cabrera still on the books for over 30 mil makes it difficult for the post-Pizza Pizza man team do much until Cabrera comes off after 2025, or they can buy out after next season, i believe.

Cabrera currently 30% of the Tigers payroll and the Ilitch kids don't appear to have the appetite for spending on the Tigers their ring chasing dad did. Unless Cabrera finds David Ortiz PED kit, Tigers middling along for at least a couple more seasons. At that point pushing a decade since Dombrowki left the franchise in tatters and peaced out with half the Tigers roster to win a ring in Boston. I imagine what he did in Detroit was a factor in why the Red Sox parted ways with Dombrowski with a quickness after he brought them a ring.

Last year Hinch got 77 wins out of team pundits said wouldn't win 60 games. Still can't believe the Sox passed on him in favor of the Spanish Joe Biden. Their farm system is loaded too.

I could be wrong, but I think Detroit had as good of a record in the second half as the bumslayers.

Spanish Joe Biden is pretty good.

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The team with a notorious history of throwing World Series games probably should not hire a manager with a notorious history of cheating to win World Series games.

Huh?

I'm concerned about the high school pitching coach. Watched a "mic'ed up" on youtube where he told Cease that 2-2 was his count.

That sounds like something Hawk would say.

“I tell ya what Stone Pony, this young man, Cease, is the best 2-2 pitcher I’ve seen in my 9 decades in baseball. Of course Yaz never woulda let him get to 2-2.”

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Hopefully there's some context there. You don't encourage talented pitchers to waste pitches on 0-2 1-2. Because from what I can tell with Cease, he does exactly that.

I think the Sox have some issues, but not scared in the least of the Tigers. The deserve Javier Baez

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Cabrera with a 3 run shot knocks in Baez, who got on without benefit of a hit or BB.

Only Miggy's 2nd home run of the truncated ST, but 2 HR in 27 AB is a good ratio for early season Cabrera. Who tended to come into the season out of shape. Maybe he's aged out of his binge drinking years and the Tigers will get a couple more serviceable seasons out of him.

I am not saying the Sox have any reason to be afraid of them. I think the Sox are far and away the best team in the division.

Tigers only hope is a wildcard

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Best hope for the Tigers is Cabrera catches fire first half and they dupe some playoff chasing team into trading for him at the deadline.

The "great" AJ Hinch got the team off to a 9-24 start, and then got them to play at a .527 clip for the next 130 games.

Might as well name the Manager of the Year award after him.

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LaRussa didn't mind the heap of needles in the bathroom sink. Other side of the same coin. I'd have picked the shinier side, as did Hahn. Oh well, we're stuck with the NY Mets' version of Casey Stengel.