Bless You Boys: for Detroit Tigers fans

It's a grim day in Tigertown as Michael Fulmer is out for the year with a blown elbow. We discuss some of the fallout from this most awful news, and whether the Tigers should take the opportunity to get a little more radical in deploying their pitching staff. Baseball appears ready to confront its labor issues before things get worse, and our old colleague, Emily Waldon, is leading the charge. Plus, Mike Trout gets paid in full, our season preview series continues, and we answer your listener questions.

Michael Fulmer is headed toward UCL reconstruction surgery and we're a bit gutted.Who takes Fulmer's spot in the rotation, amid other fallout from the news?MLB seems to be taking the ongoing labor strife seriouslyEmily Waldon pushed the minor leaguers pay to the forefront with a great piece for the AthleticMike Trout signs an extension that is easily the biggest contract ever, and still not big enough.Quick previews of the AL/NL EastListener questions

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Nick Castellanos's plaintive plea for an extension falls on Avila's deaf ears.Miggy has two bombs and a hidden ball trick.Jordan Zimmermann is dealing.Matt Moore and Tyson Ross post good outings to right their ships.Daniel Norris had a little breakthrough (we'll see how he does against Boston today), but Michael Fulmer is scaring people.Daz Cameron is shining.Niko Goodrum is a delight.Nick's plaintive plea for an extension falls on Avila's deaf ears.Can Brad Ausmus become an "analytics manager" and wtf is that, even?

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As the initial spring training glow gives way to the dog days of Grapefruit League play, we take the Tigers temperature and look over some of news, and the perennial "best shape of their lives" stories from Lakeland. But with Opening Day just three weeks away, there should be a lot more news as cuts start coming in waves, and more games are televised. Right now, highlights from games are just whetting the appetite for opportunities to sit down a watch a few hours of Tigers baseball on another frigid day in the north.

Casey Mize has impressed.Miguel Cabrera has been healthy and swinging the bat well.Daniel Norris and Michael Fulmer, among others, are a little scary so far.Bryce Harper finally signed on with the Phillies and ended our long winter's vigil.We go off the rails with our weekly fixation on Trevor Bauer.

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Brandon and Ashley do their best to deliver the goods in the wake of spring training opening, and the Padres' monster acquistion of Manny Machado. The path was twisty, but we examined the minor news out of spring camp, argued one last time for another free agent addition, and answered listener questions. We also digressed into serial killers for some reason.

Camp is underway and so far, Daniel Norris, Michael Fulmer, and Miguel Cabrera are obviously in the best shape of their lives.Casey Mize is making a good impression, as are the Tigers investments in technology.We consider the Tigers' Opening Day starter, and whether there isn't still a move that makes sense for them.The Manny Machado deal and its impact on the game.Listener questions

 

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Brandon and Ashley return to gnaw on a meager diet of Tigers news. The Tigers and their gear are making their way south for spring camp, and pitchers and catchers are set to report in less than a week. The free agent market is still quiet, the Tigers still need a catcher, and Nick Castellanos doesn't seem to be going anywhere. We touched on these and a host of other topics.

Truck Day brings warm vibes.The Tigers ended the Big D experiment.Danny McClain's Cy Young award went to auction, and Kirk Gibson is now a special assistant to Al Avila.Nick Castellanos is primed for a good year.Niko Goodrum needs to seize his opportunity.Stop this madness and sign a catcher, Tigers.Keith Law isn't impressed with the Tigers farm system.Arbitration wins, and a record arb eligible one-year deal for Nolan Arenado may point the way beyond the free agent freeze.

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We're back with a Hall of Fame heavy episode. The Tigers did a few minor things, but most of the talk around the game revolved today around Mariano Rivera's unanimous first ballot selection to Cooperstown, a feat which, bizarrely, no one had ever managed until today. Sportswriters man...someone always has to be the curmudgeon. Imagine not voting for Greg Maddux the moment he appeared on Hall of Fame ballots. Ridiculous.

We take a look at the Tigers minor league signings and wonder what they say about hopes for the Tigers actually signing any more real major leaguers this offseason.The Baseball Writers Association of America elected Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay, and Edgar Martinez to the hallowed halls on Tuesday.We look at Jay Jaffe's JAWS system for peak years and Hall of Fame credentials.Put more catchers in the Hall of Fame. Do it.Listener questions

 

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Ashley and Brandon fire up a podcast that’s been sitting out in frigid temperatures undriven for a month. Unfortunately, there is still precious little warmth emitting from the hot stove to help us along. We took a look back at the Tigers offseason, the options they have remaining this offseason, and the chilly relations between free agents and teams around the league.

The Tigers signed Jordy Mercer and Tyson Ross, and that’s fine. More please.Are the Tigers going to do anything else, and other cries for help.Will Nicholas Castellanos be traded or has the ship already sailed on those possibilities?Matt Shepherd takes over as the Tigers new play-by-play man.State of free agency.More complaints about how the Tigers could benefit from picking up a few more free agents.Listener questions

 

Intro: “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House” - Yo La Tengo

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Ashley and Brandon return to a modest array of Tigers news. The offseason has started with some major moves, but until Patrick Corbin signed with the Nationals, trades rather than free agent signings took the center stage. As for the Tigers, they added Matt Moore for some reason. They then joined the flood of 39 rostered players who were not tendered new contracts on the final day of November, by adding Alex Wilson and James McCann to a seemingly vast pool of cheap, decent MLB caliber players. 

Matt Moore seems like Blaine Hardy's doppelganger in terms of potential role on the 2019 Tigers. We bid goodbye to Alex Wilson and James McCann and pray their roster spots aren't cleared in vain. Finally Michael Fulmer's surgery was a little more complicated than expected so DO NOT RUSH BACK, MICHAEL FULMER. Thank you.(32:00) We take your listener questions, which largely revolve around the Seattle Mariners for various reasons.(55:35) Finally, we look at an already slow free agent market that was flooded as teams declined to tender contracts to a whopping 39 players. If this offseason plays out like the last, and it seems well on its way, there are going to be hard words spoken.

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This is kind of a funky episode. We recorded an interview with Emily Waldon, prospect writer for The Athletic, on Thursday, November 10th. Issues prevented it coming out over the weekend, so we added a little news and commentary as an opening segnment. You can skip to our interview with Ms. Waldon at about 30:00 of the podcast. To lead off, co-host Brandon Day flies solo with a quick rundown of MLB awards season, and the Tigers posture toward free agency as the hot stove season gets underway.

Justin Verlander is defeated by Tampa for the third time in Cy Young Award votingBob Melvin was a bit of a strange choice for Manager of the YearThe Tigers' claim their payroll is weighing them downEmily Waldon of The Athletic

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Brandon and Ashley put a bow on a somewhat dismal season of Tigers baseball, because it's time to look ahead to October baseball and the offseason to come.

Hopes for a little more rookie fireworks failed to launch in September.Tigers Way 4.0The Tigers have to be careful not to let the rebuild get away from them.Jose Iglesias and James McCann may leave opportunities more than holes.Listener questions.The Addison Russell problem.Rooting in all directions in October.

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