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Tigers FO thread, Scott Harris Pres. of Baseball Ops,Tigers Hire Jeff Greenberg GM

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...he-final-weekend/id1266543495?i=1000630198661
Motor City Metrics Tigers Podcast: Jon, Rogelio, and Yooper recap the final weekend of Miguel Cabrera and discuss the end of the season presser. 78 minutes.

Going over the final weekend of Miguel Cabrera's playing career.

Matt Sheppard is no longer the voice of the Detroit Tigers on TV.

Recapping Scott Harris and A.J. Hinch end of the season presser.
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/04/loose-ends/
LOOSE ENDS.
Totally Tigers

It has been nearly a year since the Detroit Tigers? PoBO Scott Harris officially started his duties. Upon being hired in late September 2022, he took a number of weeks to explore each department and meet with employees before making any moves.

Harris implemented a number of changes to the organization in his first year but try as he might, there are still a number of factors he inherited from his predecessor that are difficult to either solve or remove. Especially when they pertain to the players Al Avila acquired.

Starting this week and running through the winter, he, new GM Jeff Greenberg and manager A. J.Hinch will have to decide how to handle each. Whether they can maximize their performances or are better off without them on the roster.

There are 4 players at the forefront of their decisions. Let?s review each along with the factors that need to be considered.
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/05/five-for-friday-87/
FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
Totally Tigers

The 2023 season is over for the Detroit Tigers. The first year that PoBO Scott Harris came on board and started to guide this team differently.

It takes multiple years to reassess, rebuild and re-energize a team in search of becoming competitive. One can?t make a definitive statement about progress after just 1 year.

But we can look at what is going on throughout the organization in order to obtain hints.

And that?s what we are going to do today.

Here are the 5 biggest clues I?m seeing that support the premise about the Tigers getting back on track towards a successful rebuild.
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/07/deeper-discussions-90/
DEEPER DISCUSSIONS.
Totally Tigers

Detroit Tigers? PoBO Scott Harris and newly-hired GM Jeff Greenberg are currently sitting down and analyzing what their needs may be for the 2024 season.

There are lots of holes to fill. Pitchers who are leaving or on the IL, a weak offensive system, infield defensive issues and some players under-performing.

In your opinion, which area of the game should be given the priority in fixing? Which area will improve the team the most?

Pitching?

Defense?

Offense?

Today?s blog addresses this dilemma and allows readers to share their thoughts in more detail. And hopefully, to actively engage with others by responding to their posts and creating back-and-forth discussion threads. The more the merrier!

For this one blog only, you?ve got 6 sentences max to share your thoughts. Of course, you can also respond to other readers.

TT will supply the ammunition. One thought-provoking question. Several options provided. One hard choice to be selected. One vote.
Ready?

Which area of the game should be the priority for the Tigers to address this off-season?

1. Pitching

2. Defense

3. Offense

Vote
 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...plans-is-it-time/id1674627945?i=1000630755831
Days of Roar Tigers Podcast Guessing Detroit Tigers' offseason plans: Is it time to spend big? 62 minutes.

With the so-called non-game season here for the Detroit Tigers, Mark and Evan have a spirited debate over the team's payroll and future. Is it time to bring back J.D. Martinez? Later in the pod, the guys briefly talk A.J. Hinch's future with the team, Matt Shepherd's dismissal from the Tigers' broadcasting booth and Evan's stock watch article on which players have earned their roster spot for 2024.
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/17/watercooler-wednesday-106/
WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY.
Totally Tigers

(Editor?s Note: The original blog sent out contained the wrong poll. The correct one has replaced it and may be seen below.)

This year?s playoffs have journalists and fans talking about the wide mix of teams who earned a slot. In particular, how teams? payrolls varied so widely. Some with very low salaries and others among the top in spending.

Then there are the teams who were among the biggest spenders this year but didn?t see October. Some of them finishing under .500. Some of them never in contention.

And it is the primary reason why owners will spend hundreds of millions.

To contend.

But is it as simple as spending lots of money in order to become one of MLB?s best teams?

Here?s what Scott Harris said recently as he discussed what the Tigers will do in the off-season:

?What I think about this offseason is that it?s important to remind ourselves there aren?t any shortcuts to contention. Recent history in this game will tell you. Certain organizations have either over-estimated their proximity to contention or they have tried to take a shortcut to contention by spending heavily in free agency, and it hasn?t worked.

?It hasn?t pushed them forward and, in fact, in some cases, it set them back.?

If we look at the Tigers, Mike Ilitch was one of MLB?s cheapest owners for the first 13 years. It was only in 2005 that he decided he wanted a ring and was often the owner who spent the most on free agents from 2005 through 2016. In those years, the Tigers won a lot of games but in the end they only earned
1 win out of 9 games in 2 World Series appearances.

After that, the Tigers have spent the last 7 years (and counting) tearing down and trying to rebuild.

The Tigers can look to their last foray into significant free agency spending. It was before the 2022 season, when they promised more than $400+ million for 4 free agents and ended up regressing to a 66-win season. It was this premature move that proved to be the final straw for Chris Ilitch who fired him before the end of the season.

All of this begs the question: Is it wise for a baseball team to try to buy its way into contention?

What do you think? Is this a wise strategy? Is it worth the price which is almost always a tear down and rebuild?

Or are there better and more successful ways of building a roster?

Let?s kick start some good discussion threads here ? and to take with you wherever you go during the rest of the week.

Would you support "buying a roster" in order for your team to contend in October?

1. Yes, the price is worth it.

2. No, there are better ways.

VOTE
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/19/five-for-friday-89/
FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
Totally Tigers

At one of his initial press conferences, Scott Harris said that the organization would take ?calculated risks? when signing players from outside the organization in order to get better. Players who technically fit the Tigers? needs and filled holes. He emphasized that you don?t move ahead unless you take certain risks.

He also indicated that a ?calculated risk? meant that there was evidence a player would ? on paper ? work out but that the organization recognized that there would be some who wouldn?t.

The theory worked extremely well for him when he was with the Giants and his ability to find treasure earned the Giants 107 wins in 2021.

Harris has only been with the Tigers for a year. For much of that time, he was editing a roster Al Avila had already assembled and this limited just how much he could change at one time.

In all, Scott acquired 9 players who saw more than a cup of coffee in Detroit (excluding the minor league acquisitions) this past season. Three of them ? Matthew Boyd, Nick Maton and Tyler Nevin ? did not work out.

But 5 (maybe 6) of them contributed positively to the team?s improvement this year. They are:
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/23/well-run-wanna-be-or-train-wreck/
WELL-RUN, WANNA BE OR TRAIN WRECK?
Totally Tigers

It?s an interesting time of year in baseball. The news is filled with playoffs and when there is an off-day, there?s an insider story about a team?s inner troubles that sneaks out. And since the end of the season, there?s been multiple reports of dysfunction within franchises.

For the second year in a row, a GM has been punished by the owner despite getting their team to the playoffs. That, of course, was Marlins GM Kim Ng who did not receive the expected contract extension after taking her team to the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years. To top it off, she was told that going into next year, she would no longer be the top person in charge of the organization.

Ng declined her contract option and followed Derek Jeter out the door (less than 2 years later), along with multiple other Front Office execs over the past couple years.

But the Boston Red Sox take the cake and crown this year after firing Chaim Bloom, their Chief Baseball Officer. Both he and his predecessor, Dave Dombrowski, were fired 3 years into their jobs. Dave just months after winning the World Series.

Now the Red Sox are looking to replace Bloom. The problem?

Over 10 people, including Ng, have turned down an invitation to interview for the job. Ten!

Can you imagine? The Sox are unable to find any qualified people who are interested in the job. A position so exclusive that there are only 30 of them in the world.

Last month, I wrote a blog about how some owners are obstacles to their teams? success. How they have the ability to thwart the best efforts of their Front Offices.

Which, given the latest news about the Marlins and Red Sox, begs the question about just how many teams are dysfunctional. And how many are just rudderless.

Then again, which MLB franchises are run well?

All of this got me thinking about how the 30 organizations would be grouped. And how?

So I came up with 4 categories based upon their actions ? or lack thereof ? and defined them as such:
 
https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/10/24/watercooler-wednesday-107/
WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY.
Totally Tigers

Last week, we graded all of the Tigers who saw action during the 2023 season. It was followed up by asking fans to evaluate A. J. Hinch and his coaching staff.

Today, we?ll conclude the grading process by asking fans to offer their feedback on the Tigers? PoBO, Scott Harris.

Scott has just concluded his first year at the helm of the Tigers. It was expected that he would spend this year evaluating roster talent before making any really big changes to it.

Harris did broom a number of departments including player personnel, scouting and drafting. He also expanded a number of departments and added significant personnel. At the end of the year, he hired a new GM, Jeff Greenberg.

Scott added 9 new players to the MLB roster and multiple others to the minor leagues via trades, free agent signings, Rule 5 and waiver wire finds.

In all, 9 players were added to the Tigers? MLB roster with 6 of them earning accolades and 3 of them faltering. One of those earned a place in the Rookie of the Year discussion and another became a Gold Glove finalist.

A third was named to the All-Star roster and ended up being flipped for another team?s #5 prospect. Two others had some of the team?s best slash lines and put up positive defensive numbers.

The 2023 season also saw the emergence of several young pitchers who have the potential to be solid starting pitchers in the near future.

On the other side of the coin, Harris did not sign any top free agents which could have been due to the need to evaluate the roster more before committing so much money and multiple years to a new contract.

Filling third base remained a problem throughout the year and the issues at 2B are only partially resolved.

In all, the Tigers saw a jump in performance, winning 12 more games than last year (and losing 12 less) and finishing in 2nd place. Yet, they finished 6 games under .500. In the previous year under former GM Al Avila, the Tigers finished in 4th place, 30 games under .500.
So how would you grade Scott Harris after his first year with the team?

What grade would you give Scott Harris after his first year on the job?

1. High marks.

2. Decent marks.

3. Mixed reviews.

4. Disappointing marks.

VOTE
 
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