Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila says he will consider two currently suspended manger for the vacant Tigers manager position

Sports is a business of second chances, and sometimes more. The Detroit Tigers are in the market for a new manager with the retirement of Ron Gardenhire. Tigers general manager Al Avila said he is willing to consider two manager who are both suspended because of cheating scandals. From a national standpoint this could seem dicey. From an industry that is more forgiving it should be no surprise.

Alex Cora, who was fired as manager of the Boston Red Sox for his part in a cheating scandal that netted the Red Sox a World Series Championship  is being considered by Avila and the Tigers front office. It was Cora who was also in Houston and spearheaded the Astros cheating scandal when they won the 2017 World Series.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Alex Cora #20 of the Boston Red Sox sits in the dugout prior to Game Five of the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

A.J. Hinch who was the manager of the Houston Astros, has accepted his part in the cheating scandal that rocked Major League Baseball. Hinch was also fired by the Astros. Hinch said he understands he was the leader and remained silent as the cheating was going on.

Al Avila also said that he has a long list of names he will consider. Something of note, A.J. Hinch’s suspension ends when the World Series is over in late October. Al Avila said he will not open interviews until, you got it late October.

Another point of interest in A.J. Hinch is that he is widely respected inside baseball circles. Yes, he absolutely should have spoken up and come clean about the goings on with the Astros. But, Hinch’s work with a then rebuilding Astros team beginning in 2015 lead them to a championship.

The Detroit Tigers of today nearly mirror the 2015 Houston Astros. A.J. Hinch has said if he had to do it all again he would have put an end to the cheating. He did not making him a rather interesting figure in the Detroit Tigers managerial search.

Other names Al Avila is said to be pondering are  Lloyd McClendon, former Marlins and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, Kansas City Royals third base coach Vance Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Don Kelly,K.C.  Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol, former Miami Marlins manager Mike Redmond, New York Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens and Chicago White Sox bench coach Joe McEwing.

Of those managers only Hinch has lead a rebuilding team out of a rebuild into the World Series. Tigers fans, if A.J. Hinch is named manger from that standpoint he would be a very good hire. From an integrity standpoint I believe it would be a good hire as again Hinch has accepted responsibility for what went down in Houston.

Thoughts.

Posted on

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman speaks

He does not do it often, yet when he does fans and media tend to stop and listen. Steve Yzerman general manager of the Detroit Red Wings seldom offers glimpses into how he runs his team. He prefers to just do it. This past week Yzerman sat down for a ZOOM  call and actually laid out some of his vision for the future of the Red Wings as well as how he and his staff will approach the 2020 NHL draft.

This is one of the busiest times for NHL GM’s. The 2020 draft is next Tuesday with free agency to follow October 9. Through it all Steve Yzerman is not going to alter how he approaches building the Red Wings back into a playoff contender.

“Our plan right now is to draft and try accumulate, or add, additional picks along the way. Draft, be patient, and hopefully we draft well,” Yzerman said. The Detroit Red Wings GM is looking to build a solid nucleus around some of the young Red Wings talent already in Detroit.

DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 17: Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings poses for his official headshot for the 2019-2020 season at Little Caesars Arena on September 17, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Red Wings in the middle of a rebuild, they are not targeting specific position groups in the draft. At this point, they simply want to add the best prospects available.

The Red Wings were the worst team in the NHL last season and the organizations reward is the fourth overall first round draft pick, due to a faulty NHL lottery system that needs overhauled.

Even picking fourth, there is a fairly deep pool of talented prospects available in top half of the first round, the Red Wings will likely get a player who eventually will help them at No. 4 overall. Be it a year or five years.

Cole Perfetti, Marco Rossi and Lucas Raymond, and defensemen Jamie Drysdale and Jake Sanderson all have been linked to the Detroit hockey team. This is how Yzerman will draft and how he runs his team during a rebuild. Collect as many draft picks as you can. Detroit has three second round draft picks this year.

Collect talent and hope you strike gold on some of them. Steve Yzerman has a history of striking gold with later draft picks.

Posted on

The Detroit Tigers will pick No. 3 in the 2021 MLB draft

No the Detroit Tigers were not the worst team in MLB this season. They were not good by a far stretch. No- No.1 pick in next year draft instead the Tigers will pick No.3 overall. The organization which is pitching heavy should look to add more bats. They are in good position to do so.

It is not the end of the world and does not hurt the Detroit Tigers ongoing rebuild to pick No.3. There are plenty of good prospects to choose from. In my opinion like this past Junes MLB draft the Tigers need to add more hitters.

This past June Tigers general manger Al Avila did a very good job of adding some much needed bats into the organization’s prospect pool. Spencer Torkelson, Dillon Dingler, Daniel Cabrera, Trei Cruz,  Gage Workman, Colt Keith made for an impressive draft class. Some of the 2020 draft class project as future All-Stars.

In order to push the rebuild along faster Avila must have another draft much like he did in 2020. The Detroit Tigers organization is void of any real answer at short stop. Also if Torkelson is going to play 3B as the Tigers say, then the team needs a clear cut first baseman.

Why is it important to stock pile hitters? Two reasons, first it creates competition with prospects. May the best man win if you will. Second, hitters who simply do not have a roster spot due to a solid MLB roster can be used a trade chips to fill needs.

While the draft is not until next June, it is difficult at this moment to try to figure out just who the Tigers will take at No.3. I do believe they will be picking more hitters than pitchers.

The Tigers are close to begin to win games and start to climb out of the bottom of the division. A few more bats will speed that up. That should be the main goal and focus of the Tigers front office.

Posted on

The Detroit Tigers Christin Stewart may be running out of time

Fe-Fi-Fo-Fum, certainly Detroit Tigers outfielder Christin Stewart can smell Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Daniel Cabrera coming for his job. He has to know the Tigers minor leagues have some solid outfield prospects. Yet for all the hype from spring training to summer camp to the 60 game regular season Christin Stewart did not deliver.

Christin Stewart was advertised as a hitter. A masher, if you will. Stewart hit home runs and a lot of them in college and the minor leagues. For a player who was taken in the first round in the 2015 MLB draft, Stewart has struggled in Detroit.

In 60 games this season, Stewart’s stats are as followed: GP-36, AB-90, R-6, H-15, 2b-3, T-0, HR-3, RBI-9, BB-5, SO-30, AVG- .167. It does not take a baseball fan to understand these are not good numbers. Throw in the fact Christin Stewart was a first round draft pick and it looks like he is on the verge of being a bust.

As mentioned before Riley Greene, Parker Meadows and Daniel Cabrera are young proven outfield hitters in the Tigers system. One two or most likely all three will be roaming the Tigers outfield when the dust settles on the organization’s rebuild.

Christin Stewart who does not have and adequate arm or speed is in a difficult spot. His limitations in the outfield would be better masked and he could move to designated hitter (DH) if he could show he could hit.

Unfortunately, Stewart is not hitting either. Many baseball experts expect Riley Greene and Danial Cabrera to be in Detroit at some point during the 2021 season. Both have speed and above average arms. Both are solid contact hitters and both project as future All-Stars.

Stewart by all accounts could be a part of the Detroit Tigers future if he can begin to hit. But time is quickly running out. It is fair to say  Christin Stewart’s career is at the cross roads.

Posted on

For one game the Detroit Lions put it all together, will it last?

They had no chance to win in Arizona against the Cardinals. Zero, zilch, notta chance. Then the Detroit Lions did a very Detroit Lions thing, they won. Making everyone (nearly every expert) look bad for picking against them. Can it last? Can the Detroit Lions losers of 11 games in a row have found footing going forward?

The Detroit Lions were able to overcome the type of mistakes that lead to 11 straight losses and turned in the type of defensive effort that had eluded them early in the season.

The Lions forced Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray into throwing three interceptions and cashing them in for 10 points. Somehow the Lions also  withstood a late game penalty to set up kicker Matt Prater’s game winning 39 yard field goal.

Rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah who was put through the grinder last week against Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers, had a much better game. Okudah recorded his first NFL interception.

On offense the return of wide receiver Kenny Golladay (who missed the first two games due to a hamstring injury) showed what his value is to the Lions offense. With a healthy Golladay on the field, it opened things up for the running game as well as other receivers and tight ends to get open. Golladay’s importance can not be understated.

The NFL world had the Detroit Lions six-feet under and a shovel full of dirt ready to bury the team. Somehow the Lions were able to dig down and show for at least one game what they can be.

In all three games this season the Lions grabbed an early lead. Yet it was not until yesterday in Arizona the team did not give the lead back nor did they suffer another fourth quarter collapse. This is a good sign.

Yesterday the Lions played the way many thought they could. This win needs to have a carry-over. It needs to be a launching pad for the rest of the season. The team showed they can do it. Now comes the hard part, repeating.

Posted on

The Detroit Red Wings trade for veteran Marc Staal and a second round draft pick

In his quest to both fill roster needs while keeping an eye on the future, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman did both yesterday. Yzerman traded for Marc Staal of the New York Rangers and a second round draft pick  in 2021 NHL draft in exchange for future considerations.

Marc Staal is clearly a player in decline at 33 years old. Last season for the Rangers Staal had appeared in 52 games with the Rangers last season, recording two goals and nine assists. He had one goal in three playoff games.

Staal a 13 year NHL veteran has one year left on his contract with a $5.7 million cap hit. Staal is a player who can be plugged into the fourth line and play limited minutes.

Steve Yzerman has been bent on adding draft picks since becoming Detroit’s general manager. Part of the rebuilding process, is to add draft picks, prospects, young players and future assets to really help us down the line.

In the 2020 and 2021 NHL draft’s Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings organization as of this moment have six second round draft pick in each draft. That will certainly help add future assets.

The Detroit Red Wings were an NHL worst dead last in defense last season. Yzerman said that defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley would not be resigned.

By adding Staal, he can play the left side along with Patrik Nemeth and Danny DeKeyser. So it was a good trade in the aspect of helping the roster this season. With only one year left on his contract, Yzerman could feel another Red Wing prospect is close to being NHL ready. So a short contract does no derail a player from finishing his development and being in the roster mix at 2021 training camp.

Armed with draft picks, Steve Yzerman is giving his scouting department the opportunity to add important pieces to the Red Wings organization. Just as he said he would.

Posted on

An updated look at the state of the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons and Lions rebuild’s

All four Detroit Michigan sports teams are under construction. Rebuilds across the board. It has not been a fun time for the sports enthusiasts around the state of Michigan and the rest of the country. Yet here we are, it is time to update the four major sports teams rebuild efforts to date.

Let’s take a look at the worst and possibly longest rebuild in sports, or close to it. The Detroit Lions. Bob Quinn was brought in from the New England Patriots and there was hype when he arrived in Motown. The hype is gone, fans have soured and the Lions are a total mess. Losers of 11 games in a row with no end in sight. The Lions should fire Quinn and all associated with him and start from scratch.

The Detroit Pistons, In better shape than the Lions (who is not?) The Pistons have young talent to build around. Bruce Brown, Sekou Doumbouya, Luke Kennard, Christian Wood give the Pistons some nice players to build around. The Detroit Pistons are armed with some cap space for the first time in a long time so that will help speed the process up a bit.

The Detroit Tigers, the Tigers also have some nice young talent to build around. Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, Isaac Paredes, Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene are a few of the names Tiger fans should know or begin to learn. The Tigers still have work to do on the rebuild, however they are in good shape moving forward.

The Detroit Red Wings, general manager Steve Yzerman is still building his team. Like the Tigers the Red Wings have some nice prospects to build around. With the No. 4 pick in the first round Yzerman is poised to bring in another high-end prospect, not to mention Yzerman also has cap space. Cap space is a good thing it is even better when a GM with a proven history of spending wisely is in charge.

So there it is in a nutshell. The Lions are a mess as usual, the Pistons, Tigers and Red Wings are advancing rather nicely in the rebuilding of the respected organization.

I am sticking with my initial thought that the Detroit Red Wings finish their rebuild first.

 

Posted on

The Detroit Red Wings must show improvement 2020-21

The Detroit Red Wings rebuild has gone on for about three full years now. With current Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman overseeing the past two years. The 2020-21 NHL season is critical to the rebuild. Since Yzerman arrived in Motown the organization has been trending upward.

This season in order for a light to be seen at the end of the long rebuild tunnel, The Detroit Red Wings need prospects to play, in Detroit, at Little Caesars Arena to be exact.  Prospects such as  Mathis Bromé, Gustav Lindström, , Evgeny Svechnikov Joseph Veleno, and Filip Zadina an others need NHL playing time.

By perhaps adding a goalie in free agency and another player the Red Wings will not become a contender during the 2020-21 season. They organization can however takes steps towards becoming a contender.

Yzerman, understands todays NHL is a young players league now. The Red Wings have long believed in sending prospects development. No matter a players draft position they are sent to the minors to fine tune their skills.

That said the Red Wings do have players who need to take the next step which is NHL time. It is something the Columbus Blue Jackets have done with most of their top prospects.

The future of the Red Wings will be centered around the teams top line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin, and Anthony Mantha. The Red Wings now need to fill in other lines with players who will be playing on the other three lines.

This is where the Detroit Red Wings rebuild is. It is time to the next step or phase (depending how you like to say it.) The team is preparing to add another prospect during this years NHL draft.

This season will be a measure marker for the Detroit organization.

Posted on

With the sudden retirement of manager Ron Gardenhire, the Detroit Tigers should get a good manager

Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers general manager Al Avila met with manager Ron Gardenhire in their usual pre-game meeting. It was then Gardenhire told Avila he was retiring effective immediately. Tigers bench coach Lloyd McClendon will manage the team for the remainder of the season. That said with a much improved minor league prospect pool the Detroit Tigers should have little problems hiring a good manager.

First off one thing I will not do is drop names and speculate who could be in the running for the sudden managerial opening. What I will do is explain why the Detroit Tigers will be able to attract a good solid manager.

As mentioned earlier, the Tigers prospect pool is an attraction on it’s own. Casey Mize, Spencer Torkelson, Tarik Skubal to name a few have the Tigers rebuild now moving along at a faster rate.

The fact that Tigers owner Christopher Ilitch publicly said he would spend money on high priced free agents the closer the prospects got to the major leagues also helps making the Detroit managers job attractive.

Ron Gardenhire did his job. He lost (as expected) a lot of games in his three seasons in Detroit. That was not the point. He was brought on board to get prospects up to major league playing standards. He did his job.

In my opinion, the next Detroit Tigers manager needs to be a person who can get the team to take the next step. That is the key. Gardenhire coached prospects to things the right way, now come the need to get the entire team on the same page and begin to win.

The Detroit Tigers opening will have it’s fair share of coach’s who will throw their names into the mix, because the Tigers have a history of spending money something Ilitch said he would do.

The key is for the Tigers to nail the hire. No former fan favorite player, nor a coach with a big name. The hire needs to be able to balance a largely young roster with some veterans sprinkled in and begin to move up the win/loss column.

These are the final steps of the rebuild.

Posted on

The Detroit Red Wings could draft defensman Jamie Drysdale

HAMILTON, ON – JANUARY 16: Jamie Drysdale #4 of Team Red skates during the 2020 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game against Team White at FirstOntario Centre on January 16, 2020 in Hamilton, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

The 2020 NHL draft is stocked with high-end talent. Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Lucas Raymond, Cole Perfetti, Anton Lundell, Alexander Holtz, Tim Stutzle to name a few. The Detroit Red Wings already have solid defensive prospects in players like, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Kasper Kotansalo and Moritz Seider. Yet, the Red Wings could look to draft defenseman Jamie Drysdale with the teams first round draft pick.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman understands you build (or in this case rebuild) a team from the back end out. The Red Wings are armed with some very good defensive prospects. Jamie Drysdale could be the icing on the cake for a unit that has some teeth to it.

Jamie Drysdale, has a superior hockey IQ he also has lightning quick feet, and playmaking ability that is well above average. Drysdale is viewed as the best defensive player in the 2020 draft.

Another aspect of Drysdale’s game that really stands out is his speed. At 5′ 11″ Jamie does not have ideal size but makes up for it with hands and stick to disrupt his opponents. The number of turnovers Drysdale has created this season by stick checking was absurd.

Even with his size it is difficult to poke holes in his game. If Yzerman decides Drysdale is the player to help push the Red Wings rebuild forward the organization will not only get an elite hockey player, but they will also get a great leader and someone of very high character.

When Jamie Drysdale is on the ice  he is a dominant player who uses excellent speed, agility and rapid decision making to make himself the most dangerous player on the ice at all times. Drysdale is close in style to 2017 fourth overall pick Cale Makar who was selected by the Colorado Avalanche.

Jamie Drysdale has the ability to be both a shutdown defender on a teams top pairing and also power play quarterback.