October 14, 2025 • 19 mins
Chris McCosky of the Detroit News joins the show to wrap up the Tigers season and look ahead to the offseason. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Where do you go for Ireland's biggest thrillers, craziest finishes,
wildest upsets and fiercest post match debates.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good afternoon there, You're very welcome to the program.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
An awful lot of live sports on the way.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Well over a million of you go to Ireland's number
one radio station, Artie Radio one.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Listen now on Arte Radio Player.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Looking for a great way to reward and thank your
hard working team this Christmas, Choose a gift that gives
back with the dun Stores Gift Card. The more you gift,
the more you say. With a tax free allowance of
up to fifteen hundred euro think instant gifting, instant delivery
with an e gift card your employees can use across
all our departments in store and online. The dun Stores
(00:44):
Gift Card perfect for everyone. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hoping you're talking with the Chris McCaskey strong Tigers baseball
writer from the Detroit News. You can fall on Twitter
at c McCaskey here in a moment regarding the Detroit
Tigers what he witnessed yesterday because he was in attendance
during the Scott Harris press conference with AJ Hinch and
the fact that AJ Hinch was extended. I'm sure Chris
(01:13):
had an idea of that, because he's got a really
good pulse on the Tigers and he joins us here
on Exis and Bros. It was a long season, but
you did a great job as usual. We appreciate the time, Chris,
because I know a lot of people are tugging at you.
What do you think the importance of first with AJ
Hinch's contract extension. Why so important do you think and
(01:34):
why was it not known until the season ended? Do
you think?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Well, that's kind of the way the things are operating
now on AJ. They got it done in midseason and
AJ didn't want it to be a distraction that a
lot of season, left a lot of games to be played,
and didn't want the story to be him and its extension.
Why it's important is because it just showed the unification
(01:59):
of him in Scott. A lot of times in situations
where you have a manager like AJ who is kind
of old school slash new school and good combination of both,
and you have an analytic, analytic minded front office back
in Clash. We've seen it. We've seen it across the
game well guys are getting fired, old school guys getting fired.
So this kind of just shows the unit, the unity
(02:20):
that they have and that it's a good it's a
good partnership, and that just solidifies it. It solidifies it.
I'm not even sure how long Scott this contract is.
You know, they don't make that stuff known to us.
They kind of hide it in the vault, and it's
kind of hard to break into, as you well know.
So you know, I think that's the deal there. I
(02:40):
think that's I mean, we didn't expect anything to change
the game extension when Scott first got here, and we
never thought that was going to be an issue. This
just solidifies it, basically.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, I remember some of our really enjoyable, sometimes spirited
conversations and the dugouts about a lot of different things.
The easiest thing in sports to do is second guess
the manager, second guess what should have taken place. Instead
of people actually coming out with specific examples, they just
use generic terms. When you look at the Tigers season,
(03:14):
how would you characterize it? How would you describe it?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Disappointing at the end, But if you look at it
from if you will pull back from the last month
in the heartbreak of the fifteen inning loss. I mean,
technically they ended in the same place. It's Game five
of the Alds, same as last year. But if you
look at the growth from Levin, if you look at
the first five months and what they were at that time,
(03:40):
it's a step forward. And with what's coming with the
Kevin mcgonagalls of the world coming good spot. It's there
in a good spot that they fell shot of their
goals and that's disappointing, very frustrating to watch the offense
fade down the stretch, very shocking almost because the offense
had been very, very good. It's a five months and
how all of a sudden does a flip on itself
(04:02):
and become, you know, from like Scott said yesterday, from
the top eight offense to a bottom made offense in
a month. And that's that's what we witnessed. We witnessed
aw the whifts, we witnessed the strikeouts, the empty at
bats and key moments. That part of it is galling.
I mean, it was tough to watch the two, three,
four five hitters in the most important game of the
season not produce a single hit, and that's going to
(04:25):
be addressed. That's going to be a big part of
the offseason. I think I think maybe some of the
coaches in the hitting department are going to lose their
jobs over quite frankly, and that's fair or not, I
don't know, but that's what happens. You know, you've got
to change the messenger. Sometimes it's not the message entirely.
So that's my take on I think we can't just say,
we can't just look at all of the accomplished and say, well,
(04:46):
that was a bumber, that was a bad season. No,
it was a it was a great season. It was
a lot of fun for a long long time. It
ended poorly, and there's and there's still a young nucleus
that got better and it's battle tested now, more battle
tested than ever going forward. So it's it's it's a
it's a nine positive and kicking the butt. You know.
(05:07):
The way it ended was just phil Is.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Rough Yeah, strong Tigers beat writer for the Detroit News,
Chris mccoski joiner Us on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest
line of guy he covered actually ironically Linda Hunter Foundation. Yeah,
and you can follow him on Twitter at ce McCosky. So,
my my problem with the Tigers this year as maybe
it's my expectations. I expected them the wind of the vision,
(05:31):
not because they're up fifteen, but I expected it. I
thought they had the better roster and with a wide
open American League quote end quote, I thought they should
have been more than one game better during the regular
season and ended the same space with the best pitcher
on the planet. That said, when you bring up the
young guys, and Scott Harris said it, you've hinted at
(05:53):
it as well. When they make that, I don't know.
I don't know if they make it out of spring training,
but at some point they're going to be in the
lineup of the biggest changes needed.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
Yeah, that's they need. You know, so much is good.
I wish I could just answer that like the A,
B and C. But so much depends on schoobl so
much suspend It depends on, you know, what exactly do
they do, Like if they really think Kevin McGonagall is
going to be part of the team, and I don't
think it's going to be right out of the spring.
I think it's going to be, you know, like like
(06:24):
the other guys were like in May June. Maybe depending
on how he does I'm not sure Max Clark is
in the same conversation, but McGonagall is the guy. He's
the one guy that we know for sure is going
to impact the team next year, and he's going to
impact it at second, short and third. So do they
go out and get like, where does Cole Keith sit?
And he's also second and third. Zach McKinstry is second
(06:47):
short and third. So all those guys going to be
part of it. I mean, so that's all that that's
all the pieces right there. So that precludes them, it seems,
from going on and getting an instance of making another
play at Bregman for example, or doing something like that.
But I do think they need seriously look outside the
organization for a veteran productive slug bat. You know something
(07:07):
I don't. They don't. They don't grow on trees and
everybody wanted you HENNYO Suarez and that would have been
a disaster quite frankly. So it's not it's not a
feaster famine hitter. It's a professional hitter with some slug
and and that's what they got to be creative and
try to get. So that's that's one of the one
of the reasons they're going to get better. I think
the bullpen there might be some some change over there
(07:28):
because you know guys that that were brought in, like
Kyle Finn again, I'm not sure they bring him back.
I know they're not going to bring Raphael Montario Montero back,
and there's not a For all they praise the prospects
and the system, there's very few arms coming up right now,
very few arms of double A tripa that are ready
to come up and help. And that's that's where he's
(07:49):
got to go out and and make some moves and
get some people in here. I think he's got to
get another starter or two onet and want maybe a
high level one to cover himself in case something happens
with school, in case they have to move them, or
you know, say, if you have another front line with him,
that's fine, that's great. I'm not sure what's going to
happen with Clarity for the balls and Flarity's court right
now with with with a player option. So there's a
(08:12):
lot of balls up in there with the starting pitching,
and so that's why I can't just say this is
what they need to do. I think they need to
get approven bad. I need they need to get something
else to bolster that lineup offensively, and we got to
They got to get a starter or two for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, I agree with all that. I thought the one
area in which they improved perhaps the most was slug.
You and I both said that at the end of
last year they need more power. Now it seems like
they need more OBP, better OBP back to contact, that
to ball contact.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
That's the issues. I just wrote about this and it
should post today. Like there's a there's a thin line
between chase and slug and the lift rate, like you
can't you can't concede power, Like nobody wants Roley Green
to become a singles hitter and hit three twenty you know,
and twenty home runs. Nobody wants Tork to do that.
So there's there's a give and take there. But you can't.
(09:08):
You can't hit two hundred strikeouts, man, you can't have
your third or fifth hit or hit striking out two
hundred times. That's too many empty at backs. And he's
too good a hitter for that. Like there's good there's
a there's an in between there that he's got to
find a thread. The need if you want to exact cliche,
but he's got to find the balance between the slug
which is there, which is his forte and and being
(09:29):
the hitter that is, he's a good hitter and he
shouldn't be striking out two hundred and one times. And
that's that's the balance of him and Tortal Fend and
even Carport Carpenter to a lection degree, although he makes
more contact. Those guys got to find and I think
those hitters that I just mentioned, and you can put
Keith in there too, they're gonna be a lot better
next years for the experience this year because because like
(09:51):
I said, man that they took their they took their
beatings down the stretch, and they when you chase pull
power and you chase loft, you're going to expose yourself
to a lot of sliders and splitters. And that's what happened.
They got slidered to death in the postseason because they're
all pulled off and trying to yank the ball of
the yard get hit like that. Over time.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I know you're tired of this. You've had to deal
with it for the last two years, I think, but
it does have the question will well you will get
beaten over the head all off season. There's only really
no off season for Chris mccowsky. You're always having to
have the pulse and having to write about the Tigers,
but you're going to get beaten over the head about
Terrek Scubel. What's going to happen? What is your gut?
(10:34):
I know it's it gets so flipping a what's your
gut tell you? Not your heart? Not your heart? Okay,
not Scott Harris, I want your gut. What does Chris
mccosky's gut tell him?
Speaker 5 (10:49):
They got to find the best way to get the
most from him because he's not going to be here.
He's not going to be here after this year. They
got to make a decision. Do they ride it out
and just then and then it's going to be another
Verlander Scherzer exit where they get whatever they can get,
but they make this run in twenty six with them,
or do they I mean, the window to get the
(11:13):
most return past last offseason. And I don't blame them
for not trading them last off season, but the way
to get the biggest value would have been if he
was controllable, and that that was last year. He's not controllable.
This is his last year. So you're he's either trading
them again for on somebody to take them for one
year basically, so you're not going to get as much.
(11:35):
That's that's where they're at. I don't we're looking at
them starting starting block of four hundred million. When has
that ever happened here? I mean, people go back to
Mike Keillich. You know what, Mike Elich. They never won
a championship in the Mike Keivich era, and they suffered
ten long years after that era of free spending to
kind of get to where we are right now. And
(11:57):
I don't know if if a left handed pitcher who's
already had Tommy John surgery, who's already had select Or
ten surgery, right great as he isn't as much as
I love him, and God, I wish, I wish I
could chip in, you know, my five to ten bucks
to make.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It say yeah, past the hat, I mean, but.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Past the hat amongst the media, we've all loved him.
He's great, but I can't see it. I can't see it,
and it breaks my heart.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah, that's a funny line. I am the contrarian. I
am all for trading him, and it has nothing to
do with him as a person. It has nothing to
do with him as a great pitcher. I think he's
the best picture on the planet. There has to be
a realization from everybody, and that is, is a guy
who pitches a guy who performs for you nineteen percent
(12:43):
twenty percent of the time and in twenty percent of
the games. Is it worth it?
Speaker 5 (12:47):
Now?
Speaker 2 (12:47):
In the games that he started, they were forty two
and twenty. In the games that he did not they
were one hundred and thirty one and one hundred and
thirty one. So I get all that, okay, but would
the money be better used? And you're not gonna send
four hundred million, but money be better used. The problem is,
you pointed out eloquently, is where are the arms in
(13:08):
the system? They don't have them. What do you do
about your starting rotation? And how much of a factor
will Troy Melton be part of that?
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Do you think, well, well that's you hit it like
Troy Melton moves up, They said, like Harris danced around
and Heji just came in out and said, you know,
Melton's starting next year. He's coming in as a rotation piece.
So you're looking at if Schoogle's gone you're looking at
Casey Mys, Troy Milton, maybe Jack Flaherty, Cater Montero, and
(13:38):
then whoever else they get. Basically, unless I'm frigig because
I don't know that Sawyer Gibson long is is an answer,
I don't know. Maybe they'll they'll bring hose Orkidi back
because they committed to them, and the resol Resoulson here's
that's a great vibe. That's what I wanted to talk about,
because what we see from Resoulson fifteen really good starts
(14:00):
and an injury. I just feel like that's that's going
to be it. Like, that's the way he pitches, the
way he the way he's built. He's not he's not
built for thirty starts. I hate to say that, because
he's another one that is they sorely missed him down
the stretch.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, for sure, that's right, that's the deal.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
That's who he is. I think he's a fifteen to
twenty start guy, and so you don't commit to him
either long term.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I remember you and I having conversations about how do
you get one hundred and fifty innings out of your
starters each starter? You know, how do you get to
close to eight hundred innings. You don't have to. I
don't need him to go complete games. This is not
a Bob Gibson discussion. Resulson doesn't do it. Miz has
done it once twice, Schooball could do it. Obviously everybody
(14:45):
else didn't have Jack Flaherty wasn't on the team when
you and I were talking about it. How do you
get one hundred and fifty innings? You can't get that
out of Resulson. There's not going to be jackson job
next year. So that's a deep concern for me. When
Scott Harris said yesterday, and I don't know you asked
the question, but obviously you were there when he said
the players we would have acquired, well, we were linked to.
(15:06):
I'm sorry that we were linked to and we didn't
acquire performed worse than the players we already had. Who
do you think he was referring.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
To, Well, he was referring he was referring to Suarez,
he was referring to the relief pitcher, healthy and bet Nar.
Those are the guys that they were and they had
access to trading for got you. Those were the guys.
Those were the guys that that would have cost them
a player that was on the postseason roster, and I'm
(15:36):
not sure who that is. I mean, that might have
been Kinstry, it might be I don't know. I don't
know if I'd be total guessing. But and also a
top prospect in other additional pieces. So he's his point was,
you would have been you'd have been trading for you
would have been trading somebody who produced more in the
postseason than you got, and and that would have made
people furious and rightly.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So yeah, me too. I would never have done that.
I would never have done that. But the Bednarten, Yeah,
but the Bednar example is a bad one because he
was really good and the Suarez I was not in
favor of period, but Haineo Suarez. I mean, if if
you're looking at Troy at Zach McKinstry at third base,
he had three homers and twelve RBIs with a two
(16:18):
eighty OBP after the All Star break, whereas Suarez, who
strikes out too much for me, doesn't it for average,
But he had eighteen RBIs and thirteen RBIs in the
two months he was more productive. Again, I wouldn't have
done it.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
I mean, it's not been productive at all in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Exactly, and he's disappeared.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
He doesn't give he doesn't give you a McKinstry gives
you in terms of a best defense, base running, and
if you want, if you want to look at the postseason,
then the three wins or three of the wins they
have McKinstry have the game winning play, you know, it
was the safety squeeze or the base hit in the
in the one game, and then the three hits in
the game five of Cleveland. I don't know. I you
go round and around that. I didn't. I didn't want
(16:58):
Suarez here. They have to either. There're two through five
as it was, we're hitless in the big game. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah, so you're one hundred percent right there. It's going
to be a very interesting off season. You have done
a as usual, You've done a great job, and I
really appreciate it because you've really, as I say this
to you all the time, you really help us, and
I mean that sincerely. You help us with our conversation
and you help us keep up to speed on the
(17:26):
things that are that matter in Tiger's Mania. So thanks
for all your hard work and thanks for taking some
time with us. Today. It's always good to visit with you,
my friend.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Yeah, for sure, Chef. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Man.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
You're missed. Believe me, you're missed around the yard.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
I appreciate that very much. Thanks all the best, my friend. Okay,
I have a great off of season. There is no
off season. Chris mccoski, he is, he is pretty every day.
It's it's hard to be a beat writer. I say
this about Graham Couch. I said this to Jim Camperoni.
I say it to John Palm Morose, I say it.
(18:00):
Makowsky is Max Botman. The guys who come on our show,
you and I are there. They help us form opinions.
They give us the stuff that is, you know, good information.
So to have him on and have him take some time,
it was it was really good and good conversation with him.
He said the quiet part out loud, though, didn't he Yeah?
(18:23):
Did you seriously? Where did you? Did you get a
knot in your stomach for a moment? Yeah? Right now,
your your dad and grandfather are going, son of it.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Where do you go for Ireland's biggest thrillers, craziest finishes,
wildest upsets and fiercest post match debates.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Good afternoon to you're you're very welcome to the program.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
An awful lot of live sports on the way.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Well over a million of you go to Ireland's number
one radio station, Artie Radio One.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Listen now on Artie Radio Player.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Looking for a great way to reward and thank your
hard working team this Christmas? Do you use a gift
that gives back with the dun Stores Gift Card. The
more you gift, the more you save. With a tax
free allowance of up to fifteen hundred euro think instant gifting,
instant delivery with an e gift card your employees can
use across all our departments, in store and online. The
(19:16):
Dunstores Gift Card perfect for everyone. Terms, conditions and exclusions
apply
Where do you go for Ireland's biggest thrillers, craziest finishes,
wildest upsets and fiercest post match debates.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good afternoon there, You're very welcome to the program.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
An awful lot of live sports on the way.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Well over a million of you go to Ireland's number
one radio station, Artie Radio one.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Listen now on Arte Radio Player.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Looking for a great way to reward and thank your
hard working team this Christmas, Choose a gift that gives
back with the dun Stores Gift Card. The more you gift,
the more you say. With a tax free allowance of
up to fifteen hundred euro think instant gifting, instant delivery
with an e gift card your employees can use across
all our departments in store and online. The dun Stores
(00:44):
Gift Card perfect for everyone. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
All right.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hoping you're talking with the Chris McCaskey strong Tigers baseball
writer from the Detroit News. You can fall on Twitter
at c McCaskey here in a moment regarding the Detroit
Tigers what he witnessed yesterday because he was in attendance
during the Scott Harris press conference with AJ Hinch and
the fact that AJ Hinch was extended. I'm sure Chris
(01:13):
had an idea of that, because he's got a really
good pulse on the Tigers and he joins us here
on Exis and Bros. It was a long season, but
you did a great job as usual. We appreciate the time, Chris,
because I know a lot of people are tugging at you.
What do you think the importance of first with AJ
Hinch's contract extension. Why so important do you think and
(01:34):
why was it not known until the season ended? Do
you think?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Well, that's kind of the way the things are operating
now on AJ. They got it done in midseason and
AJ didn't want it to be a distraction that a
lot of season, left a lot of games to be played,
and didn't want the story to be him and its extension.
Why it's important is because it just showed the unification
(01:59):
of him in Scott. A lot of times in situations
where you have a manager like AJ who is kind
of old school slash new school and good combination of both,
and you have an analytic, analytic minded front office back
in Clash. We've seen it. We've seen it across the
game well guys are getting fired, old school guys getting fired.
So this kind of just shows the unit, the unity
(02:20):
that they have and that it's a good it's a
good partnership, and that just solidifies it. It solidifies it.
I'm not even sure how long Scott this contract is.
You know, they don't make that stuff known to us.
They kind of hide it in the vault, and it's
kind of hard to break into, as you well know.
So you know, I think that's the deal there. I
(02:40):
think that's I mean, we didn't expect anything to change
the game extension when Scott first got here, and we
never thought that was going to be an issue. This
just solidifies it, basically.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, I remember some of our really enjoyable, sometimes spirited
conversations and the dugouts about a lot of different things.
The easiest thing in sports to do is second guess
the manager, second guess what should have taken place. Instead
of people actually coming out with specific examples, they just
use generic terms. When you look at the Tigers season,
(03:14):
how would you characterize it? How would you describe it?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Disappointing at the end, But if you look at it
from if you will pull back from the last month
in the heartbreak of the fifteen inning loss. I mean,
technically they ended in the same place. It's Game five
of the Alds, same as last year. But if you
look at the growth from Levin, if you look at
the first five months and what they were at that time,
(03:40):
it's a step forward. And with what's coming with the
Kevin mcgonagalls of the world coming good spot. It's there
in a good spot that they fell shot of their
goals and that's disappointing, very frustrating to watch the offense
fade down the stretch, very shocking almost because the offense
had been very, very good. It's a five months and
how all of a sudden does a flip on itself
(04:02):
and become, you know, from like Scott said yesterday, from
the top eight offense to a bottom made offense in
a month. And that's that's what we witnessed. We witnessed
aw the whifts, we witnessed the strikeouts, the empty at
bats and key moments. That part of it is galling.
I mean, it was tough to watch the two, three,
four five hitters in the most important game of the
season not produce a single hit, and that's going to
(04:25):
be addressed. That's going to be a big part of
the offseason. I think I think maybe some of the
coaches in the hitting department are going to lose their
jobs over quite frankly, and that's fair or not, I
don't know, but that's what happens. You know, you've got
to change the messenger. Sometimes it's not the message entirely.
So that's my take on I think we can't just say,
we can't just look at all of the accomplished and say, well,
(04:46):
that was a bumber, that was a bad season. No,
it was a it was a great season. It was
a lot of fun for a long long time. It
ended poorly, and there's and there's still a young nucleus
that got better and it's battle tested now, more battle
tested than ever going forward. So it's it's it's a
it's a nine positive and kicking the butt. You know.
(05:07):
The way it ended was just phil Is.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Rough Yeah, strong Tigers beat writer for the Detroit News,
Chris mccoski joiner Us on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest
line of guy he covered actually ironically Linda Hunter Foundation. Yeah,
and you can follow him on Twitter at ce McCosky. So,
my my problem with the Tigers this year as maybe
it's my expectations. I expected them the wind of the vision,
(05:31):
not because they're up fifteen, but I expected it. I
thought they had the better roster and with a wide
open American League quote end quote, I thought they should
have been more than one game better during the regular
season and ended the same space with the best pitcher
on the planet. That said, when you bring up the
young guys, and Scott Harris said it, you've hinted at
(05:53):
it as well. When they make that, I don't know.
I don't know if they make it out of spring training,
but at some point they're going to be in the
lineup of the biggest changes needed.
Speaker 5 (06:03):
Yeah, that's they need. You know, so much is good.
I wish I could just answer that like the A,
B and C. But so much depends on schoobl so
much suspend It depends on, you know, what exactly do
they do, Like if they really think Kevin McGonagall is
going to be part of the team, and I don't
think it's going to be right out of the spring.
I think it's going to be, you know, like like
(06:24):
the other guys were like in May June. Maybe depending
on how he does I'm not sure Max Clark is
in the same conversation, but McGonagall is the guy. He's
the one guy that we know for sure is going
to impact the team next year, and he's going to
impact it at second, short and third. So do they
go out and get like, where does Cole Keith sit?
And he's also second and third. Zach McKinstry is second
(06:47):
short and third. So all those guys going to be
part of it. I mean, so that's all that that's
all the pieces right there. So that precludes them, it seems,
from going on and getting an instance of making another
play at Bregman for example, or doing something like that.
But I do think they need seriously look outside the
organization for a veteran productive slug bat. You know something
(07:07):
I don't. They don't. They don't grow on trees and
everybody wanted you HENNYO Suarez and that would have been
a disaster quite frankly. So it's not it's not a
feaster famine hitter. It's a professional hitter with some slug
and and that's what they got to be creative and
try to get. So that's that's one of the one
of the reasons they're going to get better. I think
the bullpen there might be some some change over there
(07:28):
because you know guys that that were brought in, like
Kyle Finn again, I'm not sure they bring him back.
I know they're not going to bring Raphael Montario Montero back,
and there's not a For all they praise the prospects
and the system, there's very few arms coming up right now,
very few arms of double A tripa that are ready
to come up and help. And that's that's where he's
(07:49):
got to go out and and make some moves and
get some people in here. I think he's got to
get another starter or two onet and want maybe a
high level one to cover himself in case something happens
with school, in case they have to move them, or
you know, say, if you have another front line with him,
that's fine, that's great. I'm not sure what's going to
happen with Clarity for the balls and Flarity's court right
now with with with a player option. So there's a
(08:12):
lot of balls up in there with the starting pitching,
and so that's why I can't just say this is
what they need to do. I think they need to
get approven bad. I need they need to get something
else to bolster that lineup offensively, and we got to
They got to get a starter or two for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, I agree with all that. I thought the one
area in which they improved perhaps the most was slug.
You and I both said that at the end of
last year they need more power. Now it seems like
they need more OBP, better OBP back to contact, that
to ball contact.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
That's the issues. I just wrote about this and it
should post today. Like there's a there's a thin line
between chase and slug and the lift rate, like you
can't you can't concede power, Like nobody wants Roley Green
to become a singles hitter and hit three twenty you know,
and twenty home runs. Nobody wants Tork to do that.
So there's there's a give and take there. But you can't.
(09:08):
You can't hit two hundred strikeouts, man, you can't have
your third or fifth hit or hit striking out two
hundred times. That's too many empty at backs. And he's
too good a hitter for that. Like there's good there's
a there's an in between there that he's got to
find a thread. The need if you want to exact cliche,
but he's got to find the balance between the slug
which is there, which is his forte and and being
(09:29):
the hitter that is, he's a good hitter and he
shouldn't be striking out two hundred and one times. And
that's that's the balance of him and Tortal Fend and
even Carport Carpenter to a lection degree, although he makes
more contact. Those guys got to find and I think
those hitters that I just mentioned, and you can put
Keith in there too, they're gonna be a lot better
next years for the experience this year because because like
(09:51):
I said, man that they took their they took their
beatings down the stretch, and they when you chase pull
power and you chase loft, you're going to expose yourself
to a lot of sliders and splitters. And that's what happened.
They got slidered to death in the postseason because they're
all pulled off and trying to yank the ball of
the yard get hit like that. Over time.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I know you're tired of this. You've had to deal
with it for the last two years, I think, but
it does have the question will well you will get
beaten over the head all off season. There's only really
no off season for Chris mccowsky. You're always having to
have the pulse and having to write about the Tigers,
but you're going to get beaten over the head about
Terrek Scubel. What's going to happen? What is your gut?
(10:34):
I know it's it gets so flipping a what's your
gut tell you? Not your heart? Not your heart? Okay,
not Scott Harris, I want your gut. What does Chris
mccosky's gut tell him?
Speaker 5 (10:49):
They got to find the best way to get the
most from him because he's not going to be here.
He's not going to be here after this year. They
got to make a decision. Do they ride it out
and just then and then it's going to be another
Verlander Scherzer exit where they get whatever they can get,
but they make this run in twenty six with them,
or do they I mean, the window to get the
(11:13):
most return past last offseason. And I don't blame them
for not trading them last off season, but the way
to get the biggest value would have been if he
was controllable, and that that was last year. He's not controllable.
This is his last year. So you're he's either trading
them again for on somebody to take them for one
year basically, so you're not going to get as much.
(11:35):
That's that's where they're at. I don't we're looking at
them starting starting block of four hundred million. When has
that ever happened here? I mean, people go back to
Mike Keillich. You know what, Mike Elich. They never won
a championship in the Mike Keivich era, and they suffered
ten long years after that era of free spending to
kind of get to where we are right now. And
(11:57):
I don't know if if a left handed pitcher who's
already had Tommy John surgery, who's already had select Or
ten surgery, right great as he isn't as much as
I love him, and God, I wish, I wish I
could chip in, you know, my five to ten bucks
to make.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It say yeah, past the hat, I mean, but.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Past the hat amongst the media, we've all loved him.
He's great, but I can't see it. I can't see it,
and it breaks my heart.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah, that's a funny line. I am the contrarian. I
am all for trading him, and it has nothing to
do with him as a person. It has nothing to
do with him as a great pitcher. I think he's
the best picture on the planet. There has to be
a realization from everybody, and that is, is a guy
who pitches a guy who performs for you nineteen percent
(12:43):
twenty percent of the time and in twenty percent of
the games. Is it worth it?
Speaker 5 (12:47):
Now?
Speaker 2 (12:47):
In the games that he started, they were forty two
and twenty. In the games that he did not they
were one hundred and thirty one and one hundred and
thirty one. So I get all that, okay, but would
the money be better used? And you're not gonna send
four hundred million, but money be better used. The problem is,
you pointed out eloquently, is where are the arms in
(13:08):
the system? They don't have them. What do you do
about your starting rotation? And how much of a factor
will Troy Melton be part of that?
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Do you think, well, well that's you hit it like
Troy Melton moves up, They said, like Harris danced around
and Heji just came in out and said, you know,
Melton's starting next year. He's coming in as a rotation piece.
So you're looking at if Schoogle's gone you're looking at
Casey Mys, Troy Milton, maybe Jack Flaherty, Cater Montero, and
(13:38):
then whoever else they get. Basically, unless I'm frigig because
I don't know that Sawyer Gibson long is is an answer,
I don't know. Maybe they'll they'll bring hose Orkidi back
because they committed to them, and the resol Resoulson here's
that's a great vibe. That's what I wanted to talk about,
because what we see from Resoulson fifteen really good starts
(14:00):
and an injury. I just feel like that's that's going
to be it. Like, that's the way he pitches, the
way he the way he's built. He's not he's not
built for thirty starts. I hate to say that, because
he's another one that is they sorely missed him down
the stretch.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, for sure, that's right, that's the deal.
Speaker 5 (14:17):
That's who he is. I think he's a fifteen to
twenty start guy, and so you don't commit to him
either long term.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
I remember you and I having conversations about how do
you get one hundred and fifty innings out of your
starters each starter? You know, how do you get to
close to eight hundred innings. You don't have to. I
don't need him to go complete games. This is not
a Bob Gibson discussion. Resulson doesn't do it. Miz has
done it once twice, Schooball could do it. Obviously everybody
(14:45):
else didn't have Jack Flaherty wasn't on the team when
you and I were talking about it. How do you
get one hundred and fifty innings? You can't get that
out of Resulson. There's not going to be jackson job
next year. So that's a deep concern for me. When
Scott Harris said yesterday, and I don't know you asked
the question, but obviously you were there when he said
the players we would have acquired, well, we were linked to.
(15:06):
I'm sorry that we were linked to and we didn't
acquire performed worse than the players we already had. Who
do you think he was referring.
Speaker 5 (15:15):
To, Well, he was referring he was referring to Suarez,
he was referring to the relief pitcher, healthy and bet Nar.
Those are the guys that they were and they had
access to trading for got you. Those were the guys.
Those were the guys that that would have cost them
a player that was on the postseason roster, and I'm
(15:36):
not sure who that is. I mean, that might have
been Kinstry, it might be I don't know. I don't
know if I'd be total guessing. But and also a
top prospect in other additional pieces. So he's his point was,
you would have been you'd have been trading for you
would have been trading somebody who produced more in the
postseason than you got, and and that would have made
people furious and rightly.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So yeah, me too. I would never have done that.
I would never have done that. But the Bednarten, Yeah,
but the Bednar example is a bad one because he
was really good and the Suarez I was not in
favor of period, but Haineo Suarez. I mean, if if
you're looking at Troy at Zach McKinstry at third base,
he had three homers and twelve RBIs with a two
(16:18):
eighty OBP after the All Star break, whereas Suarez, who
strikes out too much for me, doesn't it for average,
But he had eighteen RBIs and thirteen RBIs in the
two months he was more productive. Again, I wouldn't have
done it.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
I mean, it's not been productive at all in the postseason.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Exactly, and he's disappeared.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
He doesn't give he doesn't give you a McKinstry gives
you in terms of a best defense, base running, and
if you want, if you want to look at the postseason,
then the three wins or three of the wins they
have McKinstry have the game winning play, you know, it
was the safety squeeze or the base hit in the
in the one game, and then the three hits in
the game five of Cleveland. I don't know. I you
go round and around that. I didn't. I didn't want
(16:58):
Suarez here. They have to either. There're two through five
as it was, we're hitless in the big game. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah, so you're one hundred percent right there. It's going
to be a very interesting off season. You have done
a as usual, You've done a great job, and I
really appreciate it because you've really, as I say this
to you all the time, you really help us, and
I mean that sincerely. You help us with our conversation
and you help us keep up to speed on the
(17:26):
things that are that matter in Tiger's Mania. So thanks
for all your hard work and thanks for taking some
time with us. Today. It's always good to visit with you,
my friend.
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Yeah, for sure, Chef. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Man.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
You're missed. Believe me, you're missed around the yard.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
I appreciate that very much. Thanks all the best, my friend. Okay,
I have a great off of season. There is no
off season. Chris mccoski, he is, he is pretty every day.
It's it's hard to be a beat writer. I say
this about Graham Couch. I said this to Jim Camperoni.
I say it to John Palm Morose, I say it.
(18:00):
Makowsky is Max Botman. The guys who come on our show,
you and I are there. They help us form opinions.
They give us the stuff that is, you know, good information.
So to have him on and have him take some time,
it was it was really good and good conversation with him.
He said the quiet part out loud, though, didn't he Yeah?
(18:23):
Did you seriously? Where did you? Did you get a
knot in your stomach for a moment? Yeah? Right now,
your your dad and grandfather are going, son of it.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Where do you go for Ireland's biggest thrillers, craziest finishes,
wildest upsets and fiercest post match debates.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Good afternoon to you're you're very welcome to the program.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
An awful lot of live sports on the way.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Well over a million of you go to Ireland's number
one radio station, Artie Radio One.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Listen now on Artie Radio Player.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Looking for a great way to reward and thank your
hard working team this Christmas? Do you use a gift
that gives back with the dun Stores Gift Card. The
more you gift, the more you save. With a tax
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(19:16):
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