MONDAY MUSINGS

/ totallytigersblog

by Holly Horning

Throughout the week, there are so many smaller stories hitting the media.  They may be bite-size, but often they are just as important as the headline-grabbing news.  Sometimes, even more.

And that’s what brings me to today.  A way to bring them out in the open and invite conversation about some of these subjects.

And that’s the plan for Mondays.  Keeping track of these mighty little bits that hit my radar throughout the week and sharing them with you today because I know one or more will also resonate with you. So, let’s kick off this week’s musings…

I keep reading about all the factors that make the Astros a superior team.  Last week, I blogged about their depth and how easily it is to give up a player like Carlos Correa because they have a stellar replacement waiting in the wings.

This week?  It’s pitching prospects.  More specifically, Latin American pitchers.  The top analysts in the game point to this factor contributing the most in keeping the Astros in regular playoff appearances.

Instead of going after teenage pitchers and waiting for them to develop, Houston has focused on older pitchers with solid mechanics that are believed to contribute to a successful pitching formula.

They have 4 of them currently on the roster.  It cost the team only $140,000 to sign them all.  And in the past 5 years, the Astros have paid them a total of $13.2 mill in salaries.  Two of them are currently starting WS games.

These 4 pitchers’ records during that time?  A total of 1,500 innings, a 111- 65 record and a 3.43 ERA.  In October, they’ve gone 13-8 with a 3.95 ERA in 139 innings.

Scouts say the ability for this team to find and sign players like these is astonishing.

The Astros also used this same formula in acquiring Justin Verlander and Ryan Pressly.   

Which now brings me to the Tigers and their international scouting program.  Or should I say lack of one.  

It’s been years since they’ve found a single decent prospect.  Which is why Scott Pleis and David Chadd were released and Rob Metzler and Mark Connor were hired.

Metzler is expected to put a huge focus on going after Latino and other international players.  When he was with the Rays, the team was ranked as one of the top organizations for signing international talent and the overall system was known to be “elite.”

Improving the Tigers’ non-existent international scouting program can’t come soon enough. In actuality, it is way overdue.

I tuned into the first game of the World Series in which Justin Verlander was pitching.  He has now started 3 World Series openers in 3 different decades.

And he’s also ranked #2 in baseball history in having lost 6 games while winning none.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to improve on that record Friday night.  (For the record, manager Dusty Baker shares some of the blame.)  Only Whitey Ford has lost more World Series games with 8. But he also won 10 of them with an ERA of 2.74.  JV’s ERA stands at 6.07.

But I also saw something I hadn’t seen before now.  JV on the mound, looking rather old and haggard.  The fierceness he is known for was not there.  In fact, he looked rather vulnerable and unsure.  And, quite frankly, a little scared, too.  A sad thing to see.

Isn’t it ironic that someone so good – and about to win yet another Cy Young – cannot perform in baseball’s biggest and most important theater?  He’s needed to help get a team to October.  But when the post-season hits, he potentially becomes a liability.

I’m sure a number of teams who hope to make next year’s playoffs are thinking just that right now. It’s expected that JV will opt out of his contract after this year and go for something longer and more lucrative. His inability to perform in the World Series is going to be a concern for some teams.

As JV’s World Series star continues to fade, the opposite is happening to another former teammate and Tiger.  Nick Castellanos.  Timely hitting and at least a couple of spectacular catches.  Yes, you read that right.

And I’m pretty sure that Nick had a few choice thoughts about his former GM, Al Avila, as he made highlight reel after highlight reel.

Castellanos is the poster child for how incompetent the Tigers’ organization was in player development.  Nick started as a shortstop when he was signed and then was moved to 3B.  After that, LF and then back to 3B.  Finally to RF.  And as we now learn, shortly after moving to that last position, Al Avila was pressuring him to move to 1B.  Nick finally refused.  Six different positions in 5 years.  Just unbelievable.

In a recent interview, he discussed how behind his defensive skills were, in part, because Detroit never really allowed him to get used to one position before moving him to another.  Even Al Kaline, who was mentoring him, said that Nick had the potential to be a really good rightfielder (something Al knew a little bit about) because “he worked his tail off.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, Avila made public that they were trying to trade him for 2 seasons.  Remember when Al stated that teams had little interest in Castellanos?  Just completely thoughtless and unprofessional comments.

Finally, in another of Al’s long list of trading coups (sarcasm, folks, sarcasm), he sent Nick to Chicago for Alex Lange and Paul Richan. But not before he said that there was only 1 team interested in Castellanos.

Nick has only been tearing up the majors since.

Kudos to him.  I always felt so badly for Castellanos when he was a Tiger and constantly getting jerked around and disrespected.  He deserves every bit of recognition and praise for what he is doing for the Phillies.

Good thing do happen for those who deserve it.

Which one of these stories resonated the most with you?

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25 thoughts on “MONDAY MUSINGS”

  1. It is truly amazing the long list of bad decisions and incompetence displayed by Al Avila. He literally couldnt do anything right as a GM and whatever choice he made was always the wrong one. Too bad he couldnt of met and talked with George Costanza, who knew about making the opposite decision.

    Liked by 9 people

  2. It’s interesting that for all the Astros analytical greatness, JV has a 3.98 playoff ERA with them. It’s possible he’s hit a wall now, including the playoffs he’s thrown 190 innings this year after missing all of 2021 and only throwing 6 innings in 2020. That would be a huge jump for anyone let alone a 39 year old.

    Liked by 6 people

  3. International scouting, which should have had teeth with a Latin leader, was a joke and a tragedy. And just shows how unproductive the scout levels were in the departments headed by Chadd and Pleis. That Scott saw the problem, put key people in charge, and allows them to execute and delegate gives the whole scouting department new hope with successful handlers in place.

    Liked by 5 people

    • If my memory serves me correctly, DD promoted Avila to direct the Latin American scouting and signing programs. That seemed to be a natural assignment but his activities were soon eclipsed by the modern methods of other teams. Throw in poor player development and its no wonder the Tigers have had little to show for their efforts.

      Liked by 4 people

  5. International signings? The Tigers have given out some large bonuses in the last decade in regards to those players, but where are they now? It is not just about the money but how one spends it. Tampa Bay does more with less than any team in the Major Leagues, yet are competitive every year in one of the toughest Divisions in MLB,

    Liked by 7 people

    • Robert Campos hitting .260 in Lakeland although he’s still only 19. Santana at 18 may have some promise since he spent most his allotment on him. In the past Avila never spent enough on one possible blue chipper and metered it out on multiple wannabes.

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  6. Nick made a tremendous catch, but he is not a good right fielder, and I do not fault the Tigers for trying to find a place for his bat in the order. Avila completely disrespected him by ruminating about trading him for 2 years. Improving the international pipeline is huge and one might wonder how Avila’s cronies could be so terrible at signing good Latin American prospects and whether they could even find Japan or South Korea on the map.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Hi, Hughie – The point that was being made was not about whether Nick is a solid defensive fielder. It was about the Tigers constantly moving him from position to position that he could never adequately learn the position. But he made not 1, but 2 highlight reel catches in this WS and some other solid ones as well. We should recognize that he has been stepping it up when it really counts. – Holly

      Liked by 8 people

    • While I may agree somewhat, Nick is every bit the RF JD ever was and he (JD) was a GG finalist (cough, cough) in at least one year. While Nick is not smooth and probably never will be, he makes the effort and generally gets the job done. OF talent these days is so over-rated anyway.

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  7. Couldn’t agree more on Castellanos- the Tigers’ poster boy for poor player development. Used to drive me crazy how Brad Ausmus used to pull him out late game after game to put in his boy Romine – all to the cheers of the hometown beat writers.

    Liked by 2 people

  8. I was wondering how JV after missing almost two seasons would do having to pitch in the post season. It is sad to see him seem to run out of gas, he has so much pride and wants to win. Wonder what Dusty will do when his spot comes up next?

    Liked by 2 people

    • Good observation, I was looking forward to seeing him pitch given his stellar performance this with the last two yrs a wash. I almost wish Baker would have put someone else out there first given JV’S history.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. The lack of international signings. For me it’s all about getting quality ballplayers on the field. The lack of talent on this squad is shocking, considering the stunning amount of money spent on salaries, payroll, signing bonuses, etc. Let’s turn this ship around – all ahead full!

    Liked by 3 people

  11. Regarding Nick Castellanos position movement, this is what drives me bonkers about Hinch. He wants “position flexibility” for all his players. So whether its the outfielders other than Greene, Haase, Castro, etc, he has turned the entire team into utility players defensively.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Amazing Nick could still hit while being shuffled from one defensive position to another. Guys like Torkelson were put through the same wringer (3B or 1B). And why are we considering Baez for 3B when most of his errors come from bad throws?

    Liked by 4 people

    • McWatt, I agree with you 99% of the time, but not here. I do not understand how giving players the opportunity for more at bats somehow undermines their confidence. Maybe its the individual as established players like Schoop. Inge, and even Miggy accepted or relished being moved for the good of the team or themselves.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Don’t think it’s so much about confidence as about focus, Hughie. More time spent working on defense implies less time available for improving on offense. Nick and Schoop (even Miggy) might have been better hitters if they had one established position – but great minds can disagree. 😉

        Liked by 4 people

  13. Picture this domino effect for the Tigers and Nick Castellanos. Nick could have been at 3B in 2012 but Miggy moved there to make room for Prince Fielder. 20/20 hindsight: no Fielder signing then Miggy stays at 1B and you have Nick at 3B (who in 2010 was the Florida HS player of the year… at SS). He wanted to be a Tiger and a leader… major organizational blunder.

    Liked by 4 people

  14. What strikes me about the discussion of the Astros’ is less their international scouting and more their focus “…on older pitchers with solid mechanics that are believed to contribute to a successful pitching formula.” I believe there already exists potentially great symmetry in the Astros’ approach and the Tigers’ recent success in coaching and developing pitching. Perhaps the Tigers can focus on acquiring and developing pitchers with solid mechanics at all levels.

    Liked by 3 people

    • Not only do solid mechanics correlate with fewer injuries, they also promote pitch consistency. And a pitcher with solid mechanics is probably more “teachable” – not some maverick insistent on throwing his split finger when his coach says it causes arm strain.

      Liked by 3 people

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