Big Red Sam

Agreed...and even 2011 Verlander was worth breaking the bankn (if anyone is)...his starts DID mean an almost-certain Tiger/Astro win. AND he did it for a long-contract amount of time. But how is a guy worth 1/8 the value of the team when he can barely get through 2/3 of 1/5 of the games? The @tigers may or may not be stingy/disciplined...but the Tarik Skubal non-contract is NOT why.

Feller. Spahn. Koufax. Gibson. Seaver. Ryan. ⚾️

@MatthewLeeRosen Better yet, they should use the actual strike zone. Umpires are calling accurate 3D strikes and being overruled by a 2D strike zone, who ABS verdict is only pretty accurate

In this instance, less than 0.5% of the ball has actually touched zone. It does't seem justifiable to reverse the umpire's call. The ABS system calculates inches & surface data. I think the rules should be adjusted, so that 25% of the ball must be in the zone for a strike.

@dave_kellogg @CodifyBaseball @Buster_ESPN Yyyyyyyup. I’ve always thought ERAs should be shown similar to how blood pressure is: ERA over Avg Innings per appearance. 3.17/4.88

How Often MLB Starters Pitched 7+ Innings: 1988: 48% 1989: 44% 1990: 41% 1991: 42% 1992: 44% 1993: 41% 1994: 41% 1995: 37% 1996: 37% 1997: 38% 1998: 38% 1999: 34% 2000: 36% 2001: 34% 2002: 35% 2003: 33% 2004: 32% 2005: 35% 2006: 31% 2007: 29% 2008: 29% 2009: 29% 2010: 34% 2011: 34% 2012: 30% 2013: 31% 2014: 31% 2015: 29% 2016: 23% 2017: 19% 2018: 18% 2019: 16% 2020: 11% 2021: 13% 2022: 14% 2023: 12% 2024: 13% 2025: 11% 2026: 9%

@Talkative_Tigs @EvanPetzold @freep

@BigRedSamShow @EvanPetzold @freep It’s not really that rare for him to pitch into the 7th.

What happened to #Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in the seventh inning (before he struck out the side)? "He had a funny feeling on the outside of his arm," A.J. Hinch said. "I just didn't feel right," Skubal said, "but I felt fine after, and I feel fine now." freep.com/story/sports/m…

@TonyPaul1984 @IffyTheDopester Ol’ Hitch ‘n’ Pitch

Through their first month with the #Tigers: * Joe Nathan: Two blown saves, 5.06 ERA. * Francisco Rodriguez: One blown save, 5.19 ERA. * Kenley Jansen: Three blown saves, 6.14 ERA.

Verlander has always been a long-outing pitcher. We should put the guy who can’t be touched for 4-5 innings, usually flames out after 6, and hasn’t pitched in the 8th since June 6, 2025 out there to hold leads and win games we’re winning instead of wasting them on the first six innings of random games his excellence rarely makes the difference in a team win.

@Castellani2014 Verlander taking a Smoltz turn at the end of the career isn't that crazy.

It's not out of the realm of possibility to one or more of your starters (Flaherty, Montero, Verlander, Melton) is called upon to save your bullpen.

@BentleyScotty @blessyouboys Ol’ Hitch ‘n’ Pitch

Kenley Jansen last year with the Angels had 29 saves and 1 Blown Save. In April with Detroit he has 6 Saves and 3 Blown Saves.

Another game that Skubal is not the difference in putting the Tigers over the top for a win. He did well, and at least pitched 7 this time. But being the best pitcher in baseball doesn’t mean guaranteed Ws like it did 15 years ago, and is not worth a contract worth 1/8 of the valuation of the entire franchise.

Tigers bullpen stinking it up again.

Let's GOOOOOO! It's Skubal night! Tonight we will be amazed at how useless hitters are against him, hear announcers talk about "this may be a very special night" and infer a no-hitter is possible, without recognizing that Skubal hasn't pitched into the 8th inning since 6/6/25.

I actually understood it when 🏈 went to more than 2 teams in the brackets…many times #3 had a claim to be the best in the country and deserved a chance. Is there any world that anyone sees any evidence that a #64 team has had a season that warrants being included in a tournament of teams that have either a claim that they might be the best or even the ability to win 6 games in a row against other above-.500 teams? We’re just lettin’ teams in because they might win a game. Which is fine if that’s what you want…but just acknowledge that what you want isn’t a championship tournament, what you want is an exciting party where everyone is invited.

"The NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament is set to expand to 76 teams (in 2026-2027)... *collective boo* Why? 64 was sacred... this is stupid," "There wasn't even a bubble this year," Early Break reacts to the news from yesterday that the NCAA Basketball Tournament is set to expand from 68 to 76 teams as soon as next season. @937JakeSorensen | @steven_sipple | @Coach_BillBusch

“If I replay that seventh inning and execute the way I did, I probably get three outs more often than not and I’m going back out for the eighth.” Agreed those hits in the 7th were pretty weak, but he literally hasn’t pitched into the 8th inning (or recorded an out in the eight inning) since June 6 of last year. Is he trying to fool the reporter, or is he so delusional that he thinks he would have actually come back out after 7 if some or all of those weak hits were outs? Also, how many times will he exhibit that he’s got the best stuff (and results) for the first 3-5 innings and NOT pitch more than six innings, before it is understood that he does not have no-hitter stuff if he doesn’t come close to finishing any games? Put him in the LAST five innings of games we have a slight lead to preserve and maybe he’s worth the 1/8-the-value-of-the-franchise he’s asking for. Until then, he’s just a guy who is (often) having us within striking distance of a win with 1/3 of the game remaining.

“Am I going to chase a stat line or am I going to chase process. I’ve always chased process and I’ve been pretty good at it." --Tarik Skubal on his peculiar late-outing mishaps detroitnews.com/story/sports/m… via @detroitnews

@Hugeshow I agree that school is the best pitcher in baseball. I don’t mean this as trolling, or as drive – by criticism, I’m actually asking: how many more games do you think the Tigers have won since the Mariners dumped him last July then they would have without him?

Detroit next World Champion update: 1) Lions have the roster to win a Super Bowl. Can they stay healthy and do they have the HC to get them there and win it? 2) Wings need veterans on D, more playoff like toughness on their roster, big off season all star level signing, and Larkin to lead on and off the ice. 3) Tigers need to pay Skubal. 4) Pistons need an all star second scorer, if not two more, and not pay a max contract to Duren.

@cmccosky Found the discrepancy

@cmccosky Didn’t Ron LeFlore have a 30-game hitting streak in 1976?

Kevin McGonigle singles, extends on-base streak to 24 straight starts -- last Tiger to do that...Al Kaline in 1956

@TigersData Well, that’s a good point… Which helps prove my larger point that he is not worth 1/8 the value of the franchise, as he is asking for. I almost said the last five innings of these type of games… Perhaps I should have

Using Tarik Skubal as a 6-inning “super reliever” sounds smart until you realize his 3rd time through the order would likely come around the 8th-9th innings. Against Skubal the 3rd time through, opponents hit: .262 BA (Would rank 6th in Tigers bullpen) .708 OPS (Would rank 4th in the Tigers bullpen)

@AtomK13 @Jomboy_ How does the first baseman being in proximity to a runner keep the runner from getting a lead? When (if) the pitcher throws over, the runner runs. Seriously, what am I missing?

@BigRedSamShow @Jomboy_ It prevents the first baseman from walking down the line with the runner, allowing the runner to get a lead so he can steal/hit and run/take third on a single/maybe score on a double.

Manager wants the umpire to demonstrate this rule for him, a breakdown

@TigersData If we had the best pitcher of the decade pitching the last six innings of games we have a lead instead of the first six innings of every fifth or sixth game regardless of any other game factors, some of this would be alleviated.

This season the Tigers have blown 3 leads of 5+ runs through just 27 games. (1-2 in those games) The Tigers blew only 2 total 5+ run leads in the prior four seasons combined [2022–2025]

@PistonsThoughts @IffyTheDopester We need A.D. to get to the next level…then get rid of him to get over the final hump.

The Pistons are in no way out of this series But every loss is a reminder of why we were begging Trajan to get this team another creator/scorer