- 17 hours ago
Were expectations set too high for Justin Verlander?
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00:00You stay up late for that?
00:03Sure, people did.
00:04I wanted to make sure I saw JV's re-debut in a Tiger uniform.
00:08Get those nostalgic feelings back.
00:11And they quickly left.
00:14Yeah.
00:15I mean, we said this when he signed.
00:17It was, first of all, not the Tigers' first choice for the four or five spot in the rotation.
00:23That was going to be Reese Olsen.
00:25But when Reese went down, they pivoted.
00:28And they pivoted to JV.
00:30There's a lot of nostalgia involved.
00:32But I think we were pretty realistic of we don't expect him to be a 20-game winner, 15-game
00:38winner.
00:38We expect him to contribute at the back end of the rotation.
00:42We did a factor fiction before the year, and I said I didn't even think he'd win eight games.
00:46He's 43 years old.
00:48There's something left in the tank.
00:50He finished last season with something left in the tank.
00:52But yeah, he's not throwing 100 miles an hour.
00:55However, he's not dropping that curveball off the table and guys look foolish.
01:01He wasn't missing very many bats yesterday.
01:05He's throwing 93, 94.
01:07Which is still amazing for somebody of his vintage.
01:11And he's got that slider.
01:12He's throwing a little more now.
01:13This dive bomb slider.
01:14But the problem is, if guys pick it up out of the hand and it doesn't miss the plate, it's
01:19out of here.
01:21So, last night was maybe emotional, excited, and then sad.
01:28The expectations for Justin Verlander this season, what are they?
01:312-4-8-5-3-9-97-97.
01:34His start last night, three and two-thirds, he gave up five runs.
01:39Last year in 29 starts, he only gave up five or more four times.
01:45He wasn't the first choice to finish this rotation.
01:49I think he's the back end of the rotation.
01:51And I don't have high expectations for JV this season.
01:54I hope he gives people a couple fun moments, including Sunday when people welcome him back to the ballpark on
01:58Easter Sunday for Sunday Night Baseball.
02:00But maybe that was the splash of cold water last night.
02:04Like, if you have delusions of grandeur, he's not that guy anymore.
02:08And not that people should have thought that.
02:11But if you tuned in last night thinking, hey, what if he turns back time?
02:14This could be really fun.
02:15It was not fun from the jump.
02:17Yeah, and I think there were a lot of people wondering, would there be an emotional high for him?
02:22Like, he might pitch a little bit better than where he's at right now.
02:27Because back in the, you know, he talked about the emotions of being back in the Tiger uniform.
02:32I think you're going to get more of that Sunday night than you would have last night.
02:37Clearly, it didn't move the needle last night.
02:41He's here because you need more than five starting pitchers to navigate 162-game season.
02:46You've got Scooble.
02:47You have Valdez.
02:48Jack Flaherty is the number three.
02:51Mize was an all-star last year.
02:54You lose Melton for some time.
02:56You don't have Jackson Jobe.
02:58And, of course, the Reese Olsen injury is the move that spurs JV here.
03:04But, I mean, this is not a surprising result.
03:08He's 43 years old.
03:10He's going to have some of these clunkers along the way this year.
03:13Yeah.
03:13And I am curious.
03:14Like, was it disappointment because you expected maybe an unrealistic performance last night?
03:21Or were you disappointed just because maybe you're disappointed for him?
03:26Yeah.
03:27That he's no longer that guy.
03:29He's back in the Tiger uniform.
03:30And you want it more for him than you do for any other nostalgia reasons.
03:37I think that's a really fun way to put it.
03:39And fair way to put it.
03:40No one's going to dump on JV from one start.
03:43But you want it for him.
03:46And, look, you want it his next start.
03:49Because people are going to pack that ballpark.
03:51And they're going to welcome him.
03:52It's going to be loud.
03:52It's going to be a little emotional.
03:54Hey, he's back.
03:55There's number 35.
03:56There's JV.
03:57I remember when my dad took me to games to watch him.
04:00And now I can take my son to games to watch him.
04:01I mean, they pointed out he's more than double the age of Kevin McGonigal.
04:07Yes, he is.
04:09He's lived an entire Kevin McGonigal life twice over.
04:11In the big leagues.
04:12Yeah, basically.
04:13Yeah.
04:15He made his debut in 05.
04:17And it's 2026.
04:19Right, yeah.
04:20So he was making his debut when McGonigal was born.
04:23Yeah.
04:25So if you have some thoughts, some feedback, some emotions,
04:28if you stayed up last night to watch Justin Verlander,
04:30we want to hear from you.
04:31And we want to talk expectations, realistic expectations,
04:33for a 43-year-old player who's only here because of a few injuries,
04:38whose task is, hey, hold your water.
04:41Right?
04:42This can't be the normal start, but these starts are going to happen for him this season.
04:46I'm fully expecting a few of these throughout the season.
04:502-4-8-5-3-9-97-97.
04:52The other thing last night, they lost 14 strikeouts.
04:57That number is way too high.
05:00And you're seeing it from guys, obviously, four of them last night.
05:05Four of those 14 were from your leadoff hitter, Kerry Carpenter.
05:08I'm wondering how long people...
05:11There are a lot of people that are already wore out from Kerry Carpenter leading off.
05:15But A.J. is not going to flinch four games in.
05:18He's got this philosophy.
05:19It forces a decision from the opposing manager, the 19th at-bat,
05:24getting Kerry Bonds one more swing against a righty.
05:27Yeah, but there's got to be a threat.
05:29But I don't think he forgot how to hit a baseball four games in.
05:32No, I don't think he forgot.
05:33But until he finds that rhythm again, like bump him down any order, bump somebody up.
05:38Maybe Colt Keith is the guy that leads things off because he's finding a way to get on base.
05:43The way I view it is you want to get your best batter as many A.B.s as possible.
05:49Their best bat right now is Kevin McGonigal.
05:51He profiles as a one or a two hitter.
05:53When they decide to do that, I don't know.
05:56Technically, their best bat right now is actually Colt Keith.
05:59And so that's why I say, hey, why don't...
06:01And if you want to just flip them, put Kerry at bat in third, but then there's nobody on base.
06:07And they don't like stacking lefties if they can avoid it.
06:09But McGonigal...
06:10Well, you still keep Torres.
06:12Oh, yeah.
06:13Oh, I got what you're saying.
06:14Yeah.
06:14And the reason I say McGonigal, he didn't strike out yesterday.
06:17On a day where they had 14 Ks, he didn't strike out.
06:19And he drew two walks.
06:20Even if he doesn't get a hit, that's a guy at the top of the order who's going to be
06:23on base a lot.
06:25Again, so stick with me.
06:26I got you.
06:27If he's getting on base and you don't want to move Colt Keith up, he'll be on base.
06:33McGonigal will be on base when Colt Keith would be at the plate.
06:36Look at this.
06:37Look at us workshopping this.
06:40And again, it's Kerry Carpenter.
06:42If he's not going to put bat to ball, then move him down in the order until he finds that
06:49rhythm.
06:49I don't have an issue.
06:51Like, Kerry Carpenter let off in that Seattle series.
06:55And he was...
06:57There was that threat.
06:58Super valuable.
06:59Yeah.
06:59Yeah.
06:59That's where A.J. talked about that 19th at-bat.
07:02Yeah.
07:03For those that didn't stay up, 14 strikeouts.
07:07The worst of it, the fifth inning was an immaculate inning.
07:10Yeah.
07:11Where the pitcher threw nine total pitches and got three straight strikeouts.
07:15The 9-1-2 hitters.
07:17Baez, Carpenter, and Torres.
07:20Thoughts on JV.
07:21Text and call.
07:22Zach and Cadillac.
07:23Good morning.
07:23You're on 97.1.
07:25Good morning, guys.
07:26I just want to say, you know, JV is on the team mainly for the fourth spot, like you guys
07:33said.
07:33But to provide experience to these younger kids, I'm not going to freak out about one start.
07:39He had a bad start.
07:41It's nostalgic.
07:42I get it.
07:44But give him some time.
07:46Even if he gives us 10 starts, that's better than what most guys, and especially clarity.
07:53That's all.
07:55Look, he's here mostly on deferred money as a last resort because Reese Olsen got hurt.
08:01He wanted to be here.
08:02They didn't jump out to add him just for warm fuzzies.
08:05They added him because they needed him.
08:07They needed an arm.
08:09An arm who could log some innings, and there was a little juice in the arm at the end of
08:13last season.
08:14Last night's a bummer.
08:15Last night's a bummer just because you build it up in your head, you get to see this guy back
08:18in a uniform,
08:19and it would have been one of his worst starts all of last season, what he did last night.
08:22But I also think he's got the experience to know.
08:24Like, I'm not sure how much it is for the young kids because Jack Flaherty's pitched in a World Series.
08:31And won a World Series.
08:32And it's certainly not there to help Scooble or Valdez.
08:37If you're talking about helping the young kids, is he there to help Casey Mize?
08:41Who made an all-star appearance last year.
08:42Right.
08:43So I don't necessarily know.
08:44So is there value in that experience?
08:47Sure.
08:47He's fourth in the rotation, but he's their fifth arm.
08:50Yeah.
08:50But I do believe that, I mean, he is there to be able to...
08:57He still has quality because of his experience.
09:00How is he going to adjust?
09:02Like, what didn't work?
09:03What didn't go well?
09:04What did go well last night?
09:05And how does he adjust from that first start to his second start?
09:09He's not going to remake himself, but I do think that experience will help him adjust as the season goes
09:14on.
09:15What do you make of this?
09:16JV's a sideshow like Cabrera.
09:18No more, no less.
09:20Oh, I think, you know, when you're talking about Cabrera at the last year or two of his career,
09:24certainly the last year, I think he can contribute more than we got out of Miggie at that time.
09:30Here's the beauty of it.
09:31Let's say it does go south for JV.
09:32He's 43 years old.
09:33You watched last night.
09:34He's not the guy you remember.
09:35Let's say Father Time finally wins, and it eventually will win.
09:40And maybe he's not even on the postseason roster.
09:42I was just going to say, he didn't make the postseason roster with the Astros a couple years ago.
09:48At the end of the year, they've already said, hey, Jackson, Job, August is kind of that timeline, right?
09:53Melton is a guy that, you know, fingers crossed, there's no setbacks.
09:56You get him back at some point.
09:58If JV isn't the guy, it's not like they're banking on him.
10:01Get us to that point.
10:02Right.
10:02Hey, get us to the middle of the season.
10:04If you got some juice, you'll help us finish it out.
10:06If you don't, then sorry, man.
10:08We're chasing the championship.
10:09Yeah.
10:10They're not asking him to be a superhero.
10:13248-539-9797.
10:15We've got phone calls to get to.
10:17We've got text to read.
10:19We are going to get some audio in the mix from Todd McClellan ahead of tonight's Pittsburgh
10:23Penguins showdown.
10:25More jerseys?
10:26Yeah.
10:27More along that line.
10:27He's laying into the team.
10:28He's ripping his guys.
10:29We'll play that for you in the 8 o'clock hour.
10:31It's 97-1.
10:32We're going to get some audio in the 9 o'clock hour.
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