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Detroit Tigers manager AJ Hinch called into Costa and Jansen Thursday morning. Hinch talked about his pinch hitting decisions, Skubal's return and the Tigers start to the month of June.
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00:00Here he is. AJ, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
00:03Good morning. How are you doing?
00:05We're doing all right, and obviously we're enjoying June much more than we did May,
00:10and I've got to be honest and ask maybe the most obvious question.
00:14What's the biggest difference?
00:16Is it just as simple as Torres and Karp are a back as part of the lineup,
00:21but what's the biggest difference you see between your team in May
00:24and what you've seen now early in June?
00:27You know, I'm enjoying June better than May, too, just so you know.
00:31We're having a much better day-to-day at the ballpark,
00:35and we need these days to be good.
00:38I mean, obviously, chance to win a series today,
00:40but I think the difference, I mean, you can go down any path you want.
00:44We're generally throwing better strikes.
00:46I know last night wasn't great.
00:49Our offense does sort of round out a little bit when you have Glaber get on base
00:54and Karp has the big swings, and it just feels a lot better to have a longer lineup.
01:00Our defense has been better.
01:02I love watching Kevin at third.
01:04You know, by having Karp come back, we have an extra outfielder,
01:10so I can move Kinstry around a little bit and make Kevin be at third,
01:13and Z-Mac and Shorty can be at shortstop.
01:16And so just things are syncing up a lot better the way we planned.
01:21You know, we've obviously hit the ball out of the ballpark a lot more in June
01:26than we did in May.
01:28So to sum all that up, it's just better baseball.
01:31I want to follow that up with you mentioned you're hitting the ball
01:34out of the ballpark a lot more, and that's fun.
01:36Everybody loves home runs.
01:38Dylan Dingler, a huge part of that.
01:40Whether it's a McGonagall, Dingler, Green, when you have guys like Torres and Karp
01:45and you're putting together the lineup, how much do those guys,
01:49the three firsts that I mentioned, benefit by having other hitters around them?
01:54And is that part of the reason why we're seeing Dylan Dingler have such a great June?
01:59Yeah.
02:00Yeah, I think, I mean, first off, Ding's a really, really talented player.
02:04He's putting together an incredible season for us.
02:06He should be at the All-Star game in July.
02:08Like, he should get all the praise that he's getting because of the season he's putting up,
02:12and he's a foundational piece for us every single day.
02:16Like, he's DH-ing today.
02:17So even the days he's not catching, I'm forcing his bat into the lineup.
02:22And I love his presence, and I think you're right.
02:25You know, there were games, you know, not too long ago where it just felt like
02:29the top of the order had to do something or we were going to have a really hard time
02:33manufacturing runs.
02:34For some reason, you add a couple guys, slide somebody into the five-hole.
02:38Ding's been either hitting third or fifth.
02:40And right now, Kevin and Glaber at the top of the order, I don't know if they're both
02:44going to get on base, but it feels like one of them is.
02:46And if the other guy doesn't, then we create an inning a different way.
02:50But it does blend together, and we talk about connecting at-bats and having a longer lineup
02:55and pushing guys down in the order that had been hitting in the middle with the absence
03:00of Karp and Glaber.
03:03We can score in a lot more innings.
03:06Again, even though we're going to have nights like last night where we didn't,
03:09but it's part of baseball.
03:11We already mentioned May versus June and how different it feels.
03:16Why have you guys been so streaky going back really over the last three years?
03:19Like wild swings.
03:21Can you put your finger on it?
03:22Oh, I wish I could.
03:24I mean, a lot of it centers around the swing and miss.
03:27I mean, last night going in against this bullpen with the Twins, I wouldn't have seen 14 strikeouts.
03:32You know, we do have, you know, sort of a wild range of outcomes that can happen.
03:39And it's hard to pinpoint, you know, I know sometimes we get a little bit greedy with damage
03:45and don't take what the game comes with us.
03:47You know, defensively, it's just not in our DNA.
03:51We should not be as streaky defensively as we've been.
03:54And same with the strike throwing.
03:55I mean, there's a lot of guys that are high-end strike throwers who have sort of tried to nitpick.
04:01Maybe it's all tied together to losing baseball in May kind of makes guys behave a little differently.
04:07But you're right.
04:08It's gone back a couple of years where we've had these massive streaks one way or the other.
04:13And if you think it's maddening for you, you should live behind the scenes day to day.
04:17But you don't ride the roller coaster.
04:18We do.
04:20You do.
04:20I know.
04:21No, you're right.
04:21I jump off that thing.
04:22I mean, behind the scenes, I probably ride it more than I show you.
04:27I get as frustrated as anyone.
04:29But I know that this team is talented.
04:31I know the hole we've dug ourselves.
04:33But I also know what June has shown, which is, you know, we've got a pretty good team when we
04:38can put it together.
04:40And those good times remind you of what we're trying to accomplish.
04:45AJ, last night was a bit of a pain point for the fan base.
04:48Let me preface this.
04:49I know why you went with Veerling in a leverage spot in the seventh because he hits lefties.
04:53But then Karp doesn't get a chance against a righty in the ninth.
04:57You guys have pinch hit more than anybody in baseball, and there really haven't been great results.
05:02Do you ever rethink how aggressive you guys are with pinch hitters?
05:07Rethink it by, you mean don't do it?
05:09Like lean more on, hey, well, we're going to leave those guys in, or Karp may face a lefty.
05:14Yeah.
05:15I think we just don't like it when it doesn't work.
05:18Because I understand sort of the assumption that it would have been better.
05:21It doesn't make it more of an advantage for Karp or Colt or those lefties coming in.
05:26We had it with Seattle as well.
05:28And we need to continue to take advantage of that advantage and get some production out of that.
05:35But I, you know, again, like last night, Veerling's a bat in the ninth, as an example, was out in
05:4013 ballparks, I think.
05:42It's just not ours.
05:43So, like, that would have been a three-run homer.
05:45And so I understand the sort of range of emotions of, like, you could have predicted three innings later,
05:51there's going to be a leverage spot for a lefty against a righty.
05:54You know, we've got to take advantage of the matchups that we have with how the roster's built and where
05:59our strengths are.
05:59And, you know, so rethink it.
06:02I still believe that's the best way to go for this particular team.
06:07You know, I've given a couple of bats to these lefties.
06:10But when we have a chance to, you know, given how the run scoring has been, not in June, but
06:15for the predominantly the whole season,
06:17I just don't think it's smart to miss on those advantages when we have them.
06:23Because I think, you know, a lot of times when guys, why are they bringing the lefty in?
06:27You know, some people would say they want to get carp or colt out.
06:31The others would say, you know, right now, getting the righties in, our righties have struggled.
06:36But it's going to turn, and we're going to stay with that process when we can.
06:42I'll move the batting order a little bit.
06:43I may hit ding behind carp today, which makes it a little more difficult as much as their lefties have
06:48pitched recently.
06:51But I try not to get too caught up in the results.
06:54Stay with the process.
06:55Trust here is the way the team's built and where the strengths are on the team.
06:59And remind myself, it doesn't make it easier for those lefties to face lefties just because we don't like when
07:05the righties get out.
07:06Yeah, with the matchups, I guess there's a Jemai question.
07:09He struggled against lefties this season.
07:11At what point does this season take precedent over last season?
07:15Or I know you have to juggle what you think he is versus what he's actually doing.
07:19No, great question, because that's the crux of it, right?
07:23So we're going to go to Cleveland this weekend.
07:25They're going to probably call up a lefty to make it more difficult on us.
07:30We're going to go to Houston right after that.
07:32I think they have three or four lefties in their pen with their lefty closer with haters.
07:36So we definitely need these right-handed bats to answer the challenge of that.
07:42And Jemai is included in that.
07:44He just missed the ball last night.
07:45He hit the ball pretty hard into the air.
07:47He has hit the ball fairly hard in June.
07:49The numbers on the scoreboard are never going to look good for the next foreseeable future.
07:57It's hard to dig out of that hole that he's in.
07:59I don't think it makes him less of a threat, but we need him to produce in order for these
08:05moves
08:06and the advantages that we do get to actually be an advantage and help us out.
08:13So you mentioned going to Cleveland this weekend, and we're all looking at, hey, Montero's on the mound today.
08:18The rotation sets up that Flaherty's on the mound on Friday.
08:22There's this big empty space where it says starting pitcher.
08:27Is there a chance that there is the best lefty in baseball could possibly reappear on Saturday in Cleveland?
08:35There's a chance.
08:36You know, we have got – you'll love my morning this morning.
08:39Starts with you guys.
08:40Is there a better way to start than with you guys?
08:42Nope.
08:42And then I'm going to get to the ballpark.
08:44I'm already here.
08:45And I have to wait for a variety of meetings.
08:49I'm going to meet with Tarek.
08:50I'm going to meet with Casey.
08:50I'm going to meet with Kenley.
08:51I'm going to meet with Justin.
08:52Like those guys all, you know, had rehab outings recently or even yesterday to see how we can map it
09:01out.
09:01With Tarek in specific, we've gone step by step.
09:04And I'm not trying to avoid the question.
09:06I'm not trying to, like, misdirect at all.
09:08It's just stay with this step-by-step process to make sure that we're doing it right.
09:13Now, he threw a bullpen yesterday.
09:15He was on the main mound.
09:16It's great.
09:17I mean, his velocity is great.
09:18His bounce back after his mound sessions has been exceptional.
09:24We are in uncharted territory given the speed in which he's been able to recover from this.
09:29So, yes, there's a chance.
09:31We've got to sort things through today on mapping out for the weekend.
09:36We're probably going to list it as TBD because there is hope that, you know, he and maybe even a
09:42couple others are going to get activated over the weekend.
09:44So, if a couple of others do get activated, and you could be looking at if, injuries aside, at some
09:52point, JV, Mize, Melton, Flaherty, Scooble, Valdez, you've got six starting pitchers.
10:00What is your philosophy moving forward if all those guys are available?
10:05Are you going to move somebody to the bullpen?
10:07Do you rotate a couple of guys?
10:08You go with a six-man rotation?
10:10How does it set up for you?
10:12Yeah, it's actually, I think it's seven and eight if you count Ty Madden who's on the team right now.
10:16So, we do have a big number, and we are going to have to make some adjustments.
10:22I mean, just thank God we're going to have to make some adjustments.
10:24It means we have too many and not enough.
10:28So, I think the general thought, you know, we have an off day after Houston.
10:33I think this six-man is probably going to make sense for the remainder of the month.
10:39That comes at a cost.
10:40You know, now, some of that, the bullpen configuration, and, you know, it changes the number of relievers you have.
10:47But that, right now, I think I'm drawing that out as the most logical outcome to get our best arms
10:54throwing the most.
10:56And also keep them on their routines and keep them on their recovery.
10:59I don't know how long that can last, but right now, I feel like that's a logical step.
11:05But if they're all together healthy at the same time, I just hate talking about it because, man, I've hated
11:11how this season has worked out for us luck-wise with the health.
11:14And let's hope we have six or seven guys ready to go, you know, by the time they're all activated.
11:19So, some of this might be, the benefit is you can beef up the bullpen if you move somebody there
11:23because the bullpen has lagged behind.
11:25What would you look for in a starter that you would give more of a bullpen role?
11:31You know, I think we need strikes and we need execution.
11:35You know, I think that's the thing that really separated our bullpen last year from this year has been execution
11:43and an uptick in stuff and the ability to miss a few more bats.
11:47That's what Melton did last year.
11:49Cater did it last year.
11:50Jack did it in the playoffs.
11:51Like, you know, all these guys want to start and they're capable of starting.
11:55And, you know, there's been times that they've been dominant, you know, even this year.
11:59So, I think that the thing in transitioning any of your pitches, when they're on the mound, we've got to
12:04get back to the strike one mentality.
12:07We've got to get back to getting the leverage.
12:08Last night, Framber had a really hard time because of two-strike execution.
12:13You know, Drew Summers, fastball right down the middle to Josh Bell with two strikes.
12:18Last week, he hit Emerson with two strikes with the bases loaded and we walked in a run.
12:22It's like a run got in for free.
12:25Strike zone execution sounds super simple.
12:28And, of course, you want your guys to throw strikes.
12:31But when the bullpen comes in, the last thing we can do last night, Bo Brisky, lead off walk.
12:37Killer.
12:38That really hurts your chances of maintaining the score when you're down or maintaining the score when you're up.
12:44That's a bad combo.
12:46Hey, last chance to break the Scooble news.
12:48Come on.
12:49Throw us a bone.
12:49He's playing Saturday.
12:53If I wanted to break it, don't you think I would have?
12:55No, I know.
12:55I'm just teasing you.
12:56John, you got one more for him?
12:58Yeah.
12:59Before we let you go, you guys are playing really good in the month of June.
13:03And you've got division opponents against Minnesota, obviously, right now.
13:06Last one today, chance to win a series.
13:10Cleveland, the Sox.
13:12I know Houston's in there.
13:13How important are these division games knowing what May was and what you're hoping June will be digging out of
13:22a hole?
13:22Yeah.
13:23No, these are huge games.
13:24We can't deny it.
13:25I can't really even soften the importance because of the hole that we dug in.
13:30I know what I'm trying to avoid with this team is the massive reaction to a loss because we have
13:37a chance to win the series.
13:38We won the last two series.
13:40We're going to win this series today, and we're going to feel really good about it if we can get
13:44to the end of nine innings today and win, go into Cleveland with a little bit of momentum.
13:48Obviously, it's baseball.
13:50It does take a marathon.
13:51We're going to lose games moving forward, and the reaction to that to make sure they don't pile up.
13:57You look right now.
13:58Cleveland's lost a lot of games in a row.
14:00Houston's lost games in a row.
14:02These teams that are ahead of us are going to have their own set of circumstances, and so you've got
14:07to stay methodical with it.
14:08But the intensity is real.
14:10The urgency is real.
14:11We've dug ourselves a huge hole, and we know that we're going to have to have a really successful stretch
14:19of games, and we're off to a good start in June.
14:21That's a great foundation to have an excellent month is how we started this month.
14:25AJ, appreciate you starting your day with us.
14:28All right.
14:28See you guys.
14:29Tiger Manager AJ Hinch, 97.1.
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