00:00Hey, if they keep winning, we got to take them more seriously.
00:04Good morning, 97.1 Jim Costa.
00:06Stoney's in this week.
00:07We got Gov and Greg behind the glass.
00:09Heather and John both with the week off.
00:11Good morning, 97.1.
00:12How are you?
00:14How are you, Stoney?
00:14I'm pretty good.
00:15It's a weird day at Camarica.
00:18I mean, JV and Dingler gets hurt and they come back and Jake Rogers, of all people.
00:24That's Rake Rogers to you.
00:25Yeah.
00:27Hey, look, I know the A's lost one of their players in the middle of the game, too.
00:31Nick Kurtz, right?
00:32Yeah.
00:32There's some bug going around.
00:34Their pitcher the night before left because of some kind of issue.
00:38There's a lot of people getting sick around here.
00:40No kidding.
00:41You know what?
00:41A lot of people are getting tiger fever.
00:44Oh, boy, here it is.
00:45This guy.
00:47Nope.
00:49Yeah.
00:50So let's just give people a bit of an idea of how hot the Tigers have gotten.
00:5620 and 12 since June 1st.
00:59That's the best record in the American League, and it's 101 win pace.
01:03Yeah.
01:04In that time, it's offense and defense.
01:06They lead the American League in home runs and earned run average, which, no surprise,
01:10means they have the best run differential in the American League since June 1st.
01:1459.
01:15We had talked about the hole they dug in May, and if they were going to get out of it,
01:18it couldn't be lukewarm.
01:20It couldn't be win two, lose one.
01:23It was going to have to be some kind of surge.
01:25And, Stoney, they've won seven of their last eight baseball games.
01:28This is what it has to look like.
01:30And while I'm certainly not believing they're a playoff team yet, I will take them more seriously
01:35with each win.
01:37Because the odds go more in their favor.
01:39Do you know what it is right now, by the way, to make the playoffs?
01:42To make the playoffs, probably like 18%.
01:45Oh, you're so negative, Stoney.
01:47It's 32%.
01:48Oh, wow.
01:4932% to make the playoffs.
01:50Okay.
01:50Now, the way some people are talking, it's 50-50.
01:53It's not, but it's getting closer.
01:55Look, they're five and a half out of the division, four out of the wild card, and more importantly,
02:02what are they, to 500?
02:03Eight back.
02:04So, John had the stat, no team in a full season has ever made the playoffs below 500.
02:08Correct.
02:08So, that's why we continue to chart the course.
02:11Control what you can control.
02:12Don't worry about where other teams are.
02:13Some people are going to win.
02:14Red Sox have been on a tear.
02:16You just got to get around 500 to give yourself a real shot.
02:19This is as close to 500 as they've been since May 18th.
02:23They haven't quite undone half of May yet, but here we go.
02:28And the biggest thing, Dylan Dingler, sounds like he's going to be okay.
02:31Hopefully, yes.
02:32He had to leave the game ricochet off the hand.
02:34X-ray is negative.
02:35That's why I say I'm hoping he can be okay.
02:38Yeah.
02:39Because as great as Rake Rogers is, he's normally Jake Rogers, and he should play sparingly.
02:45Did you see him on the play where he ran around second, was heading to third, he took a really
02:50weird round route, and he gets in the third, he slides in head first, and obviously he was
02:58safe, and he was like huffing and puffing, and they were saying on the TV broadcast, and
03:02he just said, he just said, I'm tired.
03:07I'm tired.
03:08Can't imagine.
03:09I mean.
03:10By the way, Troy Melton again.
03:13Yeah, let's talk about it.
03:14You know, it almost makes you, if you believe all the stuff, both positive and negative,
03:20that went on last year at the deadline, if you believe it, and I'm not so sure I believe
03:25it, but let's, you know, let's pretend that we believe it, it happened, that they decided
03:31not to trade for bats because everybody that they talked to insisted they had to throw
03:37down Troy Melton into the mix.
03:40That was all but implied by Scott Harris at the end of last season.
03:43So, if that's the case, maybe they did the right thing.
03:47Oh, I think if, and I never suggested they should have traded Melton.
03:50No, I know.
03:50But if they held firm on him in the face of counter-offers, that was the right decision.
03:56Yeah.
03:56Yeah.
03:57So, that's what it looks like right now.
03:58I mean, come on, career-high nine strikeouts, that cutter, I mean, it was, forget about it.
04:02He only pitched, what, five and a third, but, you know, nine strikeouts, like you said.
04:05It's up to 91 pitches, I think.
04:07And God forbid someone pitch 100 pitches anymore.
04:10We'll get into that.
04:12Yeah, you know, since nobody does it anymore, I'll just quit.
04:17To be fair, it's not like Melton took himself out of the game.
04:19No, I know.
04:21But that's just the reality of today's baseball, I guess.
04:24But, yes, Troy Melton is looking like the future ace of this baseball club more and more by the day.
04:28You see, he's the unofficial godchild of our midday show.
04:31They love him, and I think everybody loves the way he's pitching.
04:33I kind of thought when they brought Montero in, I said,
04:37Montero's really good, but they have a five-run lead.
04:40Is it, you know...
04:41Wasting him?
04:41Wasting him, but...
04:42You don't want to, I mean, with the way that this year has been.
04:45I know.
04:45The blown leads.
04:46They did the right thing.
04:48They had brisky in late in the game.
04:49That's how confident they were.
04:50Yeah.
04:52Holton, that was the one guy.
04:54If he could get back to, like, near what he was in 2024.
04:5824 with the pitching chaos.
04:59He was the face of it.
05:00He got an MVP vote, if I'm not mistaken.
05:03I will double-check, but I don't think you're wrong.
05:05And he might have been in that top three or four guys on the team in war as a relief
05:09pitcher
05:09in the 2024 season for the Tigers.
05:13He has not been that guy since.
05:16But here they are.
05:17And I guess the question is for people, and we'll get to JV, and we'll get to what Scooble
05:20had to say and count down to the deadline.
05:22But just with this team right now, Stoney, do you think people are starting to get a little
05:26bit of that Tiger fever?
05:27Have they piqued people's interests?
05:29I think maybe a few people.
05:31Well, but I think this weekend is key because they're playing a pretty good team.
05:37And the Phillies are not great.
05:38They're streaky, too.
05:39But, you know, a team that has some really good pitching, like Wheeler's pitching Sunday.
05:43And I believe, what, Suarez is pitching one of the games, maybe?
05:48No, not Suarez.
05:49Sanchez.
05:50Sanchez, yes.
05:50And Sanchez had a great year.
05:51He's in that Cy Young conversation.
05:53Yes, exactly.
05:54Holton, by the way, 15th in MVP voting in 2024.
05:57You know, Bryce Harper, Schwarber, hit another bomb the other day.
06:01I mean, so they have, you know, names, so it'll be exciting down there, you would assume.
06:06But, yeah, if they win that series, too, and then people are going to have the discussion
06:11of, damn, the All-Star break came at the wrong time just when they're hot.
06:15Well, last year, they careened off the side of the road with the Seattle series going in
06:20the All-Star break.
06:21Correct.
06:21And people panicked, and then they collapsed.
06:23I do think they need to finish this up to the break.
06:26Yep.
06:26They've even, Scuba alluded to it in his comments after Tuesday night's game, where
06:31we've got to finish strong right up to the break.
06:33We've got to give the reason why even management should believe in us.
06:39So, I do think sweeping the athletics and then getting two or three would be, there'd
06:44be a huge symbolism, the confidence level going in.
06:48But I think the math of, they chopped 10 off in 42 days.
06:54That's what the numbers would be.
06:55Chopped 10 off of 16 under, 500 to 6 under.
06:58Yep.
06:58And probably are within three or four of the wild card, maybe four of the division.
07:03Like, you can have some real conversations then that they've corrected this.
07:07They get the Angels after the break.
07:09Yep.
07:09They go to Chicago, play the Cubs, who've been a rollercoaster.
07:13Yeah.
07:14So, and then the Royals after that for four here.
07:17Mm-hmm.
07:17I mean.
07:19So, emphasizing finishing this, starting the pitching matchup on Saturday and Sunday.
07:25Mize-Sanchez on Saturday.
07:27Mm-hmm.
07:28Scooble, Wheeler on Sunday.
07:30So, we have Flaherty on Friday?
07:32Yeah, you get Flaherty Friday.
07:33I was trying to avoid that.
07:34And against Nola.
07:35Although, he's been Flaherty the last few outings.
07:38He's been solid.
07:39You're going to have a packed ballpark.
07:41Saturday is an evening game.
07:42It starts at 6 o'clock.
07:44Yeah.
07:44They haven't had many of those.
07:46I do think even the fans and the atmosphere in Comerica, they'll start buying in more.
07:53There could be an energy that it provides to the team heading into the break.
07:56I think there's a lot there in terms of they just got to close this off.
08:00Like, if they go 4-2 here or worse, it's just like you're just taking baby steps.
08:05Yeah.
08:05They can't.
08:06We noted how bad May was.
08:08How bad was it, Jim?
08:09It was the worst May they've had any month they've had in 30 years of Tiger baseball.
08:13So, the idea, like, baby steps to get out of this.
08:16No, no, no, no, no.
08:17Big gargantuan John Jansen steps if you're going to get out of this.
08:21Yeah.
08:21And I would say since June 1, they've taken a couple gargantuan steps.
08:24They absolutely have.
08:26They've taken advantage of, you know, who they played and, you know, where they played them.
08:31And they've been good.
08:32I mean, look, sweeping the Yankees, but the Yankees, you know, are a mystery right now.
08:37I don't care.
08:40Everybody plays the same schedule in their division.
08:43People got to play the Tigers in May with a couple key guys.
08:45You're playing the A's right now.
08:47They don't have Soderstrom.
08:48They don't have Rooker.
08:50Kurtz left the game.
08:51That's their best bat, really.
08:52Yeah.
08:54Wah.
08:55Exactly.
08:55You know, I mean, we went through it.
08:58I'm not going to shed a tear, man.
09:00Yeah, look, Torres is not the greatest player in the world, but, you know, the Tigers are
09:05playing without him.
09:06They've had other injuries.
09:07He's one of the few right-handed bats of substance on this roster.
09:10I mean, we forget that Javi's actually on this team, too.
09:13He's not playing.
09:13Yeah, exactly.
09:14You know, so I listened to the broadcast the last few nights.
09:18They were talking about Outman and how important it's been that he's cleaned up center field
09:23some for them.
09:24Yes.
09:24Even though it's hard to stomach the batting.
09:27Their record since they've added them is good.
09:30Tom, is he the most underappreciated guy?
09:32Yeah, exactly.
09:33I think tonight is huge also for Valdez.
09:36Yeah.
09:37If he can have one of his best performances of the season against a depleted athletics
09:42lineup, just again, okay, guys are, it's like, okay, now he's getting his confidence
09:47and you're heading, you're feeling good going into the break.
09:50He's been very hit and miss during this stretch, right?
09:53Yeah.
09:54So his last start, he gave up five earned the start before he gave up four earned.
09:58Those aren't quality starts.
09:59No.
09:59That's not good enough.
10:01Prior to that, he had back-to-back starts where he gave up one or zero runs.
10:05We need that guy.
10:07Absolutely.
10:08Two, four, eight, five, three, nine, 97, 97.
10:11Open lines, open feedback.
10:12We know the Tigers, the room isn't going to be built in the day here and there's still
10:15a lot of work to do and the odds are they still won't make the playoffs, but that's
10:19what we're talking about.
10:20Finishing this stretch strong and JV has talked about being motivated by seeing this team start
10:25to come alive a little bit.
10:27Will we see him on the mound at some point before this season ends his final season of
10:32professional baseball?
10:33It's going to be at the all-star game, Stoney.
10:35I know.
10:35I got no problem with that.
10:36No, that's what it's for.
10:38They did the same thing with Miggy.
10:39Yeah.
10:39And pool holes.
10:39Yeah.
10:40That's what it's for.
10:40We'll talk about JV's retirement legacy, how you'll remember him.
10:44Do it coming up next.
10:45Of course, you guys can jump in on that conversation too.
10:47It's 97.
10:477-1.
10:487-1.
10:487-1.
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