00:05Tigers with another win
00:06another series win and within a game
00:09of the wild card
00:11spot
00:13all new season 11 nothing win
00:15Valdez seven
00:17innings of shutout baseball shout out the defense
00:19four double plays turn behind him
00:20and Dylan Dingler with a homer
00:22three straight games yeah he's on
00:25fire he's been on fire for
00:26what I mean the entire season but
00:28the last 60 games
00:3070 games he has been
00:33I think hands
00:34down the best catcher in Major League Baseball
00:36just gonna say that and look now they're
00:38what a win today would put them there closest
00:41to 500 since May 6th
00:43within two games of 500
00:45if they can get a win tonight late night
00:47against the Giants good chance
00:48late night games I know it's
00:51a West Coast trip but man
00:52especially at a time where hey it's Max
00:54Clark it's this team it's the young
00:57guys they're exciting
00:59at least it's a Friday night
01:00and hey we can
01:02stay up as late as we want it's been years since they've
01:04done this where it's three cities
01:06on the West Coast they used to do this all the time
01:08yeah no I know and
01:10I think just with the amount of
01:12games they had out there this year they had
01:14to do it and probably
01:16decided to accept that because
01:18this is something you would typically fight with the
01:20schedule but they probably accept it because they don't want
01:22to make another trip out there right
01:24you know you'd have to go back to San
01:26Francisco at some point it's also had this trade-off but they've had some extended home stands so they're gonna
01:30have a six game or after this in division division division I think that's when we'll really figure out if
01:37this is happening or not like if we ask the question today is this team going to make the playoffs
01:43my answer would be can I see how they do in the division next week
01:47well then ask the question next week why do we what are we doing
01:50we're asking the question today
01:53well then it's no then until yes
01:55that's how it works right
01:57no I mean yes
01:59it's no until yes so if your answer today
02:01is no we can revisit this
02:03yeah after you know hey they
02:05play the Giants for three games and hopefully
02:07they get back to 500 and
02:09if they
02:11I know the doomsdayers are gonna say yeah they
02:13sweep the Giants they get back to 500
02:14and then they've got to play the team that
02:17everyone's pointing to that started the run
02:19in May that the horrific May that
02:21it was they've got the Cleveland Guardians but the Cleveland
02:23Guardians are at home and right now Cleveland's not
02:25playing great yeah you could get it back
02:27to 500 a race May
02:30only to be staring your demons in the face
02:32yeah because it's not just Cleveland
02:33it's also been the White Sox that have been a problem too
02:35sure is this offense real
02:38I don't know
02:40I don't either and that's why I refuse
02:42to say yes right now I think
02:43you've got to allow some time for the
02:46league to see Max Clark
02:47and Valencia who have
02:49deepened this lineup yeah and then
02:52they're protecting other hitters allow
02:54somebody's getting good pitches now
02:57because of okay so the depth of the lineup
02:59okay Max Clark
03:02was it I think you know two games
03:04ago no hits
03:06yesterday it was one
03:08now Kevin McGonigal obviously
03:10two for three and you look at
03:12at Dingler you look at you know
03:14Colt Keith
03:14Colt Keith
03:16has been I think the one
03:18that has really come on the most because
03:20Dingler could be consistent all season
03:22long Colt Keith is the
03:24one where you're looking at over the last
03:26three or four weeks and his
03:28OPS is starting to creep up
03:30it's getting really close to 750
03:32I didn't check it this morning but he
03:34is one of those guys that is quietly
03:36becoming a solid
03:38part of this lineup which is lengthening
03:40the lineup and
03:42but he's benefiting because
03:44there's Clark and Valencia there now
03:46instead of
03:47Jemai Jones and Matt Veerling
03:49I agree what I'm saying yes the
03:51pitchers have to respect somebody
03:52or they've got to throw strikes to
03:54somebody yeah because he will take his
03:56walks he's been on base in every single
03:57game he's played
03:58as a tiger you know even you
04:00mentioned Clark didn't get a hit two
04:01games ago but he got a walk yep you
04:03know it's
04:04well okay then do you think they're a
04:06playoff team right now I can't say
04:09yes until they get back to 500 so as
04:12of now no but I'm not going to sit
04:14there and say well I'm going to wait
04:16until next week to make that decision
04:18because they could also be a team that
04:19does win three games against the
04:21Giants and what are we going to say
04:22when we come in here on Monday hey
04:24they're back to 500 but they beat the
04:26A's they beat the Giants all the wins
04:29count they don't at the end of the
04:30season but I do think the true
04:32litmus test going to be Cleveland in
04:34Chicago can you get over the hump
04:35against those teams and if they do
04:37then then I think you the floodgates
04:39open you let your heart believe I
04:41think it's really Cleveland though the
04:43fact that they've swept the Tigers
04:45this year so far six and oh against
04:46them yeah I think might be seven right
04:48no it's six because they had to rain
04:49out yeah so they'll play them next
04:53week at home I think there's a huge
04:54like you need to win that series get
04:58closer to them but you need to get
04:59that off your back because they didn't
05:00play good against them last year
05:01except they did win the playoff series
05:03remember right other than the regular
05:04season it was bad too and then they
05:06have four in Cleveland on Labor Day
05:08weekend I do think it's just a
05:10testament that they're forcing this
05:11conversation you know you sell the
05:13deadline your bullpen is your bullpen
05:15the offense from one night to the
05:17next right I mean think about it in
05:19this series the offense from one night
05:20to the next they had four hits on
05:24would have been Wednesday then they
05:27score 11 runs on Thursday I don't know
05:31but the fact that they're making this a
05:32conversation is a testament to this
05:34group yes and if we're checking in on
05:37them end of next week we could be
05:39talking about a playoff team with with
05:41serious backing not just hypothetically
05:44but actually in a playoff spot having
05:46done what they needed to do this is why
05:49they kept Taurus too by the way I know
05:51you've said that I'm convinced they
05:53thought they could still do this well I'm
05:57glad they didn't declare themselves still
05:59in the race they did say hey well you
06:01know we're not going to wave the white
06:02flag but they didn't sit there and say
06:04yeah we're still we're still taking
06:07shots at it we believe that we can do
06:10it I don't think they could ever say it
06:11but I think they believed it I really do
06:13that's fine as they should yeah guys
06:16what do we do with torque is he part of
06:18the future sick of seeing him strike out
06:20and leave guys stranded that's Kirk and
06:21Milford
06:25I mean it's the shrug emoji you know I
06:29don't know what that that's kind of the
06:32question because it minimizes how bad he
06:35can be when you end up putting real bats
06:38around him in the lineup like I don't
06:40have this anger towards torque certainly
06:43not after an 11-0 game yesterday right but
06:47in terms of believing that he's a long-term
06:48piece no I mean there's plenty he's still
06:51got to prove I think he's a year-to-year
06:53player I think he's a year-to-year
06:54player he's a guy I mean right now he's
06:56sitting at 20 home runs he is second on
06:59the team in home runs I he's 725 OPS
07:07like so he is an average is he living up
07:09to 1-1 no but do you do you need more
07:14can you upgrade that position I think the
07:16answer is yes Cleveland and the Sox are
07:19playing this weekend against one another
07:21Tigers will catch them all by Tuesday as
07:24long as the Tigers take care of business
07:26now what did we say yesterday about
07:28Valdez had to eat some innings he did he
07:31did he got to seven what do we need from
07:33Montero today the exact same thing your
07:36starters except for Drew Anderson and
07:41anyone else that's going to be a if it's a
07:43bullpen day I'm not expecting them to eat
07:45seven innings but whether it's Melton it's
07:48Valdez it's Montero you're gonna have to
07:52go seven innings because we've got to get
07:55to a point where we're not taxing our
07:57bullpen the weakest part of our team any
08:00more than we already will on those Drew
08:03Anderson start days anything to it that
08:06the starters have each gone seven innings
08:09since we moved on I know I don't think
08:13there's anything to it it is just nice to
08:17note calls text feedback do you think
08:20they'll make it they're within a game
08:23bunch of teams in a pack they're
08:24winnable games this weekend division
08:26games on the horizon do you think the
08:28Tigers will make the playoffs cookie jar
08:30coming up at 735 college villains we'll
08:33get to that at the end of the hour it's
08:3497-1
Comments