Tigers Need to Shake Things Up
Video Transcription is provided below
Please watch the video above.
Michael Fulmer to Shake Things Up
Matt Bassin: Tigers should put Fulmer as their closer to shake things up. I’m sitting there going, did we just have too high of expectations? Because we’re talking about coming into the season, people were talking like, this team could contend for a wild card. It’s okay at this point you need what? 90 wins for a wild card.Â
They’re at 8 and 19. So they got to go 82 and 51, or whatever the rest of the way. You got to win 60% of your ball games the rest of the season, to even have a shot at that 90 wins.
Like you can throw that out the window at this point, unless everybody starts clicking. We ain’t getting the 90 wins.Â
A.J. Reilly: No and 90 is probably a little bit high for a wild card spot, especially with the expanded playoffs. However, the wildcard was never in my estimation, the marker of a good season this year.
It wasn’t good. Could they have potentially challenged for that? They could have potentially, but I was not going to bet my house on it. What I was gonna bet my house on was a 500 ball club. And if we can bet our house on a 500 ball club, this team can get to a 500 ball club. They’re like 10, 11 games under 500 right now.
That’s just a couple of good weeks. You know what I’m saying? Really, all I wanted to see out of the Tiger’s team this year, was improvement from last year.Â
They’re a few games under 500. I get that. So this year I want you to be a few games over 500 or more. 500 was always a marker for me this year. Maybe the potential of a wildcard team, depending on how everybody else did. But that shouldn’t be how we judge this team this year.Â
We should be judging this team, although the improvements made right now, judge them the correct way. They’re not a good baseball team right now. I put a number of those, not a number of them, but I put significant blame on Gregory Soto right now, who I do not think should be the closer for the Tigers anymore.
Put Fulmer as Closer
The person that should be closing for the Detroit Tigers right now is Michael Fulmer. Take Gregory Soto and his blue hair and left-hand and put them in the bullpen and use him in the seventh inning then use Joe Jimenez in the eighth inning and use Michael Fulmer in the ninth inning.Â
Because Soto, he’s reminiscent of Papa Grande, and you just never know what’s going to happen.Â
Yes, Papa Grande had a great, massive saved season, but it was always, I call it, my nickname for him was Papa Heart Attack, because you never knew how those games were going to end up. And they ended up usually working out for him. But my goodness, every time Gregory Soto was on the mound, I’m like, this is not going to be good.
And then you got a guy like Michael Fulmer, who was your potential ace a few years ago, who’s coming back from injury, dominating out of the bullpen. That is your closer. And we’ve lost a lot of tight games. And I understand that Saturday, Michael Fulmer walked a guy with the bases loaded, which cost them the game.
I understand all that, but he’s been lights out other than that one game. So for me, a lot of this, if you’re frustrated and there’s an article on DSN about A.J. Hinch’s post game comments, of frustration after the series with the Astros, how you deal with frustration, shake things up a little bit.
And I would start by shaking up the bullpen and putting Michael Fulmer in that closer’s role. So check out that article on Detroit Sports Nation.
You can hear more from DSN anywhere you can watch videos or download podcasts.Â
Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/detroitsportsnation
Instagram:Â https://www.instagram.com/realdetroitsportsnation/
Youtube:Â https://www.youtube.com/c/Detroitsportsnation?sub_confirmation=1
Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/detsportsnation
TikTok:Â https://www.tiktok.com/@realdetroitsportsnation
You can also find this and other episodes at all of your favorite podcasting destinations.
- Spotify
- Audible
- Amazon Music
- Google Podcasts
- Radio Public
