I know this ain't gonna be popular. He's a nice guy.
He had so much promise in 2009, he looked a bit like a mini-Verlander.
But alas, he has gone from our #2 starter to #5.
Granted, he just didn't get a lot of run support sometimes last season. But there were a lot of times he just didn't look very good. His ERA was 4.59. Not much for a starter with a World Series team.
The change would do him good. He's still very young, and he might have a long wonderful career somewhere, but I don't think it's gonna happen in Detroit.
Package him with Peralta, and get either a really good starter, or shortstop like I mentioned, Jurickson Profar from Texas.
I am not willing to give up on him yet. He is not the same caliber that he once was, but he has his moments. And he is so young. Is his problem ability or is it in his head?
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, if the right deal came along, such as the one the Comish is suggesting let him go, but I am not ready to give up
(We seem to be having some problem with access to the blog, so I'm posting this on behalf of Tom Haggerty.)
ReplyDeletePeralta catches everything hit to him and he has some power. They don't need him to hit 4th. They have no SS in the minors so I say keep him. I'd also keep Porcello. Plus if these two guys are as bad as you suggest, how can we trade them for a good young SS? Never happen.
You're right: they're not that bad. Peralta has some qualities, and certainly, Porcello is young and has great potential.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what makes them good trade bait.
IMHO, with Peralta it's a matter of going from an average or declining shortstop, to a better player.
With Porcello, I totally agree that this young man might have a very bright future. But I fear he has hit a plateau on the learning curve in the Tiger organization. It's best for him and the Tigers if they dealt him now, and got something of value for him.
"Sell high, buy low" is the old stock market proverb. These guys are still valuable, but they aren't going to improve.
Imagine (and I recognize, hindsight is 20/20) we had sold or traded Maglio Ordonez after 2010. He just had hit a respectable .303, but the signs were there that he was going downhill. He had played just 84 games instead of most of the season as he had previously. This was the third year in a row his average went down. He was 36. All the signs were there.
Who knows what we might have traded him for (or if he would have gone along with a trade for that matter) but in 2011 he hit just .255 in 92 games. His career was over, he cost the Tigers $10 million that season, and for you Sabrematricians, his WAR was -1.87. Sometimes it's best to cash out when you can.
One time I was faced with a management problem. A chronic "underperformer" on my staff needed to be let go. I didn't want to do the dirty work. She hadn't really done anything wrong, just just hadn't done much, period. Another subordinate snapped me to attention, when she complained, and I said "Why? What's she doing that's hurting the team?"
"She's taking up oxygen."
Killer statement. I fired her the next day, and she landed on her feet with a better job. Sometimes, not being the worst is not a reason not to make a change. Managers (in all businesses) need to look for ways to improve; standing pat just isn't enough.
I like Porcello but I'd trade him in the right deal
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