GoWings1905

Pena is probably my favorite option for a short-term fix. I still think if DD goes the free agent route for a DH type replacement for V-Mart, he really needs to explore trades for a third baseman or left fielder. Delmon Young's defense terrifies me in left field, not to mention I don't think his bat is anywhere near as good as the one we saw in the playoffs spread out over 162 games. Another issue is how likely Peralta and Avila are to regress this season. Throw in Jackson's struggles, Boesch's healthy and no production offensively from third base and there are question marks everywhere in the lineup. Cabrera and Martinez together were the two certainties of production. The positive spin is I still believe the Tigers can and probably should win the division mostly because of their starting rotation. Beyond the mediocre competition in the Central though, the Tigers are maybe the sixth best team in the AL. I feel like I got punched in the gut today. Being a Tigers fan sucks most of the time.

Devastating loss. I'm so bummed about this news right now. I think it's fair to say the Tigers chances of winning the division again just dropped immensely. The Tigers most glaring weakness just turned into a full-blown disaster without V-Mart. Who the hell protects Cabrera or drives in runs now? This team was already another major hitter short of truly contending IMO. It might really be time for DD to use that abundance of starting pitching prospects to land a big bat in a trade. V-Mart is my favorite player on the team too. This off-season just went from boring to awful.

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Exactly. She did reports for the Tigers games at Comerica Park too this past year and they were just as bad. She seems like a nice enough person, but her interviews are brutal. For accusing other people of hating life, you seem awfully bitter. Not reading or commenting in threads that don't interest you seems like a reasonable solution. This was a pretty light-hearted thread before you chastized everyone for "bitching".

This is a thread of people basically listing things they dislike about the FSD broadcast. I find Hogan's reports to be useless and very poorly prepared. Sorry for wasting your precious time. You can have your neg back too for complaining about "complainers".

I'd rather watch an Arby's commercial 275 times straight than a report from Shannon Hogan in the stands.

No kidding. Everyone will be back on board in April when Z dominates the playoffs like usual.

Just got back from the game... pretty good crowd for a regular season game in January against Phoenix. I thought the Red Wings were the better team by quite a bit -- felt like they had the puck for about 90% of regulation. Z's goal obviously just wow. I honestly didn't expect him to score when he stepped on the ice in the shootout, but that was amazing. Mursak looked terrific. No way he's coming out of the lineup with everyone healthy. His speed and forechecking along with Helm is a huge weapon. The 4th line stunk tonight, but that's about the only negative I really noticed. One thing I always appreciate more live at games is how well the Red Wings pass the puck. It's beautiful watching them break out of their zone and start to attack. Lidstrom and White especially are so composed and skilled at moving the puck out. Nice two points after the trainwreck against the Islanders. Congrats to Babcock and Jimmy as well for milestone wins!

Can you ever construct a post without talking down to someone? You make strong points, but ruin them by coming across as your opinion is the final say on any matter. Sure, the Red Wings have bad games. No one is denying that. If you don't believe the Red Wings have a knack for playing down to opponents however, then I don't know what else to say. They have done it every season fairly frequently since 2008. I feel last night was an example of this and fatigue is an excuse. The Red Wings had enough energy to play hard after falling behind to Chicago and that came a night after 40 minutes of intense hockey in Toronto. The schedule is tough no doubt, but they had no desire to work hard against the Islanders. Fatigue doesn't cause you to give up a ton of odd-man rushes or turn the puck over -- that's lack of focus and something that plagued the Red Wings the entire road trip, not just in New York. Their attention to detail defensively was poor the past four games especially at the start of games where fatigue really shouldn't be a factor. I saw more emotion from Babcock applauding a timeout than any guy on the ice.

That's an excuse. The Red Wings inability to show up for games has been a problem for years.

This entire road trip was pretty lackluster with the exception of a few periods. Tonight was just a disaster in every sense. I'm not sold on Conklin, but he got hung out to dry with odd-man rushes the entire game. The Red Wings defense was awful these past four games -- far too many quality scoring chances allowed because of turnovers and appearing to not be engaged in the game. 15 goals allowed in four games is the garbage we saw last year. Filppula has missed so many open nets this season. This team desperately needs a legitimate goal-scorer to go deep in the playoffs. Another poor start and loss to an inferior opponent because the Red Wings didn't show up to play. Pretty frustrating to watch so often in such a tight playoff race where every point is significant. Definitely need to keep winning at home because the road appears to be a lost cause.

Same here. I know the Tigers won the division by 15 games, but the Indians and Royals are both going to be better and you have to think the Twins will bounce back too if healthy. Granted, I still believe this is easily the Tigers division to lose even if they don't make any other moves. I don't really just want to make the playoffs, though.

Been a rather boring off-season for the Tigers so far, but there are rumors tonight the Tigers are making a push for Matt Garza. The Cubs are obviously in rebuild mode and will most likely be demanding a couple of the Tigers top prospects. I still don't want Turner to get dealt at all, but at least the Tigers have a pretty strong arsenal of starting pitchers to offer. Verlander-Fister-Garza-Scherzer-Porcello would be pretty damn sick. Honestly if the Tigers end up with Garza, I wouldn't be opposed to dangling Porcello to address some of the other needs on the team.

He's probably the one player I like on that team, but no.

Hudler's active stick really messed Sharp up. Those dirty Red Wings were just trying to injure everyone last night.

Weekend Picks

That might be my favorite win of the season so far. So satisfying to beat that team with their annoying ass fans and number one cheerleader calling the game. I agree with those who have said Olczyk shouldn't be allowed to be on national broacasts with the Blackhawks involved -- that was embarrassing and pathetic for an announcer who shouldn't have a bias. Say what you will about Cleary, but he's one of the few players on the team that can/will score a goal like the one that tied it up. He goes to the net and gets ugly goals, which is extremely necessary in tight, low-scoring games. Especially for a team like the Red Wings lacking a goal-scorer, those types of goals are huge. Conklin was very strong besides the first goal. I have quite a bit more confidence now in Conklin and hope he is able to follow-up tonight's game with another start fairly soon. The penalty shot wasn't very well-executed, but the game is over if that puck goes in the net still. Loved everything about this game, besides the garbage officiating yet again on this road trip. Oh well... DETROIT SUCKS in first place!

I get that about Conklin, but isn't that exactly a backup goalie's role? You could also flip it and say Conklin would get more starts if he performed better when given the shot. The Red Wings aren't in a position to give away points and Jimmy has been excellent, so throwing Conklin in against Chicago is a huge gamble given his goaltending abilities in every game but the first this season. I do hope Conklin plays well tonight or Holland is definitely going to have to evaluate the situation further.

I hate the loser point with a passion and I hate it even more now because the Wings can't get to OT to lose. Missed opportunity big-time tonight to go up on Chicago because the Blackhawks are going to be fired up tomorrow and the Wings are playing B2B with Conklin starting. Babcock's start on time message really doesn't resonate a lot of nights for some reason. Gotta play 60 minutes in this league or you usually come up short.

The Red Wings have pretty much always been able to score goals during the regular season. I think most people's concern here (mine included) is their ability to do it in the playoffs when games tighten up. Last year against the Sharks, it was all Datsyuk and Zetterberg especially with Franzen out. Filppula has always been a strong playoff performer, but now he's really a focal point of the offense. Obviously Franzen usually steps it up when the games matter, but he's still injury prone and quite streaky. I personally feel the Red Wings are a top-six forward that can score goals away from being a real contender. They might be able to beat the Sharks, Canucks or Blackhawks with this roster as constructed but I think it would probably require Jimmy Howard to steal the series (seems possible now). With another goal-scorer, there is no limit to what the Red Wings can accomplish this season. They have great depth at forward, a solid defense and an excellent goaltender. The only thing lacking is someone to put the puck in the net on a consistent basis.

If the season was approximately 7 games, he might have a shot.

My first thought when reading this was the Eastern Conference teams bitched about the travel. I didn't like everything about the realignment, but it was better than the current system. I can't believe those clowns are upset they actually had to go out of their own time zones to play some games for once. The NHL is such a horribly run league at every level.

I pretty much agree with that too. I think they are better off apart especially with Filppula's emergence at wing, but they almost have to stay separated too now out of necessity. The depth at center (or lack of) pretty much means D & Z have to center their own lines, where adding Getzlaf definitely eliminates that need. Maybe Z could find some of that goal-scoring touch again playing with Pavel for an extended time.

I wasn't entirely suggesting a trade of Franzen for Getzlaf. Just implying that the notion the Red Wings would never have a streaky or lazy player is laughable. You dismissed Getzlaf becuase of those qualities -- I was replying that Franzen is exactly those things, in addition to being an inferior player overall. Besides, it would take a ton more than just Franzen to land Getzlaf, even with Getzlaf having a down year so far. I really don't think plus/minus is a great stat to compare the two. Of course Franzen is going to have a better rating than a guy playing on one of the worst teams defensively in the league. Getzlaf has practically been a PPG player at least his entire career. Franzen hasn't even come close yet. Franzen also plays with Pavel Datsyuk, a pretty talented linemate in his own right. There's plenty of possibilities for Getzlaf with the Red Wings, even if he is primarily a playmaker. Filppula is playing far better on the wing so you could use Getzlaf as his center and put Pavel and Z back together. I think that makes the top-six quite a bit more dynamic than the one with Franzen in it. I don't buy your theory at all the Red Wings offense would suffer more with Getzlaf as opposed to Franzen.

Wow, sounds like a current forward on this team minus the physical presence and far more offensive upside Getzlaf provides.