GoWings1905

Agreed and I hope so very badly with Ramirez. Third base is just as much of a need for the Tigers as second, but the market for second baseman is average at best. If Ilitch is indeed set on spending for another "big bat" like he mentioned during the season, Ramirez appears to be the ideal fit. Avila and Peralta are bound to regress and Young is rather inconsistent. I don't think Ramirez will sign for only two years when Castellanos is ready, but I don't care about that too much. The Tigers are very close to being a championship team and should do whatever possible to win now besides something stupid like trading Turner. Ideally, you fill second base then with some speed and defense if Ramirez signs. I'm probably in the minority, but I could live with a Santiago/Worth platoon if Ramirez is at third. Definitely still need another arm (or four) for the bullpen and maybe a 5th starter to buy time for Turner or maybe Oliver next season. I wouldn't mind getting a backup catcher either even if Victor is healthy enough to catch. Let V-Mart hit the ball and find some other solid defensive catcher to rest Avila. I'm also in the "give Grady Sizemore a shot" camp. Incentive laden deal, low-risk with the potential for major upside. We need an alternative for Jackson if he struggles again.

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That was the best game I have ever seen in my life. I would have been in the hospital if the Tigers were involved.

Two losses and some fans have the desire to get younger, trade Zetterberg and find a new goalie. Nick better pray for a win tomorrow.

Did he suddenly just lose motivation in seven games? Once again, I will state Z finished top ten in the league in scoring last season and carried this team with Pavel out. Someone struggles for seven games and he doesn't care about the game anymore? I am confident you could ask every member of his teammates/coaching staff and not one would have a bad thing to say about Z's work ethic.

No kidding. The only thing I like about this move is Eaves back with Helm.

I cracked up. Well done!

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Yes, nothing special about a guy that finished top ten in the entire league in scoring last regular season. Good move throwing Emma in to distract from that completely absurd statement.

Nothing against Babcock as he is the best coach in the NHL, but we have heard that from him multiple times every regular season since the Wings won it all. The effort wasn't there is the most repeated phrase coming from that locker room.

Helm on the first line? Surely that will fix the two goals in two games issue.

Granted, I'm far from pleased with the Red Wings last two outings, but I think both opponents deserve some credit too. Washington is the best team in the league and Columbus was winless in eight games and was going to come out extremely desperate last night. You could also make the case the Red Wings backup goalie didn't really give them a strong opportunity to win either game. The Red Wings have 10 of a possible 14 points and their best players aren't even on track yet. Now Zetterberg is the scapegoat? I guess there always has to be one.

Good point. Gotta be Villanueva for me just because of the years remaining on the respective contracts. Villanueva is such a terrible fit in every regard for the Pistons. They need big men and he plays like a guard. Rip can sit the bench for one more season and his deal is done. Maybe he will behave somewhat with his cohorts in Prince and Wallace no longer around.

Agreed on all accounts. When (if) the NBA plays again, the Pistons are starting to build some pieces. Jerebko will be healthy and I think Daye can still develop into a solid player too. I don't want anything to do with the players you mentioned either and I would also throw Stuckey in that category as well. Stuckey isn't a point guard and I think Ben Gordon has more to offer than what we've seen so far from him at shooting guard. This team is going to stink regardless for awhile so I want guys like Knight to play as much as possible early. Frank is a good basketball coach and doesn't deserve to put up with the stale environment that Rip, Prince and Stuckey among others have created the past few seasons. If Frank doesn't work out, the next person without a job should be Joe Dumars.

Dismissing an injury to Pronger or saying you can't find sympathy is as classless or worse as the traits people here hate about Pronger. I can't stand the guy, but I would never wish a potential serious injury to any player. Regardless of the past circumstances involving the Red Wings, I hope Pronger is fine.

I think you are the only person that doesn't see Stuart's value. He has been incredibly reliable from the day he put on a Red Wings uniform and he's even better in the playoffs.

Fair market value is still serving his suspension. White > Wiz and for half the price no less.

Helm and Abdelkader as linemates are a waste of Hudler's talent. He's one of the better passers on the team and neither of those two are good finishers. Hudler needs to play with Datsyuk, Filppula, Franzen etc. to maximize his strengths.

You can go back and read this thread for my thoughts on Inge (I agree with you). The Tigers certainly have areas to address, but I can worry about that all winter. I'm still content with enjoying the run the Tigers gave us for now.

What exactly is your point in all of this? Scherzer couldn't throw a damn strike in the most important game of the year. Fister wasn't very good in New York the first time. All three also had very impressive moments as well. Do you expect Verlander to duplicate regular season stats over a small sample size against the two best offenses in the AL?

You don't have to talk down to us. Most of us have been here ALL year discussing the Tigers and we know what WHIP is. I specifically said in my post you have to look past the stats for Verlander, but I guess that went unnoticed. I'm still befuddled why you are so pissed at Cabrera, but what Cruz did is acceptable. It's like you came in looking for a backlash and are surprised people don't agree with you.

Verlander got screwed in two starts by rain delays, pitched 8 incredible innings with 11 K's against the Yankees and threw 133 pitches giving up two runs before Cruz let everyone know he hit a 100 MPH pitch out. One start gave the Tigers a huge win in a swing game and the other kept their season alive. Not to mention, Verlander was pitching against the two best offenses in the AL. If you look at ERA, then sure Verlander maybe didn't dominate in that regard, but to call his playoff starts "meh" is really false if you watched the games. Besides, it's not like Cabrera shows off in batting practice and then doesn't hit during the games. He was the Tigers best hitter by far in the ALCS, doing it injured to boot. I can't believe someone is calling out the Tigers two best players for performance. This season is over in April without those two.

As promised, here is a reminder to submit picks for Week 2. Thanks to all who participated in Week 1 and I hope everyone found the new site easy to use and worthwhile. If you would still like to join, the worst two weeks of scores are dropped so there is still time to get in! Congratulations to din758 and MotorCityMadness for very impressive 18/21 scores to lead the way out of the gate. If you missed it in the Week 1 thread, Dan Bylsma was kind enough to post the standings there and I have included them below as well. Big thanks to him for doing so! Link to pool home: Weekend Picks EDIT: Fixed link

That had no effect on the outcome. Besides that, were you upset when Nelson Cruz taunted Verlander in the dugout after his HR in Game 5? I agree with Travis too. The Tigers swagger was great to watch.

It appears the Cardinals are going to the World Series after reaching the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. They certainly prove all it takes is getting in, just like 2006 when they had 83 wins or so and won it all. I think the Rangers beat the Cardinals in six in a high scoring, starting pitching optional series.