Gotta hand it to the Tigers for quickly rebuilding their rotation. They made 2 big trades last year when they were out of it, trading Price for Daniel Norris and Cespedes for Michael Fulmer. Both are young pitchers with great stuff and their command (both have 3-1 k/bb rates their first year as starters in the AL). In 38 combined starts they have 4 fWAR and sub-4.00 FIP.


I was hoping they'd age out of contention, but those deals really re-tooled their team, put them into contention this year, and set them up nicely for 2017

Hard to be upset with the results considering. Losing Moose for the year hurt bad. The injuries were tough to overcome and when you add in Soria's 13 faceplants on the mound, it would have been a miracle if they made another post season... Ready for next year. Count down to spring training is on.

I think you are thinking of blown leads, not losses. And if we are up more than 1 run in those, its not as much of an issue.

If Cain plays all of July, do we go 7-20? Royals were 58-45 with him in the lineup. If you add Moose's HRs, maybe those games were out of reach by the time Soria gets the ball.

I'm defending Soria, I feel dirty.

Great arguments can be made for three downfalls - injuries, Soria, 5th starter. Or one other good reason: all of Dayton Moore's offseason signings were turds.

2016 downfalls, in order:

1. Soria - specifically Ned's insistence on using him in every high-leverage situation he could find
...
...
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5. Tie: Cain's injury, Moose gone, Gordo sucking

Even from the first game of the season, I was wondering - why doesn't Herrera get the 8th? He's earned it. But for whatever reason Ned was determined to give Soria every chance to prove himself, then redeem himself, and he sank our season in the process.

Wow. That was just an ugly game. Kelvin was not sharp at all. Gore goes in for Sal and gets picked off in the 1st pitch to end the game. Yuck

And, uh, Hoz ruining the game right before Salvys would-be tying hit

Ian Kennedy was a good signing.

Herrera has struggled for him down the stretch. I hope he gets lots of rest over the off season. Max usage for 3 straight years for him.

It all started 2 years ago tonight.

SALVATION

BEST. GAME. EVER.
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Now that we can close the chapter on this season, some final thoughts:

I'll place the blame equally on three previously stated things:

1A) Injuries
1B) Soria and Yost's use of him
1C) 5th starter spot

If just one of those three things is not an issue, I think it's enough to overcome the other two problems and make this a playoff team.

If Moustakas is healthy all season and hits 30 HR from his position (which seems fair/floor estimate considering what he did last year, 26th-most HR in AL, that would put him right in that range of 30 this season), you can likely add 1.5 oWAR just from the HR alone. And he's a much better defender than Cuthbert, probably worth another 1.5-2 dWAR right there. Add 3 wins from that spot...

The team with Cain/without Cain is documented as being very different. It's a 91-win club with him on the field (good enough for top WC spot). It's a 66-win team without him. This actually kind of terrifies me. He isn't an incredibly durable guy, and he's a FA after 2017. They have no replacement for him in the system. Could be a real problem.

The rotation looked to have solid depth coming into the season. That fell apart quickly. Between the juiced ball and injuries, the fifth spot became a huge problem in a hurry.

Even just having A solid guy who can pitch 6 with a 4.50 ERA makes a huge difference for KC.

And then, Soria... Yost's insistence on using him was largely stubbornness, partly Soria being up-and-down. If he hadn't been excellent in May and June, Yost likely changes his use of him. Same with August. And if Hochevar and Davis aren't shelved for long periods, Soria's use probably changes a lot, too.

Looking ahead, I think KC's top priority is filling back in around the key pieces. If payroll can go up, bring Morales back, but do it with a commitment to playing Cain at DH at least one day a week and giving him an off day the next day.

The rotation has to be addressed with at least one guy you can plug in and get Vargas-like results from, and one more swing/lotto ticket type.

I think the bullpen will shake itself out. Soria will still be around, but I think Holland will be back and a potential contributor. A full offseason of rest for Herrera and Davis will help, too.




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You checked out his ground ball to fly ball ratio? I don't think I've ever seen a first baseman put up a ratio like that. I also don't believe any current $20mil+/year players put up a ratio like that.

Our defense replacements have been shit. Dyson, Orlando in the outfield. Merrifield in the infield. Another big reason we aren't in the playoffs.

Orlando definitely is not the defender Cain is. Disagree on Dyson and Merrifield.

Merrifield is a much better 2B than infante (more range, better arm by a ton, better on the turn).

Dyson is a very good defensive outfielder. Arm and range are both plus.


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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The final lineup: <a href="https://t.co/MNgbTYWQkw">pic.twitter.com/MNgbTYWQkw</a></p>&mdash; Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) <a href="https://twitter.com/rustindodd/status/782617665512677377">October 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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