Speaker 1: I never truly appreciated how hard beat writers work until
Speaker 1: you're with a baseball team, or in this man's case,
Speaker 1: he's been with the Lions, he's been with the.
Speaker 2: Red Wings, he's been with the Pistons as well. Until
Speaker 2: you're with them on a regular basis, Chris McCosky is Look,
Speaker 2: I get there early. Chris McCosky is the first person
Speaker 2: at the flip and ballpark every day. And I'm not
Speaker 2: saying that in exaggeration. I mean that sincerely. He's there
Speaker 2: every It's like you ever see the line from or
Speaker 2: you ever see the movie Caddy Shack where Ted Knight
Speaker 2: comes in, He's like, don't you people have homes? That's
Speaker 2: what it's like, Chris, don't you have homes? He's joining
Speaker 2: us here on ex'es and bros. Chris, thanks buddy, how
Speaker 2: are you?
Speaker 3: Man? Hey man, mat It's so good to hear from you,
Speaker 3: first of all, and thank you. It's a reflesh on of
Speaker 3: the fact. I don't really have a life outside of
Speaker 3: the job, so, you know, kind of a double edged sword,
Speaker 3: if you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: I get it, but you do it so well. I'm
Speaker 2: not going to get into the trade stuff, just yet
Speaker 2: give me your overall thoughts on on where the Tigers
Speaker 2: are at today. A couple of games under five hundred
Speaker 2: when I thought they would win the division, that they're
Speaker 2: not quite there and they're not going to. What's been
Speaker 2: your overall take so far this season?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I've kind of been saying from the start that
Speaker 3: this is a this is a team that's going to
Speaker 3: aspire to be five hundred. I mean, that's that's kind
Speaker 3: of a I've kind of set five hundred was the
Speaker 3: stealing from the get go, and that's a step forward.
Speaker 3: I mean that would that would represent a step forward.
Speaker 3: And but along there the missteps that have happened weren't expected.
Speaker 3: To Spencer Spencer Torkusen spending most of them most of
Speaker 3: the summer in Toledo wasn't expected, and that was that
Speaker 3: was hurtful. Kerry Carpenter being hurt most of the year hurtful, unexpected.
Speaker 3: You know, Casey myis, I mean, that wasn't unexpected that
Speaker 3: he would have some time out of the rotation, just
Speaker 3: because he was coming back from two surgeries, but that
Speaker 3: happened at a bad time. Kent to my Aida flaming
Speaker 3: out also unexpected. So all that stuff has happened, and
Speaker 3: yet here they are still threatening to be where where
Speaker 3: I kind of thought they would be. So there's been
Speaker 3: a lot of positives to take away. Where did who
Speaker 3: had Wenzel Perez being who he is, Who even had
Speaker 3: justin Henry Malloy being as productive as he's been in
Speaker 3: his short stint. So there's been some things. And you know,
Speaker 3: I didn't even mention Rady green all start getting hurt.
Speaker 3: So it's been weird. It's there. The end result is
Speaker 3: what we thought, but the way they got there was
Speaker 3: nowhere near how I thought.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a really good point. And I sure didn't
Speaker 2: expect Kansas City and Minnesota to be as good this
Speaker 2: year as they have been, and kudos to them as well.
Speaker 2: When when you look at this team in general, though,
Speaker 2: what does it what is it lacking?
Speaker 3: Do you think hitting? I mean, is in a general
Speaker 3: broad broad brush stroke, it's hitting, And and you know,
Speaker 3: Carry Carpenter would have changed that narrative was it was.
Speaker 3: It was in the process of changing that narrative before
Speaker 3: he went u because he left handed power back such
Speaker 3: a big part of that lineup. Torko Sin's power and
Speaker 3: missing also a big loss. I mean, they have they
Speaker 3: have one of the worst wars that from first baseman
Speaker 3: in the end the game, and you know, and that's
Speaker 3: a that's a position where most winning teams have, you know,
Speaker 3: power in production and damage and the Tigers just simply
Speaker 3: don't have that there, or a third base for that matter.
Speaker 3: So that's that's what's lacking. And it's not like where
Speaker 3: you could just go out and buy you know, if
Speaker 3: if you could, you know, you could get Aaron Judge
Speaker 3: and fix a lot of problems. But that's not that's
Speaker 3: not real. So I'm not sure how I mean, that's
Speaker 3: going to be a gradual fix. I feel like follow.
Speaker 2: Him on Twitter or x at c mccowsky. He's got
Speaker 2: a lot of followers. You can join in the conversation
Speaker 2: and join in all the great stuff that he tweets
Speaker 2: out on a regular basis, and he does it quite
Speaker 2: a bit. He's joining his yard xis and bros. Spencer
Speaker 2: Torkulsen is is that guy that everybody is blaming. I
Speaker 2: don't think it's quite fair, quite honestly, but it has
Speaker 2: been a disappointing season for him. Where do you think
Speaker 2: the organization stands with Spencer Turklsen?
Speaker 3: They stand with him. They stand with him. They're not
Speaker 3: giving up. But you don't give up on a one
Speaker 3: to one in two years. You know, he just had
Speaker 3: he just had a game where he hit a grand
Speaker 3: slam in the three run homer in the same game.
Speaker 3: So there's there's been a little flashes. I think I
Speaker 3: think they were just the word I would use is disappointed,
Speaker 3: because I think the talent is there. They know what
Speaker 3: he knows that. I think there was some stubbornness on
Speaker 3: his part to adapt to the game, to the big
Speaker 3: league game, and he was so confident of the swing
Speaker 3: and the mechanics that got him to the point where
Speaker 3: he was one one that I think he was a
Speaker 3: little reluctant to adjust or not. Maybe maybe reluctant is
Speaker 3: a wrong word. He was unable to like he'd been
Speaker 3: doing it the same way for so long, and you
Speaker 3: know how it is when you try to change, you
Speaker 3: try to change in season, you often fall back on
Speaker 3: your old habits just because that's the muscle memory, that's
Speaker 3: what you've always done. So he's trying it. It's been
Speaker 3: a really hard adjustment to get him to be more
Speaker 3: athletic in the box, to be able to move his
Speaker 3: hands and throw his hands at the ball, as we
Speaker 3: used to say when we were growing up, you know,
Speaker 3: throw your hands at the ball, not just take that
Speaker 3: same robot swing and think the ball is going to
Speaker 3: hit the bat. And that's that's kind of been And
Speaker 3: hitting velocity too, like he said, struggling to hit velocity,
Speaker 3: which is a function of his his robot swing. So
Speaker 3: that's the that's the area he's got to fix. And
Speaker 3: then he's making slow, way too slow strides to do that.
Speaker 2: I think you told me even at the end of
Speaker 2: last year, at some point this team's got to take
Speaker 2: a look at Dylan Dingler. They will now get that
Speaker 2: opportunity with Carson Kelly being traded to Texas for two prospects.
Speaker 2: What have you liked about Dingler and what will he
Speaker 2: add to this team in your mind?
Speaker 3: Well, I think he's going to go through the same
Speaker 3: growing pains that all these young guys come up and
Speaker 3: deal with. He's going to struggle. I mean, he's going
Speaker 3: to struggle mightily. But he is a I mean, he's
Speaker 3: just a prototypical leader behind the plate. He even even
Speaker 3: before he played a game in the big leagues, he
Speaker 3: had the respect of almost every guy in his pitching staff,
Speaker 3: school included. They've all worked with him, they all know him,
Speaker 3: they all trust him. So that's huge to step in
Speaker 3: and have that in your back pocket and and they
Speaker 3: and he has that. I mean, he's a he's a
Speaker 3: he's a leader, back dog. He reminds me. And I
Speaker 3: think I've talked to you about this before. He's he's
Speaker 3: kind of like Lance Parrish. Yeah, strong minded guy. You know,
Speaker 3: he's got the power of my goodness, have you seen him.
Speaker 3: He's done in Toledo lately he has four home runs
Speaker 3: of her three day span these his ops is almost
Speaker 3: a thousand. I mean, he's he's uh, he's really doing
Speaker 3: it down there. And he's done everything he needed to
Speaker 3: do down there. So now it's his time to come
Speaker 3: up your take his licks and adjust and adapt and
Speaker 3: and then find a way to become a productive big
Speaker 3: league catcher. Now his time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, quite honestly, he's earned it. So you give him
Speaker 2: credit in that regard. How active do you think they'll
Speaker 2: be before tomorrow? As your phone continues, you continue to
Speaker 2: work the phones, what do you see them doing?
Speaker 3: If anything, Well, they had better trade Jack Flaherty. I mean,
Speaker 3: if they don't find a way to get a couple
Speaker 3: of pieces, a couple three pieces for him. I mean,
Speaker 3: I know they have the qualifying offer, and I know
Speaker 3: they'll give them a competitive balance pick next year at
Speaker 3: the end of the first round, you have a chance
Speaker 3: to give maybe a major league ready player and a
Speaker 3: couple prospects for him. He's the best pitcher on the
Speaker 3: market right now, him and Blake's. Now. Maybe I don't know,
Speaker 3: but like those two, they have to get something for him,
Speaker 3: and I think it would be especially coming off last year.
Speaker 3: I don't blame Scott Harris completely for the Eduardo Rodriguez
Speaker 3: mess last year, but he had one of the biggest
Speaker 3: names on the market at trade deadline and ultimately got
Speaker 3: nothing for him. Now, he had a deal with the Dodgers,
Speaker 3: a good deal, and we all know that EDWARDO kind
Speaker 3: of nixed that with his own opt out. So it's
Speaker 3: going to be really tough, a tough sell for him.
Speaker 3: For a Scott to come back and say, look, I
Speaker 3: get what I wanted and I like the competitive balance
Speaker 3: to pick better than what I was offered, I think
Speaker 3: that's going to be a really tough sell. I still
Speaker 3: think there's a chance that Kanna gets traded Mark Canna,
Speaker 3: and a small chance that Gill or Shella gets moved.
Speaker 3: And I think they want to. I mean, these guys
Speaker 3: are a one year deal there. They're not going to
Speaker 3: be picked with the team next year, so it's a
Speaker 3: good chance for them to flip them for some things
Speaker 3: that could be part of the future.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you would guess Canna correct me if I'm
Speaker 2: wrong here. Canna or Shella could bring you prospects, clarity,
Speaker 2: should bring you major league ready talent fair.
Speaker 3: Yes, sir, it's got to all right?
Speaker 2: What about the bullpen arms? What about a guy like
Speaker 2: Chafin Vest and Shelby Miller? Are those movable pieces for
Speaker 2: decent pieces?
Speaker 3: Yes? They are? And then that's that you said it.
Speaker 3: It's for decent pieces, I don't think, because all those
Speaker 3: guys are under control. There's team options on Miller and
Speaker 3: Chafin so and also on Foley, also on Vest, So
Speaker 3: those guys are all guys that are going to be
Speaker 3: part of the team next year if the Tigers want them,
Speaker 3: may have control over them. So those are not just
Speaker 3: flipping for prospects because they're not going to be back guys.
Speaker 3: So there are teams that a lot of teams are
Speaker 3: sniffing into the Tigers bullpen. I think Tyler Holton would
Speaker 3: get a lot of look too, and I feel like
Speaker 3: he'd be a horrible loss for the Tigers. But if
Speaker 3: they could get I mean, I feel like he could
Speaker 3: bring a haul because he's so value but so versatile,
Speaker 3: so good that if I was a containing team and
Speaker 3: I need a bullpen help, I would look right there
Speaker 3: first see what I could get. See.
Speaker 2: I agree one hundred percent with you, But there is
Speaker 2: a balance, right, I mean, you have to be you
Speaker 2: and I had this conversation about Michael Foemer. You and
Speaker 2: I had it two years of about Derek Schooble. You
Speaker 2: were steadfast, You didn't you wouldn't have traded him. I
Speaker 2: would have traded him. And he's going to win a
Speaker 2: cy Young in all likelihood this year. What could this team,
Speaker 2: what would they have to get in order for them
Speaker 2: to consider moving their ace?
Speaker 3: Well, you know, the comp is always the Monsto trade, always,
Speaker 3: and and everybody loves the fact that Washington got c
Speaker 3: j Abrams and Mackenzie Gore and James Wood. Look a
Speaker 3: look at the team that the Washington Nationals are. Though
Speaker 3: they're irrelevant they're not a factor. They're not they're not
Speaker 3: They're not better than the Tigers right now with all
Speaker 3: those pieces. So if that's the camp, if that's what
Speaker 3: you got to get, at least what they got, it's
Speaker 3: not enough. I'm sorry. It's not enough Jackson Holliday. If
Speaker 3: you talked to ten scouts about Jackson and Holiday, have
Speaker 3: the Orioles top prospect in the game five of those things.
Speaker 3: I've done this, By the way, this is not just
Speaker 3: off the top of my head. I've done this. I've
Speaker 3: sat I sat in the press box in Cleveland and
Speaker 3: there were scouts, four of them sitting there. Two of
Speaker 3: them love Jackson Holliday. He is, Oh, you got to
Speaker 3: do whatever you can to get him a game changer.
Speaker 3: The other ones like, no, man, he's gonna end up
Speaker 3: being a second basement. I mean he's not. He's you know,
Speaker 3: there's a jury still weigh out on him. So is
Speaker 3: that to get back for a guy that you know
Speaker 3: is a cy young, a left handed pitcher with the
Speaker 3: makeup of Trek Scouble. It's not enough. I honestly, I
Speaker 3: honestly can't see it. I mean, unless you're getting all
Speaker 3: stars back for Terrek Scuble two of them. I hit
Speaker 3: her in a picture. I'm not doing it for prospects.
Speaker 3: I'm just not. I don't truy not either.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not either. There's a reason the prospect nothing
Speaker 2: wrong against it, right, but not for that type of player.
Speaker 2: You need major league ready players who can come in
Speaker 2: and make them an impact on the Detroit Tiger right now.
Speaker 3: A huge impact. And I'll tell you, I'll put this
Speaker 3: up there too as a qualify if the Tiger's thought,
Speaker 3: if the Tiger's thought there was any health risk going
Speaker 3: forward with Trek, like if they know that his medical
Speaker 3: is better than anybody, and if they said, well, you
Speaker 3: know what he see he's already had the one time
Speaker 3: that Johnny' said the flexure keed, then they know what.
Speaker 3: They don't feel that way. He works too hard, he's
Speaker 3: too he's too committed to the gym and the training
Speaker 3: and the air armcare regimen. There's no they don't fear
Speaker 3: his health going forward. So if that's if you have
Speaker 3: that and you know that better than any team, man,
Speaker 3: I don't know how you move a guy like that
Speaker 3: unless I mean, I can't honestly, I can't envision a
Speaker 3: deal that they could get for him right now.
Speaker 2: So that begs this question, Chris McCosky, It begs this question.
Speaker 2: Then you have to sign him to an extension. You're
Speaker 2: not going in next year, right with one year left
Speaker 2: on the deal, right that that would be the one
Speaker 2: year left on his contract, So you would have to
Speaker 2: high him, right, yeah, right, So you would have to
Speaker 2: sign him to the extension or some type of new contract.
Speaker 2: Is is that the right mindset? Or do you kind
Speaker 2: of hold on and let's see what happens next year
Speaker 2: and consider whether or not you signed him or trade
Speaker 2: him next year where the value may not be as high.
Speaker 3: The value is always going to be high, I think,
Speaker 3: I think, but I think to your point, they need
Speaker 3: they need they I'm sure this is already. They've already
Speaker 3: had preliminary like discussions with Scott Boris, you know, about
Speaker 3: school ball and about what it would take about what
Speaker 3: do you you know what I mean Boris's toughest way.
Speaker 3: Boris doesn't like to give out extensions. But the game
Speaker 3: is changing, Like Boris took a beating this offseason with
Speaker 3: so many kids guys gone unsigned into the into the season,
Speaker 3: So the landscape there is changing. So maybe he is
Speaker 3: more amenable, and also the Tiger's relationship with Boris, especially
Speaker 3: relevant to Tic Scuoble, is tight. I mean they there
Speaker 3: was Boris on b Rus's recommendation that they drafted him
Speaker 3: in the ninth round. Basically, it took the flyer on
Speaker 3: him because he was he wasn't a he wasn't on
Speaker 3: anybody's board really coming out of Seattle University, coming out
Speaker 3: of arm surgery. So there's a tight bond there, and
Speaker 3: I really think an extension can be worked done. And
Speaker 3: I think that the dialogue has already begun and I
Speaker 3: think it will continue. You know, I sue the deadline
Speaker 3: into the offseason. I think that's a priority. You know,
Speaker 3: guys like him and Riley Green carry even eventually we're
Speaker 3: going to be guys that they're going to look to
Speaker 3: keep long term.
Speaker 2: How much has Keith impressed you, from when his struggles
Speaker 2: earlier this season to the great strides that he's made
Speaker 2: as of light.
Speaker 3: Incredibly, So, I mean this is this is really special
Speaker 3: what we're seeing, and I don't think enough people recognized it.
Speaker 3: I mean, they signed this dude for six years before
Speaker 3: he stepped into a major league clubhouse basically, and he struggled,
Speaker 3: and he took his lumps and he never he never
Speaker 3: got to feed. We've seen a lot of Spencer Torkielsen
Speaker 3: much higher pedigree. We've seen him struggle. We've seen the
Speaker 3: haying dog looks. We've seen the frustration and that get
Speaker 3: just utterly overwhelmed. Colt was he was over I mean
Speaker 3: he was hurting for sure when he was struggling, but
Speaker 3: he was determined. It was more of a determination and
Speaker 3: I don't understand why this is happening. I'm going to
Speaker 3: figure it out mentality, And he did, and he's they
Speaker 3: caught out of something here. I mean, he's made himself
Speaker 3: better in the field. He's still, you know, a below
Speaker 3: power defensively overall in terms of defensive run saves and
Speaker 3: range and things like that, but he makes the plays
Speaker 3: he's supposed to make, and he's gotten so much better
Speaker 3: at the turn. It's second based on double plays and
Speaker 3: the bat plays. I mean, you see the whole money
Speaker 3: hit off the left the other days, Oh my goodness,
Speaker 3: four hundred and nineteen feet bullet to right. They got
Speaker 3: onto something here. This was credit to David in ala Veland,
Speaker 3: the guys in the previous organization for recognizing who this
Speaker 3: kid was in high school, and because I mean you
Speaker 3: you know, you see the mindset. This kid is tough,
Speaker 3: tough mine he is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love him, Yeah, I love him. I never
Speaker 2: doubted he was going to hit. All right, I only
Speaker 2: got a minute or so, so real quick, we'll torkle
Speaker 2: some me be back up the rest of the year.
Speaker 3: Yes or no. I'm going to go with yes right
Speaker 3: now because I think it'd be a bad message to
Speaker 3: send him into the off season having his season in Toledo.
Speaker 2: What does this team do about the plethora of second basement?
Speaker 2: I mean, Jace Young, I know, has moved a third,
Speaker 2: but they've got a lot of guys who can play second.
Speaker 2: They need a shortstop. And then what do you do?
Speaker 2: Is there anything? Is what everybody asked me. Is there
Speaker 2: anything can they can do about how your bias?
Speaker 3: No, they got to hope for more hot streaks like
Speaker 3: the one he's been on. There's nothing they're going to do.
Speaker 3: And I can eat that money for another year, and
Speaker 3: they've got one more one more year of eating that
Speaker 3: money before they even think about buying out that contract.
Speaker 3: So that's your short stuf. End of story.
Speaker 2: Wow, great stuff, man, I really appreciate the friendship, love
Speaker 2: the information. Keep up the great work. I know this
Speaker 2: was tough because your day never ends, you never sleep,
Speaker 2: and I know especially this time of the year.
Speaker 3: Great work.
Speaker 2: Chris Mukoska, the Detroit News. Keep up the great work.
Speaker 2: We'll talk soon, my friend.
Speaker 3: Thank you. So I hope so Man, I miss you,
Speaker 3: but