Can I ask a question?

by dabirdin76 on Dec 14, 2009 7:04 PM EST

Seems like every post I read expects Max Scherzer to step right in and be equal to or better than Edwin Jackson. If this guy is really that good, why in the world would Arizona trade him forJackson when he's younger, has more upside and is cheaper? I'm not saying he can't or won't be a good pickup but I think a lot of you need to take a reality check. All I hear about the guys we dealt is their warts and deficiencies but the guys we received have none. Remember, it works both ways. I'm sure there are fans in Arizona who say "I can't believe we got Edwin Jackson for that bum Scherzer"

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Actually, far as I can tell

the fans in Arizona are going “why the heck did we trade scherzer?”

A first round pick a couple years ago, with a great fastball, who threw more than a strikeout an inning in his first major league season, with an acceptable walk rate, playing in a hitters’ ballpark in the heat. And his cost will be very affordable over the next few seasons.

Why did they want Edwin Jackson? Heck if I know.

Mack Avenue Tigers

by Kurt Mensching on Dec 14, 2009 7:23 PM EST reply actions

From what I've seen...

I think it was two things:

1) Injury prone. Scherzer has awkward/violent release mechanics that lead some scouts to believe he’ll be injury prone and might not be able to handle starter’s innings…which leads to:

2) Starter or closer? Many believe he’d be a decent closer (+ 2 pitches, without a good 3rd) once hitters figure him out.

Ejax is definite starter and durable (last season’s decline notwithstanding).

by NickLAwyer on Dec 14, 2009 7:51 PM EST reply actions

Scherzer....

37 career starts 226 IP 240 K 3.86 ERA 1.32 WHIP This is a wash in my mind right now vs. Jackson and he is more affordable. I can see similar numbers to Jackson’s last year with a slightly higher ERA. He will probably have an ERA around 4.00 in the American League which is top 20 in AL. A WHIP of 1.32 will get him in the top 20 in AL as well. I am not saying he is going to be great, but the upside is there. That being said, he could be our closer in 2011 or 12, with the talent coming and if things don’t work out as a starter.

by infinitetigers on Dec 14, 2009 8:58 PM EST reply actions

I can't imagine him becoming a closer

I know he’s got filthy stuff, but why relegate a guy with so much potential to being a reliever? That diminishes his value immensely and makes the deal an unmitigated disaster, in my mind. The only reason we bring scherzer in is to start. He’s got tremendous upside. Scherzer had a FIP of 3.87 last season, which shows that he performed better than his ERA. That puts him as one of the 35 best pitchers in all of MLB last season, as a rookie. Jackson had a FIP of 4.29, showing his ERA was shinier than it probably should have been.

Like I said, I hope that it doesn’t come to scherzer becoming a reliever…….

by baum on Dec 15, 2009 8:48 AM EST up reply actions

Arizona views Scherzer as a relief man, not a stud starter. No one is really sure why they came to that conclusion as the Tigers and several other teams see him as a fantastic starter. You’ll hear plenty of warts/deficiencies about Austin Jackson et. al but Scherzer is the best player of the deal. He has downsides but they are marginal and can be corrected with the right coaching (hi, Rick Knapp!) and a little bit of time. Also, there is no one in Arizona calling Scherzer a bum just as no one is calling Edwin Jackson a bum; I’m not entirely certain where you’re getting that from.

2100 Woodward and Twitter

by john.kmiecik on Dec 15, 2009 8:23 AM EST reply actions

Too Bad . . .

Arizona didn’t have Tim Lincecum, if they think having a violent delivery made Scherzer injury prone and tradeable. :)

by rea on Dec 15, 2009 10:01 AM EST reply actions

White Sox

If you put the White Sox and the Tigers down on paper, who has the better team? I hate the White Sox and Ozzie Guillen (I blame him(partially) for Miggy’s incident last year) But this year I think the Sox have quietly put together a formidable team, and have some excellent young players at their core. Beckham and Ramirez are darn good. Pierre, Rios, and Quentin could be a pretty good OF. Peavy was a great addition. (as we found out last year )
BUT on the other hand, . Pierre could struggle in the AL and is playing CF where he is much less effective at. , Peavy gets injured, they may trade Jenks (I doubt it though) Rios hopefully will continue to suck, Konerko is a dinosaur.

The Tigers have one thing going for them. Pitching. Our first three SP should be dominant, and our bullpen is already a million times better. . We traded our young CF, and now our OF looks much worse. Miggy is WAY better than Konerko, but Beckham and Ramirez are way better than Inge and Everett. We have no idea how Sizemore or AJAX will do, or if AJAX will even be with the team.

by Fien SHOULD CLOSE on Dec 15, 2009 8:01 PM EST reply actions

Agreed, it's the Sox

They also have pitching going for them though, which is what makes them formidable.

Mack Avenue Tigers

by Kurt Mensching on Dec 15, 2009 8:36 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

Not only do their starters go five deep, their lineup will have no really easy outs, and they also have a sweet back end of the ’pen, with Jenks, Thornton, and J.J. Putz. That will be a very difficult team to score runs off of, and a tough team to beat every game of a series.

The one relatively weak spot for the Black Sox will be their defense, with Pierre sporting a notoriously bad arm, Quentin being a subpar outfielder, Beckham attempting to switch over to 2nd, and Pierzynski not being particularly good at throwing out runners.

A lifelong Tigers fan

by ewild on Dec 16, 2009 3:33 PM EST up reply actions

Sounds a lot like...

Gosh… Some team that I remember hearing a lot about back in 2008.

Help me out… Oh yeah, the 2008 Tigers.

I really have no point, I just thought that was kinda amusing.

by crwi on Dec 31, 2009 10:25 AM EST up reply actions

A second thing

The white sox infield defense is going to suck something fierce this season, maybe not as bad as the 08 TIgers, but it will be horrible.

by rif23 on Jan 3, 2010 10:36 AM EST up reply actions

Jackson's bat is a plus for AZ

Edwin Jackson will get to hit in AZ and while I don’t expect him to hit .300 he will not be the automatic out most pitchers are.

I’ve also read and heard a fair amount of concern about Scherzer’s delivery and how AZ didn’t think his arm could take the punishment long term, If anyone can straighten it out Rick Knapp can. I really cannot see ham as a closer but you never know.

I haven’t seen the Jackson is a bum thing anywhere. Most of the comments I have heard say that this is a balanced trade for all three tteams, but at first glance favors the Tigers and the Yankees.

by Michigan Jim on Jan 6, 2010 10:58 AM EST reply actions