- 1 minute ago
AJ Hinch called into Costa and Jansen to talk about the Tigers final series and Justin Verlander's final start in a Tigers uniform.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Tigers wrap up their season over the weekend.
00:02We wrap up our season-long conversation with A.J. Hinch this morning.
00:06A.J., thanks for getting up with us.
00:08You got it. No problem.
00:10You spoke to the team this week after they were eliminated.
00:12How much of that can you share with us and the fans,
00:16and what message would you want to give to the fans as the season wraps up?
00:20Yeah, I mean, obviously, it's a meeting you never want to have until the very end.
00:25And, you know, last year is after the Seattle series and the playoffs.
00:28And other years, it's during the regular season.
00:31I'd love it to be after a World Series sometime.
00:34And because mathematically, when you're eliminated,
00:37I think it's important to get together and sort of mark it on the calendar.
00:41And obviously, you know, we spoke candidly about how this season has gone,
00:48where we were at, and it trends towards, like,
00:50really hard to make the playoffs, like, mid-September.
00:53But you're not going to have the meeting until you're actually mathematically eliminated.
00:58And so it was seven days was left.
01:00And I think that's, you know, obviously, it doesn't mean just seven days.
01:04There's a lot that goes into it.
01:06But I just wanted to represent, you know,
01:09the difference between advancing and not.
01:12And I let our group know, one, that, you know,
01:15we're all in this together and we're going to have to face reality.
01:18You know, number two, we have, you know, a lot of work to do to get ourselves,
01:24you know, back to playing better in close games, to the 15 and 27 one-run games.
01:29The meeting plays clean in baseball as we are capable of doing.
01:34And that the room's going to change.
01:36And, you know, there's going to be some players leave.
01:39There's going to be decisions that have to be made.
01:41And no team is ever the same.
01:43And, you know, I appreciate their effort.
01:45We worked a lot this year to try to salvage this season.
01:49And I don't know, it's just kind of a symbolic day for me.
01:53And then we got to move forward.
01:55We have, you know, at the time, we have six games left to represent ourselves,
02:00play hard, try to win two series.
02:02And obviously we're going to cap it with an epic send-off for Justin Verlander.
02:07So that's sort of the cliff notes of what I wanted to talk about.
02:11We're going to dive deeper into it individually with some exit interviews.
02:14And there's a ton of time.
02:16In fact, we have all of October now to dissect, you know, what needs to be done.
02:22But, you know, it's just I've always considered the team, you know,
02:27kind of mandate the team acknowledge the day you're eliminated if you're eliminated.
02:31There's a lot of things that we could talk about.
02:34As you mentioned, we've talked about it.
02:35You've been very candid and honest with us.
02:38Chris, when you look at this season, what is it – the easy answer is Kevin McGonigal –
02:43but what is it that gives you hope and excites you about the future of the Tigers?
02:48Oh, for sure, the players.
02:50I mean, we have a ton of talent on this team, and we have a lot to look forward to.
02:56I mean, you know, yeah, obviously Kevin, you know, Max.
03:00We've given as many plate appearances to players under the age of 25, I think,
03:04of anybody in baseball.
03:05So some of that comes with Kevin, obviously he's been here all year.
03:09But just getting the influx of young talent into the big leagues
03:14and getting their sort of acclimation and their transition sort of over with.
03:20You look at how you lead in his transition.
03:22It wasn't perfect at the beginning, but we kind of fought through it.
03:25We sent him back.
03:26He comes back.
03:26And now he's really emerging as a contributor.
03:29I don't know to what extent.
03:30Is he a starter?
03:31Is he going to be a platoon?
03:32Is he going to, you know, come off the bench?
03:35But there's something there to work with.
03:38Obviously, the emergence of Max Clark.
03:40His center field play last night was incredible.
03:43It's going to be a difference maker in this ballpark.
03:45That's a lot to look forward to.
03:47Our young pitching is, you know, is obviously starting to build and getting Jackson Joe back
03:53and getting River Ryan in the trade and getting, you know, obviously Troy Melton.
03:56And you start to see an emerging sort of youthful group who's a little bit more athletic.
04:01We're going to be a little bit more active.
04:03We've gotten through the transition period.
04:05And now we've got to supplement that with more winning baseball and some cleaner play.
04:11And there's a lot to like.
04:12I mean, not all is lost in a season like this, even though the expectations were higher.
04:19We're disappointed we didn't reach our first goal of getting to the playoffs.
04:22But it doesn't mean we're, you know, tearing it all down and we're going to be terrible again.
04:29Yeah, I think that's the interesting question is you tell the guys not everybody will be here.
04:34There will always be changes.
04:36How drastic or not drastic of an offseason do you feel you need to have?
04:41I don't know.
04:42I mean, that's really not my job.
04:44You know, I'll obviously offer my thoughts to Scott and Jeff and we'll go through the whole roster exercise.
04:50I mean, we're going to dive pretty deep into it and see where we can make, you know, make this
04:55team better.
04:56But that's a, you know, I think that's a conversation that is going to be evolving over what's going to
05:01be a really tricky winner.
05:03Because, you know, obviously there's free agents and we have some decisions on some guys who have options and things
05:09like that.
05:09But we have plenty of time to dive into that as a group and come to sort of the plan
05:16moving forward on, you know, what, when, where, and how much.
05:21We did get a chance to see River Ryan.
05:23You mentioned him.
05:23I'm curious, your takeaways.
05:25Three innings.
05:26Probably not a lot that you can actually take away from it.
05:28But what did you see in your evaluation of his first performance?
05:32Yeah, pretty electric stuff, which that came as advertised.
05:36I mean, it, you know, River has had a, you know, kind of a journey through the minor leagues.
05:41It's a little bit unique.
05:41He gets traded from division rivals from San Diego to L.A.
05:45He goes through an injury that, you know, hadn't been able to stay on the field.
05:50But when you see him on the field, you're like, man, it's some really good stuff and some high athleticism.
05:55And it's four pitches.
05:56They're all pretty elite.
05:57And so I like what I see, you know, with the foundation that he has to build from.
06:03And now he's going to have opportunity here.
06:06That was, he didn't necessarily have a long runway in L.A.
06:10So you don't stay on these prospect lists for free.
06:12You have to show it and live it a little bit and demonstrate that you have sort of upside that
06:19warrants the love that he's getting.
06:21And he showed that in the three inning stint.
06:23He's going to pitch on Sunday.
06:25I'd love to get him through four innings and just kind of continue the build and then, you know, introduce
06:31him to the organization this last week that invested a lot in trading for him.
06:37And we believe in him.
06:38So there's, you know, when you get the swing and miss and you get some miss hits and you see
06:43the athleticism, you see the promise.
06:44And now he needs to have a really good offseason to build a base to be ready to go in
06:5027 and factor into our rotation.
06:52Yeah, as we like forecast, and I know it's going to go through the offseason, but the 27 rotation looks
06:57like it's going to have a bunch of young arms, right?
06:58Jackson Jobe, full year.
07:00River Ryan, get him in the rotation.
07:01Montero.
07:02Troy Melton.
07:03How scary is this arm fatigue as you guys head into the offseason?
07:08Yeah, I hate it.
07:08I mean, I don't know.
07:10He hasn't gone through the full evaluation, so we're all kind of holding our breath right now because just like
07:14everybody, when you see a pitcher walk off the field, you immediately go to like worst case scenario and what
07:21does this mean?
07:21So I try to stay patient while we get through the process of the diagnosis and then you get multiple
07:28opinions and kind of get a plan of attack on what it is.
07:31So we're at the waiting game.
07:33I think he's going to go see a doctor and get, you know, it's not great when you walk out
07:39and have to walk a pitcher off, especially somebody like him who's had an incredible season and was emerging as
07:44a guy who was kind of staking his claim to a rotation spot moving forward.
07:50So I'm hoping for the best, but yeah, we're definitely concerned because of the, you know, the time of year
07:57and the fact that when a player self-reports on the field in the middle of competition, that's the worst,
08:05like the worst feeling as a manager.
08:07Before we talk about Saturday, I know it's going to be a special day and I want to make sure
08:11we get to that, but there's the prospect that there could be a delayed baseball season next year, a lockout
08:17this winter.
08:18How does that change how you interact with the players and your expectations of them in the offseason and what
08:25they're able, able to do and not able to do?
08:28Yeah. Well, expectations won't change. I mean, there's, we're going to, we're going to kickstart the offseason, albeit a little
08:34earlier than we wanted with some, some clear like goals and explanations and interactions and try to make sure that
08:42we kickstart the offseason.
08:44Like when does the throwing program start? When did the lifting start? When does the, the, the hitting progression start?
08:50Like all that stuff is the same because it, it, it generally is going to be, depends on when you
08:55end.
08:56And it depends on, you know, sort of when, when you're, when your ramp up is. So that, that stuff
09:01is going to be pretty easy.
09:03My staff is, is going to be entrenched in all of that. And the offseason goes, if we end up,
09:09you know, in that, in that situation with a lockout,
09:11then we're going to have to adapt and adjust because things stop and the work doesn't and the trust in
09:17the, in the players and, and us doing our work doesn't,
09:20but there's a lot of unknown, you know, and I try to, I try to pay attention as close as
09:24everybody.
09:25You know, I know everybody thinks that the people on the inside have complete understanding of what's going on.
09:29I have no idea. We're kind of waiting for the announcements like everybody else is.
09:34And there's going to be a ton of meetings with, with the league and the union, but we're all hoping
09:39for the best because we,
09:40we obviously want to have as smooth off season as we can and get into spring training and get to
09:46better times.
09:46But of all the things that are out of our control in terms of the field personnel, we're, we're waiting
09:52and seeing.
09:54With Verlander, what's the plan for Saturday? Is this one inning at a time?
09:58What should fans expect when JV gets back out on the bump?
10:01Oh, he wants it to be a normal game. And I, they're trying to like, I'm trying to process that
10:06because I, I,
10:07as much as I want to say like, come on, JV, you're not, you're not going to be able to
10:11pitch normal, right?
10:12Or five innings or six innings or seven innings.
10:14And then I started to think like, this dude's Justin Verlander. Like, I have no idea what he's capable of
10:20or not capable of.
10:21So I, I'm, I'm going to wait and see, you know, he wants to go as long as he can.
10:25He does not want the tribute run out for the first inning, throw a run out for the second inning.
10:31And then I go get them. And we have this nostalgic moment.
10:34He doesn't want that, that short of a stint or he doesn't want the hat tip, you know, that early
10:39in the game.
10:40So I, I'm going to wait and see, you know, we, he would love for it to be a normal
10:44game.
10:44I think, you know, he says, I want to help the Tigers win.
10:48And I think privately he wants to win. Like he wants to be ahead and, and, and pitch, you know,
10:52what is it?
10:53Five innings, six innings. He's going to go as long as he can.
10:55Like as much as he's joked about the wheels falling off, I literally think he might let the wheel fall
11:00off.
11:00Like he might, he might pitch until we have to go get him. And I, um, I'm going to, I'm
11:06going to get with him between now and then to make sure we have a pretty clear understanding.
11:10Cause I don't want him to have any regrets. I don't want him to have, um, you know, sort of
11:15any, any, um, frustration at the end.
11:18I mean, maybe for old times sake, he can be frustrated when I take him out of a game, but
11:22he sends you back to the dugout.
11:24Well, he can, he can kind of dictate where he's at physically. And then the only request I've asked is
11:30let, let us give you a moment like at the end and we can, we can appreciate, um, the walk
11:36off the field.
11:37And so I'll try to set that up.
11:38If you were asked to give a tribute to what he's meant to baseball, not just to the Tigers and
11:45not to some other teams that he's played for, but just to the, to the baseball world, what were so,
11:49what would be some of the things that you would say?
11:51So I told our, our team the other day, part of my team meeting, I talked about, you know, the,
11:55this team and, and, and this story and, and Justin being there.
12:00When I talk about, you know, the room's going to change. Like if it was just Justin Verlander alone, it
12:04changes the room. Like he's retiring. He's not going to be in there.
12:07And I started talking about the off season. And I tell you, Justin probably wanted to interrupt my meeting and
12:11go like, I don't really care about this off season. I'm off into the sunset.
12:15But I, I think that's the thing that Justin has evolved over the years and, and you don't get to
12:22be mentioned like with all time next to your name, like very easily. Like it takes work. It takes dedication.
12:30It took, it took him going through some struggles.
12:32Like he defined what a starting pitcher was all about for like a decade and longer make two decades. Like
12:40he was the, the, the gold standard and, you know, he has the hardware to prove it.
12:45And so, you know, obviously his, his stats and his contributions on the field, but just his ability to endure
12:54different eras of the game as a starting pitcher.
12:57And, you know, obviously I was, I got to be front and center in his 2019, you know, young year.
13:03I wasn't here for the sort of epic early years in Detroit, but when you can define multiple eras, it's,
13:10it's pretty unique to have him, um, wearing your uniform and closing out the chapter that, that, um, of a
13:17meaningful contribution to the sport.
13:19Tiger manager, AJ Hinch. Thanks for coming on with us, putting up with us and giving our listeners insight all
13:24season long.
13:25Yeah. Appreciate you guys. We'll see you.
13:27It's 97 one.