Jul 14, 2021
Long-time Detroit sports bloggers and podcasters Greg Eno and Big Al Beaton are The Knee Jerks!
We decided to take a little time off during our Summer of The Knee Jerks. Our short hiatus ends with a ton of Pistons and Tigers draft discussion. This week's topics include:
This week's topics include:
The Pistons tank worked! They own the 1st pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and a possible generational player is available in guard Cade Cunningham.
Troy Weaver has well earned his reputation for talent evaluation, and he reportedly has G-League guard Jaylen Green and USC center Evan Mobley very high in his draft board. Several other teams crave Cunningham and are willing to deal. If Weaver makes a "smartest guy in the room" move and trades out of the top pick, he damn well better be the smartest guy in the room.
Tigers' GM al Avila went all in on his scouting and analytics by drafting high school pitcher Jackson Jobe. There's a reason prep pitchers are rarely taken this high in the draft. The profile for the highest draft failure rate - a hard throwing, right-handed, high school starting pitcher - fits Jobe to a T.
The Jobe pick caused Detroit's fan base to throw a hissy fit over not taking the highest rated SS on the board, despite Marcello Meyer being a prep prospect as well.
Jobe is expected to sign for below slot money, allowing the Tigers to select University of Texas RHP Ty Madden 32nd overall. He is believed to be the 3rd or 4th best arm in the draft, but fell into the compensatory round.
At the All-Star break, the Tigers have proven to not be a bad team, playing .500 for 2 months. But they aren't a good team either.
This draft and positive play from their young players and prospects means one thing - this off season is time for Tigers owner Chris Ilitch to open his wallet and sign an impact SS.
The Minnesota Wild bought out the last 4 years of Ryan Suter's and Zach Parise's massive contracts, likely putting them in cap hell for most of the coming decade. Time flies, as Suter and Parise were the Red Wings' top free agent targets in 2012. At the time, a desperate Detroit's fan base wanted to go all in on Suter and Parise. Sometimes the best move is one you don't make.
Greg calls out Stephen A. Smith for his xenophobic comments about Shohei Ohtani, needing 3 attempts at an apology. Al is disgusted by the English soccer fanbase, who once again showed their virulent racism after 3 black players missed penalty kicks in their loss to Italy in Euro 2020.
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