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I'm not sure now is the time that is the test for how much the team is willing to spend - the test comes if the young core start having success and the team either has to pay to tie them up or face letting them walk. You can argue they shouldn't be committing much in the way of long term dollars on FA (ie.typical older) players when they have large payroll liabilities looming before FA contracts proffered today would be off the books.

I've got the "bench+3B" as Kelly, Vierling, McKinstry, Ibanez, Urshela. Some of the RHB will spell Meadows, Keith, Carpenter, Greene. One man's MLB/AAA position players. I just bumped Jung down to Erie, but do think he's in Toledo eventually. I suspect Hopkins is the 40 man move.

I was interested in spending big money on Yamamoto and Hader... But they actually have to be interested in signing with the Tigers. It takes two to tango. And if they weren't really interested in the Tigers... and maybe Harris was not interested in THEM...? Then... I am perfectly fine with all the Plan B guys that he picked up this offseason. I think Harris has been pretty close to perfect in finding guys that weren't stupid overspends, filled needs, have above-average capabilities... and have positioned this team to make a run at the playoffs. There will be future opportunities to spend big money on big-time players. Including... Our own.

Another solid and opportunistic move by Harris. Very happy he is concerned about the defense. Gio is a solid defender and Verling can move the f back to the outfield where he excels. Double win. JHM will open in AAA to focus on defense as well and Jung will play third in AAA all season. McStinky on the bubble. And if the pelvis injury has ruined Gio it's only 1.5 lost. The Yankee-Blue Jays-Angels and Twins fans are all bemoaning not signing him online. Defense wins games and can not be ignored.

I don't think they believe are close enough to throw bunches of years and nine figures at players. I am totally cool with their approach just as it is.

<yawn>

Fan: Is there a chance they can add somebody like Trevor Bauer? Dan: (interrupting) No on Trevor Bauer. I hope he never gets a chance to play in this league again. Maybe you have another idea, but not Trevor Bauer. Fan: Didn't he get found not guilty? Dan: No, he found a judge who gave him an unbelievably favorable ruling that defied all logic and law. Fan: I thought there was audio tap... Dan: (interrupting) He has serious mental health issues and does not belong in Major League Baseball. Find somebody else because it's not going to be Trevor Bauer. Fan: So he's going to be blackballed. No, I don't have anybody else, he was the guy. I think the guy was framed. Dan: You need to read up on it more. Fan: Wasn't the girl admitting she was scamming Trevor Bauer? Dan: No Caputo: Your basing it on... Bauer on social media thing... He's got an agent who's a very smart person. They've been putting spin on it.. (further rambling backing Dan and smoothing the edges) Dan: Nobody should sign this guy. He basically admitted in court what he did. He found a judge who said because she didn't specifically say she was unconscious that he couldn't do what he did because she didn't say that which is found nowhere in law. That's why he did not face the consequences he should have. That's the guy they want back in the league?

This might win the internet for today

did you see Alito's latest complaint about a decision where counsel pretty much challenged anyone in a jury pool who had a religious belief that the defendent was sinful? He thought that amounted to society labeling the religious as bigots. Well, Jeez Louise, he only has it completely backwards. If you are going to tell me that you think legal behavior of a defendant is sinful - then your *are* a prejudiced juror! The man can't reason his way out of a paper bag without invoking half a dozen logical fallacies. No-one's religion deserves or can or should be given special status. That just frosts the hell out of *bigots* like Alito (yes it is a *bigot* you see in the mirror every morning Sam) that people challenge their bigotry in the name of the very freedom and constitutional order they want to wrap themselves in while maintaining those prejudices.

This was overlooked at the time (and remains overlooked), but this is a good example of changes under the hood that can make long term differences as well. As you said, a lot of owners don't do this. You don't have to be a Pizza Jr apologist to recognize that.

I agree that a team owner is supposed to give the players the things they need to perform to maximum output, and that includes not only proper, state-of-the-art coaching, equipment, and analytics support, but also the day-to-day amenities that leads players to really like playing and appreciate for them. I would also say that a lot of owners don't do this, including this very same owner until just recently, so I'll still give credit where I think it's due.

"yeah the money is nice obviously but what really sold me to come to Detroit was the shower heads.... have you seen those?" I'm sorry... that's ****ing hilarious. Did Evan get a lifetime supply of free pizza or sponsorships for his podcast to write this? It reads like someting you'd find on an corporation's intranet for employees.

Especially in the Gaza War thread.

Fangraphs has the payroll at $108 million. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/tigers I was skeptical of Harris going into the offseason but I really like what they have done to improve the roster. I think Edman's 26 man is correct and Baddoo is back in Toledo with McKinstry, Ibanez and Vierling on the bench. If the kids are really tearing up Toledo then Urshela and Canha are trade bait. I don't blame them for not signing any overpriced free agents. It was a really poor quality group who wanted big money because they were the "best" available. No need to overpay when there are legitimate prospects in the system.

Careful, people will get mad if you ask that ... 🙃

Wither Zach McKinstry...

So, if the Alabama Supreme Court considers embryos "children", shouldn't parents receive state tax deductions for every frozen egg?

He should have coached Vildor to catch the ball with his hands and not his face mask. But seriously, this is a pretty extensive rebuilding of the defensive staff.

If you think that's crazy, wait till you hear about the leaders of Palestine. They call themselves Hamas.

Is hypocritocracy a word yet?

You may have seen the post earlier this week about Bill Kristol saying that the Dems need to make Putin Trump's running mate 1988 Willie Horton style... They also really need to hang these religious zealots around his neck.

There needs to be an investigation into his sweetheart deal arranged by the former labor secretary with help from Ken Starr, and I think Bill Barr too. This happened late in the Bush admin.

These people are not playing 4 dimensional chess. They are eating the checkers.

The showers are in the best shape of their life. Why new spring training showers say everything about the Detroit Tigers' regime

I tought that was Jack Morris.

Hopefully this link will be live for a while. The governors of Maryland and Utah discussing how to disagree better. It's part of this years National Governors Association series of civility. This discussion is at the group's annual meeting, PBS's Judy Woodwruff is the moderator..

The people that rip Chris for "not spending" think there's a GM store where you just go in and pick out your groceries. My complaints with him relate more to his overall business sense and the constant requests by his empire for public money. They've spent decades getting public money and empty promises. They are shady people. As an aside.... do other MLB ballparks have every door labled with a sponsor? I notice it starting with LCA where you can't take a piss without talking thru the Blue Cross Blue Shield restroom and you flush the UWM handle and get a paper towel to dry your hands from the Google dispenser box. Maybe it's like that everywhere. It doesn't hurt me or cause harm... just looks tacky.

Perhaps it is unethical but it’s how corporate America operated for a very long time. Usually it’s the man bringing along ththe woman. That’s acceptable. But a powerful woman? They gotta behave.

This one cleared the headlines even quicker. A trans man, pro Palestinian shoots up church. Funny how hate only gets mentioned when it fits the narrative. https://apnews.com/article/church-shooting-joel-osteen-texas-ea557401f2eef247020e34297159536a Investigators also found antisemitic writings by the shooter, and Hassig noted Moreno’s rifle had a “Palestine” sticker on the buttstock. He described Moreno as a “lone wolf” who was not acting as any part of a larger group.

Turns out this was between a bunch of thugs. Funny how quickly this disappeared from the headlines.... https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/20/us/two-men-charged-with-murder-in-kansas-city-parade-shooting/index.html Two men were charged with murder and other felony charges for their roles in the mass shooting after a Kansas City Chiefs championship rally last week, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Tuesday. Lyndell Mays, of Raytown, and Dominic M. Miller, of Kansas City, were both charged with second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action, the prosecutor’s office said. They are being held on $1 million bond. According to the investigation, Mays was in a verbal argument with another person that escalated, and Mays then drew a handgun. Almost immediately, Miller and others pulled their firearms, leading to the shootout, Baker said. The two did not know each other before that day, Baker added.