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Deep-seated fears of a Trump autocracy have led me to this path. It started when I first saw him in a debate in 2015 and I thought "nobody could be this stupid and still have so many people cheering him on" but then I saw the people cheering him on. His background in professional wrestling and his association with Playboy magazine were things I felt would be handicaps but the rubes loved him. That scared me a lot. It indicated that the base of the Republican Party was damaged. I looked across the aisle at the democrats and they also seemed chaotic but there was always an appeal to reason in their sometimes-emotional responses to issues. I started seeing the crazy manipulative messages in online fora. I saw them in the firearms community which I participated. You couldn't go very far without some discussion about the government taking your weapons. Then 2016 came and I didn't love Hillary. She is and always seemed like Richard Nixon in female form. I voted third party in the 2016 election assuming she would win. Watching my wife lose the first chance at a female president was shattering for her. I grieved for her pain. And to lose to such a hustling liar. We spent 4 of the most painful years with him as president. I worked in a field where I engaged with presidential threats that crossed over from Obama to Trump. The threats changed from unhinged racists ones against POTUS to unhinged racist threats against the people who didn't support "our president." And of course you were around, so you saw how terrible he was on the World stage. He hated our allies. He tried to create rifts where none needed to exist. He actively denigrated alliances. He curried favor with his benefactor in the 2016 elections Vladimir Putin, he leaked classified intelligence programs from the Israelis. He empowered the rise of a warlike PRC and his response with some whack-a-mole tariffs allowed corrupt people to game them so that instead of goods being traded at value they were sold below value to a country like Argentina which then in turn pivoted and sold them (still under market value) to the PRC. His response to COVID 19 was a nightmare of bungling and he created the conditions where statistically many hundreds of thousands more people died because they resisted the correct responses to a pandemic. Then the George Floyd response. He didn't offer respect to the people angry at the murder. Nah dog...i'm going to turn it into a cosplay autocracy where we have the Gadsden Flag-plated late model pickups bestrewn with NRA and firearms manufacturer stickers unloading their deputized Bureau of Prisons employee owners so they can don body army and face shields so they stand in phalanx on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Because that's what Lincoln would have wanted: a protest turned into a bloody riot. (Irony) So, that misery finally ends with the restoration of decency with a Biden win. Oh, but Trump can't abide that. He insists that Mike Pence carry out an end run on Democracy and install him for another term. So, he gets his rabble to storm the Capitol and tells that group of intellectual heroes that Mike Pence is responsible. And being a rabble they show up with a gallows and proceed to storm the building defecating in the offices of Nancy Pelosi. She of course is also the victim of an assassination attempt later when one of his devotees arrives at her home and tries to nail her husband's head to the floor. This is of course cheered on by Trump's cocaine-fueled son and his other followers because decency is for the other guys. Trump is eventually required to leave office. He begrudgingly does but not before he takes cartons and cartons of highly sensitive classified documents to his Florida golf club/rental property. These documents include details of operations and sources and methods. Revealing the details will in fact lead to the death of programs and people who put their lives and well-being on the line to carry them out. He is caught in this act and fights tooth and nail any effort to return the documents. Then Trump's friend decides that its time to rebuild the Soviet Union and invades Ukraine. Because Trump is not president the people of Ukraine are able to mount a spirited resistance and they are able through the spirit of the nationhood and the support of the NATO alliance resist Putin. Trump hates this because most of his fortune after his multiple bankruptcies was from Russia. Trump is never seen as happy in public as when he is with Putin. Tweedledumb and Tweedleevil Biden and his team have a competency about foreign affairs. He rallies NATO and allows NATO and the EU to help the Ukrainians. Their war grinds the once-vaunted (and believe me I at one time studied the Russian mil closely) armed forces down to where they are conscripting 60-year old men and prisoners. Putin being Putin he arrests American reporters and others so he can use them as trade chips. Trump deciding that he can ignore the Logan Act and says he can get these people out of Putin's jails because he has a special relationship and that he would end the war in Ukraine very quickly...because he would remove the United States from NATO. Which his attempts to do so in his first term are very well documented. So, now we are at the stage where Biden is old. He appears to have lost a step. And the perception of that is as damaging as the reality. So, his trusted understudy appears and she is everything that Trump hates: female, African-American, prosecutor, Californian, a believer in systems of Democracy and the Rule of Law. And for me the "two Corinthians" of an effective system of Democracy is the Rule of Law. If you don't have it you are NOTHING. I hope that bumper sticker of a post tidied it up for you.

I'm iffy about dealing with Tampa at all. What I favor is asking them to name some players they want back in trade, then keeping those players and focusing developmental efforts on them. 😉

The random drunk at the end of the bar is undoubtedly less of an asshole than Maher.

Unless the Tigers think there's a path to teaching Baty to lift the ball more without sacrificing other things, I'd stear clear. There's generally a reason he's been lapped in the Mets organization.

Yes, very good post. I really hope you consider writing a book someday.

It probably was one of the best stretches in terms of winning percentage in franchise history. Its tough to compare that era to others based on things like division titles or playoffs appearances because the landscape is different. Not to discredit Dombrowski, but Ilitch deserves some credit for opening up the purse strings during that time. That allowed Dombrowski to take some bigger swings at players. When MartinezV was lost for the season, Ilitch ponied up for Fielder as an example. That's a move that most ardent baseball followers would associate with the Yankees or Dodgers, and probably be angered by it, too.

Why does anyone think it’s “funny” to use human beings as though they are pieces of garbage to be transported and dropped in front of someone’s house? That’s inhumane. Wouldn’t you agree? Have we really not progressed to that point yet?

People were not truly offended. They are just looking to pick a cultural fight because it’s good for business. I’m sure at the real last supper they were not seated that way.

The irony is off the charts.

A lot of the drunks I've met started drinking because they understand what's going on.

Romad wins the Interwebs today! (bravo buddy!)

Great post Romad! It is still shocking to me that so many people are quite simply that Un-American.

BTW, lost in Trump's rant about not having to vote in 4 years was him admitting he's not a Christian. Not even a Presbyterian.

Thank you, Romad. A stellar synopsis of our recent history and why we need to end any thought of a second Trump presidency.

When this topic started coming up yesterday, on a lark, I put together a decision tree in PowerPoint—first one I've ever done anywhere—and now this gives me the opportunity to bust it out.

Yes, he did. That is the main goal. Having the best farm system is not the goal. It might help a team reach its goal, but every year you spend building for the future instead of winning is a year in which you have not reached your goal.

This time of year is really frustrating with all the teasing.

Tbh, I’ve seen depictions of Baccanalia and I’ve seen multiple western art depictions of the last supper and to argue the first impression of that graphic anyone would have is not a take on the last supper is simply disingenuous, regardless of what it’s executors claimed. That said, I don’t really care either way!

Yeah, there is a reason people don't provide every detail of a criminal investigation to the general public even when the perp is dead. There is a specific stipulation against classifying information to protect against embarrassment. OTOH, i can see process and procedure of protective posture (4Ps) being something the USSS doesn't want on front street.

Just basing off grades, something along the lines of Hao-Yu Lee, Brant Hurter and Seth Stephenson.

lol. It was for the noxious commentary.

I honestly don't care one way or another on it... I do think we probably should have heard more from the doctors at the time he was hospitalized though. The lack of transparency is notable IMO

I prefer clobbering the snot out of them, but that’s just me.

Well one out of two isn’t bad. Thanks.

Nice unintended consequence, builds more internal pressure on the Mullah's in Iran.

I think our kicking may be better than OK this season;

6:40 starts weren't early enough to get all the dinner crowd?

Doesn't matter. Trump got his wound. He's a regular Frank Burns.

lol couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

Honestly the Olympic opening ceremonies are designed to disgust the MAGAs.

Is this a threat to your ego or to the institution of Democracy?

LOL - The Hoover Institution has pretty close to zero cred on anything related to these issues. They are big time, big industry apologists. His first paragraphs are laughable in the face the increased deaths by simple heat prostration occurring across the planet as places where people have lived through all of recorded history become objectively unfit for human habitation. I'm sure all the construction workers in Iraq who now have to knock off their projects at dawn or face the likelihood of death think his dismissals of climate catastrophe amusing at the least.

Hey @pfife in regards to you religion questions.

Along with Tom Hanks, Jamie Farr, Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Benny Hill, Sir Graves Ghastly, etc., etc.

Who knew that Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Flip Wilson, etc turned me into a liberal

DD had a lot of winning years in Detroit.

Trump has first hand knowledge

the way Dingler is tearing up Toledo, Kelly for a relief arm is getting to be an obvious move apart from anything specifically to do with time tables or rebuilds.

What a drag. I got interested, interested, very interested, but suddenly I’ve lost interest.

There may end up being one, but not clear why he pulled out as of this one. His rationale doesn't make a whole lot of sense Hence why conclusions are being drawn.

Cancel the Skubal trade. We don't need a shortstop anymore.

FTR.... I have always liked a lot of Sander's positions. I just wonder how people who claim to want him for President would prefer a Drumpf victory over somebody who is far closer to him in policy stances.

from free Baseball America article: Detroit Tigers Josh Randall, RHP, 3rd Round I only have a three-pitch sample for Randall’s four-seamer, but it’s a fantastic cut fastball that grades out extremely well and show plus velo at 95-96 mph. He throws basically fully sidearm, so the 15 inches of IVB he gets on the pitch is well above average (about +4 inches with the college baseball). The slider is a high-rpm monster with incredibly low spin efficiency. He mostly threw the sinker in the data I have, but I’m more excited by the fastball/slider pair. He’s a very intriguing arm that also had a decent 2024 season in college. Michael Massey, RHP, 4th Round Another Wake Forest alum with great fastball shape, Massey (not to be confused with the Royals second baseman) throws his fastball 94-95 mph with almost 20 inches of IVB/flight from a high three-quarters slot. From a pure shape standpoint, it looks a lot like Chase Burns, except 3-4 mph slower. It’s a potentially plus or better pitch from a pitch quality perspective. His slider has great shape with extremely low spin efficiency, but he doesn’t throw it hard enough yet, nor does he have the ability to spin it. Nevertheless, this is already a good pitch shape-wise and is a couple of development tweaks away from being an excellent pitch. This is a fantastic get in the fourth round, as the high-vert/plus-velo fastball and high-gyro slider pair is a tremendous foundation on which to build a repertoire, all packaged in a starter’s 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame. I love this pick for the Tigers. Ethan Sloan, LHP, 8th Round Sloan throws both a sinker and a fastball from an extreme angle. He somehow gets 15 inches of IVB/flight on both pitch shapes, with the sinker getting about 6 inches more run than the fastball. Both pitches will likely play given the extreme release point, which is almost 4.4 feet away from the center of the rubber. His slider had one of the lowest estimated spin efficiencies in the data set and excellent spin rates. This looks like the type of arm that will work very well as a lefty-one-inning guy in the bullpen, with a slight chance he can make it work as a funky lefty starter. Micah Ashman, 11th Round Ashman stands 6-foot-7 and only 195 pounds and had decent success as a reliever in 2024, throwing mostly just a fastball and sinker. He’s able to command the pitches well, so this is likely a development bet hoping he can add velocity once he fills out his frame with the help of pro-level athletic training. The fastball shape is close enough that this profile could become viable if his fastball suddenly jumps into the 94-95 range. None of his secondary pitches are interesting at the moment. Preston Howey, 14th Round We go from a 6-foot-7 pitcher to a 5-foot-10 pitcher with a 95 mph fastball that might work as a cut-fastball if he lowers the spin efficiency on the pitch. He pairs that with a low-spin efficiency cutter at 88 that should play well off the fastball. It’s a pretty nice find for the 14th round. Anson Seibert, 16th Round A 6-foot-8, 235-pound pitcher with a 92-93 mph, 2500 rpm fastball with almost 19 inches of IVB in the 16th round? This is a nice get by the Tigers here. He’s old for a high school pitcher at 19, but if I’m the Tigers, I’m ecstatic to get a 19-year-old that already shows near-average velo, has ability to spin, can get ride on the fastball and has a massive frame to dream on for velocity projection. I loved this pick by the Tigers, however, it looks like he won’t sign