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"Somehow, in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the first country to surrender was America" Tristan Snell

there are places where political policy has a direct, non-severable connection to investment policy - for instance what is happening on Tariffs. If you make a statement that you think the outcome of X (political policy) is going to be Y (economic environment outcome), I wouldn't regard that as "too much politics in the investment thread" per se. That kind of statement properly made is not advocacy either way - it's the core of trying to understand/discuss the future probabilities.

Me and you are totally on the same page here.

Charles Leershan wrote a book about Cobb not too long ago and his point is that he just wanted to write a fresh book about him since all we had were books written a long time ago. When he did his research he found lack of evidence, and in some cases, direct contradiction to previously held claims and beliefs. In one case in a book (not Al Stump's) he is said to have fought with a bellhop and a butcher, who were black, and that is proof that he was racist. But this author searched further.... and those guys were white. Al Stump was the source of a lot of what we "know" about him and then Ken Burns ran with it. A lot of what he wrote simply wasn't true or there is not one shred of evidence to support it and plenty to contradict it.

LOL - you weren't the only one who didn't like the headline, they've already amended it to insert the word "opponent's" in front of "ankles".

Does Ohio State need a cornerback coach?

I think this is an excellent framing of one of the huge issues.

This is the what a Tesla says when you engage the autopilot:

Starmer is putting in work, Trump is Putin's bitch.

I’ve had this for a few years and hadn’t really read it, and read the 1980 Joe Falls article about Kaline. I didn’t realize Kaline was such an odd bird. Didn’t know much about his upbringing, his working class origins, or about his moodiness and ill-tempered outbursts. Didn’t realize that when he came up the Tigers only played a handful of night games so he spent his time in a hotel room not knowing what to do with himself.

I hate Twitter...X, or whatever you wanna call it. Stupid, stupid idiots talking crap and getting my heart possibly broken. This is what I see when I open that god forsaken app;

The league announced JB won eastern conference coach of the month for February.

The EU is getting those rare earths. Book it. Done deal.

I'll be at the one in Boston-it's about a 5 minute walk from my home.

The authorities said it was a case best left...unsolved, really.

Is this too obscure a reference?

That was 8 years ago. The other 50% drank the Kool-Aid in the eight years since.

To be fair, we can't rule out they didn't just spontaneously combust.

Man, those Trump voters were so misunderstood.

I like it Saw it in real time. Makes all kinds of sense. You know they are both down for the struggle.

Bobrob’s 2025 Preseason Prediction #4 – Jack Rafe Flaherty When the Tigers acquired Jack Flaherty in 2024, they had hoped that pitching coach Chris Fetter could help fix the struggling former first round draft pick, who had a 4.99 ERA in 2023, including a 6.75 ERA after getting traded to the Baltimore Orioles midseason. Not only did Flaherty have a bounce back year, but he had his best year since 2019, his second year in the Big Leagues, with a 3.17 ERA in 162 innings. In fact, there are several similarities between his 2019 and 2024 season. 2019 – 196 1/3 IP | 2.75 ERA | 3.46 FIP | 29.9% K% | 7.1% BB% | 13.8% HR/FB% 2024 – 162 IP | 3.17 ERA | 3.48 FIP | 29.9% K% | 5.9% BB% | 15.5% HR/FB% Flaherty had a lower walk rate in 2024, but a higher homerun rate, which resulted in very similar FIP in 2019 and 2024. If Flaherty can improve on the home runs, his 2025 could not only be better than last year, but could be his best season yet. One noticeable change that Flaherty made in 2024 was that he completely abandoned his cutter in 2025. In 2024, he threw it 220 times while opponents batted .333 against it with a .571 SLG against. Therefore, it was a good idea to abandon it, as the numbers certainly show. One area for improvement is the sinker. While he doesn’t throw it a lot (2.3 percent), opponents absolutely hammered it in 2024. 2023 – 66 pitches | .286 BA against | .286 SLG against 2024 – 60 pitches | .600 BA against | 1.200 SLG against Flaherty also throws a 4-seam fastball (44.1 percent), slider (29 percent), knuckle curve (21.8 percent), and changeup (2.7 percent, exclusively against left-handed batters), so completely abandoning another pitch might not be such a bad idea again. The Tigers only had Flaherty for 106 2/3 innings in 2024, then he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline when it looked like the Tigers were going to miss the playoffs once again (but they made it anyway! Woo-hoo!). There was a noticeable slump in his numbers once he got to the Dodgers. 2024 DET – 106 2/3 IP | 2.95 ERA | 3.12 FIP | 32.0% K% | 4.6% BB% | 16.3% HR/FB% 2025 LAD – 55 1/3 IP | 3.58 ERA | 4.16 FIP | 26.1% K% | 8.1% BB% | 14.3% HR/FB% This difference could easily be chalked up to fatigue or small sample size. However, there is enough evidence to show that Chris Fetters does have a big impact. Now that Jack Flaherty is back with the Tigers and Fetters for the entire 2025 season (and hopefully the entire 2026 season too) can also be more proof that 2025 could be a career year for Flaherty (but he has to get those home runs under control). Flaherty is still under 30 years of age, so age regression shouldn’t be a factor just yet. Pairing a strong right-handed pitcher with the southpaw and Cy Young Award Winner Tarik Skubal will be a great 1-2 punch for the playoffs that the Tigers were sorely lacking in 2024. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: FGDC – 164 IP | 11-9 W/L | 3.80 ERA | 1.21 WHIP | 178 K | 52 BB Steamer – 170 IP | 10-10 W/L | 3.74 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 178 K | 53 BB ZiPS DC – 158 IP | 12-8 W/L | 3.86 ERA | 1.20 WHIP | 177 K | 51 BB ATC – 158 IP | 10-9 W/L | 3.83 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 171 K | 50 BB THE BAT – 158 IP | 10-10 W/L | 3.97 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 178 K | 52 BB OOPSY – 165 IP | 11-9 W/L | 3.68 ERA | 1.22 WHIP | 179 K | 54 BB RotoChamp – 160 IP | 10-9 W/L | 3.83 ERA | 1.21 WHIP | 175 K | 51 BB CBS Sports – 147 IP | 10 W/L | 3.31 ERA | 1.09 WHIP | 159 K | 37 BB ESPN – 165 IP | 11 W | 3.65 ERA | 1.13 WHIP | 192 K | 43 BB My Prediction: 2024 Prediction – 154 IP | 9-8 W/L | 4.27 ERA | 1.422 WHIP | 154 K | 67 BB 2024 Actual – 162 IP | 13-7 W/L | 3.17 ERA | 1.07 WHIP | 194 K | 38 BB 2025 Prediction – 182 1/3 IP | 15-8 W/L | 3.41 ERA | 1.015 WHIP | 225 K | 36 BB

Skubal 3IP, 3K, 1H. Jays got to Foley, who followed Skubs

Pretty manageable schedule coming up. Not that the games will be easy by any means but they have 1 real playoff contender on the schedule in the next 12 games... @Utah, Clippers, Warriors perhaps without Butler, Blazers Wizards (twice), Thunder at home, @Pelicans, Heat and Mavs probably without AD then Pelicans and Spurs at home This will be an opportunity to make a real run at the 4 seed or at the very least strengthen their hold on a playoff spot.

Fair comment, although even a sneaky political statement, even one not intended as in your case, makes it fair game. I do want to be clear that I'm not here to drop politics in here unbidden, and I don't, and I didn't this time. That said, I will take your fair comment into consideration in the future. Thanks.

I don't think it needs to be as complicated as a smart watch... just needs to be a buzzer tied to the play clock. But I do like the idea. As you said the ref doesn't need to watch the play clock then, s/he can focus on the ball. Feel the buzz while seeing the ball still on the ground? Throw the flag. See the ball move before the buzz? Then you can ignore the buzz.

But there are political points to be made. That's more important. That's why we tried to keep this thread separate from all the other stupid horse**** posted elsewhere. Look at that cesspool of slop. This is the third iteration of this board. At one time it was good place for intelligent conversation, both political and investment (although filtered from the first). How far it has fallen. It has become aisle lunatic and mostly unreadable, which is why hardly anyone posts here anymore. The investment thread in particular had some really good participants - all gone now. A fish stinks from the head down.

Last fall the girl went to the range a few times then we played a local par 3 twice with my clubs. She now has a cheap women's starter set and is set to enjoy her first season of golf. I just picked up five dozen used balls from a local seller and gave them to her. She looked a little annoyed and asked why she has to play used balls. I told her the 20 cent used ball will go just as far into the woods as the $2 pro v1.

In a way, I was agreeing with you. I was saying that the book was not a white washing of Cobb's reputation.

But I don't think the goal is to say he was a great guy but that he wasn't a monster. We don't need to specify what a bad person he was every time his name comes up. There were people trying to get his plaque taken down at Tiger Stadium. Speaking of that, there was a story that someone took it or it was unaccounted for. The same plaque is outside Comerica Park near the entrances to the offices, by the player/staff parking garage.

As foretold by prophesy: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/business/economy/tsmc-chips-grant-biden.html

One thing that Cobb never did (as far as we know) was have sex with a minor as a 30 something adult. Sadly, Rose's excuse was that sex with a 16-year old was legal in Ohio at the time. Recent players have been banned from the game for that sort of thing.

Undoubtedly. If you grew up in Georgia when Cobb did, the ordinary everyday language that *everyone* used would sound outrageous today. Even in Michigan in the 50's the everyday language was harshly racist, the 'N' word as as common as dirt anywhere you went. Not all those people were racist in any active sense, they were just reflecting the milieu in which they existed. It's an ethical fallacy to charge people of the past for simply living in the culture they found themselves in. To me, if you victimized people - like Jefferson did, then those acts can always be judged by their particular cruelty, or inhumanity.

The "type of guy" is entirely subjective and up to the voters entrusted to vote to decide for themselves, whether it's the BBWAA or the various people on the commitee for each ballot. But that's kind of irrelevant. It doesn't apply to Rose. Baseball's HOF decided that for their institution that anybody on MLB's inelgible list is not fit for their institution. The Hall of Fame is not part of MLB. It's a non profit with their own governing body and their own rules. Even if Manfred removes Rose from the ineligible list, it would be up to the 16 people who decide who goes on a ballot and the other 16 people who would vote on that ballot. It's entirely consistent and appropriate if a voter says "I know he's eligible but what he did is still wrong and I'm not voting for him". He commited a crime against the insitition he is being considered for. That is not "off the field". It's within the game itself. It was "between the lines". Rob Manfred cannot put Pete Rose into the HOF any more than you or I could. There's no mechanism where "baseball" puts him in without a vote. As a non profit they have to follow their rules or they risk lawsuits, from donors, for not following their own rules. By donors.... that is not just groups that give them money. It's people who buy annual memberships. That's a lot of people.

When you have Rod Stewart

I read once that the sportswriters thought Kaline was full of himself because he never talked to others. It turned out, he was painfully shy. He was just a kid at the major league level, having no experience in the minors. Signed by Detroit and came right to Detroit. Pretty amazing...

Oh hey

Boots on the ground from Germany, UK, France, et al., with a no-fly zone, appear to be the thing necessary to end the War on favorable terms. I think the EU + UK need to be the construct for this given the US' support of Putin's agenda. The US ceasing cyberops against Russia is going to make Russian offensive ops in the United States and the West including propaganda on our social media and attempts to attack our elections systems much harder to thwart. The value of that to Putin/Musk/Trump will be enormous. GOP representatives need to be shamed by the public. They may never vote to do anything wrt Trump's abuses of the post-WWII collective security structures but at a minimum the shame will be correctly applied to these weasels.

Learned a couple facts about Hank Greenberg today. He served more months (47) during WW2 than any other player. Also, he was offered a contract by the Yankees out of high school, and he declined and chose college instead. He was intent on playing first base, and the Yanks had Gehrig. After his freshman year of college he signed with our Tigers.

Trump is advertising on my TV his energy plan. Dude, you have the job.

Ty Cobb was not considered a bad guy in 1936.

They all ought to skip.

Every Democrat Rep needs to skip Trump's speech. Hold town halls instead.

That one handed block/catch was amazing.

this would be perfect if the games were going to be during his term, but who knows where we are in '28?

I also look forward to people saying things like "save some for John and me" instead of "save some for John and I."

MLB put the whole integrity of the sport on the line by partnering with gambling organizations after forbidding any involvement for 100 years. I think that's even worse than what Rose did.

Of "An occurrence at owl creek bridge?"