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I’ve battled weight my whole life, lots of yo-yoing. It was psychological hell in the latter part of 2024, where I was stuck in this vicious mental cycle where I wanted so badly to lose weight but couldn’t get past the mental block of thinking it was just too much and I was incapable. Finally, October 18, 2024, I started calorie counting. I can’t tell you why that date, I just took the step. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my girlfriend of two years, for a month. I joined a local CrossFit gym in December, and it absolutely Kicked. My. Ass. But I kept going back. I was 312.4 on 10/18. As of this morning I’m 260.6. Down 51.8 pounds. I’m not sure my end goal, but I do think saying I lost 100 pounds would be cool. I’ve told a few people. Thought I would share here. 🙂

It’s Jobe vs. Scherzer tomorrow.

Mize works two innings gives up one hit, no runs, strikes out three. The Tigers have scored nine runs in five innings. I’m deliriously happy. This is me being deliriously happy. It’s my poker face happy. Where’s my 12 runs?

no, it was more than that. You don't get very far telling people they are bad people, especially ordinary people who know perfectly well that they don't harbor any animus toward the minority people they meet on the street and workplace. I think the 'micro-aggression' fixation I saw a lot of that a the 'U' was misdirected - micro-aggression is not the reason there are structural poverty issues in the minority community - and the fixation on that creates a pass for fixing the bigger economic resource issues that don't get addressed because they are harder to address and demand a re-examination of the way we do representative government in a segregated society. That's what is hard to change and why nothing has much changed 70yrs after Brown v BOE. The other is that objectively there was no accountability. DEI had become a cottage industry for a group of singularly unproductive professionals. Ten of millions spent and no actual increase in diversity. If you took the money UM spent on DEI and just gave free rides to a bunch of minority students and even hired each one a personal tutor to deal with the remediation issues, it would have a much bigger impact on actually achieving diversity than any of the constant navel gazing by white people about white people that was going on.

Tork hit safely on a pitch middle-middle, a pitch up and away, and a pitch down and in. I don't think you would have seen that watching him early last year. ST pitching requires a big a grain of salt, but at least today he wasn't waiting for perfect pitches in the zone.

And Mize appears to have also risen from the dead. It's a good thing if these two are back on track and even a little closer to the old expectations...

Bobrob’s 2025 Preseason Prediction #1 – Tarik Daniel Skubal Another season is upon us, another year of bad predictions. As always I love to see your expectations too. The big question with Tarik Skubal entering the 2024 season was if he could replicate his 2023 performance (2.80 ERA, 11.4 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings) over a full season of work. Not only did he replicate his performance, but he exceeded most everyone’s expectations, with a 2.39 ERA, 228 strikeouts, and 18 wins, winning the American League Triple Crown for the first time since Shane Bieber* in 2020 (Justin Verlander did it over a full 162-game season with the Tigers in 2011). Skubal also won the Cy Young Award (first Tiger to win it since Max Scherzer in 2013). Tark Skubal throws a 4-season fastball (33.2 percent of the time), changeup (27.2 percent), sinker (20.5 percent) and slider (14.9 percent) with a knuckle curve that he uses exclusively against right-handed hitters. According to Baseball Savant, he is in the 99 percentile on fastball run value, 93 percentile in off-speed run value, and 83 percentile in breaking run value, all in the “great” classification. Skubal also excels in most other areas, including a 2.72 xERA (94 percentile), .208 xBA (86 percentile), 31.9 percent whiff% (90 percentile), and a 33.9 percent hard-hit% (84 percentile). It’s amazing how the 28-year old was able to come so close to his 2023 numbers in 2024, despite a bigger workload and showing almost no signs of fatigue in the second half (2.41 ERA, 10.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 in the first half and 2.37 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 in the second half). Here are some numbers over the last couple of years, along with his career totals: 2023: 32.9% K% | 4.5% BB% | .198 AVG | 2.00 FIP 2024: 30.3% K% | 4.6% BB% | .200 AVG | 2.49 FIP Career: 28.1% K% | 6.0% BB% | .220 AVG | 3.38 FIP Skubal, still under 30 years old, is right in the prime of his career. The consistency shows that he should easily be able to do it again in 2025, if not become even better and contend for another Cy Young Award. It hasn’t been this exciting to see a good, young, pitching performance for the Tigers since Velander and Scherzer about 10 years ago. The only disappointing this about all of this is that the Tigers failed to sign Skubal to a long-term deal during the off-season, increasing his likelihood of leaving as a free agent after the 2026 season. But we should enjoy watching him while he’s here in Detroit. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: FGDC – 198 IP | 14-9 W/L | 2.83 ERA | 1.02 WHIP | 229 K | 42 BB Steamer – 196 IP | 13-9 W/L | 2.92 ERA | 1.05 WHIP | 228 K | 45 BB ZiPS DC – 198 IP | 15-8 W/L | 2.74 ERA | 1.00 WHIP | 227 K | 39 BB ATC – 184 IP | 14-7 W/L | 2.88 ERA | 1.00 WHIP | 213K | 39 BB THE BAT – 184 IP | 13-8 W/L | 2.91 ERA | 1.00 WHIP | 215 K | 41 BB OOPSY – 200 IP | 16-8 W/L | 2.74 ERA | 1.02 WHIP | 230 K | 46 BB RotoChamp – 189 IP | 14-8 W/L | 2.86 ERA | 1.01 WHIP | 219 K | 41 BB CBS Sports – 179 IP | 14-5 W/ L | 2.92 ERA | 1.05 WHIP | 203 K | 41 BB ESPN – 194 IP | 16 W | 2.92 ERA | 1.00 WHIP | 231 K | 43 BB My Prediction: 2024 Prediction – 163 1/3 IP | 13-6 W/L | 2.92 ERA | 0.986 WHIP | 179 K | 38 BB 2024 Actual – 192 IP | 18-4 W/L | 2.39 ERA | 0.922 WHIP | 228 K | 25 BB 2025 Prediction – 198 2/3 IP | 17-6 W/L | 2.54 ERA | 0.921 WHIP | 244 K | 35 BB

Mr. Empathy is the Problem is seeing his popularity waning.

The Tigers have an option for 2026 in the Urquidy deal, so he could be valuable next year afer Cobb, Maeda and Flaherty leave.

We still have a MAGA doing our game day threads like its nothing.

Jan6 people were pardoned. The rules no longer apply.

I guess I'm a bit confused-my workplace has a DEIA program we all had to go through post-COVID/Floyd and focused mainly on ways we could learn about the backgrounds of people of different cultures and the best ways we could interact with each other respectfully. It's similar to what we used to call sensitivity training in the 90s and 00s. And while YMMV, I did notice workplaces becoming more, not less productive as a result of these programs. Or maybe we were just ready to change-who knows? The point is... these were not programs designed to say that certain people were bad people. In fact, they assumed that people were NOT bad and thus would respond to the information once they learned. What I'm seeing happening in Washington right now: images of women and minorities being scrubbed from websites, along with a lot of other information. And the views of some of the people installed in Washington on women and minorities are more than a little alarming. I'm more than aware that it's not only women and minorities being scrubbed from websites, but is another topic for another thread. Let's just say that this scrubbing is the digital version of a book burning, and leave it at that.

Northern Virginia is two sets of people. Those who drive Teslas or have "Dont Tread on Me" license plates and those who flip them off.

This is a really good thread and something I've been thinking about a lot... Generally mainstream reporters go to great lengths to get both sides of a story, but on at least two occasions the past few months, I've read articles dealing with trans issues that didn't quote any trans people. And that's... just not good journalism

We downvoted James Madison University as a place to send our kid when parents seated with us in the orientation asked if they taught "critical race theory" at the school. The very sweet and diligent kid who was giving the orientation gave a very controlled and non-dismissive answer but we were rolling with laughter. It wasn't a downvote against JMU so much as "these goober virginia rurals are just goober" sort of downvote. Kid preferred to go to MSU where his mom went.

Jung and Keith look good at the corners.

This is true for **** franchises that have no real history of success. See Buffalo, Ottawa, Anaheim. It shouldn’t take a serious franchise with quality leaders and accountability to get back to competing for a cup. Colorado was the worst team in the league in 2017. They made the playoffs in 2019 and won the cup in 2023. Florida missed playoffs in 2018 & 2019. They won the President’s Cup in 2022 and the cup last year. It shouldn’t take the Red Wings 10 years. There’s been a lot incompetence and poor decisions from the top.

I believe we have a Max sighting.

He had Tommy John last year, so he can go straight on the 60-Day IL and potentially be a late season option.

Troy Weaver was all kinds of awful when he was here. But one thing he should get credit for is that Isaiah Stewart extension. Stew is locked up at a flat $15 million per year until the summer of 2028. That last season is a team option. A lot can happen between now and then but if he continues this play I imagine they try to extend him in the 2026-27 season. His deal is also very attractive on the trade market if they decide to go that way. We will finally convey the pick this year that we traded to acquire Stew. We drafted him 16th and as the standings are right now, we would convey #19 to Minnesota. I think most, if not all, teams in the league would trade #19 this year for Stew.

Publix Field @ Jokers Marchant Stadium Game Time Forecast: 72 Sunny Listen: NA Watch: FanDuel DET/ MLBN Starters: TBD RHP Keider Montero

The annual signs that spring is coming...the buzzards come back, the frogs start calling and the Wings tank their way out of playoff contention. Will this be the year we get some lottery luck? Be nice to get a crack at an explosive scorer like Michael Misa As it sits right now..there are 7 guys on this team I'd like to see next year. Raymond, Larkin, Kasper, Cat, Mo, Edvinsson and Johansson...maybe 8 if you think Elmer belongs. The rest of them? Meh...

Regarding Tork...

maybe I'll look at the bright side here... There's still a CDC?

Awesome. Yes it gets to the point where guy don’t even think of it as working out but just going to see your friends.

This team is a reflection of its GM. No sense of urgency and a lack of accountability for not winning.

Yes! During a past weight loss, I had a Planet Fitness membership, and it worked for a few months, but there was no accountability or personal drive to maintain. Doing the classes has been a game changer. I’ve made a community of people from widely different athletic backgrounds, but I enjoy going, and it’s been the difference.

Bravo, sir. Definitely a smile in my face reading this. Good for you!

I could see Tork being the 66% DH vs. righties and the 1B vs. lefties. Don't give up on a 25 year old who did not have a season the year he was drafted and got called up too early. His failures are not all his fault.

Good to see Mize racking up the Ks.

Mize looks good...pretty pretty good

Torks single off Bautista is better than the homers.

So now Tork's here to complicate things. I figured he'd have a big spring.

Tork says who’s Breggie ?

Bert's six runs are infectious. There is no vaccine.

nobody wants to hear this, but the contention timeline starts in 2 years...which is actually a little early. that's when seider and raymond should hit their prime, kasper should be established as a center, danielson as #2, and larkin on the 3rd line. ed and seider as top pair and asp on the second line and pp. that's why i expect them to sign someone this offseason. maybe a marner if he's available. or mcdavid... remember when kenny said it takes 10 years to do a rebuild? the rebuild started in 2019 (thanks to kenny's inept drafting).

i'm not really disagreeing with you, i've just heard it said by a couple beat writers that they plan on keeping cossa in GR next year.

Do you want Detroit to win the next 5 championships or never wear teal again? I would take the titles but I would have to think on it a few.

Honestly, I don’t understand why all the owners think Rob Manfred is such a genius when it comes to running the Game. He’s about to lead Baseball into a lake of fire of its own making over Pete Rose. He completely undermined the value of their property by selling games to Apple+ and Roku for peanuts, causing ESPN to cut their half-a-billion tie to them. (I expect they will come back at a drastically-reduced price.) And now they’ve got two of their major league teams playing in garbage minor-league parks for the next who knows how many years. And this is on top of a thousand little indignities they subject their fans to over issues of soaring ticket and concession prices to watch games, telecast access to games, general treatment at ballparks, and the like. Why the **** are owners letting him destroy their game? I never imagined I’d ever say anything like this, but Rob Manfred is no Bud Selig.

you hexed Keith.