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if the Pistons get swept in the finals by OKC, this season will have been a massive, massive success

The Atlantic has become one of the few must reads for me

I always say that Bush v Gore was the real coup.

Avila had seven years. Let's see if Harris makes it to seven. It will be easier to compare then. So far, it's zero post seasons for Avila and two for Harris.

I am pretty sure there are no Avila fans here. I think if we had a vote on who was the better GM, it would be at least 95% Harris. The only reason I won't say 100% is because I'm a statistician. I believe Harris would also win a vote over Dombrowski. What some people would like is a GM with Harris's brain and long-term commitment but with Dombrowki's boldness.

The thing that angers me the most about the Moore situation. It has brought Jeff Moss back into my algorithm. He had been out of it for quite a while.

Randy Smith hired Al Avila. He provided Avila to the Tigers, who in turn provided the manager, players, and pitching coach to Scott Harris. So, by the transitive property, Randy Smith deserves credit for the 2024-25 Tigers. Amirite? 😁 I find it ironic that Scott Harris is being penalized here because he managed to salvage something of the rot that Avila left him so quickly. Maybe if the Tigers hadn't gone to the playoffs under him starting with Year Two of his tenure, people would be giving him more credit for the work he's doing, instead of giving credit for Harris's winning to the guy who was dismissed for persistent incompetence and so is no longer here (or, not for nothing, anywhere else) anymore. I also find it strange that you make it sound as though player development is intangible, like prayer. I would have laughed out loud if anyone had told me you'd ever believe that. I guess it's not so funny after all. And my argument is not "all based" on that, in any event. Look, give Al Avila as much credit for today's team you see fit. That's strictly up to you and anyone else here. I can reply only that's simply ridiculous, because he had this team for seven years, and the best he could do was guide the team to a 101-loss pace across his last six, including 96 in the final season he was here. The team didn't win until Scott Harris came here, tore the insides out, threw them away, replaced them with the state of the art, and gave the people he saw fit to keep the tools to finally do the job in a way that the former guy was capable only of giving lip service to. This is Scott Harris's team, and he gets the lion's share of the credit for our winning. Full stop.

Yeah - I thought that was lazy management.

In Kaiju movies, they never attack Michigan.

My grandson’s jr high QuizBowl team just qualified for Nationals. We may be spending Mother’s Day weekend in Chicago

I know the Warner Brothers and Sister Yacko, Wacko and Dot are not I read most of Trump’s postings in the voice of The Brain

If only we could use AI to repurpose Pepe Lepieu episodes into Trump...

Fun fact about Jansen is he is a lifelong close friend of an old intramural teammate of mine.

They have a fantastic daily newsletter chock full of use reads, and a terrific weekly roundup on Sunday.

Per Passan on ESPN..Kenley Jansen and the Tigers have reached a deal on a one year contract

I just jumped on baseball reference and one of the featured player pictures was Chet Lemon. And then I think about head first dives into first base. And one handed fly ball catches just above the left shoulder. And a dirty jersey by the 4th inning. And that time on NBCs game of the week where he introduced the Tiger lineup and he had a nickname for everybody and “Redneck” was used 3 times. And, my, how far graphics have come since then. Ok, back to GM bickerbate.

It might be him. It might not be him. It could be that ASU is about to extend him and that will be that. It could just as easily be that Michigan did an interview with him yesterday, there was mutual interest, and Michigan said "we'll get back to you by Sunday night." Presumably after they have heard back from DeBour or Freeman or another top choice. In the meantime, ASU doesn't want to lose Dillingham, meets with him and makes him an offer to extend him at ASU, for which there is (also) mutual interest. So sure, he's "close" to signing an extension, but he's also "close" to signing with Michigan. Until ink is signed on one contract or the other, no one knows. And that this story is that they are "close" means very little.

Getting to the finals would be incredible in just the second year after winning 14 games. It depends on what "all-in" means though. I don't think the East is so good that they have to go superstar hunting and gut the team to chase Booker or something. A fringe All-Star like Trey Murphy, or someone similar, could really set them up to the be the favorite right now for presumably far less.

Seems like everyone in AA has known for a long time that Sherrone Moore was ordering off the secret menu if you know what I mean.

I have a specific metric for Harris and it's not the last two post seasons, which were GREAT!!! No... The metric (gotta make this the short version as I am headed to Sarasota for a few days vacation...) I want to assign the highest value to Harris is: Sustainable Competitiveness. So... draft and develop, ability to get major leaguers in multiple rounds per draft (1st, 2nd, plus a few more_), and always in a pennant race, every year. Also a part of this is for Harris to never leave a stone unturned. I think he's already demonstrated that. Also is the ability to make key trades as needed, or sign key free agents as needed to plug any holes or add depth. I think this is undetermined at the moment... And the last component, to me... is the ability to identify WHICH players to offer second contracts to and which ones should be moved on from. If Harris offers second contracts to McGonigle, Clark, and Jobe (just for example) I would get it, and understand why. If he decides to NOT offer second contracts to Skubal, Carpenter and Tork... I would UNDERSTAND why, and not complain. Make good decisions on second contracts, in order to maintain Playoff Sustainability. The sustainability, to me, overrides ALL ELSE. And I'm glad we have Harris because I think he's the right guy for that. My 2 cents.

I would go with 99.9%. Maybe there's 1 or 2 holdouts. And I'm not one of them. I was probably his biggest supporter and last holdout... But I was also ready to dump him, just as much as everyone else, when he got the ax. I just think it's so ridiculous to go through all the pretzel logic and gymnastics trying to discredit him for anything and everything. No one wants Avila back. We're all glad he's gone. And I think mostly happy with Harris. Harris may need a couple more years to re-fashion this team into the exact mold that he wants. So give him his chance. I think most people are thinking along this vein, except a few who are a little more demanding of Harris, at this point in time. But it's still asinine all the pretzel logic trying to discredit Avila (Avila hired Hinch and Fetter... "NO he didn't, pretzel logic pretzel logic pretzel logic...", These are mostly Avila players "THEN 2006 WAS ALL Randy Smith!!! Pretzel logic pretzel logic pretzel logic...").

Thanks for the tip.

The videos he posted of himself of him dropping feces on the citizens of the United States, were they real?

Chance of making the majors 25% Chance of having a 2 WAR season 5%

Lee coming at this like a data scientist, and it is interesting to read through that lens. I just think the "who acquired the player" criterion ignores a big part of the equation, but that other part is a little less objective so I can see null hypotheses not being disproven...

they are a flawed team, but a 20-5 team! losses by 3, 3, 4, 4, and one blowout, so they have been competitive 24 of 25 nights. getting the same vibes that we felt from the Going to Work crew, when people were asking, are they really this good? how do you score 142 points with no starter getting more than 15? Detroit, which has won five of six, had seven players in double figures and 12 with at least seven points, tying an NBA record held by the 2018-2019 Bucks and 2021-22 Spurs.

I dont think we’ll learn that from either Skubal or Riley. Skubal’s situation is unique—he’s going to get a ridiculous contract from someone (maybe the Tigers), but he will be in serious demand and I don’t think the Tigers can be blamed if he ultimately goes somewhere else. Riley is a flawed player who looks like he’ll break down sooner. He’s basically the Benjamin Button of baseball. We’ll find out with guys like McGonigle, Clark and Jobe.

I don't think he would pair well with Cade. Having both of your stars be that inefficient is a bad idea IMO. I also dislike undersized guard like him and Brunson. I think they are very exploitable in the playoffs. You need to be a generational shooter like Steph if you are going to be that size.

Tis the season. Time to watch what I consider the ultimate Christmas movie. Lion in Winter. It came out in 1968. Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn, a very young Anthony Hopkins. It's a period piece set in 1183. King Henry II gathers the family to name his successor to the throne. Three sons, all are vying for Henry's affection. Elenor his wife who spends most of the year imprisoned. They all spend their time together plotting to force him into a decision. Some great quotes

Pistons score 142- nobody scores even 20, 8 guys in double figures, 35 assists.

The older I get, the more these long delays between seasons piss me off. I could be dead before the next season starts.

I don't think I will be that upset when Levert misses his annual 25 games.

Yeah, it was sarcasm. I forgot the /s.

Only when they win the World Series.

Because then they wouldn't get the minor leaguer from the Blue Jays who is going to be a star.

E-7 of Pluribus was really incredible last night. There are only two more episodes left this season and the next one won’t begin for 1 1/2 to 2 years from what I’ve read. A lot of people have remarked that this episode is boring because it doesn’t move the story along very much, but it deepens the emotional and psychological stakes of the major characters who deal with crushing isolation and sorrow differently. I don’t know if it says something about how women and men deal with this differently or simply how different people deal with it.

Maybe they should send the entire team home.

This is AI. No way would he be spotted in a walker that wasn’t made of gold.

Jansen seems like the kind of guy that might fall off the cliff any year - 37 years old with declining k rate and velocity. He might be a Joe Nathan signing or maybe they can squeeze another good year out of him.

The dream is dead