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Am back home in Vancouver. I tell ya, even before this loss, Mariners fans have a serious case of expecting impending doom, given the team’s history of failures notably in the 116-win year. They were so excited today, no trash talking at all (except for one guy who told me to “go s*ck Eminem’s c*ck" and whose appalled friends immediately shushed him), and after the final out many just sat there in stunned silence and sadness, they weren’t angry or anything. I was so freakin’ pumped I absolutely flew the 150 miles on the highway between T-Mobile Park and my home. Soundtrack for part of it was listening to the final innings of Dan & Dan’s radio broadcast archived at mlb.com. Now I’m still antsy, might grab my headlamp and go for a jog. Go get ‘em, Tigers!

I try to stay far away from political discussions, but apparently this was a Charlie Kirk quote: "I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights" - Charlie Kirk, 2023 If that was his stance, then his own death was worth it to himself. As I see it, the killing of my friend Brian (estrepe1) was not worth it. I’d rather have very tight gun control and have my friend back, among many many others.

He wasn’t talking about you. He said self respecting vets.

Top of the fifth I turn to my friends behind me and say “man… 3-0 feels like 10-0”. Once they started hitting the place went nuts. From the fifth inning on every Tiger half inning the crowd stood and cheered them on. Hearing the crowd chant “Javy! Javy!” Before his HR was incredible. He and Riley’s HR’s will be legendary. This seriously might have been the best game in Comerica Park since 2013. Their performance redeemed a lot from September. The fans deserved this. I don’t fault the fans for booing when they did. But they turned it around quick.

MWG opening the game thread is what the Tigers need to snap out of their long funk.

About 6 weeks ago this guy started getting sick and throwing up. Then he stopped eating. A bunch of tests and few thousand dollars later we still don’t know what it was. Doctor thought it was addisons disease which would have meant forever treatment. It wasn’t. She knew of a parasite with similar symptoms so we treated it as if it were that. I swear at one point I figured we were going to lose him. I had already told myself that. He was on prednisone and going out every hour. One night he’d just go out there and lay down. I had to put his leash on to simulate a walk and that got him back in. He would only eat chicken if we made it and barely any at that. Then one day he finally ate a half serving of his food. A few days later he was back to his normal diet and routine and now he’s better than ever. I was feeling guilty over not taking him for enough walks. Sunday is our long run day but with the freep half marathon last week and our post race massages, which is worse for us physically than the race itself, we decided to walk our route today and take him with us. He loved it. Out in the woods and taking in all the smells. He’s been sleeping since. Dogs rule!

All these cardinals are total losers. One of them, a big burly man with tears in his eyes, came to me the other day and said sir, you should be pope. You’d be the best pope, because popes until now have been weak. I would be a great pope, like you’ve never seen before. Did you know popes go back over 1,000 years? Nobody knew that. But I asked, why is all this stuff in Latin, a language nobody ever heard of? Everyone knows Jesus spoke English, which is the only language anyone understands. Did you know popes get to change their name from their real name to a pope name? Like Francis, what kind of name is that? It’s a pretty stupid name, a weak name. I’m gonna keep my name, Donald Jesus Trump. This will all happen soon, very soon, in about two weeks.

Please stop. The Tigers made the playoffs because of both Avila and Harris. Can we move on?

It’s logically and morally impossible for anyone to defend this admin and it’s people in a serious way. That’s why the forum lost all of its right leaners or they don’t post. They know they would get destroyed with reason and fact. The intellectual wing left the Republican Party. All that’s left are kooks, trolls, and grifters.

I really dislike the narrative that nobody can compete with the Dodgers. This year's World Series was arguably the most competivive World Series in history. It went seven games wiith one game going 18 innings and the 7th game also going into extra innings. During the regular season, four teams won more games than the Dodgers.

I still say MLB is largely at fault for partnering with gambling organizations. Sure, the pitchers broke the rules and should be banned from the game and punished for whatever cimes they committed. But MLB is sending a very bad message with their hypocrisy. This kind of thing was inevitable.

Ever notice that some users only post after losses?

The people who are complaining are people who just disagree with the Tigers operating principle. You have options as a team ownership: If you have the income you buy everything you want (NYM, NYY, LAD); or you build for a target window and go all out to win in that window (Tigers for a while under M Ilitch) and accept that you are going to leverage your future for your present; or you try to create your highest sustainable level of performance and hope that gets you a shot at the brass rings often enough. Those are choices that orgs make. Harris is on the third track. Many, many, fans want the 2nd track. But they should save their angst or just root for a different team, because if that is what you want, Harris is guaranteed to disappoint you every time. He's not on that page, and it's not by accident or incompetence.

One is trying to live the American dream. The other is rapidly destroying it.

I’ll be there with my son sitting right behind the visitors’ dugout.

Drafting one player you've never seen play over another play you've never seen play

ChasGPT

Tork being good makes this team so different. What a win.

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. 🙂

I wrote to John James requesting he provide me five things he's accomplished since becoming a congressman.

I'd be embarassed to say that.

Why would we want Arenado for 3 seasons? I like what Scotty had to day today regarding Bregman:

More fail as usual. Mark Cuban doesn’t own the Mavs anymore. He sold the majority stake. Making your post even better, the idiot that owns them now is one of Trump’s biggest personal donors.

When the President's first inclination after this incident was to take to his personal social media website, not express any empathy and throw the Blackhawk helicopter pilot and traffic controllers in front of the bus before there's been a single second dedicated to investigating what happened.... forgive me if I don't find some folks' complaints about "politicizing" to be serious.

I thought federal employees were not allowed to work remotely?

With another year in the books, here's a look at the people associated with the Tigers who passed away in 2024. Jim Hannan pitched for the Tigers in 1971, going 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 7 games, all in relief. Acquired in the offseason as part of a blockbuster, 8-player trade with the Washington Senators that netted the team Aurelio Rodriguez and Ed Brinkman, Hannan was again traded six weeks into the ‘71 season, this time to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for John Gelnar and Jose Herrera, neither of whom ever played in a game for the Tigers. Hannan also appeared in the majors with the Senators and Brewers. He died February 8 at the age of 85. Chuck Seelbach pitched for the Tigers from 1971-1974, compiling a record of 10-8 with a 3.38 ERA and 14 saves in 75 total games, with the vast majority coming in 1972. He debuted as a September call-up in 1971, was a heavily used bullpen arm in 1972, and then spent most of the 1973 & 1974 seasons injured. Becoming a history teacher at an all-boys school in Ohio after retiring, Seelbach did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died March 27 at the age of 76. Ed Ott was the Tigers’ bullpen coach from 2001-2002, serving under manager Phil Garner before being fired along with Garner and three other coaches by Dave Dombrowski after the Tigers started the 2002 season 0-6. As a player, Ott appeared in the majors with the Pirates and Angels, and also coached in the majors with the Astros. He died March 3 at the age of 72. Whitey Herzog played for the Tigers in 1963, batting .151 with 7 RBI in 52 games as a backup utility player, used mainly as a pinch hitter. Acquired from Baltimore in a 3-player deal after the 1962 season, he spent the entire season on the major league roster before retiring as a player to concentrate on scouting, coaching, and managing. Elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2010, Herzog also appeared in the majors with the Senators, KC Athletics, and Orioles, and managed the Rangers, Angels, Royals, and Cardinals. He died April 15 at the age of 92. Hank Foiles played for the Tigers in 1960, batting .250 with 3 RBI in 26 games as a catcher, one of three teams Foiles played for in 1960 alone. Acquired from the Indians on July 26, he spent the remainder of the season with the Tigers as the team's backup catcher before being drafted by the Orioles after the season. Usually a part-time player, he was only a starter for two years with the Pirates, but made the most of it, being named to the 1957 NL All-Star team. Foiles also appeared in the majors with the Reds, Indians, Pirates, KC Athletics, Orioles, and Angels. He died May 21 at the age of 94. Mike Brumley played for the Tigers in 1989, batting .198 with 1 home run and 11 RBI in 92 games as a utility player, spending time at second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions. Acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres in spring training, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1989 off-season in exchange for outfielder Larry Sheets. Brumley also appeared in the majors with the Cubs, Mariners, Red Sox, Astros, and Athletics. He died in a car accident June 15 at the age of 62. Jimmy Hurst played for the Tigers in 1997, appearing in 13 games as a September call-up and batting .176 with 1 home run, his bomb coming off of David Wells in a 6-1 loss to the Yankees. Hurst did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died July 6 at the age of 52. Jerry Walker served as the Tigers general manager in 1993. Among his achievements were signing Kirk Gibson and David Wells as free agents and acquiring outfielder Erid Davis in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walker pitched in the majors with the Orioles, Athletics, and Indians, was a pitching coach for the Yankees and Astros, and also worked in the front offices of the Cardinals and Reds. He died July 14 at the age of 85. Doug Creek pitched for the Tigers in 2005, appearing in 20 games, all in relief. He compiled a record of 0-0, with 0 saves, 18 strikeouts, and a 6.85 ERA in 22 ⅓ innings pitched, receiving his release on July 22. Creek also appeared in the majors with the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, Devil Rays, Mariners, and Blue Jays. He died July 28 at the age of 55. Billy Bean played for the Tigers from 1987-1989, batting .216 with 4 RBI in 45 total games, many of them as a defensive replacement at various positions. He spent much of his time in the Tigers organization with AAA Toledo, coming up to the major league club as an injury replacement or September call-up. Following his playing career, he became the second MLB player to publicly come out as gay, after which he worked as an inclusivity ambassador for MLB. Bean also appeared in the majors with the Dodgers and Padres. He died August 6 at the age of 60. Jim Brady pitched in 6 games for the 1956 Tigers, surrendering 20 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched for an ERA of 28.42. His contract status as a “bonus baby” meant that he had to spend the entire season on the major league roster, though he was used only 6 times. Following his brief baseball career, he became a college professor of economics and was eventually named president of Jacksonville University. Brady did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died August 18 at the age of 88. Don Wert played for the Tigers from 1963-1970, batting .244 with 77 home runs and 363 RBI in 1,090 games as an infielder, mainly a third baseman. An American League All-Star in 1968, he batted just .118 in the World Series against the Cardinals that year but played in 6 of the 7 games as the team’s starting third baseman. Also in 1968, Wert was hit in the head with a pitch from Cleveland’s Hal Kurtz, shattering Wert’s helmet and knocking him unconscious. He was carried off the field on a stretcher, spending two full days in the hospital recovering, and batted .200 after his return. Traded to Washington after the 1970 season in the Denny McLain-Ed Brinkman deal, Wert also appeared in the majors with the Senators. He died August 25 at the age of 86. John Baumgartner played in 7 games for the 1953 Tigers, batting .185 with 2 RBI in 27 plate appearances as a third baseman before being sent back to the minors for good. Of his 7 major league games, 6 of them were losses. Replaced by Ray Boone at third, Baumgartner did not appear in the majors with any other team. He died September 25 at the age of 93. Ozzie Virgil played for the Tigers in 1958 and from 1960-1961, batting .228 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI in 131 games as an infielder. The first African-American player in Tigers history, he was also the first player born in the Dominican Republic to play in the majors when he debuted with the Giants. After splitting the 1958 season between Detroit and the minor leagues, he played all of 1959 in the minors before again shuttling between the major and minor leagues in 1960, finally being traded to the Kansas City Athletics midway through the 1961 season. Virgil also appeared in the majors with the New York Giants, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants. He died September 29 at the age of 92. Ray Semproch pitched for the Tigers in 1960, going 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA in 17 games, all of them in relief. Acquired from the Phillies in the off-season, he was traded to the Dodgers on June 21 in exchange for fellow reliever Clem Labine and was assigned to LA’s AAA team in Spokane. Semproch also appeared in the majors with the Phillies and Angels. He died October 27 at the age of 93. Merv Rettenmund was the Tigers’ hitting coach in 2002, one of the only coaches to survive the housecleaning after the team’s 0-6 start. He was dismissed following the season as new manager Alan Trammell brought in his own coaching squad. As a player, Rettenmund appeared in the majors with the Orioles, Reds, Padres, and Angels, and he also coached in the majors with the Rangers, Athletics, Padres, and Braves. He died December 7 at the age of 81. Rocky Colavito played for the Tigers from 1960-1963, batting .271 with 139 home runs and 430 RBI in 629 games as an outfielder, mainly in left field. He was acquired from the Cleveland Indians in a blockbuster trade just before the 1960 season in exchange for outfielder Harvey Kuenn, with Colavito, the 1959 home run champion swapped for Kuenn, the 1959 batting champion. Colavito responded by hitting 45 home runs with 140 RBI in 1960, easily leading the team in both categories. A five-time All-Star (twice with the Tigers), Colavito also appeared in the majors with the Indians, KC Athletics, White Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees. He died December 10 at the age of 91. Gary Sutherland played for the Tigers from 1974-1976, batting .251 with 11 home runs and 94 RBI in 320 games as an infielder, mainly at second base. Known for his prowess at turning double plays, he was acquired from Houston in a 3-player deal after the 1973 season and became the starting second baseman for the 1974 squad. After struggling defensively in 1975, he was diagnosed with diabetes after complaining of headaches and dizziness and adopted a custom diet in which he ate peanut butter, saltines, and raisins three times daily. Traded to Milwaukee in exchange for infielder Pedro Garcia midway through the 1976 season, Sutherland also appeared in the majors with the Phillies, Expos, Astros, Brewers, Padres, and Cardinals. He died December 16 at the age of 80. Charlie Maxwell played for the Tigers from 1955-1962, batting .268 with 133 home runs and 455 RBI in 853 games as an outfielder. An excellent defensive outfielder, he led the American League in fielding percentage as an outfielder in four of his seven full seasons with Detroit and was twice an All-Star, in 1956 and 1957. In 1959, Maxwell hit home runs in four consecutive at bats during a Sunday doubleheader, and hit 12 of his 31 home runs overall on Sundays, leading to the nickname “Sunday Charlie” - to go along with his nickname of “Paw Paw” Maxwell, derived from his hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan. Following his playing career, Maxwell returned to Paw Paw and opened a successful auto parts business. Maxwell also appeared in the majors with the Red Sox, Orioles, and White Sox. He died December 27 at the age of 97.

From the Department of The Story That Just Wouldn't Die Already: In a bid to not repeat the hubristic mistake I made a couple weeks ago with the Fox News debacle (insert joke of choice here), this time I waited for the segment to actually air before sharing it here. This three-minute interview ran on the NewsNation cable network this morning on their Morning in America program. Despite appearances, Markie Martin is not grilling me relentlessly in this thumbnail, and I am not recoiling in horror for being Dunning-Krugered. You may not care about me or the story one way or other, but I hope you at least respect that I'm properly representin' here.

Regarding Charlie Maxwell, on July 29, 1962 my dad’s Elks Club drove all of us kids from Auburn, Indiana in a rented school bus to Chicago to see a doubleheader vs. the Yankees, where the Sox’s player Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell hit three home runs in the split. I clearly remember him hitting at least one in each game and of my dad remarking upon it but I guess I lost interest and didn’t realize he’d actually hit three because I was 10 years old and I had to pee the whole time so my attention was somewhat scattered. I did get to see Mantle and Maris, which was a big deal although neither of them did anything memorable aside from batting practice, but I was pretty disappointed that my first game was not at Tiger Stadium and some woman sitting on the first base side constantly ringing a loud bell was extremely annoying, especially because I had to pee.

Boras to Cohen: Steve, next Winter I look forward to discussing Tarik's free agency with you and the Mets. Obviously, it would not be appropriate to discuss any terms while he is under control of the Tigers, but he did mention that he loves coming to NY for award season, and getting bagels at his favorite store at 440 10th Avenue. That's 440 and 10, Steve. If you are interested, go to 440 and 10, Steve.

Some posters here too

I’m no Danielle Bruce, but I am live and on the scene. There are NO Tigers fans here, not even behind our dugout. Ratio of around 5,000 to 7 by my count so far.

I’ll be in this section 337, a few rows up from where this pic was taken. So pretty high up, but overall a nice enough seat. The Tigers’ dugout is on the 3rd base side. Paid US$225 for a single on StubHub, all-in after fees (exorbitant) and taxes. More than I’ve ever paid for a baseball ticket, but road playoff baseball is a rare chance.

Be nice if both sides came together and agreed to elect presidents that aren't morons and who follow the law.

Conservatives searching for a motive:

The “are they going to the playoffs?” sounds like a quintessential non-baseball fan thing to say. A baseball season is like walking with your friends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and only taking a day off every 10 days or so. It’s like a pilgrimage. It takes a long time because there are so many games. Rain or shine you’re out there. Sometimes staying in a campground, or taking shelter under a bridge and sometimes staying in fine hotel nursing your sore feet. A baseball team is a commitment, a vocation, and it’s not a walk in the park. The journey is more important than the destination. The playoffs so-called seem a long way off. Relish the moment, relish the scenery of the eternal now. Time is extended. Other sports only occur once a week, have set timetables, and sometimes have a two week gap and that’s not much time walking. It’s easier to think about the destination and consider that the only sustenance. You’re never really nursing sore feet. A baseball season is like an entire lifespan and the next year you rise from the dead and you’re in a brand new body and you can do it all over again having lost some compadres and gained some new ones. Sometimes at the end of a season’s coast to coast walk, something really special will happen and it will bind peoples hearts and minds together for generations, and when they talk about it and share that moment their voices will quiver with emotion. And that’s better than fantasizing about “playoffs.“

Sounds like the perfect guy to give a QO to. If he accepts, a one year insurance deal. Decline and draft pick.

It should upset everyone that masked people can get away with just snatching people off the street. It should be very clear to everyone who's around who they are and what their official business is. This is not a police state.

For a front office that is so tough to deal with, they sure made a lot of trades (8) with several different teams (7) leading up to the deadline.

Mcgonigle, Clark, and Briceno have been promoted to Erie.

Fun game for my first in a long time.

An excited Dan Dickerson calls Tork’s winner Tork Walk Off Over White Sox.m4a

You don't know ****. I worked along side government employees for 11 years. Most of them work hard and very few of them are getting wealthy. Why all the hate? Why are you celebrating the loss of jobs? You sound like an asshole.

But seriously you and all your fellow ****ing idiots could use some education on how hard working and thankless the jobs a supermajority of federal employees are. **** you and anybody parroting this line.

My adult daughter has multiple needs. She's deaf, struggles with spectrum issues, disabled. She is able to enjoy a level of independent living through Medicare and SNAP. This is a life we cannot provide her; it would break us within a year. The difference is that our daughter has a family to care about her; too many of her peers' families have long ago forsaken them. As parents we fully apppreciate the expense Medicaid provides. Any waste or fraud only takes from those who most need the aid. This is not how to make a system better. This is pulling the plug - literally, for some - on life support. The question is not what sort of political move this is. The question is whether this is the sort of society we aspire to be. Some argue Medicaid isn't a right. But it is the right thing to do.

I gotta brag a bit. My grandson won a gold metal in Social Studies in the 7th grade class competition Friday in the Aquinis Academic Olympics at Cabrini High School. His school finished in first place in the Tourney.

This is just stupid. 😂