casimir

Hope she enjoys it again. I was never one for theatre. But one thing my daughters have done to me with their dance and musical and marching band stuff is have more of an appreciation for those talents and the work kids put into those endeavors. Edit: Pass on the political forum. I’m in a good mood. No need to ruin it.

Sad trombone. Winner, winner, kielbasa, sauerkraut, and pierogi dinner!

This stinks. I was really hoping he could bounce back and return to his trajectory from last season.

Higginson for Williams.

That’s my daughter’s HS musical in the spring. She was in it a few years ago, too. She was the leader of the Brooklyn gang and had a pretty good fake accent.

Econ 101?

I agree. But that's not my point. Rewind a year and tell me folks (including yourself) would prefer Boyd over Verlander at $15M. Bull****.

Hold on, let's be honest. Had Verlander been signed for $15M, a lot of folks would have been overjoyed. If Boyd had been signed for $15M, a lot of folks would have at best ambivalent to it, and more likely upset by it.

I don’t know. It depends on what other moves are made. I could be wrong, but I think he’s out of minor league options. I’m suspect of his 2025 numbers repeating. I think it’s easier to bring him back if he has options. Greene, Carpenter, Meadows, Vierling, Perez is a lot of OF covered. Will they carry Jones as a RHH DH again?

About time they catch a break.

Hmmm… I gotta recheck the family tree.

McKinstry is the bridge between Punto and Don Kelly.

I don’t know. Perhaps this season was simply lightning in a bottle for Jones.

And they claimed Kreidler. Dodgers better get that ring whilst they can.

I think a few of those names will be gone. I suspect Ibanez will be gone, Vierling’s IF days may be over, and Cruz will be taken via rule V (hi Shelton).

There’s no need for a DH. They already have Carpenter and Greene as offense first middling defensive corner OFs. And if I’m building a roster, I’m using DH as a partial day off for everyday position players. I think that can help alleviate some of the wear and tear of a roster, especially given the age of shorter outing pitchers clogging up half of the team.

Politely deKline.

Suarez just turned 34 years old? Wow, it seems like he should be older. Trading for him would have been one thing. But I'm not sure I'd chase in him free agency. He's another strikeout prone hitter with poor defensive acumen. He'll probably command a large salary, but I'd like the Tigers to go elsewhere with the funds. Additionally, they're a bit dug into Keith as a longer term player given the contract. Its not a bad contract per se, but they did offer the extension. That extension by itself should mean something as far as longer term plans. I think for all involved, its probably best to let him focus on coming into camp as a 3B. He was placed out of position in his rookie season. He kind of got moved around a bit this past season. There seem to be more internal options for 2B than there are for 3B (not that there aren't other means of filling that position).

I would like to see this emphasis on making contact during games.

I'm shocked, too. Was it USC that started out as a preseason #1 and fell flat to a 6-6 season a few years (decades) ago? That's about what this PSU seems like.

As far as the Ilitch needs to spend some money, the Tigers were in on Bregman. They brought in Torres. They spent wrongly on Maeda and Webb for this season. They probably could have spent more for the bullpen, but that was a strength for them last season. It was an absurd strength, it'd be difficult to expect an exact repeat. But the regression to what we saw was a bit of out expectation. The rest of the pitching staff had pieces and some depth, but injuries dug into it. They had several position players that they weren't going to upgrade from. Dingler/Rogers. Baez. Greene. Meadows. Carpenter. Keith. That's 2/3 of the lineup that had reasonable incumbents returning as heavy side of platoon at least. Torres was added and they were in on Bregman. That's almost the entire lineup. Add in Vierling, who unfortunately had a lost season. He probably plays RF with Carpenter at DH.

Keep Skubal for 2026 unless blown away by an offer. If the season goes down the tubes before the trade deadline, make a move then if its more advantageous to do so. Offensive players that can put the ball in play, run the bases, defend well. 3 true outcomes isn't going to work well at Commercial Park. That first half where they were better at putting the ball in play and taking extra bases worked well. Swing and miss for the bullpen. This season proves Fetter has to have something to work with. Can't make chicken salad out of squirrel roadkill. Open to trading away Greene, Carpenter, and/or Torkelson. Every other team sees the same deficiencies that we see, so we're not pulling anything over on any other team. And maybe they'll all be back anyway. But they're available for a deal, none have earned an extension, and I'm not sure that they will. Keith gets a shot at 3B. He showed well enough when given an opportunity. He has a contract, so they're going to find somewhere for him. 2B wasn't it, he lacks the range. He might have the range and enough of an arm for 3B. Actually, maybe use spring training to become the primary 3B and get a few more reps to back up at 1B? Fine with Meadows in CF and Baez at SS if they can afford those bats at the end of the lineup. If the top 6 of the lineup forces Dingler to bat 7th, take the defense up the middle and hope for the best with the bats. McKinstry back to a utility role. Career year, credit to him. But he's best served as a utility player, and he could still be able to scratch out semi regular playing time by spelling guys around the field, pinch running, defensive replacement, etc. Qualifying offers to Torres and Flaherty. If they accept, that's fine, they can fill roster needs. If they decline, pick wisely. Greene needs to level out his swing, work on conditioning, and solidify his defense. He's on a path to age out before he hits free agency.

Not that I’m looking ahead, I’m certainly not. But Skubal would be on normal rest for games 3 and 7 of the ALCS. It’ll be best to take care of Toronto in 6 to ensure maximum Skubal in the World Series.

Each team has won a close game and a not so close game. Each team has lost a close game and a not so close game. That’s interesting symmetry from a 10,000 foot level.

Carpenter? Boy, that would be something if he started a fracas.