Hongbit

The fact it’s going to be a long year is the most relevant part of the discussion. If this was a competitive team then we aren’t having this debate. There is no way they could waste a roster spot on Miggy. Every spot would matter towards winning games. Even the last guy would need to help them fill a specific role. That’s not the case with this team. Also, Cabrera isn’t going to play that much anyway.

If they did it now, they would have at least 3 years with this core roster and maybe a 4th with a few minor shuffles and then they’d be in hell.

I‘m not defending Cabrera or his value to the team. I’m just saying that his roster spot on this team is largely insignificant. To answer your question. Well with a guy like Baddoo, I guess it depends on how you view him. If you see his future ceiling as a utility guy then sure maybe he should be on this team playing and getting better at that role. If people still view him as a possible every day player in the future then he should be in Toledo until a spot to play everyday here opens up. Based on what I’ve heard it sounds like most view him as the latter. I am looking at this season as the first part of the 2025 team. Wins and losses don’t matter to me at all. It’s all about trying to improve future development and find players that can help when they may be ready to start winning. Miggy’s last bench spot doesn’t really matter in this equation since anyone fighting for it won’t get many AB’s up here anyway.

If that’s frustrating the you may need to adjust your expectations for this team. It’s going to be a long year and that’s if everything goes right with the young guys. Again, is it better for a young player to ride pine and not play in Detroit or get everyday AB’s in Toledo?

It’s not about Cabrera being better or worse than anybody. He’s not. We are talking about the 26th man on a team that’s best hopes for the year would be finishing 3rd place in worst division in baseball. It’s an insignificant position and even more so since we have no legit MLB prospects that would be helped by playing once a week instead of playing everyday in Toledo. Look I agree it would be a completely different story all around if we had a competitive team. We don’t. As for the pitchers, we have guys that really have no plans in the future when their competitive window should open. Boyd and Lorenzen only long term value is if they can pitch well enough the first half to garner anything in low flyer type prospects for them at the trade deadline. In theory, Wentz, Madden, and Flores getting innings could all benefit the future better. In reality, the last two aren’t ready for it yet but I do suspect that they both will be up for a bit before end of year for a taste.

Baddoo is blocked by his inconsistency at the plate. He needs everyday work to get better and being the 26th man on the roster with his main use as the primary pinch runner won’t help him. Getting AB’s everyday in Toledo and raking would be much better for his development if he really is a prospect.

$10M seems like an awful high number to keep as a cushion during the season for elevating players and adding street FA’s. Are you getting this number from any specific source or figuring on your own?

Baddoo’s ability is the only thing keeping him off the team. He’s been given a million chances. If he can’t make the roster on his own accord with these new rules to help base stealing then he’s not a prospect and is a solid career AAA player. Can’t block someone like that.

Sosna & Disner doing great work with the books yet again.

Who is Cabrera blocking?

There’s nobody that has any part in our plans for the future whose development would benefit from being the last guy on the bench. They would be better off playing every day in Toledo. If we are being honest about blocking, Matt Boyd and Michael Lorenzen are probably blocking future talent more than Miggy. They are roster fillers and won’t be part of the long term plans in a few years. There are guys in Toledo or Erie that very well could be part of the future rotation that may benefit from pitching up here every 5th day. I’m not suggesting this idea at all but blocking only really matters if you have a bunch of real prospects that could benefit more from playing in the show.

We knew about age and injury but here’s yet another potential red flag on Hooker.

I’ll change my tune if AJ starts playing him every other day but that’s not going to happen. He’s going to get maybe 2 starts a week at DH and an occasional PH spot here and there.

No. This is 100% a rebuilding year with no chance of being competitive in September. He’s not going to be playing everyday and won’t be blocking anyone. He will probably settle into a glorified pinch hitter role for much of the year and I can’t see how he will cost us games. Let him finish on his terms.

So does that mean GFY doesn’t stand for Good For You?

I think people underestimate the ability to spread out large contracts and buy time before cap hell arises. The Lions will still have a 3 to 4 year window after they decide on their future QB and pay him, extend Sewell, and extend ASB. They also have an advantage in drafting well in the later rounds and developing solid players so they aren’t in a terrible spot if they choose to move on from players that you’d ideally like to extend like a Jonah Jackson or Alim McNeil for example.

This dynamic is a little different in Mexico, Caribbean, and Central America. These are poor countries and the individual purchasing power is significantly lower. There are a few global corporations operating in all of these places with multi million dollar marketing and branding opportunities for MLB to partner. That is the money play and they can help offset the limited spending power per eyeball. The executives that hold the purse strings can also be bought easily with a few perks from MLB to ensure really nice deals too.

I don’t think the issue is character as much as it’s work ethic. They are not the same. The car incident was tragic but that’s not what’s weighing him down. Does he really love football and is he willing to work and study to get better as a football player. That’s the issue. Every top guy has talent but they also work tirelessly and are driven to compete and get better. Most of the guys that bust out of the league weren’t able to take every part of their preparation to that next level needed.

My guess on backup is they will pick Brdgewater.

I get that but I don’t believe growing the core was the main intention of the WBC. If it was they wouldn’t have started all the USA pool games at 10PM EST with the Latin teams taking the marquee 7PM slot.

Does viewership in the US really matter that much to MLB? The soaring numbers in Asia and Latin America have to bode well for the goal of marketing the stars of the game in areas outside of the US. I’ve enjoyed the tournament. It’s been great baseball of a high quality. So much better than watching the all-star game. I really hope the 2 major injuries don’t turn GM’s into assholes when it comes time to release players for the next one.

I thought we were told at the end of the 2021 Jeddah race that the FIA could not go back and change race results even if an error was made by the marshals. All part of the off track drama that makes F1. On another note, it’s ironic that the financial rules that were put in place to hopefully make the sport more competitive are actually doing the opposite. Red Bull has created a car that’s so much better. Even if teams had potential solutions to make radical changes to try and compete later in the season, they don’t have the money in the financial cap to make it happen.

My earliest Lions memory is Jared Goff leading an ugly 15-9 win over Aaron Rodgers and the hated Packers to start an amazing 8-2 stretch to end the 2022 season.

Brand New Lions means we don’t have live in the failure of the past. Just let it all go.