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The Carolina sky is the perfect shade of blue where I am this morning.

Tough break for the Mets. deGrom had been named opening day starter. “Jacob deGrom underwent an MRI today that revealed a stress reaction on his scapula that has caused inflammation in the area. The immediate prescription is for Jake to discontinue throwing for up to 4 weeks and then reimage the area. At that time, we’ll update the plan of care.” ~NY Mets

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trickbot-pro-russia-hacking-gang-documents-ukrainian-leaker-conti-11648480564 This is an extremely good read if you can access it. One of the better pieces WSJ has done in a while. It appears in todays print edition, fwiw.

With the exception of Garneau, this looks like opening day.

I’m not registered as a Biden critic. It’s more about what was said and the current situation than who said it. From a psychological standpoint, the words aren’t productive.

~WSJ article When Russia unveiled previously secret details of its nuclear-weapons doctrine for the first time in 2020, it confirmed something U.S. war planners had long suspected: Moscow would be willing to use atomic arms to keep from losing a conventional war. Since Russian President Vladimir Putininvaded Ukraine last month, he has repeatedly raised the specter of nuclear war, invoking his country’s atomic arsenal in an effort to deter the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from getting involved in the conflict. But as Mr. Putin’s army has faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces strengthened by large infusions of Western weaponry, concerns have grown in Washington and allied capitals that Russia could consider using a so-called tactical nuclear weapon to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Such weapons, which generally have a less powerful warhead than a strategic nuclear weapon carried on an intercontinental ballistic missile, were part of Cold War military thinking though they never figured into the arms-control agreements of the past between the U.S. and Russia or the Soviet Union. ———————— For the record, personally, I fully believe Biden’s comments being debated above were a mistake. There was nothing to gain anywhere as a result. Actions speak louder than words and to date the administration and western allies have been spot on in their execution.

Of the 10 parks in North Carolina currently home to an affiliated team, I would encourage folks to attend a game in Asheville (Tourists) and a game in Kinston, NC. (Down East Wood Ducks) Both of these parks are yesteryear parks and lack some of the creature comforts newer parks offer. However, both parks are unique in their own ways and both parks have their own histories. i’ve been to both parks numerous times over the years and hope to get to them both again this season. They will both face difficulties I believe in satisfying MLB’s mandates for upgrades. I hope I am wrong on this. Last year my wife and I completed a “bucket list” item that had been out there a while. We have now been to a game in all 10 active minor league parks in North Carolina. Three new parks in the state in the past several years put us in the catch up mode.

Not sure where to put this …. MLB is is currently communicating to the different minor league park/facility owners that the funding and plans to upgrade to MLB required standards will be due in 2023. The Durham Bulls (AAA) have determined that in order to meet the MLB demands the costs will be $10 million. The Asheville Tourists (A+) will be looking at a $30 million tab. Asheville is one of the oldest parks in use today. It’s a great fan experience. Some of the Asheville money will go for upgrading the fan experience that current ownership wants in addition to the the MLB core requirements. I’m sure many teams will face these challenges in the coming year. I could imagine that some teams may even be forced to relocate at some point if city and town officials don’t approve of spending money on ballparks. As I understand it, MLB is putting zero dollars into this.

This is good news and I would say that about any of the justices on the SCOTUS. It is very disappointing to read some of the comments attached to the above tweet. The lack of civility in political commentary is appalling.

I’ll fess up, I had no idea Faedo was ready to go live. His appearance today is very encouraging!

No drunken sailors on this boat.

While Dickerson and Jim Price return on the radio side, Matt Shepard begins his fourth full season calling play-by-play for the Tigers on television. Dickerson and Shepard will team up for the first internet-only broadcast on March 23 against the Pirates. Dickerson and Price will handle the call on the other webcast March 26 against the Phillies. Bally Sports Detroit will pair Shepard with a rotation of analysts, including Dan Petry, Craig Monroe, Jack Morris and Kirk Gibson. Here’s the full broadcast list for Spring Training (all beginning at 1 p.m. ET): March 18 vs. Phillies -- AM 1270, Bally Sports Detroit March 20 at Yankees -- 97.1 FM March 21 vs. Blue Jays -- AM 1270, Bally Sports Detroit March 23 vs. Pirates -- Tigers.com March 24 vs. Yankees -- AM 1270, Bally Sports Detroit March 25 at Blue Jays -- AM 1270 March 26 vs. Phillies -- AM 1270, Tigers.com March 27 at Orioles -- 97.1 FM March 28 vs. Yankees -- AM 1270, Bally Sports Detroit April 1 vs. Yankees -- AM 1270 April 2 vs. Orioles -- 97.1 FM or AM 1270 April 4 vs. Blue Jays -- AM 1270, Bally Sports Detroit

Daniel Norris appears to be headed to the Cubs.

Buck Farmer signs with the Little Red Machine in Cincy.

Russia imposed sanctions on President Biden and other top U.S. officials, in a move aimed at restricting travel to Russia in response to “unprecedented sanctions” preventing Russian officials from entering the U.S. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it also sanctioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns and White House press secretary Jen Psaki. The list also includes former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The Kremlin’s latest round of travel restrictions includes 13 people, and the foreign ministry said the measures could be expanded. “In the near future, new announcements will follow to expand the sanctions list by including top U.S. officials, military, lawmakers, businessmen, experts and media people who are Russophobic or who contribute to inciting hatred against Russia and the introduction of restrictive measures,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. -WSJ

President Biden enters this year’s midterm elections with roughly half of Americans doubting he will seek re-election in 2024, with some citing the toll of the office on the country’s oldest president as the nation is facing a pandemic, high inflation and Russia’s war with Ukraine. A new Wall Street Journal poll found that 52% of Americans don’t think Mr. Biden will run for re-election in two years, while 29% do expect him to pursue a second term. Nineteen percent are undecided about his future. Among Democrats, 41% said they think Mr. Biden will run again, while 32% said they didn’t think he would. The poll found 26% of those Democrats unsure. Mr. Biden and the White House have said he intends to run for re-election. People close to the president have suggested he will make a final decision after November’s midterm elections. WSJ

For the past two or three years I have wondered if Jim Price is going to be in the booth another year. I haven’t heard otherwise so I’m guessing he’ll be back.

Maybe he can hot dog it in front of the mirror until he gets back. Go SF!

WASHINGTON—President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. The new survey showed that 57% of voters remained unhappy with Mr. Biden’s job performance, despite favorable marks for the president’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a recent State of the Union speech, which provided him an opportunity to directly speak to millions of Americans. Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge on which party would best handle the pandemic was down to 11 points, while a 9-percentage-point lead on education issues was down to 5 points. When asked about which party was best able to protect middle-class families, the 5-point advantage for Democrats four months ago evaporated and left the parties essentially tied on the question. WSJ

One had to see this coming when interleague play was initially introduced. It was the the beginning of the end of traditional baseball at the major league level. Interleague play created an opening for this 💩. I figured then that MLB would trend toward the NFL and other major sports where the distinctions and traditions between the leagues and divisions eventually disappear. The DH, which I hate in either league, was bound to end up in both leagues once it was permanent in the AL. I realize expansion plays a part in this but not to the point it is now.

nm

Yep.

WASHINGTON—President Biden is facing calls from some Democrats to push for the suspension of the federal gasoline tax as the next move to counter soaring prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Democratic governors from states including Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania this week pushed Congress to suspend the tax, which amounts to 18 cents a gallon, for the rest of the year. Some Senate Democrats who are facing difficult re-election fights in November also renewed their call for legislation that would halt the tax and are urging Mr. Biden to back the bill. Source-WSJ ———————— I’d like to hear opinions on this. Personally, I believe this is a bad idea. I know gas is higher and will likely go higher but again, I think this is a bad idea. Who knows where this situation will be in 60 or 90 days! And they’re wanting to pull the trigger on this as soon as possible in March! Each state has their own gas tax which weighs very heavy on persons in those states. I don’t see how Californians do it. But this has nothing to do with the federal tax. Why doesn’t California lower/suspend their gas tax? Suspending the federal tax for the remainder of the year-not good. One minute it’s about spending on infrastructure and the next it’s about cutting federal revenue on highway maintenance. If this goes beyond “transitory,” maybe we revisit this. Vouchers for gas is a bad idea as well…at this point. Opinions? Ideas?

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-cba-negotiations-update If they can still pull something out of the hat I’m all for it but…