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Vacation hangover. Totally understand.

For some time now Tork has given me the Chris Shelton vibes.

I can’t understand how anybody can sit through one of these so called “debates.” Joe Biden has been in Washington for more than 50 years. Trump has been as high a profile figure in politics as anyone for eight years now. Other than dodging questions and blaming one another, what is there to it? There is nothing new. The public records speak louder than their prepared rhetoric.

Speaking of the old days… we walk frequently on the greenways near our house. About a year ago we were walking and a gentleman riding a bike went by us going in the opposite direction. As on most days, I was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat. A few minutes later he comes up beside us and asks if we’re from Michigan. I explained that we’re not but are just Tiger fans. He says, “I was up there for a while.” Long story short, it was Phil Mankowski who played in Detroit 1976-1979. We had a really good conversation that day and he had lots of good stories, really nice guy. Coincidentally, we crossed paths on the greenway again yesterday and it tuned into another great conversation. I told him I had just finished Lance Parrish’s new book and he took it from there reminiscing about Parrish and other good stories.

Thank you for posting this. I wish I had known this in advance. I would absolutely have been there for the ceremonial opening of the park. It is a sham that Whitaker isn’t in the HOF.

The Cleveland Guardians agreed to terms with lefty starter Matthew Boyd, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Thursday. Boyd has been a free agent since the offseason, as he recovered from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last June.

There were too many Mexicans on the team.

Not really sure where to put this: Related to Minor Leagues ‘Now, every single game, no matter which day of the week it’s scheduled, will have balls and strikes called by the home plate umpire. Teams are still allowed to challenge calls, however, instead of being able to do so three times, it’s been decreased to only two.’ I like this. Going fully with the challenge system but reducing the challenges by one. I listened to the Durham Bulls game last night and it is obvious that the reduction in challenges is going to force the challenger to think twice before challenging a call. Durham lost both challenges by the middle of the game. Not good.

Very confident in saying Greenberg was instructed to use those exact words by Scott Harris. Harris probably made Greenberg rehearse the comments in his office prior to giving the green light. ‘Slow burn’ would be more accurate.

I think the point is, he got an eight year deal while having zero ML experience is somewhat surprising. That he is struggling right now is not surprising at all.

My take as well with one minor tweak. I don’t believe he’s actually grasped how bad he’s really been. I believe he was very over confident in his ability to maintain his HR numbers last year. My impression was that he thought he had it all figured out…but didn’t. That’s why, of my two preseason Bold Predictions, his regression was an easy one. I would think having a residence in Toledo opened his eyes.

Enjoy your vacation 👍

Have you attended games where the ABS or Challenge systems were in use? Curious. To clarify, I am not proposing whatsoever that umpires be replaced. The ABS system makes their job on pitch calls much easier.

That is absolutely awesome and I am so glad he didn’t mince words but spoke the unspoken. No pun intended but Reggie addressed the white elephant in the room with an explicit and honest appraisal of what life was really like for these guys. 🙏 Reggie Jackson! Now, was I the only one to notice Reggie adjusting his HONDA baseball hat for the camera’s sake prior to his comments?

I’m still not understanding why the league(s) don’t go with the full ABS system versus the Challenge system. If a challenge is raised on a given pitch when the Challenge system is being used, aren’t they using the ABS system to determine the call anyway through a visual review? If so, why not commit to the ABS system? It was my initial impression that the Challenge system was a way of introducing an automated system to the game, generally speaking. In that it is being promoted over the ABS system, I’m a bit surprised.

Source: the athletic Ball/strike challenges are coming It feels backward that technology allows those of us who have no bearing on the outcome of a baseball game to have a better view of the strike zone than the umpires tasked with calling balls and strikes. Or at least it seems that way. If you talk to umpires and others in the game, they’ll remind you: The box on the screen isn’t inerrant. For one thing, we see the three-dimensional plate in two dimensions. But do you know who should have some bearing on the outcome of a baseball game? The players. And as the ABS (automated ball/strike) technology has been tested out in the minor leagues, it appears we are circling a sustainable method of implementation. Jayson Stark has all the details here, but on Tuesday, MLB announced that Triple-A games would no longer use the fully automated strike zone, opting to go full-time with the challenge system. Players and coaches seem to prefer the hybrid, where a human is able to correctly call balls and strikes mostof the time, but players have the ability to challenge egregious misses. The good news: These won’t be lengthy “send it back to New York” reviews. Umpires will simply be informed of what the ABS system saw. Further, there won’t be infinite challenges. Pacific Coast League games will allow three per team, while International League games will allow two per, with successful challenges retained. Per Stark, we could see this in the big leagues as early as 2026.

My wife and I were in attendance last night for a game between the Birmingham Barons and the Montgomery Biscuits. The game was played at Rickwood Field. Between innings about half way through the game the PA announcer delivered the news of Willie’s passing. We traveled about nine hours to attend that game because for years I had wanted to attend a game at Rickwood because Mays had played there in the Negro Leagues. I couldn’t believe I learned of his death while sitting in the park I had always associated with him. Say Hey Willie!

I’ve never been a Yankees fan, ever. But, I have to tip my hat to them for not being a party to this City Connect circus. The Tigers should have opted out as well but, not surprisingly, that didn’t happen.

The book he did with Mickey Lolich was very good. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Same here. If I recall, I believe you ordered the Lance Parrish book as well? I’m about half way through the book and I’m constantly reminded that 1984 was something that will never be equalled, by any team. Forty years removed and still searching. The reason I continue to be a Tigers fan is their rich history through the years, good and bad. I’d just like to find some good years again soon. I’m afraid their futility is going to outlast me.

👍

Offense.

Seriously, is this really happening!

Dare I ask what is the purpose of the additional patch on the hat for, or the meaning of it? Thanks.

MLB.TV free game of the day.