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BERLIN—The German army is “more or less powerless” and can offer only limited support to allies as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ramps up support for its eastern members following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Germany’s top army commander said Thursday. “I wouldn’t have believed that after 41 year of service in peacetime I would have to experience another war,” Lt. Gen. Alfons Mais said in a statement posted on his LinkedIn profile. “And the armed forces that I lead are more or less powerless.” The U.S. and other allies have long criticized Germany for underspending on defense in the past decade as the country sought to balance the state’s budget while simultaneously ramping up welfare spending. “We all saw it coming, but we were not able to assert ourselves, to learn and prepare after the aggression on Crimea,” he added.

So, anyone still buying the dips? Big dips? The market is in a perfect storm for destruction…rising rates, war, inflation…you name it. The Fed has the ball now and it will be very interesting to see if they raise 50 basis points mid-March if things are as volatile as they are now-I would be surprised. They are in a Catch-22 spot.

I’d like to hear the basis of this perception if you don’t mind sharing.

…or a dollar sign, or three.

I read Cantor’s book on the ‘68 Tigers. Good book.

That hat is priced at $44 on fanatics site and the thing is 50% mesh. These ST hats look worse every year.

I’ m anxious to see how UM administration and Big Ten respond. I would expect this will lead to pretty severe consequences. We’ll see.

“While exact plans are not finalized, MLB and the MLB Players Association intend to hold multiple bargaining sessions — perhaps every day — as early as Monday, sources told ESPN. Multiple owners and players expect to fly in for sessions leading up to MLB’s stated Feb. 28 deadline.” -Jeff Passan

Part of the Putin playbook. Their state media has been running this falsehood for several days. Some things never change.

To expect pitchers to bat for a decent average would be naive. It’s the strategic part of having to manage a pitcher through a game, including from the offensive perspective, that I enjoy. I would think organizations that put an elevated focus on the pitchers offense in spring training drills could see dividends during a long season. The pitcher comes to bat with the lowest of expectations of anyone in the lineup to begin with. If a pitcher could lay down a decent bunt or have a disciplined strike zone it would be an advantage over the majority of other pitchers in the league, a difference maker. MLB has created a liability over time, in their view, of having a pitcher hit. Didn’t Lolich homer in the ‘68 series? Bob Gibson homered in the 1967 series against Boston. Like every position, some guys are going to be more skilled in certain aspects. You make a good point about the catchers. They’re the coach on the field and are preoccupied with every nuance of the game during play. For the majority of the history of the game the pitchers have had to bat. Removing this as a component that has to be managed will take something away from the game. Baseball has been referred to for years as, “the thinking man’s game.” In it’s current state and direction, I don’t see that as so much the case anymore.

Maybe when Lulu establishes a summary of her thoughts she’ll share them with us. Until then…

Very early on when Black Lives Matter was just gaining recognition a couple of years back I visited their official site to educate myself on who they were…call it old fashioned curiosity. It was an eye opener at the time. Initially, and this is in summary, they pretty much opposed western culture and values. They incorporated and projected a cynical view of the black male as the head of household. They were clearly outspoken regarding the family nucleus that is considered traditional in our history. They publicly stated their beliefs and objectives, front and center, on their website. There were no gray areas. Then and now, I was appalled at how many well meaning people flocked to their tent without having one bit of knowledge about who these people were. I take for granted here that everyone should be up to speed on who the three founders were. If not…google it. Recent discoveries surrounding this organization have begun to shed light on what a rotten outfit this was/is. To any thinking person, their credibility is shot. Black lives do matter. But these founders were mostly about themselves and the money they could grift from gullible people who had good intentions. They raked it in. Some months back I revisited their website and recognized that they had scrubbed many of their controversial viewpoints from their page. There is nothing credible about this organization.

I tuned in to a podcast last week that Bruce Bochy was doing with a Bay Area reporter. He was adamantly opposed to the DH overall and especially vocal about the NL adopting it. I agree with him entirely. The rationale used to eliminate the pitcher as a hitter because of his skills is flawed. The system has diminished his skills over the time he has been playing baseball from high school to present. Two wrongs don’t make a right is how I perceive it.

Who cares? Surely you jest. Unfortunately, racial makeup is a huge component in some cases when employment and advancement are being considered. Yes, it is ridiculous. Liz knew this, that’s why she pulled the card.

I’d guess there is a realistic chance he officially announces a delayed start in one fashion or another. Spring training won’t start on time as it is. It’s hard to believe that after all the chaos and confusion experienced around the 2020 season that the owners and players haven’t made any more effort before now than they have to prevent an interruption to this season.

LOS ANGELES – Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer will not face any criminal charges on sexual assault accusations filed against him in July, the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced on Tuesday. The right-hander is still being separately investigated by Major League Baseball. Under the joint domestic violence policy agreed upon by MLB and the MLB Players Association, the Commissioner's Office has the ability to suspend a player even if he has not been charged or convicted. “MLB’s investigation is ongoing, and we will comment further at the appropriate time,” MLB said in a statement.

Rest assured, this won’t have one bit of impact on anything. The really silly part is the guy trying to explain and defend his action. His explanation about holding his breath tanked any credibility he tried to project.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters on Wednesday that he held his breath while taking a photo last weekend with San Francisco Mayor London Breed and former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson in which all three were not wearing masks. Johnson posted the photo, taken at an NFL playoff game last Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, on hisTwitter account. Spectators at the game were required to wear masks. . . . “I wore my mask the entire game and when people ask for a photograph I hold my breath and put it here and people can see that,” the mayor said, referring to how he held his mask up next to him during pictures. “There is a zero percent chance of infection from that.” ——————— This guy should be a comedian. Those California politicians do it better than anyone. Newsome, Pelosi, Breed, and now this guy have publicly demonstrated that they are hypocrites and above the peasants they oversee.

Verlander won’t be a free agent again until he is 41 years of age. Unless he has Wainwright type DNA, I don’t think he’ll be a pitcher you bank on, literally or figuratively. It always pissed me off they were so reckless with bad contracts that it cost them Verlander in the end. And the trade was handled like garbage. Oh, and they don’t have anything to show for it.

I couldn’t agree more, especially where baseball is concerned. For example, last year the Giants had an incredible year, totally unexpected. They lost out in their first playoff series to the Dodgers. In hindsight, losing to LA in the playoffs was a just a footnote on a fantastic season. The conversation in SF is about how successful last season was, not the playoff loss. The length of the baseball season with its ups and downs, good and bad, are what makes a season entertaining. If the Tigers are competitive more years than not and still don’t make the playoffs, I can still be a happy camper.

MLB is requesting a federal mediator be involved in negotiations. I was wondering the other day why one of the parties hadn’t done this already.

I really enjoyed Petry on the radio side with Dan as well.

That they are not even talking on the first day of February, while all that I’ve read in the last day or so makes it clear the two sides are still very far apart, is hard to believe. Tee it up for MiLB.

Benjamin H Barton, a law professor at University of Tennessee had an excellent opinion piece in today’s WSJ that is specific to your point.

You made my point. Biden didn’t need to introduce race into the conversation. I see that as a net negative.