Tiger337

When I use the term "tanking", I use it to suggest they are sacrificing multiple seasons by starting essentially from scratch in a re-build. I don't think they are actively trying to finish last so they can get a top pick. By not attempting to win, it allows them to save money rather than attempt to put a half-way decent team field on the field. In Avila's case, I don't think the plan was for this phase to last as long as it did.

It was reported at the time that they wanted Clark, in part, because they were able to get him under slot which gave them a little more money to be able to get McGonigle over slot with the second pick. It's also, possible that they thought Clark would have the better career even if they had to wait. .

Just for the fun of it, these are the hitters with batting profiles most similar to Kerry Carpenter. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/affinity-pitchersAndHitters-byHittingProfile#players=hitters&player=681481-L&s=0.7

It probably won't be 50% given all the team in the hunt. It could be somewhere between the current 15 or so percent and 50%, but I'm not sure how meaningful thoses percentages are anyway. I think it also depends on how the pitching staff looks at the deadline. Is Olson good? Does the bullpen bounce back? If the pitching staff looks strong and healthy, I they would be more likely to go for the wildcard.

I didn't spin it at all. I gave you two possible interpretations - one positive and one negative.

That is possible, although it seems that core supporters tend to be positive about their candidate's chances.

Not sure how I feel about the content, but this is an amazing photo:

I think some of them just are not that good and Keith was brought up too early because of his contract. The big disappointment has been Torkelson.

That is probably a good thing, but it can be viewed two different ways. It could be that people are optimistic now or it could be MAGAs thinking that things will be better because Trump will be President a year from now.

Great news in cooling inflation this morning. My fear is inflation gets back close to normal by the end of year, nobody really notices, Trump wins and takes credit for it when people do notice.

It's good to see that Hunter Biden will be punished for not following gun laws. That is a good thing and we need more of that.

Whether or not trading Flaherty is "tanking" depends on how far they are behind in the wildcard race at the deadline and how much they get for him.

I am speaking in general.

I don't want to see them "tank" again. It's a poor strategy, especially with the new draft order rules. It's not good for the game and it's not the surefire way back to contention some fans think it is. It means a few years of automatic losing with no guarantee of success. I'd rather they try to be a .500 team now and try to improve incrementally from there. Some may disagree, but I like this year's .500 team a lot better than the 95 and 100 loss-teams of the recent pass.

Like others have mentioned here, all the platooning is good for offense, but it probably hurts the defense to have guys trying to play multiple positions. I don't know how much is gained offensively versus lost defensively.

One good thing is that he has still been able to draw walks. He can't bat .158 though!

40 years ago today on Monday Night Baseball:

I get some of the criticism of his forced humor, but Benetti is still the best TV broadcaster the Tigers have had in a really long time.

I did not see this before I posted. You beat me to it.

Colt Keith article by David Laurila: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/for-colt-keith-confidence-is-the-key-to-future-success/

Only the important stuff.

The question is whether harrassment and threats to players has increased since the promotion of gambling in sports.

So, maybe they should pick a position for him and not move him around.

What you say here is true, but I don't think it is relevant to the question of Harris's ability to identify to identify hitting talent versus other GMs.

The majority of gamblers can place a bet now and then and it doesn't affect their lives in a negative way. However, a not insignificant percentage of gamblers are addicts. They start losing money and they can't stop and it gets out of control. They become desperate and angry and it should be no surprise that they would start lashing out at the people they perceive as causing them to lose money.