Tiger337

Maybe he wants the challenge of some day winning in Detroit with teamates that he knows. The Dodgers are probably going to make the playoffs without him, so I don't see where joining a team that is already good is a great accomplishment. I know most athletes would choose that but it seems hollow to me.

Harris churns some more positional versatility.

I have never understood why it is considered honorable to participate in a pennant which you had nothing to do with creating. It's probably more fun, but it also seems kind of cheap. That part doesn't bother me at all. I am less sure about the other issue as I don't know the reasons for his absence, but I don't want to assume the worst.

There very well may have been a very good reason for him leaving the team last year. I will let the players decide whether or not he is a good teammate. Lefty pitchers tend to be a little odd. Personally, I view wanting to stay with you team for the long term (if that's the case) as more honorable than wanting to play in a pennant race which you did nothing to create

I am going to assume that the Tigers will now extend Rodriguez and he'll be a Tiger for the next 4 or 5 years. Harris won't just let him go for nothing. This is not a bad outcme in my opinion.

I usually assume it's all about the money, but given the personal problems he had last year, being close to home certainly could be an important consideration for him.

That is a bummer..but could Rodriguez be trying to force them keep him and extend him? That could be a good outcome.

I'm fine. How are you?

He'll add a couple more positions by the time he reaches the Tigers. I do like the continued emphasis on on base skills.

Dombrowski is always looking to improve his ballclub, but he said that he felt good about his team and didn't anticipate making any deals before the deadline.

Maybe Jeimer Candelario.

"We are pleased with the acquisition of Michael Lorenzen. He's a quality player and we think he is going to be a fine addition to our ballclub"

Could be another Nick Maton.

Pronounced "How You Lee"

Is Cabrera going in as a Marlin or a Tiger?

It's an individual award. He'll go in as Justin Verlander. We can claim him as a Tiger either way and that is likely the hat that will go on his plaque anyway.

13 years as a Tiger...He'll go in as a Tiger.

I don't know. I'm not too good at judging prospect trades because most of them don't amount to anything. Kjerstad is certainly well regarded.

That fake trade had me going enough for me to be looking up stats and scouting reports. It looked real. It would have been a good return, but not too good to be true.

The projections would take his 2022 season into account.

I assume that he had sophisticated projected numbers for him and I would guess that they were substantially higher than his 2022 numbers.

There are probably more physical skills required at third base, but it's two different skill sets. 2B requires pivots and throws at second base which is a skill not everyone has. The big thing about 2B versus 3B though is they are involved in about 60% plays (interestingly it was 80% about 20 years ago), so there are more opportunities to make mistakes. Thus, it's more crucial that the 2B is steady and sure handed and consistently makes accurate throws. This might be more mental than physical, but they are still skills. What I find interesting about third base (as you also suggested) is how the profile has changed so much over the years. Back in the early 20th century, it was considered a defense first position and there weren't a lot of good hitters there. Then over time, it became more of an offensive position and eventually got to the point where it was considered a power hitting position almost like first base. In recent years, defense at third has become important again. They are expected to be able to hit for some power too, but that is true of middle infelders now too.

Why is it harder to find a good player at third base than second base? You wouldn't know that from the current crop of players. It seems about equal.

I think the majoity of Americans are apathetic about politics in general. So, yeah I think after record numbers in 2020, it very well might regress to the mean in a post-Covid world. It's not anywhere near 99% probability for Biden at the moment.