RatkoVarda

Starters: Mize, ERod, Skubal, Manning, Grienke with Peralta, RGarcia, Wentz, Brieske, Olson, Hill, Shore, Boyd? in reserve Bullpen: Soto, Chafin, Alexander, Fulmer, Cisnero, Lange, Funk, Jimenez with Foley, BGarcia, Vest, Del Pozo, DeJesus, Carlton, Faedo? in reserve

and also, a 2 year deal comes with little risk, which is what most of these relievers are signing for

Don't forget that Senator Tommy Tuberville thought the 3 branches of the federal government were The House, The Senate, and The President. There is no level of stupid the GOP will reject.

Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV. The doctors were concerned enough to give that idiot a cognitive test and then he bragged about it.

I think AJ would not be saying this if it was just about some Minor league signings

great points. the problems are multifold and deep and won't be solved in the short term and maybe not at all, but getting the GOP to reject authoritarianism would be a huge push in the right direction the problem is, so many Americans really relish hating their fellow Americans, and that won't end anytime soon

does not seem like the price was very high at all for Gray

they currently have zero OFs who have consistently produced at the ML level. Baddoo-Greene-Grossman could be really good, but I would like to get someone else in the mix day 1. Reyes, Hill, Daz all could contribute, but with pretty low ceilings

if they have $33M more to spend each year (I think they do), better ways to spend that: OF (Schwarber or Conforto) + Reliever (Chafin or McHugh) + Starter (Grienke or Anderson) = about $33M, for less years and less risk

would not surprise me at all if Manning spent some time in Toledo this year; far from a finished product. they need at least one more decent (more than Peralta) starter

hard for someone like Niko Goodrum or Jose Urena to get elected to an executive position when they may not have a 40-man spot. there is value in having Max and Cole speak to fans and media as well but 0-8 and 26-4 does show a chasm

what is the effect of the 0-8 players' committee vote? does it carry any weight? or is it meant to be informative? interesting that only Andrew Miller is unsigned and only Miller and Jason Castro are not signed to HUGE deals of the 8. edit Passan said vote was 26-12 The final vote by the MLBPA's eight members of the executive subcommittee and 30 player reps was 26-12 in favor of the agreement, sources told ESPN.

Major League Rule 5 Draft cancelled.

the salary cap (that's what the luxury tax is) is preventing the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and a few other big spending teams from being the usual spending ice breakers, constantly breaking new ground with total payroll and AAV for contracts. MLBPA wants that again, because they think that high spending teams drag everyone forward. at lest that what I think they think. unclear if they can go back to that situation again, as teams have certainly gotten smarter about long deals for verternas and for the middle class. the core problem is young players and the middle class are not sharing in the financial growth of the league.

no reason for MLB to change things. They are getting a larger and larger share of a larger and larger pie. Passan's article the other day outlines everything perfectly: MLB got a cap, which they have been hardening by rule and practice over the last 10 years. They got it without giving back anything at all, including no salary floor and no guaranteed revenue split, which would have required teams to open their books. MLB is negotiating 9 figure deals with Apple and Peacock for streaming rights. The Pirates makes a profit as ownership has seem its investment increase more than 10 fold. This "dying" sport is awash in so many guaranteed revenue streams, it is almost impossible not to turn a profit.

MLB is trying to get players to pay for undercoating they did not order

Health is the risk factor. Soto's pre-FA money could be over $90M if he stays healthy. $100M is possible. 19 - .57 20 - .23 21 - 8.5 22 - 16.5? MLBTR 23 - 28? 24 - 40? 25 - FA

Keith Law's Top 20 list for The Athletic is interesting. Bergner 15 Flores 17 EDLR 18 Alfonso 19 No Olsen, or Faedo.

Matthew Stafford has more Super Bowls rings than Connor Cook.

Stafford is a depressing reminder that they had what everyone if after - a franchise QB - and all they managed to do is lose 3 road playoff games with him. edit also, Lions could have had Aaron Donald and AShawn Robinson and Matt Stafford on their team.

Just comes down to money; if the Tigers offer 10/341, he is the starting SS.

this is interesting https://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/38266/that-was-a-big-deal-the-oral-history-of-the-detroit-lions-1992-playoff-win-over-the-dallas-cowboys

new GOP debate rules: 1. All debates at Trump properties; minimum $100M in rent for the week 2. Biden wears a Let's Go Brandon hat 3. Dems can choose any moderator from this list: Eric, Ivanka, Don Jr, The Fat One, Tucker, Hannity, Ingraham 4. Biden not allowed to drink water with one hand 5. Audience questions only from big, strong guys with tears in their eyes, who ask Trump "Sir" questions

I don't have the insights to question ZIPS calculus, but they are predicting Franklin Perez to be more valuable than Funkhouser Zac Houston to be more valuable than Wentz and Turnbull to pitch 98 innings. So why should I pay attention to that?