RatkoVarda

when you have good TV and radio guys, they become part of the fabric of the team's identity - Harwell, Dickerson, Kell, Kaline. the Bally broadcast is just awful - seems aimed at casual fans with lots of things to distract from the actual game at least they tried a lot of guys this year, so that's good

LAD payroll is pretty clean (even if they do sign Ohtani) but Muncy and Michael Busch look to be the exact same player, so maybe they do move on from the older guy with a lot more injury risk

one big picture thing to keep in mind is what's happening in SF with Harris's old friends. Zaidi fired Kapler and admitted he is next if he cannot figure out how to improve the team. does this sound familiar? constant platooning by Kapler met with jeers when it does not work; frequent dumpster diving on the waiver wire with constant churn at the end of the roster; making a few attempts to land a big fish FA but always falling short; no impactful trades. Ilitch will, I assume, have a lot of patience, more than SF (or Boston where Bloom got axed in part because he did not want to make a mistake and trade the wrong prospects), but next year's free agents will only be more expensive than last year's free agents.

that dude needs a 3rd plane real bad

best buddy with HS Kim so assumption is he's joining SD, who need CFer, not sure how they fit him in budget though

Pederson is a horrible fit because he's primarily a DH; excellent strawman to use to explain why they should not spend.

Lorenzen did not make WC round roster for Philly

sweet 6 innings from Jobe then Flores, but 2 BBs? Unacceptable!

no one wants to sign a FA who doesn't work out. but how about Cory Seager, Marcus Simien, Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray? if the Rangers don't sign those guys, they are finishing in 3rd place, dreaming about one day being relevant

3 of those are coming off injury, 1 has 100 solid innings, and 1 will be in bullpen

Harris came out and said he is not negotiating with ERod pre-opt out. He's gone; and they won't lift a finger to dissuade him.

Bader, JH Lee, Bellinger, Hader, Montgomery, Snell, Yamamoto, Nola, Merrifield, Ursula - all could help in various degrees

same. he's gone. Harris is not going to show him love or money. Tigers, perhaps correctly, think they can attract similar talents for less $$$ based on what Fetter and CO have been able to do. with ERod gone, they almost certainly will have a payroll well under 100M so Ilitch will be happy

and did they ask him about his non-existent opt-out clause?

it is a close call, but I'll guess yes; he will mostly play CF I think

it would be shocking if the Tigers are able to finish at .500 - let alone contend for the playoffs - while starting 3, and later 4, rookies. I am looking forward to seeing what Meadows, Keith and Malloy can do, but I also know that it is entirely possible, if not likely, that they all see some time in Toledo next year, as well. I think people should be more realistic about Jung for 2024; he has only 200 PA above A ball; if he gets a September 2024 call-up, that would aggressive considering Harris' usual approach.

you're gonna want to plug "Urias" into your google machine

Padres are facing a very difficult situation this Winter. they need to pare about 40 to 50M off payroll to meet MLB's debt ratio guidelines. Snell, Hader and Lugo will move on. but they MUST move Soto (or another huge equivalent salary) AND try to move Cronenworth and possibly more like Carpenter. Preller needs to make lots of moves or maybe one big one - all while keeping his 200M team in contention. there is an opportunity for a team that can absorb a lot of payroll

that's fair. but Hader got screwed in 2020 arbitration hearing because the Brewers used him smart - that is, not as a one-inning, 9th-inning closer. "He did not have enough saves" they argued, so he got 4M rather than 6M. that baseline effected his 21 through 23 salaries, so he missed out on maybe 6-8M or more because he lost that one case. he is trying to protect himself, both by getting the stupid counting stats, and not getting hurt. he is shooting for Diaz money, 5/100M, and - to him - there was no need to work a 4 out save for a team that had less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs. as they say, it is a business. not a great look, but I see his point.

Skubal and Lange to STL for Dylan Carlson and Jordan Walker, move him back to 3rd Carpenter to NYY for Oswald Peraza, he's your eventual Baez replacement sign FA pitchers

ok, so this is what it is like when the NFL thinks you are one of the good teams? sounds good to me

the MAGA cult is gone in a sea of anger, stupidity and conspiracy theories; unreachable, and many would gladly die for him But I hope that for those on the margins of MAGA, stuff like this helps wake them up maybe I am an idiot, but I think every little bit helps