oblong

They call me "good enough Rob" because that is something I would never once ever consider looking at if I visted you. I have zero insight into home decor. I wish I did to some degree. If I lived alone I'd have nothing on the walls. No side tables or whatever.

I've heard it said growing up from some preachers in the Evangelical world that Jews are given an exception as The Chose Ones. There's also this weird connection now between the hard right and Muslims/Arabs. There's a bond over Ukraine (the Muslims don't like the aid because it's money not sent to Palestine and Ukraine's led by a jew) and over anti gay/book banning. Nationally not much of an electoral change but in places like Michigan with narrow margins it could matter. There was a pro palestinian rally here in my city on Tuesday night at the civic center where all the D office holders were booed mercilessly.

I just looked it up. They knocked it down to 2, Contemporoary (1980-Present) and Classic (Prior). Contemproary had their ballot in Dec 2022 and the cadence is every 3 years now. So maybe in just over 2 years Lou will get his induction.

I wonder how much the bankruptcy proceedings will play into a decision?

I just took mine off and looked.... you are right. It also includes manager stints in the years for Harris and Trammell. One of my rules for shirts is they can't be something that will be outdated and I now realize this one should be in about 5 years.

The Tigers of the modern era never had home field advantage except for 2006 and that was b/c of the ASG. In the 2012 WS, The Giants had home field because Verlander got smoked at the ASG, but also won 94 games against the Tigers 88. Those Tiger teams were the ones are the kind that people now are claiming we need to fix the playoffs against. That it's somehow not fair that they win. The 100 win teams need more help.

I still can't get past the idea that some hold that playoff formats need to be fixed because some teams end up beating other teams. The playoffs aren't meant to be a formality. That goes against the essence of being a fan of sports. Otherwise it's just pro wrestling.

My "Good" Tiger hat was left hanging in the downstairs bathroom and I guess humidity messes them up as it's now pretty flat. So I wanted a new one. Went to Cooperstown and every other storefront in the town is some kind of apparal/memorabilia/collectable outfit. I would have accepted classic styles for either the Tigers, Expos, Brooklyn Dodgers ,or a Negro league. Couldn't find a match. I did get a Tigers HOF T shirt listing all of them on the back, not just those listed on the wall at Comerica Park, for ex: Whitey Herzog and Eddie Mathews.

Having just been to the HOF last week I can say that the "controversy" over the plaque logo is overblown. That doesn't signify "going in as...". Many of the plaques, the earlier ones, had the player looking sideways or with no logo. Not that I will be back anytime soon since it's like a 9 hour drive, but if I were to be back there in a year or so I could see myself not even going into the gallery room. There's 3 floors to the HOF. We got there at 9:15, watched a movie from 9:40 to 10, finished floors 2 and 3 in about 3 hours, and the plaque hall is on the first floor and it litereally took me about 10 minutes to see all the plaques, and that's with having to wait for people to move. I looked at every single plaque too.

It's like a pro wrestling journalist who covered it from 1960 onwards and having to deal with the attitude era in the mid 2000s.

yeah that's a good point. I view it as stories about 100 of the most prominent players, not necessarily the best. I almost didn't buy it because I figured "I am not interested in an encyclopedia version" but it's not that at all. I've always enjoyed reading him and for some reason he fell off my radar over time. His section on Schillling was very very good. Another tidbit that stood out was on Neikro. When the scout finally came to sign Phil he said something like "We'd like to sign your son for a $500 signing bonus". HIs dad says "I'm sorry sir but I'm a coal miner, we don't have that kind of money".

I'm reading Joe Posnanski's book, The Baseball 100, and it's been a lot better than I expected. Great stories about these players and most of them are ones I never heard before. He often expands beyond the subject player, for example, on Cool Papa Bell he goes into a thing on Jesse Owens and shows how it relates to Bell. Highly recomend this

that’s a damn shame.

And yet he remains in office.

Just a guess but I think of the IDGAF voters who did support Trump beause "they're all crooked" could vote for RJK Jr, if they even bother voting. But there has to be a draw to him like Trump had. The rallies, the slogans, etc. He could get a few % votes in a poll but how does that translate to people actually voting.

So what's the solution? It's sports. Lower seeded teams beat higher seeded teams all the time. It's why they play rather than just hand out post season awards. I don't see a problem here to be solved. LA got to rest their team and start their stud for game 1, just like Houston did with Verlander. Kershaw got bombed. Verlander didn't. That's how sports works. Underdogs used to be a good story. Now people are whining.

I wonder if that's how everyone felt when the Tigers were beating the Yankees in the playoffs...

The Braves take the lead so I guess the format is ok now. Baseball twitter can calm down now.

That’s it?

Every format change to the playoffs has been done to address alleged problems. Should we give higher seeds an extra runner on base like we do in extras? They are losing games to teams that are also pretty good.

I like the idea of first and second halves. Teams that are in first at the ASB get in. Details can be worked out but the overall concept would be fun

I wonder if the responsibilities are different? Maybe as the PBP guy Mario does other things like narration or PR visits or hosting events. Could even be things like reading promotions during the game. While Rod can take a breather or use the restroom Mario has to read copy. The PBP person drives the events while color guy reacts. Just spitballing.

I guess I would add that when it comes to days off and rewarding clubs for better records I will defer to the players and owners. if that's how they want it then so be it. What do I care? I shed no tears for Baltimore, I have no animosity but it's not my team and as a viewer I want enjoyable games to watch and I especially like it when there's 3-4 games a day to watch. When it's an afternoon game even better.

but on the flip side Verlander shut them down pretty good in game 1 and if he stayed in the game it could have been a shutout.

wow.