gehringer_2

It takes more than a day. Pick out what you want to see and take your time at those things. I wouldn't try to rush through just to say I waved at all the exhibits.

So how do we feel about the starting pitching? Right now I'm: Manning: I'm seeing a mid rotation guy. I think he could be dominant if he had a couple more mph, but I think lack of top level velo FB limits the ceiling for his pitching style. And needs to stay healthy Boyd: Should keep us in most games he starts - a 500 kind of guy. ERod: This Spring we see why they gave him the money. They should have a shot in the games he starts Turnbull: Above average starter if his body holds together. Lorenzen: now a question mark. so basically decent potential but too many health question marks (what else is new?)

It depends on whether he hits at all and of course whether he stays healthy enough to be in the lineup at all. I'm sure the FO hopes he ends up on the DL and removes the issue from their inbox. Alternately, we, and they, can all dream that he actually holds the lineup spot down at maybe even 700 OPS, but I'm not optimistic because he was back to hitting flat footed today, and the regular season hasn't even started. That is a bad sign.

Manning with a move Dan hadn't seen yet during the game today. Against a batter that had already stepped out and with a runner on base, he came ready very early on the clock so he had more than 10 sec and then did an old fashioned hold for over 7 sec to freeze the runner and the batter could not take time. Clever boy.

Leyland did an inning in the radio booth then moved next door. Told the joke in both places, but it was SS the 1st time...😎

well, I don't know if it will change and who knows what may possibly change with the Bally bankruptcy, but as of today, the Bally game on DirectTV and my Gameday audio are back to being close enough to synchronize. Blissful relief from Shep and Monroe. Jim Price is showing his age - but mostly just by talking less.

Cisnero gives up a 2 run bomb. Tie game.

Vierling had another poor break on a fly ball to left. He may be fast but I'm not seeing a good OF - at least in this game.

He did fine but he was behind enough that I wouldn't say he had been sharp.

a problem with a blanket move like waiving it late is that you would still have relievers that never picked up the discipline of working faster. That's sort of where I see they could improve it. Set up a system where guys are forced to work faster at least enough that it becomes a habit, and then you can relax it under some circumstances to benefit tension and the game still is not likely to slow to a crawl, but if you do something that exempts certain guys completely - for instance like closers, you won't 'reform' their behavior at all.

Manning getting by but not throwing a lot of strikes today. Baddoo adding to his day by throwing a seed from RF to third to almost nab a runner. Best throw I've ever seen him make.

Baddoo taking a walk and being disruptive on the bases to manufacture a run. Carpenter with 3 HRs. Meanwhile Veirling showing questionable CF play not many LH pitchers in the AL Central. Maybe Baddoo and Carpenter do both make the team..... Manning with a pick-off after a lead-off single in the 3rd.

Trump has had hits and misses. The fact that he wants a perp walk doesn't necessarily mean it will work for him. Remember the miscalculation with the Lafayette Sq walk. If you are LE, you do your best not to play into his hand but you can't obsess over trying to outmaneuver him.

Baddoo flashes a little leather to end the 2nd for Manning.

And Manning escapes loaded bases with one out.

manning in a jam in the 1st. Then a terrible read by Vierling in CF matched only by how bad the runner on 2nd misread it.

yeah - there is a certain level of relaxation in watching a BB game that is lost since you constantly feel the time pressure on the pitcher. I think they had to do something but now that I see it in action I might have approached it differently: 1) yes make the batter step in within 8 seconds and stay in the box. Nobody gains anything watching a batter adjust velcro - that had to go. 2) give the pitcher as long as he wants but after 20 seconds the batter has to be given time by the ump IF he asks for it. Once a batter has stepped out on a pitch once, then the pitcher MUST deliver in 15 sec once the batter returns. I think once you break pitchers of the ability to take a long time on that second pitch, they will probably get out of the habit of taking a long time on the 1st one as well because they are not going to want to work at mulitple rhythms. The system ends up becoming pretty self regulating intead of clock watching based. It does shift control to the hitter - as long as he is willing to wait before stepping out there is no clock running - but that will be most of the time I think. The truth is that other than some relievers, most pitchers prefer to work on a pace - it's the batters that were screwing up the game with all the step outs and glove adjustments - so the requirement on the pitchers were probably largely misguided. There are some relievers that were terrible and the modern idea of holding a pitch forever to freeze a runner had to be stopped, but making the pitcher come home in ~15 after you've exhausted the hitter's patience once might have been enough.

I saw that the Red have cut Daniel Norris. 7 BB in 6.2 IP. Baseball is a funny game. He and Dontrelle Willis. Great athletes, good arms, can't throw the ball over the plate. Go figure.

of course. The question of 'how much better" was possible is most interesting if you're talking about someone already near enough the top to enter GOAT consideration. But psychologically you also have to admit the othe opposite premise. As noted, the life of a pro athlete can be pretty damn boring if taken to a coach's recommended nose to the grindstone endpoint. How many guys would end up losing enough psychological/motivational edge that that effect exceeded the physical toll of whatever deviations from the straight and narrow they took. Unanswerable question, but not one I would dismiss. That said, if you are talking straight up addiction level alcohol abuse, there is no upside in that - but there is a lot of lifestyle choice in play short of that.

And you always end with the Mickey Mantle question - how much better might a guy have been? Or maybe worse.

Wonderful agility for a big player. You can't teach that - at least not much.

It was interesing/funny to here Jansen talk about this the other morning. You suddenly have a lot of money and opportunity but if you are going to be good you still just have to resign yourself that it's going to be a pretty boring life for as long as you are playing.

Good News - Tigers draw 4 BB today Not so Good News - Tigers K 18 times today.

Turnbull gives up one hit in 4 IP, though that one did go yard.

But it's not eyeball numbers alone that are important - it's really eyeballs x purchasing power behind each set of eyeballs. So markets like the US and Japan are going to be overweighted compared to most of Central and Latin America.