Edman85

Would you concede that you are completely shooting from the hip on the clubhouse side and Harris et. al. likely have more information there?

Yes. If you are going to bank on somebody returning to 2019-2021 form, may as well be somebody who was an ace at that time not somebody who was an ace by default.

I want them to lock up Tork, Greene, Keith, Jung... whoever early before they hit arb. Buy out a couple years of FA. I doubt the Tigers will be anywhere near the CBT going forward, but getting those guys under contract does reduce their AAV later, so if we do start to butt up against the tax if things start going well, their AAV is averaged with some pre-arb and early arb years and not their current year salary. As an illustrative example, Alex Bregman's current deal included three pre- free agency years and is 5/100. 11, 11, 11, 28.5, 28.5. This year he makes 28.5 million, but his CBT number is 20 million. If the rebuild goes well, every little bit may help in that regard.

There's some other stuff going on there. Different topic, but the negotiations between the PIF and the PGA Tour could nullify a lot of that if they go a certain way. Regardless, he showed his ass in a big way last week. I lost a lot of respect for him, if that means anything at all to him. (It doesn't)

I'm not sure the NFL has more parity or is better. It may be more popular because the season is shorter, condensed to one day, and more conducive to fantasy leagues. They have also mastered the art of publicity. I hesitate to say better; that is in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder couldn't give two ****s about the NFL.

Both behind paywalls, but good stuff in the Athletic from Drellich/Ardia yesterday and BP from Mains this morning on the contract setup.

I did read that Scherzer's deferrals allowed the July 1 payment to be taxed in his home state of Florida and not DC.

I don't believe he did, and thanks for raising my blood pressure. **** that guy.

What is the California Jock Tax and where is Ohtani going to live in retirement where he can see a lot more of that 68 million?

Free Agents Aren't Bought On A Shelf Also, Shreve may have been better last year.

Is there such a thing as THE lineup? The Tigers used 155 different lineups last year. The world champion Rangers used 114, and their most common lineup in the regular season was used seven different times.

On the contrary, there was some scuttlebutt that the huge luxury tax payments the Mets et. al. paid this year are essentially being used to help teams whose RSN's are falling short on payments. This can only help keep that fund replenished.

Morosi appears to have done some shark jumping in recent years, it pains me to say.

Tying some things together. Bemboom was a minor league rule 5 pick several years back and made the bigs.

https://twitter.com/jasonbenetti/status/1733152822496039087?t=0EJlNX6zS1gpr1jKC6h-lg&s=19

It is worth pointing out, those guys don't have to be in Toledo next year, and likely won't be. The odds they make the majors are slim to none. There is a reason they were available in the minor league phase.

The two Tigers off the top of my head who were minor league Rule 5 picks are Jose Macias and Eddie Bonine. The Tigers lost Dane Myers, who got some run with the Marlins last year. The minor league phase is a lot more active than it was 5+ years ago, though. You probably get one or two each year that get a cup of coffee in the Majors.

He was also 27 in AA this year, 26 in A and AA last year. The numbers don't jump off the page at me in any way given the context. Granted, it does look like he had TJ in 2021, so it could be a case of getting somebody on the way up. I don't know much about his arsenal or his makeup. Minor league rule 5 picks tend to be roster filler. These guys will likely just slot into Erie's bullpen and munch some garbage innings this year. No shame in that. Somebody has to.

Given the partisan 180 on Russia, I can't wait to see extremists on both sides twist themselves in knots over a Maduro/Putin alliance.

FWIW, I really wasn't trying to be snarky. Genuinely curious... To me, a reliever that belongs in the bigs is one that is blowing the doors off of AAA: sub 2 ERA, K/9 above 12 or so.

Were we looking at the same BR page? On what basis should he have gotten MLB time?

What if it's a LHH outfielder? And they have room to take two if they want to.

They are eligible for next year's draft if they don't make the playoffs. Also, there's a bit of karma at play here. Note how those are all even years. Cleveland had the worst record in baseball in 1991, 1987, 1985, and 1971, but didn't get first overall pick because of the league alternation rule that was in place until 2007. (And was the reason the Tigers had the #2 pick in 1990 and 2004)

I would classify the White Sox and A's as the losers of this. Both had great odds, toward the back of the lottery, staring down the barrel of a bad year, and ineligible for next year's lottery. Cleveland and Cincy the obvious winners.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/05/biden-inflation-record-trump/ Good article on the merits of inflationary policy between Biden and Trump.