mtutiger

I really like Parker Meadows, but I'd rather see Vierling even against righties at this point

I dont know whether it's more salient than immigration or not, but this is about as clear of evidence that you will see in terms of how Trump himself sees the issue as lethal

Such moderation

Just to play Devils Advocate for a second, is 3 years in college better positioning than a player being drafted out of high school as an 18 year old or being signed internationally at 17 (as Paredes was)? In the latter case, that's upwards of 3 to 4 years of additional time under supervision of major league coaching versus a player being drafted at 20/21. College is a career path that a lot of players perhaps need to make the leap, but I don't know that it's a huge advantage either.

Since the ruling came down and it initially became clear this was a huge liability (ie. 2022 KS Referendum + 2022 Midterms), they have been trying to find a middle-ground position on it. The uncomfortable reality that they aren't confronting, and really aren't able to confront given the composition of their party, is that Roe *was* the middle ground. Or it certainly is viewed that way by the median voter at this point in time. I think if they endorsed some sort of week-limit that acted as both a floor and a ceiling, that theoretically could work? The coalition wouldn't go for it though, and nobody trusts the party or it's principal on this issue IMO

Totally, I think he understands the political problem. But there's a tendency to assume that just because he's doing something means it's brilliant or is guaranteed to work, and that premise is flawed IMO

It really shows the value of playing 9 innings of clean, mistake-free baseball as well... that was a factor in keeping it close in this one.

The 1/1 status looms large in how people look at Torkelson... it basically makes people look at him and think that if he doesn't end up being the next coming of Paul Goldschmidt, he's a complete failure. Or at least that is how I perceive it. Of course, as Rob has mentioned, how he performs relative to others in his draft class matters in that context (jury is still out there), but it's a distinction that matters to people. The Horner comparison kinda illustrates it well tho... OP uses the Horner comparison as a negative, others see it as a decent outcome. It may just come down to how people manage their expectations and how much one gets hung up on status or the precise slot a player is drafted in.

I understand that skills raise the bar on Torkelson, but even relative to each players' skills, Rogers and Meadows have been as bad or worse this season IMO.

What people missed too is that this move was a reactive move and one made from weakness, not strength. And to the extent there was a goal in mind, it was to short term play to stanch the bleeding on an issue that is really not good for him versus really flipping the script and triangulating Today is a demonstration of just how short term the play was and how it completely disregarded how the messaging could get lost in new developments.

Nice one to have going into an off-day and reset as well...

This Pirate team broke a lot of hearts in Baltimore over last weekend too.... definitely don't want to count chickens before they hatch

WTH happened to Bednar? He's been so good the past couple of years

Urshela has proven to be a really good pickup.... just a professional AB every time it seems like

WOW

Benetti and Monroe gonna throw down over bunting here lol (Benetti is right)

Helluva play by Riley Greene

I hear that, but at the same time, Greene, Meadows and Rogers tools don't mean a hill of beans when the offense, collectively and systemically, are not performing. That's where we are at right now... the Tigers performance at the plate isn't just a Spencer Torkelson problem, it's a systemic problem.

There's some more 'leave it to the states' for ya

Lol at today's TV intro

Derrek Lee listed as well - would be OK with that.

Certainly in retrospect, he was called up way earlier than he should have been in 2022... which aside from whatever harm in his development that came from it, kinda set perceptions about him as well that he will have a tough time outrunning.

I also can't believe that he chose to go on camera and say that he's proud to have taken out Roe v. Wade, at a point in time where Roe repeal is broadly unpopular among the general public. That's basically free ad copy to the Joe Biden campaign

Not here on MTS, but in the broader Tigers social media sphere, the bloodlust that some of the fans are exhibiting honestly has me wondering whether some folks want him to fail. Like, it seems to go beyond performance and turns into something more personal with Torkelson. As far as my concern level, yeah, I'm concerned. Certainly the ceiling in my mind has lowered for him as a player.... I doubt he'll strikeout as much as Rob Deer, but it's definitely a possibility that he ends up in that range or worse in terms of overall production. I also think he's got the talent to be a lot better than that as well and there's still time for him to get there.... and he has contributed this season in the wins they have had as well (most notably at Comerica on opening day), so there's talent there as well and he's an important piece to whether they can take the next step this year or not. We should all wish for that success.

The non-bolded points are well taken, but with regard to the bolded, I do think a lot of folks giving Trump's statement credulity here underestimate how much those who Trump has turned off over the years have done so because they recognize him as a liar and as untrustworthy. On this issue or many others. Put another way, many of the voters that Trump is likely trying to message to with his statement would probably agree with you that it's pointless to listen to him and that he is fundamentally untrustworthy There's this tendency to just assume shallow and vapid statements like this from Trump are "brilliant politics" or "masterstrokes" or whatever because we've build this myth about him being an unstoppable force of nature. But the truth is a lot more complicated than that, and he does have liabilities that he cannot just explain away.