mtutiger

Can't be emphasized enough.... there is no Tyler Holton breakout if Chafin is on last year's team. Doesn't mean anything one way or another as to whether they should or shouldn't have brought him back if the opportunity presented itself, but it's an example of there being opportunity costs to free agency as well. As for signing Chafin in present day, it makes sense for both sides.... Chafin wasn't his usual self last year, but he was comfortable and performed well as a Tiger... and the team fashions itself as a place for players to get right, particularly on the pitching side. Everybody wins here.

I think this is right, although to the extent that there's a lot of variability, I don't love their chances if they are giving Vierling the lions' share of reps at third base. This division isn't good so I would hesitate to declare anything not good enough though.

The jet never had Ohtani on it. JP "Pope" Morosi really covered himself in glory today lol

I think Scott Harris really likes AJ Hinch, sees him as a partner in this relationship, and sees that relationship continuing beyond the existing contract. Simply put, he's sold on AJ in the role of manager. Given that, from his standpoint, I don't see the downside to extending him now versus a year from now. But as fans, I can see why some would have apprehension.

The extension thing matters - and makes sense - because it formally makes Hinch, who Harris inherited, his pick to be manager. It ends any sort of speculation about Hinch as a lame duck or holdover, and ties them both together in a way they weren't to this point. Maybe not the best example given that Bob Quinn was a failure in the end, but the situation last season wasn't much different than him inheriting Jim Caldwell for instance. (Of course, he would then let Caldwell go and bring in someone much worse lol)

One thing that seems pretty well cleared up is that, contra commentary from some, it confirms the obvious: Harris and Hinch enjoy the partnership and there isn't a ton of daylight between the two of them. Hopefully that line of commentary will go the way of Lynn Henning's opt-out.

Lynn Henning in shambles

I would hope that another signing is forthcoming, but they could do a lot worse than Maeda.

Oh Good Lord...

I'm not. That is the point lol

I never said that anything about voters not understanding who Trump is or isn't. I am saying that, at some point, he will be asked, probably frequently, to make an affirmative case as to why he should be elected. What are his plans for when he returns to office... ie. the issues. But I know, it doesn't matter lol

I also am of the belief that, at some point, Trump is actually going to have to go out and make an affirmative case for why people should vote for him. And as someone who has watched more clips of him at the moment than most, I don't actually think he's capable of it, particularly with the voters he needs to win in these swing states (ie. in the suburbs).... if anything, as much as people fret about Biden and even with the issues that Biden and his administration have on their plate, Trump is without a doubt less capable of doing it at the moment than Biden. The issue at the moment is that the general election has not actually started, people are not thinking seriously about the campaign, and Trump is largely out of the picture. I know people still who do not think that either of these guys will actually be the nominee (spoiler alert: they both will be). Of course, even stating these things means "you aren't taking the threat seriously", which is about as far from the truth as can be in my case as I am very concerned that he can win. But it's just the reality at the moment. As for the polling, this far out, again, I hope that the main takeaway is to use the data in these polls to help formulate a message to shore up support with various groups needed to beat Trump... treating it like an exercise in problem solving and putting in the hard work that campaigns require to win.

I dont think anyone would argue with you that Biden is not an ideal candidate. Especially at this age. But otherwise still stand behind my post in full.

Maybe, but the general election campaign really hasn't started yet. Basically no money has been spent on the general election. Biden and his administration, for their part, understandably seem more focused on managing a crisis in the Middle East than on campaigning at the moment. (Which seems pretty in-line with just about every Presidential re-elect campaign of my lifetime.) That doesn't mean I don't think Biden has issues or work to do, obviously he does. But for some reason, we're not allowed to have any perspective on this at all... I know I'll be told I'm wrong and we don't need to rehash the argument from a couple of weeks ago on this subject, but there's still a lot of time to go and I doubt that polling figures will stay in stasis for the next 11-12 months. To the extent that it matters, I hope that the takeaway from the actual campaign is more about how to shore up their numbers with certain groups and less about working themselves into an anxiety-inducing paralysis like a lot of folks seem intent on doing these days.

Turkey done well is great... it's just that it's really hard to do well! In terms of BBQ, Texas BBQ in particular, turkey is basically a litmus test for quality and talent in my eyes. Places / people who do it well are good at their craft, avoid the places that don't.

I know his day job is to call people like me "elitist liberals" and all, but yeah, we're eating Jennie O this year lol

4.99/lb for a turkey is freaking insane. Zero doubt he went out of his way to score points on that one lol

It's amazing in retrospect how they were held up as a model for what every franchise should do just a mere 9 months ago...

Ffs

More toddler behavior from James Comer

I'll have to listen to the podcast later, but I don't have a lot of strong feelings about TORK winning it, although I probably would have picked Eduardo for his performance pre-injury. The longevity thing makes a lot of sense... Eddie or Riley probably would have won it had they stayed healthy, but neither did... and in Eddie's case, when he came back he wasn't quite the same pitcher. Also think that Tork showed legitimate linear growth throughout the year.... he progressively got better as the year went on, and that probably helped his case some too.

The Dallas Stars still do this, for what it's worth, although that could be a different sport / grandfathering situation

I think the dialogue around inflation at this current point in time is pretty instructive.... by any objective measure, it is down significantly from it's highs (today's reading was right around 3.0%). But to say that it is down, when it is objectively down, means you aren't sympathetic with the plight of Americans who have been dealing with inflation, which means you are out of touch with reality and you need to shut up. I'll leave the politics out of it (certainly I accept that there's a price being paid for inflation even happening in the first place), but at some level, collectively, as a population, we have responsibility to understand the nuance of these subjects and, yeah, I don't know that we are collectively where we need to be on that front.

That's the party of the working man right there.... out there threatening to punch the leader of the *checks notes* Teamsters lol