mtutiger

The new speculation is whether this portends trading any young arms.... I'd be hesitant to do that, otherwise you're betting on a big bounce back from Flaherty in 2024. Overall, I think it's a fine signing and given that this org has had success working with pitchers, it seems like a worthy gamble despite his rough 2023 stats.

If they sign Yamamoto, great.... I haven't said that they shouldn't. But going back to my original point: Many fans seem to approach their payroll with the view that this team having a payroll lower than 2023 would be a failure.... personally, I don't care whether the payroll is or isn't lower. If they managed to land Yamamoto or Imanaga or someone else at the higher end of the market on a longer term pricier deal, great, fine by me. If they can't accomplish that but go the more Lorenzen-esque route, that's fine too. Either way, I just want them to make moves that make sense within the context of what they are trying to accomplish in 2024 and beyond. The dollar signs are irrelevant to me.

Fair point, really lovely part of the world!

One way to accomplish this is to ensure you don't make decisions that subsequently lead to expenses exceeding revenues. I know I'm a fan and I'm not supposed to care about any of that, but at least in how I approach being a fan of the Detroit Tigers, I'm not going to feign ignorance to the reality that running a major league club is a business and healthy businesses in any industry generally try to avoid making stupid investments or spend money without their being an ultimate purpose.

If I were a fan of the San Diego Padres at the moment and my team was forced to slash payroll because they have cash flow issues, I would consider that a problem and would expect that to impact my enjoyment of the team in the immediate near term. Whether I'm hoping for it or not seems like an irrelevant point.

Looking at what's going on in San Diego this offseason for instance, clearly the reality is a little more complicated.

Credit to you for acknowledging that there actually is cost or risk involved. Many appear unable to acknowledge that.

Although they have the new model in Javier Baez (hopefully he turns it around)

I definitely get that a lot of it is the toll that seven years of losing has taken on this organization, so it's hard to be too critical on fans. But particularly since Scott Harris came onboard, there's been a glaring disconnect between what outside observers see in this franchise and what it's fanbase does. Semi-related, but the hang up on payroll and spending (particularly with Miggy coming off the books) continues to be amusing. My personal view is that I want them to add free agents who can help the team, but that the money that it takes to procure them isn't really a factor at all in whether it's a smart move or not. Put another way, I don't really care whether the quantitative sum adds up to what the team lost in payroll when Miggy retired or when ERod opted out, just want the moves to make sense in the context of what they are trying to accomplish (something along the lines of taking a baseline 80 win team and making moves to help them win their division this year)

Jason Benetti in his interview with the Awful Announcing podcast mentioned a number of factors as to why he went over to the Tigers, including his view that the front office is "willing to spend on free agents". Another data point to my view that people outside of Detroit view this organization much differently than the fanbase does.

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.