mtutiger

Honestly, the SF series kinda looms large in how I view them versus 2022.... You cannot convince me that last year's team, at least as they were in the first half of last year, wouldn't have folded like a cheap tent in either of those two wins against the Giants.

RFK Jr. literally owes his entire existance to his last name. He's the real life embodiment of Connor Roy from Succession.... as much as some folks wishcast him mattering, it's exceedingly more likely that his campaign will have the same impact that Kanye 2020 did: Zero.

A couple of points: they are walking at a decent clip, at least compared to some of their worst months in 2022. And compared to 2022, their BABIP is lower, so they may be getting somewhat unlucky. But on the whole, eye test, I would say "it's better, but they still suck" is a good way to characterize them compared to 2022. At least at the moment.

The questions about defense, IMO, are a good argument to keep Malloy down for the time being. Because it's a double edged sword: while his offensive production at AAA is tantalizing, he alone will not fix the Tigers offense. And so long as the Tigers offense is struggling, the Tigers will need to pitch and play good defense in order to put wins in the win column. I don't know that he's far off, but Malloy is way too young to be penciling into a DH spot....

Riley needs a day off tomorrow... it's not working at the moment

7th inning really demonstrates one major difference between 2023 and 22/21... this team is significantly better defensively

Miggy is getting painful to watch

Honestly not even sure why they had Haase moving when he got on as well... shouldn't be running into outs against a pitcher who cannot throw strikes

And Wolfie bails them out... finally something good happens lol

Infuriating

His ties to the general area, being from FW, playing at CMU, etc. all make it crazier that the trade was trashed as much as it was. Should be a natural to root for for Tiger fans

Totally, Tork gets far more skepticism because of last year, but he seems a lot less concerning at the moment than Greene does. At a minimum, Tork is at least hitting and pulling fastballs and making some hard contact. Greene has a good approach and is promising in a lot of respects, but the inability to pull any fastballs, along with the Ks and the high groundball rate, is pretty alarming.

David Frum suggested that as well. People love poring over the ratings numbers, but ratings are pretty hollow when the guy with the highest ratings isn't bringing in revenue and starts actually costing the network money.

A real-life Connor Roy LOL

So which host on MSNBC gets it today? lol

wow

David Frum notes that FOX is currently having to renegotiate contracts with a couple of cable carriers.... wonder if Dominion was making those negotiations more difficult for FOX and precipitated this move.

It's been noted in a few places, but FOX not giving him a final sendoff show suggests this was more of a hostile move. Maybe it stems from the Dominion settlement?

WOW

I think this is largely right, but in terms of the WWE analogy, the only person in the ring is Donald Trump.... all of the other candidates won't so much as lay a finger on him and appear to just be hoping he implodes on his own. DeSantis chief among them. And it's because the entire situation is a Catch-22.... it's exceedingly unlikely to win a nomination without attacking Trump, but it's exceedingly unlikely to win a nomination by attacking Trump.

I do think Trump is (still) undersold as a commodity by the class of Republican who wants to channel Trumpism without actual Trump on the ballot, but what really seems like groupthink to me is how this guy is basically seen as the "default" other option. It's either Trump or DeSantis, no other options. I know he's Governor of Florida and had a resounding victory in an otherwise disappointing year for the GOP (Florida is a bit of an outlier state anyway, but we'll set that aside for the moment). I totally get how he looks good on paper. But what exactly has DeSantis done or how has he earned the benefit of the doubt as the heir apparent, especially when you see how the guy actually acts in the wild?

Governor Alfred E. Newman has some thoughts...

Great slide by Vierling... outstanding