chasfh

It's Bowden, so ... yeah. I think Harris is looking for close-to-major-league-ready sticks. Maybe guys who can't help us so much this year, but for sure next year. I'd be surprised if he goes for a guy with a 2027 ETA or anything like that.

The Pipeline rating of Parada at #9 is garbage. He's a low-average hitting catcher with a touch of pop, which the Tigers already have a few of in their system, so no way we make this trade. Fangraphs doesn't have Parada even among their top 42 prospects, in part because he "has regressed as a hitter and stagnated as a defender in pro ball." He is a sunk cost, so if I'm a Mets fan, I want this trade all day long. But I'm a Tigers' fan, so the Mets and Bowden can stick this trade right up their butt sideways.

I would think just about anyone who stays in Louisiana, or any of the deep red confederate states, either embraces the fascism or simply can’t escape.

I predicted to someone not long ago that the Royals would be well under .500 during the second half of the season, but it looks like that level of play might be arriving sooner than later.

Yeah, i would think the chances of our trading Tork would be in the low single digits. I was just throwing it out there as an out-of-the-box idea. One of the problems with trading Tork now would be the message it would send to other young players: if Tork, a 1/1 pick just a few years ago, can be traded off by this front office, it could happen to anyone. If no one, not even a generational hitting talent like Tork, is safe, then why bother giving your heart and soul to this team? That would work completely counter to building the kind of selfless team-first environment Harris says he wants to build here.

I hope Ryan Kreidler is saving all his big league money.

Speaking of Keith at first, I started wondering today whether it would make any sense to package Tork in a deadline deal? Like, Flaherty and Tork for something better than just Flaherty? Would that goose the return enough?

You mean young women? I'm in the city so I can't even imagine what that would look like.

Just for kicks, I wanted to see what percent of batters the Tigers have had on their teams who were under 23. I have always suspected that historically we haven't carried as many very young players as some other franchises have. Here's what I found (original 16 teams in red): Franchise Total Under 23 % U23 OAK 2873 345 12.0% ATL 2706 287 10.6% CLE 2992 304 10.2% PIT 2962 300 10.1% STL 3046 308 10.1% WSN 1313 123 9.4% SFG 2937 275 9.4% LAD 2900 270 9.3% HOU 1367 125 9.1% CHW 2603 232 8.9% TOR 1044 92 8.8% DET 2628 231 8.8% BAL 3060 261 8.5% NYM 1607 136 8.5% BOS 2590 219 8.5% CIN 2910 241 8.3% SDP 1262 102 8.1% CHC 2621 210 8.0% ANA 1493 116 7.8% PHI 2826 214 7.6% NYY 2374 172 7.2% MIL 1490 107 7.2% TEX 1181 84 7.1% FLA 696 45 6.5% KCR 1238 74 6.0% MIN 1340 79 5.9% SEA 1122 66 5.9% TBD 599 28 4.7% COL 755 35 4.6% ARI 596 27 4.5% Total 59131 5108 8.6% Orig 16 42028 3869 9.2% As it turns out we're right in the middle, historically, but notice how original 16s have higher percentages of Under 23s than expansion franchises do, I suspect because back in the early days a team was more likely to carry kids than they would be today. Taken against only Original 16s, we are slightly lower than average. Notice the Yankees have the lowest percentage among the original 16s, perhaps maybe because they had more than their pick of players to sign and also had a deep farm system early on where they could bury young stars, and older players tend to be more seasoned, which may have helped lead to all those pennants. On the other hand, the Phillies are the second lowest and they were almost always terrible, so ... there goes that theory. 😁

I've been watching him since Politically Incorrect. I think he overdoes outrage at the left, mainly because the hard left is not nearly the equivalent to the hard right in power or influence, but I still watch him.

So funny you say that because when my wife and I are at a restaurant and they're dragging their feet on getting our meal to us, she'll tell me to go to the bathroom so we can get it sooner.

McStink Bomb!

Look, Bert, we love you and everything, but ... can you take the hint, pal? 😉

Yeah, i don't disagree with that. Coming into the game 12% of Keith's PAs are against LHB, vvs 22% of all Tigers PAs and 26% of all AL PAs. It's not as though he's being sat against all LHP starters, necessarily: Keith has started 61 of the Tigers' 76 games, which is not exactly a platoon situation. And he is sucking wind against LHP, which raises a chicken or egg question. He didn't have that split last year in Toledo. So, who knows. I would think he is sitting against some LHPs, and maybe getting pinmch hit for late in the game when LHPs come in. But I agree that he needs to see them more. He did just get a wind-blown pop-up double against the LHP Shuster, so ... baby steps!

No guarantees ... 🤓

Well, you had to know the Tigers were ready to bust out and score nine in the first less-than-two innings.

Almost as though they have no idea what they're doing

I am tempted to root against them when they wear those things. Honestly, I am not against the jerseys so much, although I have always disliked dark pants to match the jersey, which makes them look like pajamas. But those hats? It's almost as though there had a deadline to meet, and 15 minutes before the presentation, someone from the design agency who got the job says, "holy sh*t, we forgot the hat!" And they draw up a quick hat design and the team leader says, "Make the Detroit in italics and tell them it's like racing or something". And they sold it through because Asia Gholston was paying more attention to TikToks during the presentation, and she waved her hand and said "fine, whatever."

OK, these are the real Chicago White Sox.

Almost as if he's not a good pitcher ...

My first computer in 1992 was a Packard Bell 486 sx20 with 2 mb RAM and 40 mb hard drive which, along with a monitor and printer, cost close to $3,000, or at least I think I remember it doing so. Maybe I'm misremembering ...

The other thing with Flaherty specifically is the health question. He had a back thing earlier this year and a rash of shoulder injuries from a couple years ago. I don't think any team is going to pull the trigger until as close to July 30 as they can get. I don't think the Tigers are going to be offered a bag of balls for Flaherty unless the entire seller's side of the trade market collapses, which I don't even know how that happens because there will be more buyers than sellers. (There is even some question about whether the Tigers will be buyers.) And even if by some weird reason the market were to collpase, I bet 10 to 1 that Harris would hang onto Flaherty versus accepting a bag of balls. This will not be a salary dump mandate like Verlander was. Flaherty would be the #2 SP on the market, so if we don't get solid offers for him, then no one is getting solid offers for anyone.

This strikes me not so much as an "or" as it does as a restatement of what you quoted?

Yes, Republicans, stop using Bill Maher as a reference point! Stop it! Listen to your leader! Eyes on the ball! What’s wrong with you!