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To be fair, Paredes did end the season with 2.2 WAR with plus-D at third base, a 114 OPS+, and he had a pretty good August. Even so, it's asking a lot for a 23-year-old to be consistently good month after month through an entire season, especially a guy coming directly out of the frying pan of a system that has routinely failed the development of their minor leaguers and directly into the fire of a team expected to contend for a ring. I'll be interested to see how Paredes does after spending an entire winter working under their direction.

I wouldn’t have minded letting Jeimer go if we’d already had the cornerstone of the next playoff team in place when we did. But if we were just planning to cycle through stopgaps for the next couple seasons anyway, the only reason it makes sense to kick Jeimer out of the door is that he is completely done and never going to be any good ever again. If that’s the case, I’m OK with it.

Although anything is possible and he may be actually done done at 29, I think there’s a good chance the mob with their pitchforks prevailed on this one.

I kind of think that Baby Doc was fine not only with Shep, but also with Al Avila, as long as the money kept quietly rolling in. But once Avila embarrassed him publicly with his relentless buffoonery, that helped drop the scales from Ilitch’s eyes and has led him to more closely examine just how this Tigers property of his reflects on his reputation and family’s legacy. Every little thing, every losing season or PR issue, that goes wrong with the team reflects directly on him, which probably isn’t true of any of his non-sports properties. Who knows, maybe that’s the circumstance that leads the Ilitch’s to finally sell the Tigers, and maybe even the Wings—they are each far too visible a property for a guy who might prefer to quietly scrimp along on the cheap and clear billions through the secret chicanery that buying property and paying off governments entails, or through the natural obfuscation the buy-a-product company like Little Caesars provides. Everyone knows the Ilitch name is attached to the Tigers and Red Wings, but who outside Detroit knows they own Little Caesars? And unless people die from eating the pizza, nothing like pizza quality or poor sales is going to make Ilitch a public pariah. But as long as the Tigers lose or behave in embarrassing fashion …

Exactly … as long as free and fair democracy prevails …

I thought about that angle, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work with the “finger up the butt” line …

Meaning we send American troops and materiel to fight Russians on the ground?

This time …

Childhood immunizations, absolutely. Gotta make sure children don’t become enslaved. Probably mammograms and pap smears because they involve lady parts, and perhaps prostate exams because it involves a finger up the butt. Probably not the other things.

The only way I can see Trump can become president is to do something blatantly anti-democratic or fascist, such as literally rig the election, or mobilize the military or various militias against the people, or forced open voting where everyone has to publicly declare who they are voting for in front of officials and police—something along those lines. Third-world republic-type tactics. But now that everyone knows what Trump and the Republicans are all about, they’ve pretty much established the extent of their voter base. Much of what they believe, and how they act, in is inimical to what most Americans believe and want (although a substantial minority of people think they are just fucking dandy). But I simply can’t see where in an open first-world democracy, people who’ve been voting Democratic, or even flipping between the two based on the economic concerns of a specific moment in time, would conclude, “You know, I didn’t know much about these Republicans before, but I really like the way they go after the Biden Crime Family and how they want to slam the door shut in all foreigners’ faces. I really like the cut of their jib.” I can see more and more people peeling off from the red hat margins as the Republicans, both elected and candidates, become increasingly repugnant, but I can’t see how normal gentle people who have nothing against entire other groups of people simply peel off Biden et al and move over to this version of the Republicans. I suppose the Republicans could try to orchestrate something terrible economically or safety-wise that would result in tens of millions of people’s retirements or fortunes wiped out, or millions dead, that they can blame the Democrats for, but as long as there is a free and fair election in which they are relying on the people to “do the right thing”, even that would be a risky proposition. It’s always risky to rely on the free will of the voters. That’s why autocrats and fascists don’t.

I think they understand what you say they should understand quite clearly. I also think they want nothing to do with that.

Santos obviously has a BS in science.

These particular Republicans are not working for the people. They’re working for The Man.

Camera puts on 30 pounds.

Shep and Gibby will do that.

Schoop is going to have a comeback to league average hitter and league average defender, and will end up with a 2-win season.

Andrew Chafin is not exactly on the team, either.

Just trying to get follows, likes, and retweets. It’s what the current media ecosystem rewards.

Ain’t gotta ask me twice …

We're probably not talking about the same thing.

Joe Block is an East Sider. It’s rare for people to escape from the Macomb black hole so we bonded over that the one time we met. Good guy, super down to earth. The one time I met Len Kasper I tried to subtly bond with him over the Michiganness and he was not responsive to that. I did not know Joe Davis grew up in Michigan!

TBC, the "Millennials and Zoomers" comment was not me dismissing them as such, but rather a comment on Baseball's targeting them as such—that is, Baseball is desperate to do whatever they think they can to grow that base. Have you seen the Network's program "Off Base"? The show is pretty explicitly targeting Gens M and Z with features on players' social media feeds and red carpet walks. I would think elevating Craig Monroe's profile would be in line with this overarching strategy.

See, that's what I thought, too.