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Sure, pay a guy tens of millions of dollars more than he is worth and you can get him to play for anybody. But if you’re a team like the Tigers and you’re the top bidder by only a few million, you’re probably not getting the guy, because he is going to want to go someplace where he can win. I know that idea gets pooh-poohed around here a lot, but it’s true. By the way, how does it feel the root for a team that can’t get anybody decent come play for them unless they dramatically overpay them? Maybe for you … but I don’t like it.

Was placing Foley in that situation this game evidence that we weren't playing to win? Is Foley an established quantity when it comes to leverage situations such that A.J. was guilty of managerial malfeasance?

I think you know Soto and Jimenez were never going to return a major league regular. And Vierling and Maton are both better than replacement hitters, as evidenced by their positive oWARs. I don't think we need to rehash the idea that good free agent hitters were never going to sign up to play here in 2023.

As the manager of a big league team fated to be under .500, I don't think a manager is stressing about avoiding leverage for just about any of his pitchers. To be sure, now is the time to test everyone in every situation to see who's got something and who doesn't.

I think being a free spender this offseason was a non-starter in any case. I don't think they could have spent a lot of money this year on good players because I don't think any good player who has a choice of where to go would have chosen to come to this team this year.

Yeah, I wouldn't blame Baez if he felt like he was sold a bill of goods to come here and bolted at the firstt opportunity. What will be interesting to see is, if Javy does have a down year this year, does he stick around for (from his perspective) the money and the losing, or does he test the market and bet on himself and sign a one-year deal with a contender, hoping to parlay that into a rich multiyear deal starting 2025? A little early to speculate, of course, but the possibility is on the table.

Jakey!!

If it make y'all feel better, Candelario is currently hitting .100 in Washington.

I think that was a good decision to go to the plate by Baez even without the force there. Worst case scenario is we're down 6-0 with 12- and one out, versus 5-0 with 12- and two out. If you're going to maintain any pretense of competing, might as well try to keep the game closer for the bats in the ninth.

You're right, it's going to be hard to dig out of it, although to be fair, no one was expecting us to contend, anyway. This is more of a character-building year for everyone involved.

Hey, check out the Gameday 3D motion-capture replay they have now: https://www.mlb.com/gameday/718742/play/45

Also remember the first 40 games is probably the toughest stretch any team in baseball has this year.

Riley Greene proves that: Give me 87.6 miles per hour going a distance of five feet all day, amirite?

He didn't exactly crush that grounder, but at least Riley has gotten us off the base hit schneid. Riley has made a lot of good things happen by charging down the line toward first this year so far.

If Siri got the huge jump at first after two throws over that Dan said he did, then Foley might as well as thrown over the third time to try to get him and risk the balk call, because Siri ended up just waltzing to second anyway.

If it wasn't done before ...

VERY likable play there!

Yeah, that's gonna take time. We are talking years and years of bad instruction that did not start with Scott Coolbaugh. And even with all the best, most up-to-date instruction available, bad players still won't be good enough to implement it successfully.

Wasn't that more a Fox Sports thing anyway?

Springs is very good.

How about Joey Wentz through two!

That was a very likable play by Javy Baez.

Jesus, Matt Vierling, at least put up a challenge on a close strike two pitch, would you, please?

FWIW, I don't think Javy Baez is at all unlikable. I think he's very likable. He's just frustratingly inconsistent on the field.