IdahoBert

Those photos are awesome @Biff Mayhem I housesat my oldest daughter and her husband’s four cats last weekend and they were an absolute treat to be around.

Don’t get me wrong, teams with stars are cool. I remember the excitement I felt in 2008 when the Tigers added Cabrera and Sheffield (even though Shef was old) and we already had Irod and Magglio and we had JV. And on paper the team was slated to win the World Series and score 1000 runs. But the team fell flat and went 74–88. And certainly not all teams filled with stars run cold. But I really like the club we have right now. Aside from the fact that its success last year was surprising and dream-like, this first third of the season is proving that it was not a dream. This style of play is a part of the collective muscle memory of the team. And we have stars, but the supporting cast of characters make surprisingly fertile contributions and that’s exactly where a lot of the fun comes from.

A team full of stars can be a mere assemblage. This is what people who are impressed by swagger enjoy. This is what executives who are selling a spectacle want to present Then there are teams with an organic synergy which is more than the sum of its parts. The Tigers do have stars. No doubt about it. But the Tigers are a team and not a mere assemblage of parts so they have a greater momentum that carries them over rough spots where other teams stumble. The Tigers certainly play the numbers, but they also access the human element in a way that is truly exciting, where role players get to be the star of the day.

There are only five games total in all of MLB today and one of them is due to a rain out yesterday so otherwise there would be only four.

103 games is quite a while to continually cheat “fate.” Of course we have yet to hit one of those stretches where even really good teams will inexplicably lose eight out of nine games. Perhaps going with the odds in critical situations actually works. It’s not like the Tigers have rubbed two sticks together and created an atomic bomb. It’s more like a series of micro decisions made within contingent circumstances and motivating the human element to buy into it.

What is the name of your spirit squirrel?

Jobe is going through the growing pains. He may even be following the advice of someone he respects. He may not know what to say right now and sometimes it’s better to say nothing than to say something you might regret. It’s probably hard to be the best and the most incredible stand out at something forever and then for that not to be the case. I for one wouldn’t know how to deal with that because I’ve never been in that position.

On a happier note, Rays defeated the Minnesota Twins!😍

Yes!!!

Indeed.

4-3 home stand that began against a traditional opponent that dealt us three miserable losses in a row. Announcers were then talking about the series with the Giants being against a team with which we had a “history.“ And my thought was “what the hell, what kind of history are they talking about?” and then I remembered “oh…. Thaaaaaat.” I have really suppressed that memory. This of course doesn’t make up for it one bit, but I’m glad we won.

That’s why we don’t want him getting thrown out of games, even though the virtue signaling of standing up for his players would be gratifying. I however find winning vastly more gratifying.

Totally. I guess the groundskeeper was the libation we had to throw to the gods to get the win and keep it.

I came back. I couldn’t watch Disney+ because it’s like grape juice and the Tigers are a thrill ride.

Win

To avoid spreading my bad karma, I’m going to watch what I understand is a bad movie the new Captain America Brave New World film, which is now streaming on Disney+. Good luck!

See? You see what happens when I start paying attention again? The grounds crew gets injured and weird hits that shouldn’t happen happen.

Yeah, it was probably someone in the crowd heckling him or something. Paying admission is a way of licensing some people to act out.

These guys have to work real quick and you could make just one strange move and hurt yourself.

I wonder if the grounds crew guy wrenched his knee or something.

I just did and now there’s this weird underhand guy throwing when I wake up

I’m trying to decide if it’s safe for me to start following this game again. When I’m not paying attention all the good stuff happens.

When this inning began, I was going to start bellyaching about how hopeless everything was and then I took a break and when I came back, everything was changing. Maybe I’m bad luck.

Nice. He just did what Riley couldn’t do.

Colt Keith doubles (9) on a ground ball to right fielder Mike Yastrzemski. Jake Rogers scores. Kerry Carpenter scores. Gleyber Torres to 3rd.