Tenacious D

It might be an easy, oversimplification, but he did construct the bullpen—both Jansen and Finnegan came with some red flags. Holton was erratic last season (compared to the previous two seasons). This is correctable if we can move Montero and Melton there, but the pen is a house of cards.

Interesting. Was he the one that allegedly got sideways with Verlander, leading to his dismissal?

You’re correct—I was only evaluating the player. Realize we’re at a point where we have little wiggle room salary-wise. Only a few months ago the narrative was how cheap Ilitch was.

I would be on board with Tatis. Still young and amazing tools. Think he’s just having a weird season. If they were looking to dump his contract and didn’t require Clark in return, I’d bet on him bouncing back.

You just described the Milwaukee Brewers.

I believe this is why Harris avoided Bergman and Bichette this past offseason. We have legitimate infield options in Keith, McGonigle, Lee, Anderson, Peck, Jung and Rainer. Potentially Yost, too. Maybe none will be Berg or Bichette in their prime, but that is not what we would have been paying for. Keith’s performance has been a huge letdown—hopefully he can turn the corner in the second half, but his team friendly contract will keep him in the mix for years. I’ve been one of Tork’s biggest supporters, but I think we’re seeing what he is. I think the team will move on from him next season—he might have appeal to a team like the Reds or Rockies. Barring a trade deadline sell-off, I can see next season’s infield like this: 1B: Keith/Tork 2B: Anderson/Lee SS: McGonigle/Baez 3B Keith/Anderson/Lee If Peck is ready, he probably gets SS with Kevin moving to 2B or 3B. And if we sell at the deadline, I would anticipate the Tigers prioritizing OF and starting pitchers in return.

The one that got away or “almost old friends alert”:

If you weren’t old enough, you can’t appreciate Bird mania. Fernando Valenzuela was a big deal, too, but Mark was our guy.

See what I did there?

Really can’t pinch hit for Short?

Works with Hurter. Just not as funny.

SGL is the emergency starter at Toledo. Melton and Montero to the pen strengthens what has been a major weakness. Ideally, I’d keep Montero in the rotation and move Flaherty to the pen, where he probably would excel for an inning or two at a time.

That worked out better for Blyleven.

50 years ago for me, too. Thanks, Bird!