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My son and his family lived in the Bay Area several years pre-Covid and enjoyed it. He and his family fell in love with the A’s. Green & Gold apparel everywhere. Going forward he decided to go full time with the Giants at the end of last year with the departure and destruction of the A’s. He is now stoked that Verlander will be wearing the Orange & Black this year. Our visits to the area were very enjoyable over the several years they were out there. We managed to see games at the Coliseum and Oracle on separate visits. His buddy sent him a clear vial of infield dirt from the final Oakland A’s home game this year as a Christmas gift. That’s what you call a true friend. They use to attend games together in Oakland frequently. But alas, his wife has decided to be a Dodgers fan and his oldest a Braves fan. The diaspora of MLB allegiances can be a difficult family chapter.

My wife decided that JV is probably a better fit in SF at this point, all things considered, so I’ll just have to live with it. fwiw, JV is three years older than Fetter.

I think that’s where the gray area is. I’d heard the same about JV regarding his starting day routine. I’ve heard that a lot of pitchers are the same way on a starting day. They just want to get in their zone and be left alone.

Appreciate your response. As such, I listened to the podcast you cited. I get his drift but don’t see it as any reason whatsoever to view Verlander for anything other than he is, a HOF pitcher. I know Harris is all about clubhouse culture but can’t imagine Verlander ever being anything but about winning. Verlander is from a different time in baseball and Harris may have concerns about his views running counter to what the guys are being fed every day now. Who knows? I do know that it would have been really sweet if JV could have finished his career in Detroit. The fan base would have loved it. Since being traded he’s always been very positive in his comments toward Detroit and their fans. I don’t know that he’ll pitch beyond this year. That he likely would have signed with Detroit for the same money and in all likelihood, never was offered, sucks.

I’m trying to get over the fact that Cobb and Verlander both signed one year-$15 million deals…and Verlander’s deal isn’t with the Detroit Tigers and Cobb’s is. As a long time Tigers fan, that sucks!

💯 I’d be very happy if Bregman never played for Detroit. At the same time, $30 million on two reclamation projects isn’t what I had in mind when the FO was discussing making the team better. I’d hope we’ll have more to show for this offseason than what we have to date.

I have been wondering for a bit now if Harris is quietly having conversations with the Boras/Bregman camp in search of a more amicable deal. Last year Boras had to give some with several of his clients when the market turned quiet after the new year. (Chapman/Montgomery/Snell) This theory of mine is about a week old but it’s starting to grow on me. I can’t imagine that he’d consider this team to be much improved at all, as is, from last year’s team. The other option is a formidable trade with another team. That was my initial expectation early on but I’m not as sure of that now based on Harris’ record as a POBO/ GM.

After nearly 30 years after its publication date, I finally read the book, The Millionaire Next Door. Out of curiosity I asked for it as a gift suggestion and received it Christmas. I’d guess I’m probably the last one here to read it. Enjoyed the book. Obviously some things have changed since its publication but an awful lot of things have remained the same. Over the years this has been one of the most financial related books mentioned through all my related readings.

Years ago Money Magazine ran a piece on Ramsey titled (I’m going on memory here 🤔)… ‘Save like Dave Ramsey but Don’t invest like Dave Ramsey.’ Good piece. As pointed out here already, his advice for beginners is solid. If someone has accumulated a good amount of money to invest, maybe look for advice other than Ramsey’s. Money Magazine was critical of Ramsey for recommending shops like Edward Jones. MM pointed out that EJ is more or less a store front for funds that include loads as a part of their fees. I know at the time of the article this was true. I’ll still listen to Ramsey sometimes if I pick him up on radio with a drive ahead of me. Entertaining.

10 year treasury chasing 4.8 on very strong jobs report.

That’s what the Dodgers accountants are banking on anyway…

BlackRock BLK is pulling out of a United Nations-sponsored climate initiative, a remarkable U-turn for a company that was once a poster child of the environmental, social and governance investing movement. The world’s largest asset manager told clients in a letter Thursday that it has formally withdrawn from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, an international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. WSJ Nice

Verlander to Giants for a one year deal at $15 million.

Realistically, I don’t think the Tigers were interested in Verlander. The Giants got a one year deal which is exactly what you would want with Verlander at this point.

Good for the Giants. Wish him the very best.

Signing Matt Boyd would bring us full circle.

Agree. I believe it was Harris who signed Cobb to a contract in San Francisco in 2022. Cobb has been injury prone for the last three years.

So the Blue Jays have reportedly made an offer to Santander. If he accepts, I would think the talking heads would immediately conclude that Bregman is Motor City bound.

This year we’re staying at the Holiday Inn Express Lakeland North. It’s six minutes from the park and the pricing was very reasonable in comparison to other places we saw when we booked in early December.

When you speak of 1830, are you referring to Joseph Smith and the origin of Mormonism? Other than that, I’m not familiar with what/who you’re referring to.

I believe you are correct in saying that the word “Rapture” does not appear in the (KJV) Bible. The description and conversation around the event itself is indeed in the KJV across a number of scriptures. The event is clearly described in the following verses: 1 Corinthians 15:52 1 Thessalonians 4 13-18 Revelation 1:7 There are numerous other scriptures that discuss the event of the Rapture in the KJV Bible. The word Rapture, nor the description of the event itself, originated in the 1800’s.

I hope Rosenthal is correct.

Franklin accurately referred to it as a Republic. Benjamin Franklin is famous for saying, “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it” in response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question about whether the new nation would be a republic or a monarchy. Franklin was aware of the new union's fragility and the difficulties the states would face.

Every now and then good news comes around…. The student government at the University of Michigan has removed its top two leaders, who vowed to block funding for campus groups unless the university agreed to divest from companies accused of profiting from the Israel–Hamas war. The student assembly’s president and vice president, Alifa Chowdhury and Elias Atkinson, were officially ousted late on Monday after they were impeached last month, the New York Times reported. Each received a guilty count of dereliction of duty for either missing council meetings or failing to organize them. NR

This has been my take from the day they initially called him up. Avila was under a lot of heat to show the fans some evidence that the rebuild was beginning to bear fruit. I thought Riley was called up too early as well at the time.