Tiger337

I would guess that they liked his defense at a position where they didn't really have a replacement if anything happened to Baez. It's hard to believe they knew his first 70 at bats would be productive. Let's see how it works out in a larger sample size.

The NYT has never been good at sports, so I would think their readers would not be the ideal demographic for the Athletic.

I didn't think the Athletic would keep growing. I got a subscription for a short time and there were some good articles here and there, but not enough for me to keep the subscription. I think most people would prefer to subscribe to a site with a narrow focus rather than a site that tries to cover everything.

Good point. I am sure it varies hugely geographically. Forida is WAY more conservative than Massachusetts for example. A question I have for you though is has it changed even in Florida? Looking at the chart, the percent of liberals went from like 22% pre-Trump to 32% now. Maybe, Florida is still low but not as low as before (maybe 12% up to 20%)

I will never buy Bird Dog shorts.

I don't think most young liberal women want to remain single. They don't want to settle for mediocrity.

Solak has been in the majors before and he will be back with the Tigers. He plays pretty much every position, doesn't hit much, but can draw a walk which makes him the perfect Hinch/Harris player. Edit: Actually doesn't draw that many walks, but hits better than I thought! .327 lifetime OBP.

Nick the Stick Solack

Scaramucci once said Trump is smart in some ways, but he thinks has a learning disability which makes it difficult for him to read or concentrate on anything. Thus, he resents anyone who has those kinds of academic abilities. It made sense.

But he might throw them some paper towels.

Or maybe trade Cabrera to a contender, so he can play in the World Series.

That is my hope as well, but I have no idea if that's the case. It seems that some people love or hate him already, but I don't think we have nearly enough info. I remember when Randy Smith was supposed to be some whiz kid.

Republicans strongly supported law enforcement and the military before Trump. I think they are just transferring their image of the Republican president as a strong military leader to Trump. And Trump has done a great job BSing them to that end.

So, I guess if a young guy want to find a woman, he better be a liberal. Of course, clueless young males are going in the other direction!

I doubt the big name free agents signed in Texas because of Jung, Duran and Taveras. They were not exceptional and the team was performing poorly. They came for the money. The Tigers had no young core when they signed Ordonez and Rodriguez. Ever since the 70s, there has always been teams willing to spend a lot of money. Sometimes it was good teams and big market teams, but other times it was poor teams taking a risk.

The Rangers were as bad as the The Tigers and they were able to attract big time free agents. If a team wants to spend money, the players will come. Some of it worked out for the Rangers and some of it didn't, but they are doing really well this year. Back in 2004, 2005, the Tigers were able to sign Rodriguez and Ordonez and that worked out great. If a team doesn't want to spend money, that is their business. As a fan, I don't care about team finances. It's not my problem. Also, as a fan, I am not sure I even want a team with a core of free agents. I would rather see them build a home grown roster for the most part. If they want to do it that way, the players will be glad to take the money though.

I am not suggesting they should have signed any free agent last off-season or that they should sign anyone this off-season. I am just saying that I think the difficulty Detroit has in attracting free agents is over blown.

Bullpens are more important than they used to be, but you still can't rely on them long term. If you aren't a contender, you should always be marketing good relievers and in-season is when they are most valuable.

The unabomber was brilliant and was right about some things, but he was insane and a terrible human being. The world is a better place without him in it.

They will like it here if they are offered $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

If we are now going to see the bad side of bullpen volatility, this is going to get really ugly. The bullpen is the main reason the Tigers were respectable in 2021 and the first couple months of this year.

I don't think there is any drama or conflict between Harris and Hinch, but A.J. Hinch, the face of the franchise? That is pretty extreme. I thought Baez and Cabrera were the faces of the franchise!

It works every time!

I believe they some have pretty good prospects (including some who have already reached the majors) who may develop into good major leaguers. I do not think they have an exceptional group of prospects compared to other teams. I think Avila's plan failed overall, but some of his picks could still be part of a future playoff team along with players who were not his products. I am neither impressed nor disappointed with Hinch. Fetters appears to be skilled. I have no strong opinion of Harris so far, but I hope he does better than Avila.