Mr.TaterSalad

Beto O'Rourke is awesome! He called this guy a mother fucker for laughing at kids being shot with AR 15s/

I think he's wrong. I would definitely want to have a nice, hearty burgundy and a good dinner and shoot the breeze with Elizabeth Warren on public policy and the progressive movement for a couple of hours. Is she a deity though, absolutely not.

I don't think for me or most fans it is Epstein, Lunhow or bust. We are very much enticed by the proven track record of their success. In Theo's case, he has been able to replicate it in multiple organizations. Epstein is my first choice for GM, but I'd still be very much open and still very much want this organization to do a proper search, with outside help. I also don't have any real expectation that Esptein would even come here, so it's more of a pipe dream really.

If he and Hinch can build this team into a World Series winner as they did in Houston will any fan or member of Detroit media give two bleeps about what type of person Lunhow is? Winning forgives most all sins.

Hell of a team Randy Smith assembled in 1996. Look at that rotation and outfield he had put together. A murderers row of Tony Clark, Bobby Higginson, Travis Fryman, and Kimera Bartee. With Buddy Bell managing, who can believe they only went 53-109. Shocking!

I was a kid during the Randy Smith years and followed this team religiously on PASS, UPN 50, and then FSD. Watched games weekly, read all the box scores, had a Cecil jersey, collected Greg Keagle and Jose Lima baseball cards. I was so hyped up on so many Randy Smith prospects that went no where from Encarnacion to Justin Thompson to Matt Anderson. I was an angry and disappointed 11 year old kid when Randy traded Gonzo straight up for Karim Garcia. What a fiasco of a trade.

I still feel someone from outside the organization needs to be brought in to work with Hinch and Chris Illitch on this one. It cannot be next man up like it was with Al. If Hinch decides he wants a guy he is familiar with from the Astros like Jeff Luhnow, Pete Putila, or Scott Powers then I'm not opposed to that. I just want there to be an outside voice guiding Chris and Hinch towards making the smart decision and not simply going on who AJ already knows.

Avila's trades look pretty damn pointless at times. That Verlander trade was an all time terrible trade. Getting nothing for JD and Nick set us back as well.

Which is why it's paramount they bring in outside help and get a GM who doesn't have the Dombrowski/Avila stench on them. Yes, I know that we won with DD here, but our drafting was littered with terrible picks, the farm system was a wreck, and player development was subpar. I never thought I'd say this in my life, but Chris Illitch needs to follow what Sheila Ford-Hamp and the Lions did when they hired Brad Holmes. If you can open up a blank checkbook and get Theo Epstein in here, which I highly doubt is the case, then fine. Otherwise, an outside firm, agency, person, has to be brought in to assist Chris in this search. If he just takes the next man up approach, as he and his dad did when replacing DD, I think it will be destined to fail. I think they may need to hire both a Team President, who reports to Chris, and then that person, Chris, and someone on the outside find their GM candidate collaboratively. From there, Chris can stay out of the way and let the new Team President and GM spend the next year/two/three to rebuild and revamp the scouting department and player development personnel.

Whose tenure was worse, Avila's or Randy Smith's?

Chris doesn't even have the decency to offer him free parking.

Whoever the next GM is, I hope they come in and gut this scouting and player development staff from top to bottom. Our player development, especially when it comes to positional players and developing everyday ballplayers, is a complete joke. There is a reason our farm system has plummeted in the ratings recently. A reason why those we call up frequently don't look ready for primetime. A reason why you can't name any positional All Stars developed by this organization. Who is is the last home grown, perennial All Star we've had from this organization? Who is the last positional player we've developed that is worthy of batting in the 1 through 5 spot in the lineup? Once they get traded out of Detroit (see Nick Castellanos or Andrew Miller) do they seem to really turn it up and develop into top-tier players. The scouting and player development side of this organization needs a complete overhaul and I hope it gets one.

Mike Valenti speculating that Sam Menzin will get the job. Is there any chance we get a real GM search and it lands us someone outside the organization? Maybe Theo?

There goes Al and he's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNG GOOOOOOONNNNNEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

So are these two Indiana officers going to arrest Trump, MTG, Lauren Bobert, and all the other idiots who are anti-cop with their anti-FBI rhetoric?

I find it ironic that for all the shit progressives get from people and the mainstream media, Democrats chances to keep or expand the majority in the Senate come from progressive candidates, with one exception. Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, progressive. Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, progressive. John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, progressive. Raphael Warnock in Georgia, progressive. Only Mark Kelly in Arizona is a true run-of-the-mill moderate Democrat. Maybe you could argue Tim Ryan too, but even Ryan has progressive ideas on trade and healthcare and was an original M4A co-sponsor in the House in 2019. Where are the pro-corporate, anti-choice, anti-gay, lite beer version Republicans to save us when we need them?

EmmyLou Harris and Mary Chapin Carpenter are coming to the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids on September 1st. I really want to go to this as I love both artists.

They are going to what about the Steve Scaliese Congressional baseball game shooting for a while too. They are going to hold that one up anytime right wing violence gets committed or attempted against Democratic or non-MAGA Republican elected officials.

If those mother******* Manchin and Sinema would pass HR 1 we'd have nationwide gerrymandering reform and would be setup much better and more equitably long term for the US House. Oh well, the racist filibuster is more important.

It's not the weight persay that players dislike. It's the fact that he sits high and mighty on his perch (or golf cart) and acts like a complete jackass towards his players. Furthermore, Patricia was rumored to have shown up late to team meetings. So you're demanding, screaming at your players to work harder and be better while not being better yourself.

This is awesome! I've got the Kool Aid jug filled up high tonight

Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn doing up downs with their own players on Hard Knocks. Can you imagine Matt Patricia doing up-downs at practice haha.

Lions fans are going to be blue lipped from all that Kool Aid after Hard Knocks airs tonight for sure. I wouldn't say I've guzzled down a jug of Honolulu blue Kool Aid just yet, but I've been sipping on it for sure. As I said previously, things feel different under Brad Holmes, this isn't just the usual hype of having a new coach or GM that quickly fades once they step onto the field. It feels like this organization is making smart moves that they have not in the past from a roster stand point by drafting talented players without reaching, not trying to draft solely for scheme fit, valuing the intangibles like speed and athleticism that you can't teach, getting high football IQ guys, and leaders on the field. This offseason and last also proved their prudence with managing the salary cap. They could have blown the bank to try and rush the rebuild, ala Jacksonville and Trent Baalke, but they did not. They stayed patient and made smart signings. All things largely neglected by prior regimes. It feels different in a good way not just because myself or any fan says so, but because the moves they are roster moves that seem to be building in a positive directions. I'm hyped because Brad Holmes has given us as fans legitimate reasons to feel this way for once. Maybe Holmes hasn't made the right moves and these guys end up being busts. But so far, it seems so good. Coaching and this staff still remain my biggest question marks. I don't feel I can say one way or another, based on last years horrific roster that the staff had to work with, whether or not our coaching staff is any good. Time will tell on that one as the season progresses. Brad Holmes has got me hyped and ready for Hard Knocks tonight in a way I wouldn't have been if Quinn, Patricia, Mayhew, or Caldwell were still around.

My whole question is, with the league being as weak as it has been sometimes handing down punishments, can we count on teams to act appropriately and accordingly if they were in charge of discipling their own players?