gehringer_2

I didn't watch any GB games other than the last one. Is his throwing still good enough to play another year or will he end up embarrassing himself?

HaHa - true. But still there was some disconnect when he came back because Lalonde kept referring to Vrana 'not playing in the system.' Like I said, apart from whether he was staying clean, I'm sort of drawn to the idea that Vrana wanted out from the Wings and bucking the coach was going to be quickest way to achieve that. On the one hand he risked getting sent back and left in GR, but on the other Vrana also knew that the Wings would want him in Det so they could move him and get some kind of value back.

Maybe true in general but today he only had one 2 strike count and in that one he took a pitcher's pitch that could easily have been called a ball -more likely to be called a ball than he was to hit it beyond the IF. The curve he swung at and popped up in his last AB was on the black - call could have gone either way if he had taken it. If your premise is that his issue is being too selective that may be a secondary problem to his larger one of not doing damage on hittable FBs. On the FB issue he only got one center cut FB in the three AB today and he did rip it. I don't disagree he needs to be more 'aggressive' but to me he needs to express that as less hesitation - I think last year he was consistently late on the draw when he saw a good pitch - so he was never to get out in front of it. Sure it's possible he's been trying too hard to walk because he knows he hasn't been pulling his weight. Maybe fixing the 2nd would fix the first?

Don't agree. He scalded a ball in his 1st AB. 2nd AB he got nothing to hit. 4 very good pitches painting the outside and bottom of the zone. Was rung up on a perfect change-up half out of the zone low. Third AB - yeah, not so good - popped up a curve ball away he probably should have taken. But he didn't swing at any bad pitches and didn't miss the one good pitch he got.

The other RH shots at GR: Matt Luff, Domink Shine doesn't seem to be a candidate.

29 HR in 18 ST games last season, 17 in 7 so far this this year. Unfortunately the first week is the week that means the least in ST. But still more fun that listening to them lose!

Jake with the sampler line today. 1H, 1R, 1BB, 1SO, 1HR, 1LOB

I didn't think Oskar was particularly good but he did work hard. Moving 4 players seems like a lot - it is a lot but since Bertuzzi and Vrana hadn't played much they are pretty much only filling in for 2 the rest of the way - and Ras of course.

That's 4. I assume the wind is blowing out today.

Going to be some room for some call-ups.

I would guess SY is collecting the later round picks just to trade them later, haven't we heard him say threre isn't much to find in the later rounds of the draft? Or maybe I'm misremembering.

Funny, I just a report on some research that says the quickest way to become unhappy is to start trying to be more happy.

I have a gameday radio account and I can select "Switch MLB account" which would put me on a trial MLB TV subscription, which I would then have to cancel before I was billed and reset my gameday account - all of which is more than I want to go through for a ST game...

If he's a bust, he's a bust. You usually don't know for sure untill at least 1000 PA. Wrong time to worry though - he's hit the ball on the screws at least once in each game so far I think. Already has a 106mph LD today.

yup. He needs to be just few milliseconds quicker - it would put the ball more to LF and increase the elevation if he hit it just a tad further out front.

The thing about baseball is that hitting is always a 'what have you done lately' thing. If you are hitting, you will play - NOW. So on the plus side for Tork, if he hits this spring last season is immediately irrelevant - until he stops hitting. THEN you look at his overall when deciding how much good it might do to send him to AAA.

how about we don't ignore it but forget it.

Sounds like another reason for Casey to be gone this off season.

Ach - I forgot about the pick!

Biden has shown he can do bad cop. I hope he can also get the timing and pitch right on the reconciling gesture *if* the Chinese were to present the opening during his tenure. We can't live with Putin, but China and the US should be able to figure out a way not to be at each other's throats.

Weird case. If you really want an off the wall speculation I suppose the reverse could also be true - that Vrana holds it against the Wings that they put him into oversight and has made it clear he doesn't want to play for them and is refusing to cooperate with the team. The way Lalonde talked about him not playing in the system - and then the other night again saying he was sitting because Lalonde needed someone who would play in the system - made it sound like Vrana was determined to just to freelance in whatever ice time he got. well whatever, I guess that closes the book on a bad move for SY. Even for Mantha that nets out pretty poorly. Well, you can't win 'em all.

TBH - I would say Shrub did more damage to the efficient function of the US government bureaucracy than even Trump did. 'W''s cabinet and admin picks were some of the worst in history. He was the pathfinder for any bad appointment choice you can lay at Trump's feet. Alito was his too, so he gets credit for a judge at least as crazy as any Trump appointed.

yeah - it would sort of be the ultimate irony if he plays really well next season, cements his claim as a top QB, and the Lions problem is not getting rid of him but figuring out how to afford him.😱

That's sort of interesting if trading Goff brought back the draft pick you need to take your franchise QB, but I suppose that's almost impossible to insure.

I suppose you don't have to take a step back when you change QBs, (Montana->Young, Farve->Rodgers) but it's a pretty unique situation when the planets align for you that way.