gehringer_2

No doubt, but the question is which is the norm and which is the outlier. Parker has actually only had one good one-half of a season and he is 26. The reality is there just isn't much of a track record there give any GM confidence to pencil him in for 500 AB and expect production. The easiest way to get better offensively and cut down on men LOB is attack the weakest links in your line-up where the most marginal improvement is available (and usually at the lowest cost), which means the bottom third of the order.

I think CF is pretty questionable - at least from the LH batter's box. Parker's performance last season is not going to cut it. OTOH, in '24 Vierling had virtually zero platoon split, so if that holds sending him out against RHP doesn't matter. IDK if that is good enough for the Tiger brain trust though - they love them those LHB.

Yup. Also wondering if Seider has been playing through an undisclosed injury.

We've lived in the same house through a couple of generations now, and even when our kids (echo generation) were young we never got more than half a dozen ToTers - mostly since we live on a short block, the same amount walking around the other side nets you more houses. We've had decades where the average was maybe 3 kids. So we know the neighborhood has turned over again, but tonight was like nothing we'd ever seen here, about 3 dozen kids. That's not much by normal standards but it was off the charts for us. The best one was an inflatable "Kenny". I told him him to stay alive and he laughed and my wife looked at me with no clue. 😱

Not only locations but particular pitches. On a given day an ump may be more give of the outside on a slider than a fastball or tend to be fooled by backup movement on the change etc - so there is a lot for the teams to slice and dice in terms of umpire tendencies. OTOH I think the probability is that umpire tendencies are often quite transient as opposed to reproducible from game to game, and the most successful catchers and pitchers are 'reading' and adjusting on the fly. That's might be the piece that ABS impacts the most, because this year you might deliberately target just off the plate because the ump is giving you the call, but when you know the batter can challenge, how much is it worth the risk of it ending up a wasted pitch (i.e. challenged into a ball)? Has to change the thought process at least at the margins.

Jays run the bases really badly.

Now Chairot gets caught up ice on a breakaway. Berggren in the vicinity but can't do anything. 2-1 Ducks.

Ducks are clearly attacking ASP - not so much physically but trying to take away his space as much as possible and force bad decisions.

ASP get beaten badly, Wings give up a shorty for the 2nd straight night. ASP should have taken the penalty and just hooked the man. Larkin and Raymond get it back. Tie 1-1

Almost all pitches will still be called by the umpire so framing is still going to matter on any pitch close enough that the batter will not have the confidence to challenge, and I imagine a good number of batters will be ordered by their manager not to challenge any pitch because they are known to not have a good enough eye or possibly not enough situational analysis IQ not to waste the challenges.

So a back-to-back in SoCal. Tough schedule.

Jake is a pretty ideal backup catcher. I suppose if they think his bat is totally toast then maybe he's too expensive but they could do a lot worse.

Obvious alternate reading of "The new communication system is designed to improve game flow and enhance officiating accuracy" : "The new communication system will put officiating into direct contact with live odds data flow to enhance game flow for optimal outcomes" ...just sayin'

all this. The critical thing to keep it going, and the one that needs a bit of luck, is QB succession. You can't start the process too soon, and when the time does come, you have be at a point where you have enough 'capital' in picks or player to swing a trade or make the move up in the draft to get your guy.

"very fine entertainment". Remember, this is the guy that lost money running a Casino.

I guess the Wings' play had been so poor since about 17:00 in the 3rd that everyone, including Ken and Ozzy, had just booked the loss mentally. 😱

the computer looks at them all but it only 'calls' the ones that are challenged. So there is a whole unknown about whether having a lot of calls reversed will actually make the umpires that are not precise today get more precise. The league certainly has data about that from the minors but you can bet they are not going to share it. I guess my question to chasfh would actually boil down to whether it's possible for catchers to do any more 'framing' than they are doing now even if there may be some additional benefit to it on certain pitches that aren't challenged.

Tell me more about your logic here. If it's the batter who decides to challenge and he can't even see the catcher, how does his framing affect what pitches get challenged?

I don't even get the rule anymore. No goal should be allowed if a player got both skates in the crease under his own power. They might as well stop painting them blue.

pretty much

I'm guessing the Kings are thinking likewise.

bizarro. the refs giveth and the refs taketh away - or maybe that should be vice versa. They swallowed the whistle a couple of times in the 3rd that could/should have put the Wings on the power play.

before the penalty that was as poorly as I think I've ever seen the Wings play in a 3 on 3 in the Larkin era. Total lack of coordination.

couldn't buy a face-off win

someone finally found it!