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Good answer, thanks. The luxury tax was intended to act soft salary cap and that’s exactly what it is: a cap on cheap teams that allow it to be, or small market teams that are forced into it; and nothing to a team that doesn’t give a **** about what they spend on players. So, to your point, if you want to significantly level the playing field, they’d have to come up with something harder. The … ahem … $64 question is what would the cap have to be in order to be effective. If they make it too high, obviously, the big market teams would still outspend the majority of teams that would voluntarily keep themselves well under it anyway. It’s true that a few teams on the margins today might join that elite group under a high-cap scenario. But it would still be an elite group, and it would still be a clear minority of teams. If they make the cap too low, then to free agents, it becomes less about who pays you more, because teams essentially are on even footing, and more about lifestyle choice, such as where your family lives, or where your family want to move to America to live, or where the media you want to highlight your personal brand are, or basically, who happens to be winning right now. Either way, I think most fans would probably believe the Tigers would lose under either scenario, because in a too-high-cap scenario the Tigers would presumably still not keep up with major market teams—because Ilitch, I guess—and in a too-low-cap scenario, free agents would not choose to come to Detroit as a lifestyle choice, basically same as today. So, short of bringing back the reserve clause, I’m not sure how they can essentially “force” players to stay in or choose Detroit as a place to play ball and live six or so months a year, even in a salary cap situation.

This is why people moving to Canada to avoid Trump is a fool's tactic.

Yes, he has more than a clue about what will rile up his army.

I think there's a really good chance Jobe comes north, unless he's making no progress this winter and he continues to make none this spring, which would be inconsistent with everything we've learned about the Harris regime.

What would be the positive effect of a salary cap, in your estimation?

You know, because he was worth way, way, WAY more than $760 million.

I’ve seen a rat or two down near the tracks in the Chicago subway, but never on the platform or on a train.

Are we talking about Richie Cunningham here?

Sounds like you think both the Tigers are done getting starting pitcher and Jackson Jobe won’t make it.

Good post. Agree on many points. Now find someone you think is a good bet to throw big money and long years at who will actually come here.

Fair point.

Is that what it is? That's pretty abstruse. If we're looking for some real outrage about rape—yeah, that's right, I put the "a" in it, call a cop if you don't like it—it's worth reminding people that there is sworn testimony on the record that Trump raped a 13-year-old girl. https://cdn.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/Johnson_TrumpEpstein_Lawsuit.pdf

Speaking of which: when do we hear what cabinet post Kyle Rittenhouse is getting?

That will work only as long as the consumer is willing to pay it.

So, Alex Cobb: throws fast but doesn't strike guys out; doesn't walk guys and gets a lot of worm-burners. Gets hit hard but it's into the ground, so not many barrels. Harris has a type—and he signed him in San Francisco. I assume he's got something Fetter can work with.

Washington developed this version of Soto. How'd that work out for them in the long run?

That's because Scherzer was lippy.

I don't know that Skubal is necessarily gone, but I do know with the Harris front office, Tarik's not getting a stupid contract. And by that, I don't mean an expensive contract. I mean a Miggy-at-the-end-type contract.

Maybe Assad can get the Taliban discount special when he comes in.

By the way: "r*ping"? How much more woke can someone who unironically writes this be?

I'll be in Maui that day completely ignoring it. On the other thing: I do expect there to be mass protests in dozens of cities involving millions of people across the country in the first few days of that administration. Let's see whether Trump puts his money where his mouth is and sends his military in to mow them down.

I don't get the punchline. Right how, exactly?

What the over/under (or before/after) on a trade to the Yankees or Dodgers or other top team? I’ll say July 2028.

Dave Parker is a terrible pick for the Hall. He’s Harold Baines with a far better peak and a far worse decline. What, they couldn’t find a way to get Steve Garvey in this time? I’m absolutely gobsmacked that Luis Tiant did not get voted in. Then again, these are players voting on different, probably personal, criteria than BBWAA voters do, so, it’s not hard to understand why they elect guys with worse careers than others they bypassed.